The Blue Jackets called on a familiar face for help just before the season started due to the injuries that were beginning to mount. Right wing Jack Skille had been waived by the New York Islanders and General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen made the claim. Jack was back.
Last year, Skille played 22 games for the Blue Jackets, including all six games in their first round playoff series. Since being claimed, he's seen action in 27 games this season, going 4-1-5. He uses his speed to great effect, getting behind opposing defenses on a regular basis. Now playing in his eighth season, he's becoming the player that saw him drafted seventh overall in 2005.
"I'm doing what I can, every night, to help this team," Skille said. "I play five-on-five, that's my role. I have to play a hard, heavy game every single time that I'm on the ice, for every shift. I have to play physical, play strong, system-wise and take advantage of every opportunity that I get. I think sticking to the small parts of the game, winning wall battles, being physical and using my speed is a big part of my game."
The way that he plays the game dovetails rather nicely with the identity that the Blue Jackets have forged. His speed allows him to get in on the forecheck and he's amassed 66 hits this season.
"He's big, strong and can skate, head coach Todd Richards says of Skille. "Those are probably his greatest assets. When he plays a straight-line game, up and down, moving his feet and taking pucks to the net, he's a real effective player."
"I've seen him hit guys this year... when he hits, he hits with some weight behind it. So, he can be an impact player that way. He's proven that he can score goals because he has a good enough shot. But where I think he has the most impact is with his speed; his legs, the grind and the physical part of it."
Skille is averaging 13:19 time on ice this year and is proving to be a versatile player that Richards can slot-in almost anywhere in the lineup. "He is a guy that we've moved around, so he has shown some versatility there," Richards said, "whether we've had him playing more of a grinding role or putting him on a line where there are more opportunities to score."
Building the coaches trust in him as a player is something that Skille is proud of. The expectations that he put on himself early in his career were high and the pressure that put on him may have hurt him a little bit. But as he's grown and matured, he's settled into playing the game the right way.
"I think trust is a big thing for a coach to have in a player," said Skille. "I do think that he trusts me. But at the same time, I know that I'm not going to take anything for granted. I have to keep bringing it every single night. When I'm doing that, you can play anywhere in the lineup."
"You have to make sure that no matter where you are in the lineup that you're not changing your game. That's a key that any player learns over time. That's something I've learned, kind of the hard way, throughout the course of my career. I've learned a lot since I've been here, for sure."
Part of what he's learned in Columbus is just how tight-knit this group of players is. Being part of the team that last year proved many wrong by coming together and making the playoffs left an impression on him. Does he see the team being even tighter this year?
"Yes, absolutely," he said. "These guys are a great group and they're fun to be around. We stay loose, but we're focused at the same time. We know what we have to bring every single night. Obviously, the confidence in this room is really high right now. It's really fun coming to the rink and seeing your buddies, going to work and getting better every day. That's part of the process of being a good team."
"Bob (Sergei Bobrovsky) is playing out of his mind, and that's great. He works hard at getting better at his game every day and leads by example. There's a lot of that in this room. Guys want to get better every day. And when you're around that, it's addicting. You come in and you want to take advantage of the day. When teams are like that, they're hard to stop."
He signed a one year, two-way contract with the Islanders in the offseason, but isn't thinking about what will happen next July. He's concentrating on doing the best that he can to help the team climb out of the hole they dug earlier in the season.
"I'm not worried about that stuff (contract), because that's an easy trap to fall into. If you start worrying about it, you start to wonder where your future is going. I have to live in the 'now' in order to be a good athlete, in general. I think there are a lot of guys in this room that have those same questions about where they're going to be. But, they can't think about it."
"We have to worry about this season right now and digging ourselves out of this hole. We have to keep working hard, getting better every day and let the chips fall where they may."
Kekalainen has not ruled out Skille when it comes to him sticking with the club when his contract is up. But like every other player, he has to be dedicated to his craft and earn that extension.
"We evaluate these guys every day," Kekalainen said earlier this week, "in practice and in the games. There have been games where Jack has been very good, and then his level of play has dropped every once in a while. We keep an eye on that. When he's doing well, he's a valuable asset for us. He's a good player and we like Jack. That's why we picked him up on waivers. Like everybody else, he's got to keep doing it every night to earn a good future with our club."
But right now, Skille's focus is on playing 'Blue Jackets hockey' and contributing any way that he can. Like the rest of his teammates, he wants to get the team back into the playoffs. With the turnaround in December, achieved through hard work and sticking to the game plan, he really enjoys coming to work every day.
"It's a lot of fun," Skile said. "We're a resilient group, which is great to see. It's unfortunate about the hole that we dug. But, we're a hungry group and there is no 'quit' in this room. I think we're proving that. We've just got to keep things going in the right direction."
The Blue Jackets return to action tonight as they host the Chicago Blackhawks at 7 p.m. Catch all the action beginning at 6:30 p.m. with the "Blue Jackets LIVE" pregame show on FOX Sports Ohio.
