The Blue Jackets’ long break has turned into something close to a second training camp, and Dmitri Voronkov is one of the names that needs attention.
After a flat showing against the Utah Mammoth last Saturday, there’s plenty on the to-do list. Special teams.
Discipline. Better defending.
But the offense needs help too, and Voronkov sits right in the middle of that conversation while playing in the spot previously occupied by Conor Garland.
Voronkov has always looked like the kind of player who could tilt a game. The 6'5", 230-pound winger arrived from Russia three years ago with the sort of frame that jumps off the page, and early on he flashed the package the Blue Jackets hoped for: physical play, a mean edge, and a scoring touch that made him easy to notice.
The nickname fits. “Big Boss” has been around enough to rack up 213 NHL games, and the numbers aren’t empty ones either: 58 goals, 114 points, a +9 rating and 168 penalty minutes. Even so, he still hasn’t quite convinced the coaches he’s played for, and the offense hasn’t consistently matched the promise.
There’s a contrast here with Matthew Knies, who is only three years younger and has already stepped in and delivered immediately. Knies scored twice in his first game and has four points through his first two with the Blue Jackets.
Voronkov, by comparison, has one assist and has averaged less than 12 minutes per game through the first two. That leaves the club with a familiar question: how do they get more out of him before his value drops, the way it did with another Russian winger?
The answer starts with a simple demand: be assertive.
That’s the trait that feels missing most often. For a player with Voronkov’s size and strength, the expectation is that he should be leaning into contact, driving the net, and making life miserable for opponents. Too often, he moves the puck away too quickly, looking for a pass before anyone is in position to receive it.
What the Blue Jackets want instead is the harder version of his game. Put the head down and power through traffic.
Stop settling for a quick dump toward the wing. Become a real problem on the forecheck and force defensemen to think twice when they go after a loose puck in the corner.
That’s the version of Voronkov this organization is trying to unlock, and it’s the message that should be echoing through practice all week.
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Sidney Crosby Keeps Haunting The Blue Jackets For One Painful Reason
Sidney Crosby has spent his entire NHL career giving Columbus plenty to think about, and the Blue Jackets are about to see him again when they face the Pittsburgh Penguins. Since entering the league, Crosby has been one of those opponents who seems to tilt the matchup before the puck even drops, with his overall body of work against Columbus standing out among the many test cases in his long run of excellence.
The Blue Jackets know the score well enough by now: Pittsburgh has had the upper hand in this era, both in the regular season and when the games have mattered most. Columbus has had its stretches, but the larger history against Crosbys Penguins has included too many nights where the Jackets were chasing the game and too few where they found a lasting answer. [Read more 🡒]