Columbus, Ohio based sports reporter and on-air host. Opinions expressed here are my own and most frequently have something to do with the great game of hockey.
Patrik Laine is glad to be back with his
#CBJ
teammates in Vancouver. He says dealing with the passing of his father has been and continues to be “the hardest times of my life.” He says being back with the team helps but he’s missing his “biggest fan”.
Though it looks like Daniil has been sent to his room, the fact is the visitors bench at the United Center is too tight for Tarasov to sit with his
#CBJ
teammates.
Matiss Kivlenieks takes his solo lap at Madison Square Garden prior to his first
#NHL
start. He earned his first win that night leading
#CBJ
to a 2-1 win. Such a great young man on and off the ice. He will be remembered fondly by anyone who had a chance to chat with him.
Great omen to start the
#NHL
playoffs. Uber driver arrives at hotel and pops out wearing a
#CBJ
jersey. Pablo lived in Columbus for 8 years. He lives in Tampa now but will be rooting for
@BlueJacketsNHL
in this series.
Very cool moment in Boston as
#CBJ
Captain Boone Jenner presents a young Jackets fan—who is in Boston to have heart surgery—with a signed stick during pre-game warmups. Well done Boone!
Canadian Michael Buble at the Schott tonight says to the crowd: “I know that Bobrovsky, Panarin and Duchene were idiots for leaving.” And added, he was rooting so hard for
#CBJ
to take out Tampa. Fantastic.
Before heading to Toronto, former
#CBJ
Captain Nick Foligno stopped in the dressing room to say goodbye to teammates, trainers, equipment guys, etc. Seth Jones said there were hugs and a few jokes. Adding that’s just the kind of guy Nick is. He cares about every person
Just ran into Artemi Panarin on the way out of MSG after skate. I said, “Hey Bread, how you doing?” With a big smile on his face he said, “we are angry now.”
#CBJ
v.
#NYR
tonight at 7
@BallySportsCBUS
Will have to ask
#CBJ
players Zach Werenski and Nathan Gerbe about this after the game but those two coming out today the national anthem together in Buffalo certainly appears to be their tribute to Kobe Bryant.
What does it say about Columbus as a hockey town? Full building, 4 straight sell outs
@NationwideArena
.
#CBJ
players and the
#NHL
have noticed. Well done 5th line. See you on April 1st.
Congratulations are in order for
#CBJ
G Joonas Korpisalo. He has returned to Columbus to be with his wife as she prepares to deliver their first child.
#babykorpi
Elvis Merzlikins says Nick Foligno texted him right after his unique “Foligno-less” post-game celebration the other night. He said Nick thought it was funny. Elvis said it’s funny but not funny because he misses Nick.
#CBJ
Nathan Gerbe credited John Tortorella for the
@BlueJacketsNHL
pre-game tribute to Kobe Bryant. Only Gerbe and Zach Werenski were in the ice for the National Anthems.
#CBJ
Elvis said he felt Tom Wilson tried to hurt him when he crashed into him. Elvis said he tried to retrieve his stick and got punched in the head so he responded. Elvis said of Wilson “He got what he deserved.”
Emergency goaltender Bailey Seagraves has arrived in the
#CBJ
dressing room. Let’s hope he’s not need as a
@Bluejacketsnhl
backup tonight. But he’s ready if called upon.
Meet
@JulieBroderick3
She’s a Stars fan who wants
#CBJ
fans to know she feels bad that a Dallas fan insulted Elvis & his teammates back in Columbus. She wants everyone in hockey to know “we’re not like that” and that she was embarrassed to hear what the “fan” said. Great job!
After the game tonight, Max Domi took time to meet with a young
#CBJ
fan/hockey player who was recently diagnosed w/diabetes. It wasn't just a quick stop for a pic. Max stopped, listened & encouraged a young guy who loves hockey & just wants to keep playing. Well done
@maxdomi
!
The camaraderie is building for
#CBJ
. D Michael Del Zotto on Jack Roslovic. “He’s like the little brother I never had. I don’t think he’s stopped talking since he’s been here.”
Tonight’s starting goaltender for
#CBJ
@Merzly30
knows he’ll have his late friend and teammate Matiss Kivlenieks behind him tonight. Elvis speaks of the motivation he’ll draw from Mattiss during our conversation tonight on BlueJackets Live on
@BallySportsCBUS
As the Rick Nash jersey retirement celebration draw closer,
#CBJ
show and tell gets better and better. This morning after skate, Sean Kuraly shared the signed Nash stick he received as a kid
Cayden Berube with a chance to celebrate with his father J-F after dad recorded his first
#CBJ
win in his first start for the team. Berube with 33 saves in the 7-3 win.
Elvis Merzlikins asked about Pierre Luc Dubois wearing
#80
said PLD texted him after Mattis Kivlenieks funeral and asked if he could wear 80. “They were really good buddies. Really nice and beautiful thing that he did.”
#CBJ
Quite a moment this morning as Sidney Crosby came out to meet another Crosby. The grandson of
#CBJ
play-by-play man Jeff Rimer. Cool to see Sid take that kind of time with the Rimer family on a special day for Jeff.
@jrimercbj
More tonight on
@BallySportsCBUS
David Savard on leaving
#CBJ
. “I’m gonna miss these guys a lot, friendship I’m gonna have for the rest of my life. A lot of sweat and tears we have in that locker room so it’s hard to leave.”
Best of luck to Matt Calvert in Colorado. Matt never took a shift off with
#CBJ
and was always available for a comment. Memorable goals? Playoffs v. Pens, Caps and the best off all: OT winner v.
#NYR
civil war style. Best to all the Calverts!
Witnessed a cool moment long after
#CBJ
game v.
#allcaps
Sat night. Cancer survivor and Caps fan thought he'd missed a chance to meet Alex Ovechkin who was at NWA but didn't play. But, another Caps player took the fan out to Caps bus and OVI gladly took a pic & signed his jersey.
Former
#CBJ
and current
@monstershockey
center Mark Letestu getting some serious dad of the year votes tonight. He drove from Cleveland to C-bus to see son Dylan skate in between periods of Jackets game. Watch
@FOXSportsOH
The
@BlueJacketsNHL
18-2-5 run is good for business. Both of this weekends games are essentially sold out. My guess is, very soon you’ll be limited to standing room only for both nights. Makes me think of the quote from earlier this year; “ we were supposed to suck this year.”
Just before the start of the third period John Tortorella stopped to give Josh Anderson a little pep talk. First shift of the period, Anderson scores. Pretty cool.
Tonight’s EBUG is Mack Burton—a Columbus kid who played at Colby College in Maine and is now back coaching locally at New Albany HS and for CCYHA.
#CBJ
Nick Foligno gets 3-game suspension as a result of his hit on Pierre-Edouard Bellemare Saturday in Denver. It’s the first suspension of his career. Crazy that he gets 3 games for an un-intentional hit while Lucic got 2 for a very intentional sucker punch to Kole Sherwood’s face.
The
#CBJ
have made it official announcing the team and head coach John Tortorella have ‘mutually agreed to part ways.” 447 games with Torts and it wasn’t always easy. But I’ve got nothing but respect for what he has done for this franchise and the city of Columbus.
Every now and then it’s wise to stop and think about how far our city has come in 20 years. Everyone hoped this part of town would be buzzing with
#CBJ
playoff fever about now. Fortunately, thanks to those who unlocked this area’s potential, it’s a short walk to new seasons.
Ryan Murray is glad to be re-joining the
#CBJ
lineup. He said he got an Australian Shepherd puppy (Jake) while he was re-habbing to help him get through his time away from the team. Ryan will be on the ice tomorrow as
@BlueJacketsNHL
take on Vancouver. Jake likely will not be.
Hard to figure Jack Adams voting. Torts took a
#CBJ
team that as he acknowledged early in the season-"was supposed to suck this year"back to the post season-all while losing his leading scorer, his all star goalie & best defenseman--among others for extended periods of time.
The best thing to come out of the night was the news John Tortorella delivered after the game. He called Nick Foligno to check on Nick’s daughter Milana and said the Foligno’s were happy with the way things went and Nick would be spending the night in Milana’s hospital room.
#NHL
Commissioner Bettman says the league would love to pursue an outdoor game involving
#CBJ
at Ohio Stadium but noted Ohio State has not yet moved forward with plans to winterize the stadium. Until that happens, stadium can’t host such a game.
Nick Foligno knew exactly what he was doing when he grabbed that puck after Riley Nash’s goal in the first period. He wanted to get it for Nash’s newborn son-Rhett. That’s a captain for you.
#CBJ
down a goal heading to the third.
Kole Sherwood on drawing into
#CBJ
lineup with life-long friend Jack Roslovic: “Jack’s obviously my best friend since I was 4-5 years old, it’s gonna be pretty cool, pretty special...something I’ll probably never forget for the rest of my life.”
Brad Larsen meeting with media after
#CBJ
practice. Asked by
@BrianHedger
“goalie tomorrow?” Larsen’s response: “Yea, we’ll have one. We find the chances go up…”
Want to make sure everyone gets to read this opinion. It seems to be based in some unfounded paranoia that being a hockey town somehow replaces being a football town. That of course is an absurd position to hold. There is room for both. Proud to see our sports landscape grow.
With Game 3 nearing, it’s time to put the Ohio State-CBJ comparisons I’ve seen in recent days to rest. Columbus is not a hockey town, and it never will be. But there is nothing wrong with that.
#CBJ
G Elvis Merzlikins spoke to media today about his status with Columbus. He says he loves Columbus and his teammates but says a new “scenario” for him has been discussed by both sides.
The
@StanleyCup
is spending part of the day at the Chiller at Easton courtesy of
@GoldenKnights
assistant coach Misha Donskov. So fitting as Misha’s father Paul and Donskov Hockey have been vital to hockey’s growth in Columbus. Great to see the Cup chillin’ here.
#NHL
It was great to hear John Tortorella say this afternoon
#CBJ
Captain
@NickFoligno
and his family are settled back at home and that he expects Nick to be in the lineup tomorrow night. Torts called Nick’s daughter Milana “a warrior.” Continued good wishes to her in her recovery.
The
#CBJ
released a statement saying they are aware of the recommendation from the Governor that sporting events be conducted without spectators BUT, after being in contact with NHL & looking at the facts in front of them, games Thur & Sat will be open to fans who wish to attend.
Let’s not lose perspective Columbus.
#CBJ
sweep of Tampa still a bigger story in the big picture sports landscape than the pending transfer of a back-up quarterback.
#CBJ
D Adam Boqvist says he will wear a new number next year. He was given 27 in Chicago and kept it when he arrived in Columbus but feels—after reading some of the history of the number on Twitter— that it may be a good time for a change. Not revealing new number just yet.
Devin Shore was in the lobby of the
#CBJ
team hotel in St. Paul to greet his new
@BlueJacketsNHL
teammates as they arrived in Minnesota. He’ll make his Jackets debut with them later today.
Continuing the work to get back to the lineup. Joonas Korpisalo working with
#CBJ
goaltending coach Manny Legace this morning at Nationwide.
@BlueJacketsNHL
v.
@DetroitRedWings
tonight.
.
@CamAtkinson13
“representing and supporting”
#CBJ
teammate David Savard
@dsavy58
with the perfect tee shirt during media interviews today. The two are the longest tenured Jackets.
After meeting the media briefly after practice today Elvis,
@Merzly30
dove straight into a mob of young
#CBJ
fans at the Annual Skate with the Pros event at Nationwide.
@BlueJacketsNHL