By Miles McQuinn
If you're anywhere from Detroit,
Pittsburgh, the state of Minnesota, or north of the border in Canada,
you've probably laughed yourself into a coma from looking at that
title that you are no longer reading this post. For those of you
still reading, I've got some evidence to support this radical theory.
You can't even begin to dream of
becoming a “hockey town” without having quality youth programs.
The answer? The Ohio AAA Blue Jackets. Playing at the local Chiller
rinks as well as the Dispatch Ice Haus (the practice rink attached to
Nationwide Arena, home of the Columbus Blue Jackets), the Jackets
have
9 teams playing at the Tier 1 AAA level in the Tier 1 Elite Hockey
League (formally Mid West Elite Hockey League): Squirt Major, two Pee
Wee Teams (Major & Minor), two Bantam teams (Major & Minor),
two Midget teams (Major & Minor) plus a U14 & U16 Girls team.
Since their inception, they have sent three teams to the USA Hockey
National Championships Tournament. Since 2005, 60% of the U18 Midget
Major team graduates have moved on to junior hockey. Nine players
have been selected to the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), while thirteen
players were selected to the United States Hockey League (USHL) Entry
and Futures Drafts. The USHL is the only Tier I junior hockey league
in the United States. In addition, twenty-five players have been
tendered or drafted to the North American Hockey League (NAHL), a
Tier II junior hockey league in America. 23% of the Midget Major
graduates play NCAA Hockey (Div. 1 & Div. 3). Six current players
received Division 1 offers this season alone. To cap things off,
three former players have been drafted into the NHL – Connor Murphy
(2011, 1st round Phoenix Coyotes), Sean Kuraly (2011, 5th round San
Jose Sharks), and Trent Vogelhuber (2007, 7th round Columbus Blue
Jackets).
Just
this past Sunday, several thousand fans watched the 2001 AAA Blue
Jackets go on to defeat the Swiss Eastern Selects by a score of 4-2
to capture the Quebec City Pewee Hockey Tournament Championship (hockey's version
of the Little League World Series). Youth hockey in Columbus is
growing at a rapid pace. Only time will tell if/when the Jackets
programs will be able to garner a high standing national reputation
like the phenomenal AAA programs in the hockey hotbeds of Detroit or
Chicago.
Across
the Olentangy River opposite the side of Ohio Stadium, a college
hockey program in its 50th
season is knocking on the door of greatness. A long awaited greatness
for an program that has no national titles and only one Frozen Four
appearance (1998). 1st
year head coach Steve Rohlik has his Ohio State hockey team just
outside the top 20 rankings in the latest uscho.com poll. If you
haven't been taking note of the Buckeye hockey team, look out.
They've hung with all the big dogs of the Big Ten Conference and even
come up with a few surprising wins. A season series split with
Wisconsin, going toe to toe with Minnesota in Minneapolis for three
periods each game, and losing by one goal to arch-rival Michigan
twice, with a crucial series against the Wolverines coming up this
weekend, has led to some head turning not only in the Big Ten, but
across the country. Ohio State? Competing with the Gophers? No way.
Yes way. This Buckeye squad is the biggest sleeper team in all of
NCAA hockey. How, you ask? Their depth on each line, both offensively
and defensively, as well as their goaltending.
Let's
start with the offense. The Ohio State offense is currently ranked
seventh in the nation scoring 3.39 goals per game. Hobey Baker
candidate junior Ryan Dzingel is leading the charge with 17 goals and 21
assists. His supporting cast of juniors Max McCormick (11 goals, 15
assists), Tanner Fritz (5 goals, 20 assists) and Nick Oddo (7 goals,
17 assists) are all having spectacular seasons as well. Don't forget
about the freshmen either. Nick Schilkey is currently sixth on the
team in scoring with 9 goals and 10 assists.
On
to the defensive side of the ice. The Buckeyes have only one senior
defenseman (Captain Curtis Gedig). The defense has been astounding
since the second half of the season started, allowing over three
goals just three times in 14 contests. The solution has been
goaltender Christian Frey. In the soap opera that has been the Ohio
State goaltending situation. Frey has been a fresh breath of air.
Collin Olson, expected to be the go to man between the pipes this
season left the program to go back to the USHL after struggling in
his first two starts of the season. Soon after, emerging freshman goaltender
Matt Tomkins suffered a leg injury against Niagra on November 9th.
The scarlet and grey had to rely on freshman third string goalie Logan Davis
while making headlines calling up OSU club hockey goalie Aaron Kahn
and OSU baseball catcher Aaron Gretz. Go ahead and laugh, I know I
did. The Buckeyes made due until Chirstmas break when Tomkins' health
returned and the staff in Columbus called in Frey from the Dubuque
Fighting Saints in the USHL. Ohio State is 7-4-3 since the second
half of the season started and they have collected points in six of
their last seven games.
If
the Buckeye junior class returns in full (Dzingel and McCormick may
head to Ottawa having been drafted there in the 2011 NHL draft), the
underclassman continue to develop, a strong defensive core returns,
and with two proven freshman goalies shutting the door, the future of
Ohio State hockey looks incredibly bright.
At
long last, let's head down the street to Nationwide Arena. The
Columbus Blue Jackets, much like their collegiate friends down at
Ohio State, have little to nothing to brag about. Since the first
puck drop at 7:56 pm on October 7th,
2000, the Jackets have made the playoffs one time (2009). The playoff
stint for Columbus hockey fans lasted only one series, as they were
promptly swept four games to none by the then defending Stanley Cup
champion Detroit Red Wings. An all star talent in Rick Nash provided
a decade worth of excitement night in an night out before finding
himself in the Big Apple playing for the New York Rangers after being
traded in the summer of 2012.
Things
seemed pretty bleak for hockey on Nationwide Boulevard until the
second half of the last NHL season. In what was a shortened 48 game
schedule (due to the lockout) the Jackets were their abysmal selves
in the first half of the season. As if it were a Hollywood movie, a
new general manager was brought in (Jarmo Kekalainen), a goaltender
established himself as one of the top NHL goalies (Sergei Bobrovsky),
and Columbus proceeded to go on an unbelievable run in the second
half. In the month of April, the Jackets won an incredible 7 of 8
games to set up a dramatic ending with their rivals, the Nashville
Predators, to try and gain the eighth and final playoff spot in the
Western Conference. The Jackets didn't disappoint the sold out home
crowd at Nationwide, defeating the Predators 3-1 in what was arguably
the biggest game in franchise history. Unfortunately, the CBJ were
not rewarded for their efforts, as the Minnesota Wild won the eighth
seed on a tiebreaker due to wins in regulation. Nevertheless, the
future never looked brighter for Jacket fans as playoff expectations
were high for the next season.
Fast-forward
to today. New season, new conference, new mentality. As it stands
Columbus is right in the playoff picture, sitting one point behind
the Detroit Red Wings for a wild card spot. Veterans Jack Johnson and
Brandon Dubinsky are steering this organization from a “we hope we
win” mentality to a “we expect to win” mentality. Young guns
like Cam Atkinson and Ryan Johansen will be getting fans out of their
seats for years to come with their highlight reel playmaking and
scoring abilities. Oh, did I forget to mention Vezina Trophy winner
Bobrovsky is returning to last season's form? The pieces of the
puzzle are all there. The only question that remains is can Columbus
put it all together for this playoff push ahead? The way things are
looking now, with a favorable schedule in the next few months, there
isn't a doubt that they can.
Is
Columbus, Ohio a “hockey town”? No. Not yet. The city still has a
long way to go. But with strong youth programs, an emerging college
program, and an NHL team that is on the brink of great things, there
is no question that it can be. The potential for Columbus to be the
next 'Hockeytown' in the United States is through the roof. Needless
to say, the future of Columbus hockey looks as bright as the sun on a
hot summer's day.
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