One of the surest signs of hockey's return is the NHL Prospects Tournament held each September in Traverse City, Mich., and the Blue Jackets will be returning to the eight-team event this year.
The Detroit Red Wings, who host the tournament, announced the dates and teams who will take part today. Columbus will join the Wings, Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers and St. Louis Blues for the 19th year of the tournament, which will be held Sept. 8-12.
Columbus won the tournament two consecutive years – a young winger named Oliver Bjorkstrand was the leading scorer in 2015, with Josh Anderson scoring in the title game – before last year when the Carolina Hurricanes were crowned champs. The teams now play for the Matthew Wuest Memorial Cup, named after the founder of CapGeek.com who passed away in 2015 from colon cancer.
According to the Wings, during the tournament's history, 500 skaters and 52 goaltenders have moved on to play in at least one NHL game.
