The Columbus Blue Jackets didn't get the memo that this was supposed to be a rebuilding year.
Through 10 games, the club is off to the best start in franchise history (tied with 2017-18) with a 7-3-0 record. And while much of the success has been tied to the expected characters - Elvis Merzlikins, Zach Werenski, Oliver Bjorkstrand, etc. - it's fair to say that the youth movement is ahead of schedule. Way ahead of schedule.
We've already given Cole Sillinger his fair share of praise, and deservedly so, as the rookie is already an impact player in the NHL at just 18. His 4-2-6 stat line ranks him fifth on the team in points, tied with Zach Werenski. He's steadily climbed up the depth chart and doesn't look out of place as the club's top-line center.
The coaching staff made the bold decision to play Chinakhov on the defacto top line alongside Sillinger and Jakub Voracek. Chinakhov recorded his first NHL point in his first game on the top line, an assist on Gabriel Carlsson's first goal, then tallied his second on the game-winning goal with just over a minute to play.
On the first goal, Chinakhov won a battle, protected the puck, then moved it down low to Voracek, who found Carlsson streaking back door. On the game-winner, Chinakhov showed an impressive amount of poise by holding the puck as he walked along the blue line. His shot deflected off Sillinger's stick and into the back of the net.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the game was Chinakhov's highest TOI in his brief NHL career by a wide margin - 16:19. Prior to that, he had averaged 10:44 in his first five games. It's obviously too early to draw any major conclusions from the game, but it's expected that Chinakhov will continue to play in this spot alongside Sillinger and Voracek.
With Laine out of the lineup for 4-6 weeks, Chinakhov will have a chance to show that he not just belongs in an NHL lineup, but that he can be tasked with a heavier workload and with more talented players. That's about as good a situation as a 20-year old in his first NHL season could have imagined. Now that the opportunity is upon him, it will be fascinating to see what he's able to do with it.
