Youth movement bringing optimism to Blue Jackets

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Optimism is a scarce commodity in the NHL at times, particularly when a team when a team is sitting rock bottom in its division.

But no one has said that building a winner is a linear process and so, even with the possibility of a long winter of discontent to come, the mood around the Columbus Blue Jackets is more hopeful than dour.

With an average age of 25.33, according to the website Elite Prospects, the Blue Jackets, currently in last place in the Metropolitan Division, are icing the youngest lineup in the NHL. For frame of reference, the Toronto Maple Leafs, who lost 6-5 in overtime to the Blue Jackets on Thursday night, have an average age almost three years older.

Youngest of all is Adam Fantilli, the 19-year-old selected with the third overall pick in last summer’s entry draft, following a Hobey Baker-winning season at the University of Michigan, and a pair of gold medals for Canada, at both the world juniors in Halifax and the world championships in Finland and Latvia.

With eight goals and eight assists through his first 30 games in the NHL, Fantilli was fourth on the Blue Jackets in scoring before Thursday’s game, above such luminaries as Johnny Gaudreau and Patrik Laine. Not that he’s counting.

“I’m not really looking too much at production right now to be honest with you,” he said. “I’m just trying to learn how to be a proper pro, learn from a lot of guys in this locker room that have been through similar situations.”

With captain Boone Jenner currently out with a fractured jaw, Fantilli took his spot on the Columbus first line against Toronto, centring Gaudreau and Justin Danforth. The hope was that Fantilli’s recent diligence in the faceoff circle would stand him in good stead going up against Auston Matthews and John Tavares.

Head coach Pascal Vincent had few doubts that the team’s rising star was ready for his turn in the spotlight. While he failed to add to his point total on the night, Fantilli had a decent night in the faceoff circle, winning 50 per cent of the draws, which included winning 6 of 12 against Matthews and Tavares.

“I’ve had a lot of experience developing young players, and the No. 1 component is to put them in a position to succeed,” Vincent said. “The mental part of it is to me the most important part. So I’ve tried to, I don’t want to say shelter Adam, but put him in good position to succeed, so O-zone faceoffs, for example.

“But now with Boone out after 30 games and the way he’s growing I think he can take some more.”

Having grown up as a Boston Bruins fan thanks to his father Giuliano, Fantilli spent his youth looking up to the likes of Marc Savard and Patrice Bergeron. Now he has other seasoned pros to guide him, such as Laine, who opened his home to the Nobleton, Ont., native when he first arrived in Columbus last summer.

And Fantilli is far from alone when it comes to injecting youthful energy into a franchise that has missed the playoffs the past three seasons.

Fellow forward Kent Johnson, the team’s first-round pick in 2021, is hoping that, given the chance to grow and learn together, the Jackets’ fresh-faced nucleus could turn into something special.

“We’re far from our best, a lot of us young guys,” he said. “[But] we can hopefully grow together and kind of move up in the lineup together and then, obviously, some day be a really good team.”

Those sentiments are echoed by David Jiricek, the sixth overall pick in the 2022 draft. But just as important, according to the 20-year-old, is the presence of Vincent, with the head coach picking up the pieces left behind when Mike Babcock resigned on the eve of the preseason after allegations of improper behaviour. With Vincent having been a part of the coaching staff the past couple of years, that sense of continuity was vital.

“We know Pascal a lot, he was here last year, like my first year [in the organization], so I know him,” Jiricek said. “I know Mac, Steve McCarthy, the D coach. So there was some new things, some new structure things but we’re just competing right now.”

The all-Russian second line, with 23-year-old rookie Dmitri Voronkov centring 23-year-old Kirill Marchenko and 22-year old Yegor Chinakhov, has also shown some promise. The trio has combined for eight goals and 14 points since being assembled for the Dec. 1 game against the Ottawa Senators.

And the presence of Voronkov, who stands at 6-foot-5 without skates, has added a sense of intrigue to the lineup, arriving in the NHL after playing five years in the KHL. The 2019 draft pick, who relies on Marchenko to translate for him, has certainly hit the ground running since arriving in North America, with six goals and nine assists in 24 games to sit one point behind Fantilli in the rookie scoring race.

“I think he’s quite unique,” Vincent said of the Russian. “I had a guy in Winnipeg, Dustin Byfuglien, [who] was completely unique, like there was nobody like him. I feel Voronkov is that kind of guy; he’s very unique. I can’t compare him to anyone in the league.”

Whether he turns out to be unique, or just another above-average player off the Russian conveyor belt, the addition of Voronkov is just one more reason to be optimistic about the direction of the team. Certainly it’s enough to get the team’s star rookie defenceman excited.

“We’re here because we can play hockey, right?” said Jiricek, who was voted best defenceman at last year’s world juniors. “So yeah, it’s tough now, there’s a lot of losses. We just trying to turn it around and win some games and build some confidence.

“From my perspective, and my opinion, we’re pretty good young players in the league. So we have a pretty good young core and we just try to build on it and maybe in two or three, four years, we can be a good team.”