The Columbus Blue Jackets have started the season off at the level of expectations. They pulled an overtime win out against the Carolina Hurricanes, and they buried the Islanders on opening night. They’re doing all this without eventual roster additions Boone Jenner and Jordan Schroeder.
When they make their return this could make for changes in the bottom six, and someone heading to Cleveland on a more permanent basis.
Columbus Blue Jackets Roster Outlook: The Return of Boone Jenner, Jordan Schroeder
Jordan Schroeder Activated off Injured Reserve
The Blue Jackets announced today that they have activated Schroeder off the injured reserve. However, he has been immediately assigned to the Cleveland Monsters for a conditioning stint.
This doesn’t mean he won’t be on the Jackets roster sooner rather than later.
Schroeder had a solid camp and preseason, and this is leading many to believe that he will be back to Columbus after just a few short games. So what will this do to the roster that Columbus is currently carrying?
In all honesty, not much. Schroeder will re-join a bottom six that currently consists of Lukas Sedlak, Markus Hannikainen, Zac Dalpe, Matt Calvert, Josh Anderson and Brandon Dubinsky. Him coming back will only go in line with what head coach John Tortorella wants to do with his roster: create competition.
Schroeder is, by no means, a world beater. But he can fit into the system and provide competition for a roster spot with players like Hannikainen and Dalpe. As Tortorella likes to say, age isn’t an excuse for poor performance, and adding Schroeder into the mix will add incentive and a motivating factor (hopefully) to the mix.
The Eventual Return of Boone Jenner
The injury to Jenner was a disappointing one for many in Columbus. Jenner is looked upon as a leader, and he is a solid addition to the top six for the Jackets. When healthy he is going to fill a role in the top six, likely floating from line to line based on need.
This is exactly why Tortorella favors Jenner so much. He is versatile, he plays a role, and he has the ability to be a 50-point player every year.
But the eventual return of Jenner means that one of the current players is likely going to be sent to Cleveland. And much like in the case with Schroeder, this is going to be Dalpe or Hannikainen.
Neither have done themselves much justice so far, albeit in very small sample sizes. Hannikainen is sporting a -0.27 and Dalpe a -4.44. The other thing not pointing in their favor is this hasn’t been due to bad luck, as both of them are sitting at a 1.000 PDO, the exact median of good and bad luck.
Who Will Dress?
When Schroeder is done with his conditioning stint and Jenner eventually returns, this could be a sending down for both Dalpe and Hannikainen. They both have potential to contribute, but they will need to do more to beat out the aforementioned injured players.
The likely final product will be that Jenner will return and resume his role in the top six of the roster, therefore taking a roster spot from Schroeder, Dalpe and Hannikainen. Schroeder looks set to come to Columbus when his conditioning stint is over, so one of the younger players will likely be heading to Cleveland.
While they obviously both want to play in Columbus, it would be in their best interest to play every night for the Monsters rather than watching the Jackets from the press box.
They have a few more games to prove they deserve to be on the roster, so it will be interesting to see whether Dalpe or Hannikainen can seize the opportunity and stay a Blue Jacket.
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