It didn’t take long for Anthony Duclair’s skill to show itself in a Blue Jackets uniform.
The 22-year-old winger, who signed a one-year contract worth $650,000 – the league minimum for veterans – has already shot up the lineup, finding himself on the team’s second line and tallying two assists in the team’s first two games.
It looks like he’s set to take on even more responsibility, too, getting a spot on what is the Blue Jackets’ top power play – for now, at least.
“We’ve got Duke [Duclair] playing with Bread [Artemi Panarin] a little bit,” coach John Tortorella said on 97.1’s show Carpenter & Rothman. “[They] may have a bit of chemistry, we’ve seen it early in the year.
“I’m anxious to see if it comes alive on the power play.”
Anthony Duclair can flat-out fly, folks.
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) October 5, 2018
Great play here to create a chance and Anderson cleans it up for the goal. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/auW85zRjsi
While Duclair’s play has certainly earned him a shot on the top power play, the move isn’t entirely a reward for his production so far – rather, it’s an attempt to shake up a power play that’s stagnated over the past year, including a rough start through three games.
“We split our groups,” said Tortorella. “We’ve been going with a group that has a lot of the top guys and another group that you’d have to say is the second tier power play guys, so we split them up today and tried different combinations.”
Those combinations will be out on the ice tonight against the Florida Panthers. Evenly distributing the talent between the power play groups also marks the start of a seemingly open competition for the moniker of ‘top unit’ in Tortorella’s mind. That competition, he hopes, will lead to a more energized group.
“I think there’s a little bit of entitlement on our power play,” said Tortorella. “[The top unit guys] have one leg over the boards when a penalty is called.”
That entitlement, according to Tortorella, has led to some lethargic play and lack of competitiveness when trying to corral loose pucks. And while playing alongside Panarin may suggest that Duclair’s unit will be the top one, Tortorella’s comments certainly suggest that they could get relegated to second.
“Bread gets a wash here because he’s such a talented player and a game breaker,” said Tortorella. “But he has not been good on the power play.”
Perhaps it’s Duclair – who earned extended ice time with a few strong performances early – that will change that.
