The first month of the season has come and gone, and with it comes a clearer picture of the direction the Columbus Blue Jackets are heading. Under new head coach Brad Larsen there has been a noticeable improvement in the style of play. With that, there are multiple individuals who have been reaping the benefits. These are the winners of October for the Blue Jackets.
Blue Jackets Winners of October
Oliver Bjorkstrand
It is an easy assessment to say that Bjorkstrand has had a great start to the 2021-22 season. The Danish sniper has shown his value and is primed for a breakout season. During the month of October, Bjorkstrand notched four goals and added to his point total by registering another six helpers. These 10 points were accumulated in the third least amount of games to start a Blue Jackets season in franchise history.
On top of the baseline stats, the deeper numbers continue to tell a promising story for Bjorkstrand. Bjorkstrand currently leads the Blue Jackets in expected goals (3.5), percentage of zone starts in the offensive zone (22.2%), and is third in shots on net (25).
It seems as if Larsen sees Bjorkstrand as a pivotal piece of powering the Blue Jackets offence. And if October is any indication, he is well on his well to a 30-plus goal season.
Boone Jenner
Jenner is in his first season with the “C” on his chest, and he seems to be flourishing under the new spotlight. He has kicked off the season with a red-hot scoring touch, notching five goals in the month of October, good for most on the team.
On top of his goals, the analytics show how well the team is playing with Jenner on the ice. This is shown by his 50.2% Corsi For in his 188 minutes of ice time. That is good for most of any forward on the Blue Jackets roster.
It has been a while since the Jackets have had a captain that is able to lead by example when it comes to scoring. It seems as if Jenner may just be the remedy to that. This scoring hot streak he is currently in won’t last forever, which can be exhibited by his 26.1% shooting percentage. Look for Jenner to continue to put pucks in the net and help bolster what looks to be a very energetic attack for the Blue Jackets.
Cole Sillinger
Sillinger, 18, has been nothing short of a breath of fresh air this season. The 18-year-old center was selected with the 12th overall pick of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. While he had plenty of positive scouting reports, few expected him to stay in Columbus this season. Sillinger, however, seems determined to prove that thought process wrong.
Sillinger had one goal and one assist in eight games during the month of October. These are perfectly respectable statistics for an 18-year-old. Top that with his 2.43 expected points per 60 and his team-leading 27 shots on net, and you can start to see that staying in Columbus this season seems the best fit for the young center.
Honourable Mentions
There really has not been anyone on the Blue Jackets that isn’t worth a mention. This shows just how well October went. But the honorable mentions for the month go out to Elvis Merzlikins (4-1-0, 1.98 GAA, .939 Sv%), Patrik Laine (3-7-10), and Zach Werenski (2-4-6, 26:13 TOI).
Main Photo: Embed from Getty Images
