Last season was an important one for a couple of first-year players.
Kent Johnson became the third Columbus Blue Jackets' rookie to post a 40-point campaign (16 goals, 24 assists) and Kirill Marchenko earned Calder votes in his first year, registering 25 points (21 goals, four assists) in 59 games.
In an otherwise forgettable year on the ice, the importance of a young core stepping up and making contributions on a nightly basis was among the main goals for last season.
And both Johnson and Marchenko made an impact in that regard that didn't go unnoticed, even though Johnson didn't yield a single Calder vote.
We saw more consistency from Johnson as the season played on—joining Zach Werenski and Pierre-Luc Dubois as the only Blue Jackets rookies to record at least 40 points in a season—and Marchenko made history, scoring the most goals by a Blue Jackets rookie.
1. Columbus Blue Jackets
— Byron Bader (@ByronMBader) July 5, 2023
Top 5 Skaters: Fantilli, Jiricek, Mateychuk, Marchenko and Johnson
The Blue Jackets pool stays #1.
The pool is loaded all over. Center prospects (Fantilli, Johnson), wing prospects (Marchenko, Brindley, Dumais), defense prospects (Jiricek, Mateychuk)
Since Jan. 1, and among players who played at least 500 minutes, Marchenko placed second on the team in goals/60 (0.86)—behind Boone Jenner who played nine fewer games—while averaging 13:23 per game (5v5). Johnson put up 0.40 goals/60. Over the course of the full season, Marchenko played four more games than Laine and was first with 1.02 goals/60 while Johnson was eighth (0.56).
Among players who played at least 70 games, and it wasn't many on the Jackets, Johnson was third behind Johnny Gaudreau and Jack Roslovic in total points/60 (1.49). Overall, Marchenko was ninth (1.26) among players who played 500 minutes. All statistics per Natural Stat Trick.
While more goals are to come for Johnson, and they certainly will for Marchenko, being a point facilitator like Johnson can be, and perhaps as a future center, isn't a bad way to go.
With a small sample size by Marchenko and a nice first season in the books by Johnson, both are big offensive X-factors for the team to succeed in 2023-24.
On that note, let's go ahead and acknowledge the elephant-sized questions in the room.
Yes.
Goaltending and health are probably the biggest X-factors for the 2023-24 Blue Jackets. Every team hopes for good health and the Jackets are surely among those teams that have been crippled by the injury bug.
From a goaltending perspective, what can Niklas Backstrom do to resurrect Elvis Merzlikins? Can Merzlikins and Daniil Tarasov form a league-average goaltending tandem?
League-average play in the net and a stouter, healthy, defensive corps should certainly inch the team that much closer to where they want to be and are trying to go.
From the forward perspective, specifically talking about Nos. 91 and 86 respectively, we saw a glimpse of what both Johnson and Marchenko can be.
If the roster is healthy, imagine the lineup the team features with those two players developing into All-Star-like forwards, anchoring the likes of Gaudreau, Jenner, Patrik Laine, and Adam Fantilli.
You love to see it. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/W47vcoeSNC
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) December 11, 2022
Gaudreau was the big signing a year ago and while he's arguably the best player, he's probably the one player of what you know to expect in a given 82-game season. The impact a healthy Laine can have is not forgotten, but his being healthy is something the Jackets need to see more of. For the up-and-coming center in Fantilli, there's obvious excitement, and yet patience for the rookie needs to be remembered.
But you do hope for big things and it wouldn't be too lofty to suggest Fantilli is among the top three for the Calder next award season. Development camp indicates a good first impression.
For Johnson and Marchenko, the ceiling is still being realized and this season is going to be telling of how their respective encores play out. This season hinges on how the rest of the catalyst continues to trend forward.
Straight filth by Kent Johnson as he scores the deciding shootout goal. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/xfMdv7icGg
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) January 8, 2023
Both are hoping for better sophomore seasons than what Cole Sillinger endured last year. A healthy bounceback from Sillinger also provides the Jackets with more options and we'll probably see that 91-34-86 trio in some fashion this season.
Another interesting wrinkle will be seeing how this team responds to and plays under Mike Babcock. Just as we wonder how Gaudreau, in particular, is utilized under Babcock, it's going to be interesting watching him, alongside Johnson, Marchenko, and everyone else under the experienced coach in his first year in the teams' continued quest towards relevancy.
