Got into an argument with someone and wanted some insight. Every game I’ve been to Machine Head would play.

The randomizer has spoken. Today’s entry is Hannes Hyvonen.

Coming over to North America in 2001, Hyvonen played mostly for the Cleveland Barons in their inaugural AHL season. Selected off waivers from Florida in 2002, Hyvonen would play 36 games for the Blue Jackets in 2002-2003 before returning to Europe

The randomizer has spoken. Today’s entry is Stefan Matteau.

Son of New York Rangers hero Stephane Matteau, Stefan played intermittently in the NHL from the 2012-2013 to the 2021-2022 seasons. He was part of the Blue Jackets organization from 2019 to 2021 and again from 2023-2025. A fan favorite in the AHL with his physical play, he retired at the end of the 2024-2025 season. He is currently an assistant coach with the Cleveland Monsters.

This season I want to purchase student rush tickets because I am in high school, but once I go to the rewards to sign up it says I’m too young. But it says any high school students and I’m 17 so am I able to still purchase tickets? Also I don’t have an actual ID but they give us library cards that have all our info so would that be fine? Thanks!

Seen as a low-risk and low-upside player, Tanner Henricks has flown under the radar since we picked him.  Chosen 101OA in the 4th round of the 2024 draft, his most valued assets were his 6’ 4” frame and 200+ lbs weight.  Despite his size and being an RHD, he wasn’t going to get many looks after putting up 0 goals, 9 points, and a goal differential of -12 in the USHL.  This didn’t last long however as his very next season saw him get 4 goals, 29 assists, and a goal differential of +21; 2nd on his team in assists by a defenseman and tied for 1st on his team in playoff points by a defenseman.  Most notably, he achieved this while playing a more traditional and non-aggressive defensive role.

The easiest comparison I can think of for him is Erik Gudbranson but with better decision making.  This may not sound like a pleasant comparison at first but out of all our large-bodied prospects that can force opponents out of the crease, Henricks is the only one tracking in the right direction.  This of course isn’t a huge list since our only other defenseman of this type is Charlie Elick, but nevertheless he is an extremely important part of our prospect pool unless we want to keep signing Gudbranson to one year deals until he’s 40.

Henricks was slated to play his first college season with SCSU, however a freak injury caused by his brother limited the amount of games he played.  Prior to his injury, he collected 1 goal and 3 assists in 6 games while playing on the team’s top defensive pairing and on their power-play.  He came back from injury later in the season and pitched in a respectable 2 goals within 8 games all while playing limited minutes.

An important part of his profile is that Henricks is a guy coaches trust and know they can rely on.  With him in the lineup, SCSU recorded 7 wins and 7 losses.  Without him, they went 10-12.  Not reflected within these stats are the defensive breakdowns the team faced when they couldn’t rely on Henricks.  After his injury, the team immediately dropped 5 of their next 6 games and allowed 4+ goals in nearly half of all their games without him (compared to less than 30% of their games with him).  Along with this, SCSU held a penalty kill of 80.5% with a healthy Henricks.  Without him, it dropped to 75%.  In his very first game back from injury, he scored a goal and finished with a +3 rating.  A player at his age being such a pivotal and underrated part of his team is potentially a good sign for things to come.

At this point I would be pretty surprised if he didn’t crack our roster in the next 3 years.  I don’t think he’ll ever be a top-4 defenseman, but he’s looking like he could be the unsung hero of our 3rd pairing and penalty kill once he gets here.  After running waiver claims and struggling offensive d-men on our third line last year it would certainly be nice to have someone trustworthy there in the future.  I’m excited to see if he can continue his upward projection on a new college team while continuing to refine his defensive awareness.

Looking at the promotional calendar, it looks like all the cool stuff requires ticket packages...is that normal for other teams too?

Been a fan quite a while and never really thought about this. Never seen a bobblehead actually given away at a CBJ game like they do other sports, like baseball.

How about other teams/stadiums in the NHL?

Updates from the Dispatch.

The randomizer has spoken. Today’s entry is Dean Evason.

Like many coaches in the NHL, Dean Evason was a former player in the league. His NHL head coaching journey started with the Minnesota Wild during the 2019-2020 season. He would reach the playoffs with Minnesota 4 times. He came to Columbus in the summer of 2024 and remained the coach of the team until January of 2026. With a coaching record of 206-129-43, might we see him coach another team someday?

We are a hockey website looking for opinionated hockey fans who want to blog about their favorite clubs. We're looking for writers for several teams. Please send a writing sample to [mpa2nd@hotmail.com](mailto:mpa2nd@hotmail.com)  and let us know which team you would be interested in covering.

The most interesting player chosen in our most recent draft, Jonas Woo has an impressive portfolio for someone who was passed over in last year’s draft and was chosen late this year.  His 5’ 9”, 174 lbs stature along with his age were part of the reason why he fell to us at 185OA during the 6th round of the 2026 draft, but being underrated is just part of what he brings.  His 86 points in 56 games for the Medicine Hat Tigers was good enough to be the most points gained in one season by a defenseman in the organization’s history.

A common struggle between most defensemen with this amount of offense is to adapt to the stricter defensive requirements needed to play at the college level and beyond.  However, I don’t believe this will be something Woo has a challenge with.  He’s very aware of all the plays being made around him and is quick to fix others’ mistakes; whether it’s a bad turnover or pass, Woo is right there to remedy the situation.  He’s quick in both zones and makes smart plays on and off the puck as well.

One of his current struggles is defensive puck handling, so he commonly uses his entire body to shield the puck as he’s moving it.  As opponents get even bigger this might not be something as easy to do, however he seems to have the adaptability to be unpredictable.  He’s not great at board battles, but he contrasts this by bringing maximum effort on each shift.  Despite his small stature he never shies away from completing a check or tangling with a forward to keep the puck out of the crease.
Another thing to note is that Woo isn’t traditionally an offensive play driver, despite the numbers he produces.  He doesn’t have a quick start to his skating and lacks the speed to be able to efficiently move through each zone.  Most commonly, you’ll see him either pass to his defensive partner or to a forward entering the offensive zone as there isn’t much movement that he participates in at the middle of the ice.  These skating deficiencies prove to be a challenge when he needs to build up speed to stop breakaways and chase down pucks.

Regardless of these shortcomings, he still shows significant potential just from the way he plays.  While his shot and passing are certainly going to boost him as he grows, it’s his intelligence that impresses me the most.  He’s already got a great sense for when he should stay back from a play, when he should rush, and who he should pass to.  It’s very rare for him to cause a dangerous turnover or miss a defensive assignment because he’s found a good balance in choosing between riskier or safer plays, depending on which one would help the team the most.  He plays just far enough away from the puck that he has enough room to choose either a more defensive or offensive approach to each play.

Jonas Woo is set to start his first year in the NCAA with Arizona State University for the 2026-2027 season.  Putting himself in this tougher environment should give him the time and ability to build up muscle, work on his handling, and improve his ability to shut down breakaways.  His height will make any road to the NHL a challenge but if he can elevate even just a portion of his skills to the college level then he’ll start raising some eyebrows.  He’s got a very low floor but if he continues to build on his progress then he most definitely has enough talent to reach the professional level.

Forever in the 5th Line’s hearts.

Before the season begins I wanted to do some write-ups on my favorite unknown/underrated prospects within our system.  These are players who are young, haven’t played in the AHL yet, and carry much higher upside than some of our other prospects.  Starting with the first one; Jérémy Loranger was drafted in round 7 of the 2025 draft, 198th overall.  Within his season of draft eligibility, he put up 100+ points in the BCHL; a rare accomplishment achieved by players such as the Nadeau brothers, Kent Johnson, Alex Newhook and a few others.  As a 5’ 9”, 160 lbs forward, his offensive driving skills are the biggest parts of his game.

He talked big at the draft.  A portion of Svoboda’s article on him at the time includes the following quote: “I’m not going to be denied,” [Jérémy said.] “I’m a small player and I know I’m going to work harder than everyone else. That’s the mind-set. That’s what I need to do. In a battle with a 6-6 (defenseman), you need to be stronger and quicker than those guys to beat them. I like receiving hits and just going in the crease and receiving cross checks. And giving one, too.”

The following season, he joined the Nebraska-Omaha team of the NCAA and made an immediate impact.  As the youngest player on the roster, his 19 points in 28 games was good enough for fourth on the team.  Now obviously this isn’t an incredibly impressive number, but it’s important to note that the Nebraska-Omaha team was abysmal that year.  Finishing the season with 8 wins and 16 losses was good for second worst in the conference, so it’s no surprise that a playmaking winger would struggle when he has little support around him.

The first thing that stands out to me when watching his footage from the draft and his most recent games is his shot.  His release and quick passing are some of the most polished parts of his game, it doesn’t matter where he shoots the puck because as soon as he releases, it’s in the net (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLSctvgb8QQ and skip to 1:32 to see what I’m talking about).  4 of his 7 goals this season came on the power play and all of them were bar down perfectly executed shots.  Another notable one was an impossible angle shot parallel to the goal line.

He displays passing creativity and has good offensive zone positioning, with another of his skills coming through skating.  His strides are smooth and he glides across the ice with ease.  From a standing position he can build up speed quickly without needing to push much, and he can skate backwards effortlessly as well.  He’s feisty despite his size and plays strong against the boards, drawing out opponents and creating gaps of open ice.

So what does he need to work on?  Defense.  As soon as the puck leaves the offensive zone he loses his advantage.  There’s a decent amount of wandering when he isn’t involved in a play, and his defensive positioning isn’t bad per se but he struggles immensely in being a proactive defender.  Thankfully for us, it’s something he’s working on and knows he needs to improve with.  In a recent interview he mentioned how he would never judge himself on his goals, claiming that his current offensive game along with developing a complete 200ft mentality every shift will get him to the NHL level.

Most of the time, players like this struggle to adapt their play to a higher level.  This is largely because they can’t handle defensive assignments lower in the lineup, so it’s either top 6 or nothing for them.  That being said, he has a bit of an attitude advantage over our two other smaller scoring prospects in Jordan Dumais and William Whitelaw.  Dumais has had his share of legal troubles, injury, and lack of improvement in his skating; while Whitelaw has allegedly had some attitude issues with his coaches and frequent swapping of NCAA teams.  What few interviews of Loranger I could find include him mentioning a part of his game he wants to work on.  Whether it’s his 200ft game, positioning or passing, he has the correct work ethic for what you want from a player of his caliber. 

The randomizer has spoken, today’s entry is Doug MacLean.

Now, I don’t have general managers in the randomizer, but I do have head coaches. Doug MacLean is mostly remembered for being the first GM in our team’s history and held that position until 2007. For a period of time he was also the head coach. With the firing of Dave King on 01/07/2003, MacLean stepped into the head coaching role while maintaining general manager duties. He would remain the head coach until January 2004 with the hiring of Gerard Gallant. While MacLean’s coaching tenure in Columbus was unsuccessful, he did have success coaching the Panthers in the 1990’s, leading them to a Stanley Cup Finals appearance in 1996.

Edit: MacLean was also team president during this time. Talk about wearing many hats.

As expected, the Makar becomes the highest paid player in the NHL and completely destroys the defense pay scale. He deserves it.

Word is that talks between the Wild and Hughes have been rough. He's UFA next summer.

Werenski is extension-eligible next summer and UFA in 2028. I'm thinking it's going to take $18-20m a year to get an extension done next July. And that's assuming he actually wants to stay. I still have my doubts.

Avalanche's Makar agrees to record deal worth $20.4 annually - ESPN

After seeing the "Random Blue Jacket of the day" posts, this randomly popped in my head today and I chuckled and figured I should post it on here, too, for your entertainment.

Context - Vinny Prospal gets a 10 min. Game misconduct penalty after pointing to the Score Board during a CBJ vs. DET, 3-0, shutout (CBJ).

https://youtu.be/RilgtofSBB8?is=cDgLf72lkTASIcVz

What do you guys think it would take to land his services in net?

I'd start at Kj and a conditional 1st (if we make playoffs they can have it, if we miss they'll get next year's 1st). Overpay? Not enough? I also think it's a gamble because Jet is doing great right now. But a 60/40, or 70/30 split with him and Connor could be lights out.

The randomizer has spoken. Today’s entry is Ray Whitney.

A magically gifted setup man, Ray “The Wizard” Whitney could put up points with the best of them. Acquired from the Florida Panthers for Kevyn Adams and a fourth round pick, Ray Whitney brought some much needed offense to a struggling Blue Jackets team. Leading the team in points in the 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 seasons, Whitney continued to be an underrated player as he was his entire lengthy career. He would also serve as the captain of the Blue Jackets in 2002-2003. Whitney would then sign as a free agent with Detroit in the summer of 2003 and would win the Stanley Cup with Carolina in 2006. The 2013-2014 season would be his final one at 41 years old.

Is there a general STM email address? First year as a quarter STM and haven’t had any sort of reach out from a ticket rep. I need to see if I can switch some games around but have no one to reach out to.

I tried calling the STM line and sat on hold for 20 minutes. The “Live Chat” option is just an AI bot that tried to bring in a human but that failed as well.

Kind of shitty that this is my first experience but tracks given this off season.