Film Room: Reviewing the Post-TDL games of the Blue Jackets Prospects
Gavin Brindley
I’ll have a larger deep-dive on what to expect from Gavin Brindley in the coming days. In the meantime, here’s his performance against the University of North Dakota in the first round of Michigan’s NCAA tournament.
I’ll have clips cut from his games against Michigan State, Boston College and his NHL debut as well as some hand-tracked stats from last season and this past World Juniors performance.
Nick Blankenburg
The hallmark of Nick Blankenburg’s game is his defensive play up-ice. He’s constantly seeking to kill plays before they can build danger and he’s always on his toes. These aggressive stops buy extra offensive opportunity for his team and wreak havoc on opposing structures.
According to my light research last offseason, it’s this proactive style that pairs perfectly with high-minute puck-moving defensemen. Killing plays early, and forcing opposition dump-ins as they avoid turnovers, means you give a puck-mover more time and opportunity to settle pucks and read the plays.
His aggression and forward skating can, at times, expose his team to risk but the offensive and possessional benefits of killed plays usually outweigh the negatives. Furthermore, with an NHL quality backcheck, the risks of missed kills and pinches comes down to a simple matter of reads.
It’s not only his play-killing but also his quick thinking and capacity to make puck plays should make him an excellent complement to a talented puck mover. He has the capacity to hit players with the puck at the right time and put them in situations to succeed.
The ability to move the puck to the inside off of the breakouts means Blankenburg has the potential to take advantage of a player like Zach Werenski and give him the freedom to safely activate from the weak-side defenseman slot.
He’s constantly skating into supportive positions and working to help not only his defensive partner but any teammate who has the puck. In the above play, he works to create multiple opportunities and then is a safety valve for Nylander but he also takes the center lane and provides off wall passing options in the neutral zone as well.
He’s a defensemen who elevates his teammates. When he puts it all together, it looks a little something like this.
Or even better, this.
David Jiricek
David Jiricek, too, has some fantastic early play killing habits.
They are, at the moment, undermined by some skating kinks but his aggressiveness can and should be used as a weapon. It may make his journey to the NHL longer but pay off could be gold.
The most tantalizing upside of David Jiricek remains his current downfall, his aggression and desire to make difficult plays on retrievals and breakouts.
When his feet stay moving and his stick stays on the puck, he can do things that few other defensemen can. He’s got the vision, scanning and awareness combined with the slippery and soft passing ability to completely dismantle forechecking pressure.
His ability to create offense in transition should also not be underestimated. Early in the season he was nearly always accurate on incredibly difficult, incredibly dangerous stretch passes.
Currently, his puck touches create a little too much bobble and his passes are a little too off target. Is it possible to execute with the precision and consistency that would force an NHL head coach to allow him to play that game? It’s hard to imagine that level of precision but it would be necessary for Jiricek to get the amount of minutes he needs at the NHL level.
In his call-up post AHL run, Jiricek read defensive plays at a higher level. He’s always been an active scanner but in this run he was able to process multiple threats and use his stick in anticipation of passing lanes. I don’t think I can overstate this but nearly all of his defensive impact came only from his length. That’s not necessarily a good thing but he’s at least got a tool in his toolbag.
He still has noisy feet and wants to move around the zone a lot but he’s also incredibly present. He reacts to the plays coming off of player’s sticks and seeks to take away threats early, though he wasn’t the fastest processor in his return stint. In time, his processing speed and positioning will improve which should lead to more stops and better overall play. If his skating improves on top of it, he should be a first pair worthy defensive player.
There’s quite a lot of “connective tissue” that Jiricek still lacks. First and foremost, his skating. Right now, he has to be nearly perfect in his pinches, neutral zone killing or timing across the ice because he doesn’t have the forward skating to make up for these mistakes. If he can develop power in his lower-half that could buy him some wiggle room. Those improvements in skating would also allow him to win positioning around the netfront earlier, get a jump on puck recoveries and even put more force into hits.
We haven’t seen it yet but there’s tremendous potential for him to be an offensive creator on a level that we haven’t really ever seen before. His shot, handling and vision could give him a higher ceiling than Zach Werenski. In fact, it at times flashes Tage Thompson. That sounds ridiculous, and it is a little bit, but there’s room for a similarly unique offensive middle driven game.
If utilized correctly, he could become a dominant middle distance shooter who is also a menace at killing exits and recoveries from those positions as well. I think that’s the key part. At the end of the above clip, Jiricek is tracking backwards and getting underneath a Nashville forwards stick. It may take significant improvements to his skating, especially forward, but there’s no reason he can’t use his large impact radius to control the middle of the ice post-activation.
Offseasons are going to be everything for David Jiricek. Him investing in his skillsets and learning modern techniques will be critical and the only time NHLers really have to do that is during the summer. Finding the right programs and training gyms will be critical.
For now, unless he demands a spot at training camp, another AHL start is in the cards. Especially so if the Blue Jackets change defensive systems again. Then, after he’s been given heavy minutes and the NHL team has time to adapt he can be brought up and put in a premium position. The development of Thomas Harley and Simon Nemec should be the pathways followed by the Blue Jackets.
Until then, timing will be everything.
James Malatesta
The breakdown of James Malatesta is much more simple than the previous two. For the most part, he’s likely a long way from being an NHLer. With undersized forwards such as Johnny Gaudreau and Justin Danforth already on the roster and Gavin Brindley and Jordan Dumais pushing for training camp spots as well, he may have a difficult path.
In his NHL minutes this year, he’s proven he’s up to the task of competing in the NHL. He was a firecracker who’s middle drive and competitiveness showed that they belonged.
If he keeps driving hard through the middle, getting on top of sticks and recovering pucks, he’s going to find a way onto an NHL team. He may very well be the in-house Danforth replacement for the fourth line in two years.
His deceptive entry pass and subsequent middle drive certainly contributed to opening time and space for Danforth and Trey Fix-Wolansky on this goal.
His strong handling and shot off of the faceoff should continue to serve as middle-ice attacking complements.
Malatesta certainly looks like a player who will punch above his weight and his defensive intensity could make him an early injury callup if the Blue Jackets need a matchup style performer. Outside of that, the Blue Jackets will need significant roster consolidation for him to have a guaranteed spot.
Mikael Pyythia
Mikael Pyythia is a very interesting player who played a role after Kent Johnson’s injury and even earned penalty killing ice time. His on-ice awareness and head scanning underpin most of his success.
As he goes into puck retrievals, he’s constantly looking for the next play and reading his options. His ability to pick up pucks off the wall and stay in motion is a foundational skill for him at this stage.
His game is predicated on staying in motion. As we can see in the above clip, he isn’t necessarily the strongest or fastest. Instead, he’s smooth and connected, always aware and always searching for the next play.
He will largely live and die on his ability to quickly connect the next play. Thankfully, he can catch passes and send them off while keeping his feet moving.
Without elite skills, it may be quite a long time before Pyythia fully cracks the NHL roster. Considering the wealth of talent headed towards the Blue Jackets in coming years, it’s hard to see him carving out a full time role.
With determination and work, he’ll certainly need to add some strength on his skates, there’s nothing stopping him from wielding his awareness and fluid skills to find a place on an NHL roster.