Alex Wennberg making an early impression on Blue Jackets
Columbus, OH -- In front of 11,722 faithful, the Blue Jackets beat the St. Louis Blues 4-3 in OT. Yes, it was the first preseason game of the year. And yes, it was Day 4 of training camp. Preseason is a time when the points mean nothing and 100% effort means everything.
One player, of which there are many but a prospect for sure, is doing his best to make the case to wear union blue for the regular season opener on October 9.
Forward Alex Wennberg, first round draft pick by Columbus in 2013 (14th overall), centered Matt Calvert and Simon Hjalmarsson on the top line for the majority of the game. He went 1-0-1 (-1) in 18:12 on ice, second among forwards only to Artem Anisimov.
"It felt good", said Wennberg. "It was a little bit tough at the start. A bit more speed and bigger guys to play against."
Wennberg's goal came in the second period on the power play. Columbus defenseman Dalton Prout made a hard, fast pass from the point to Wennberg down low on the right side of Blues goaltender Jake Allen. With the puck hitting Boone Jenner's skate, the young skilled center had but to tap the puck into the back of the net.
Matt Calvert and Wennberg seemed to have the beginning of some chemistry forming from the drop of the puck. They were able to anticipate where each other was on the ice for stretches of the game.
"Yeah, it's interesting", Calvert said. "Sometimes you get a new guy and you have to feel him out on the ice. He (Wennberg) seems like he can just step right in. He doesn't seem out of place and you build chemistry as you go."
"But, I knew where he was", he said. "He's a smart player that goes to the smart areas and that's good."
Calvert even compared Wennberg to Ryan Johansen in the way that they both play the game with the skill that they have. "I think it's natural. If you look at a guy like Johansen, they're both centers that see and play the middle of the ice well. He (Wennberg) just knows where to go and knows where to be."
Blue Jackets head coach Todd Richards got his first chance to coach the young prospect. As he almost always does, he was cautious with his initial assessment when asked of Wennberg.
"I think he was decent", said Richards. "There are some things that these young guys... the pro game... I thought we got better as a team. And that's everybody in general."
Asked if the absence of Johansen changes the way they are looking at Wennberg, Richards said "I think when we were originally drawing it up, we had him on the wing. Again, just because of the depth at the center position."
Richards was hesitant to say that there was chemistry between Wennberg and Calvert, saying "I'll have to watch the video. I didn't have that feeling of there's some real chemistry there. I mean, there were moments that they were good."
Suffice it to say, but Wennberg's first NHL game was a success. Yes, there is much for him to learn. But the deftness of his touch on the puck was evident as the game climbed towards its conclusion. This young man holds much promise and you shouldn't be surprised if, by the end of training camp, that he ends up wearing union blue on opening night.
