The Blue Jackets trimmed their roster to 29 players today. The list includes four
players on injured reserve (Kristian Huselius, Jared Boll, Mark Dekanich
and Theo Ruth). Also on the list is forward Alexandre Giroux, who was
placed on waivers at the time the list was released. That leaves one
final cut that will need to be made in the next week. That move will
likely involve forward Ryan Russell who is injured.
What it all means is that the Jackets will be suiting up on Opening Night with four rookies. The four - Ryan Johansen, Cam Atkinson, Maxim Mayorov and David Savard - have all played well in camp and have earned their spots. But all the off-season buzz was about Howson "going for broke" with a veritable spending spree that brought in the likes of proven veterans Jeff Carter, James Wizniewski and Vinnie Prospal. The fact that Howson is willing to roster four rookies, not to mention two other players (Matt Calvert and Grant Clitsome) who have 42 games each of NHL experience is certain to raise a few eyebrows. But it probably shouldn't.
Howson believes in this youth movement. He showed that during the off-season when he elected to stick with Steve Mason in net. And he further showed that he is willing to roll the dice on unproven youngsters when he signed Mark Dekanich, a veteran of one NHL game, to be his primary backup. It's a high-risk strategy to be sure, and one that could find Howson sweating cannonballs if it doesn't work. By the looks of things in preseason, it should prove to be a lot of fun watching how it all unfolds.
The only remaining roster sub-plot involves the blue line. The Jackets have eight healthy d-men on the final roster. With James Wizniewski sitting out the first eight contests, Howson will have until Game 9, an October 25th home game against Detroit, to cut the last defenseman. That essentially creates an eight game bubble for Savard and journeyman Aaron Johnson. And possibly veteran Kris Russell.
Here's the official roster as of October 1, 2011.
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