Step into your time machine and go back to 2016 for a moment.
It was supposed to be Oliver Bjorkstrand's year.
Mere months after watching him rip through the Calder Cup playoffs and spearhead the Cleveland Monsters' championship run, the Blue Jackets were fully expecting him to leave no doubt regarding his NHL worthiness.
His training camp was so-so. His start to the 2016-17 season didn't meet his standard or the club's, so he was sent back to Cleveland to get his game back on track. Chalk it up to a short summer and a lack of proper training camp, too big of an adjustment, whatever -- Bjorkstrand played well enough to return to Columbus later in the season and was noticeable on many nights.
Welcome back to 2017.
With a full summer to train and prepare, Bjorkstrand wants to make good on the hype.
He's a 20-goal scorer and then some. Hell, he scored 63 times in his final junior hockey season. Bjorkstrand looks the part of a budding young star who will fire the puck at will, letting his elite-level release take care of business. But first thing's first: make the team, earn your ice time and go from there.
"I'm going to try to work as hard as I can and not let up," Bjorkstrand told JacketsTV. "It was a longer summer - which is negative and positive, I guess. It was good to have a long summer where I could gain some good strength, get stronger in different areas and be ready for this camp.
"This is a big camp for me and this summer helped me."
Bjorkstrand finished the 2016-17 season with six goals and 13 points in 26 games. In the Blue Jackets' five-game first round playoff loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, he recorded a single assist.
The possibility exists that John Tortorella will give Bjorkstrand an extended look in a top-six role throughout this camp, and perhaps an expanded role on the power play. Where that goes, Bjorkstrand will decide - it's one of a coach's favorite phrases (and Tortorella let it fly on media day) that players decide their fate, not coaches.
And now, with an offseason of work behind him, the 22-year-old Dane now has an even more important season of work ahead of him. The Blue Jackets would love nothing more than to see him grab hold of the opportunity and stick in Columbus.
