Coming home isn't always easy.
The expectations and the noise around Columbus Blue Jackets forward Jack Roslovic were always going to be there. Roslovic, a Columbus, Ohio native, was part of the trade that sent both himself and Patrik Laine to the Blue Jackets.
While Roslovic may have been considered an afterthought in the actual trade, the Blue Jackets believe he has a real shot to be a top-six center for them.
So far, through four actual games, it looks like they're on the right path.
What to love
The first thing that stands out when looking at what Roslovic does is the way that he controls the game. He isn't immediately flashy but does all of the little things well. He backchecks well, he handles and passes the puck well. It is easy to see how/why the Blue Jackets fell for the player in the first place.
Adding to those visuals, you can see in the five games that he has played, he is driving play in the right direction and he is putting up counting stats that show that he is contributing well to the club.
Currently he is above the 50% corsi threshold as of this writing at 53% and he is doing significantly better relative to his teammates. It may be contributed to a lot of offensive zone starts. Nearly 2/3 of his zone starts begin in the offensive zone. If anything, that is a sure sign that Roslovic is being weaponized and being given a little easier assignment. Seeing that he is putting up goals and assists is going to only solidify that time.
It is also a good sign that he is doing this with not one teammate pinned to his side, he has had a couple of different linemates in the early going. Add this all to the fact that he is not seeing a career high in ice time just yet, the Central Ohio native is on a very solid and encouraging path.
What to watch for
While a couple of notes for Roslovic are surely good news, there are also parts of it that need to be tempered.
The first note being that despite a lot of offensive zone starts, it isn't always consistently doled out by head coach John Tortorella. Roslovic could start to see tougher assignments and those counting stats could go down. As of right now, his offensive skillset is being put to good use and it wouldn't be unfair to see how he does in some defensive situations.
Additionally, you wonder if the on-ice save percentage may bounce back to earth for Roslovic. Like previously stated, it is early in the season to draw too many conclusions about Roslovic but it is safe to say that the on-ice save percentage should drop a little bit.
What could change that or at least mitigate it is continued dominance in the offensive zone. If the other team doesn't have the puck and when they do you limit their chances, it could mean a recipe for success. As of right now, Roslovic is doing a solid job of doing that.
His Blue Jacket career is just getting started and if the first handful of games are any indication, the team should be ecstatic he is in Columbus for the long haul.
