Pierre-Luc Dubois turned a lot of heads in his breakout rookie season.
When the Blue Jackets needed someone to step up and grab the mantle of No. 1 center, he made it happen. He stood in between Artemi Panarin and some combination of either Josh Anderson or Cam Atkinson for the majority of the season and nearly put up 50 points as a 19-year-old. His performance in a tough spot turned a dire situation into a fairly promising outlook, but that was with no expectations and opponents that weren't sure what to expect.
After doing what he did in 2017-18, Dubois knows it won't be the same this time around.
He's been up at 7 a.m. each morning for a workout, and then back in the gym for an afternoon workout on most weekdays. On days he's not in the gym, he's on the ice getting ready for his sophomore NHL campaign.
And in his spare time?
"A lot of Fortnite," he said.
In the few weeks remaining before Dubois heads to Columbus, he admitted that he can't keep his mind off what lies ahead.
"I can't be satisfied with how I finished the year," he said in an interview with Jackets TV. "They're going to be expecting more from me at the start (of the season). I'm not allowed to have 12-15 games to get used to the pace because I had that last year. I've been working really hard to get in better shape than I was last year.
"I love working out, but every day at the gym, all I can think about is getting on the ice."
