Ladies and Gentlemen, It’s time for the moment you’ve been waiting for!

THE CANNON FALLS SILENT: BOBCAT’S END OF SEASON REPORT


Part 1: The Season


-I’m not going to fully copy-and-paste my mid-season report, you can read it there, if you so desire, but if you don’t want to read it, here’s a TL: DR:

-good offseason

-good start

-i was surprised by Boone Jenner’s first half of the season

-i do not like Justin Danforth

-Bob McElligott is the God of Puns.

Now, let us get into the main meat of the end of the season, shall we?

-This year was the year of debuts. Trey Fix-Wolansky, Carson Meyer, Kent Johnson, and Nick Blankenburg all made their debuts in the second half of the season. Some went better than others, but they all were pretty cool.

-Patrik Laine turned UP during the second half, going on a tear of 11 straight games with at least one point, and getting his third career hat-trick (and first as a Blue Jacket) during that span. At the very end, he can rest on a point-per-game season: 56 points in 56 games. I just wish he played more than that, but things happen with family. RIP Harri Laine.

-I had some high praise for the fourth line we had for a little spell at the beginning: Eric Robinson, Sean Kuraly, and Alexandre Texier had amazing chemistry together, and really should have stayed together for longer. Alas, injuries and an indefinite leave of absence for Tex kinda shot that down.

-Speaking of Kuraly, he pretty much gained/created(?) a new role on the team: Personal Confidence Trainer. It doesn’t matter who you put him with, he got the best out of his line-mates. For example, he helped snap Oliver Bjorkstrand out of a long pointless streak towards the end of the season: In their 5-2 win over Edmonton, Ollie scored 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists). That’s three more points than his production in the previous 11 games.

-Jakub Voracek and Laine had amazing chemistry on the 1st line when they were together. I saw Jake as the primary assist on a whole bunch of Laine goals over the year.

-On the subject of Jake, he led the team in points, but only put up 5 goals in contrast with 56 assists. You’re doing what we brought you in to do, and that is to feed Patty, but for 8.25 million dollars a year, we would expect a better shooting percentage than 3.7%.

-In the later part of the season, it seemed like our defensive corps was made of glass. Not even the good glass either, it was more like the gimmicked sugar glass that they use in pro wrestling. Adam Boqvist was on Injured Reserve FIVE F*CKING TIMES over the course of the year, for things that the outside world knew nothing about. He would look fine in the game beforehand, get put on IR, and miss more time than anyone expected. Zach Werenski got slashed in the shoulder, missed a few games, came back, then got injured AGAIN, and almost missed the entirety of the final game. Jesus Tap-Dancing Christ.

-The goalie situation got rather dire by the end. Daniil Tarasov looked okay, and then suffered an injury presumably in practice and had to undergo hip surgery. Korpi sucked his way out of the lineup until he busted up his hip and also went into surgery. By the end, our backup goalie was Jean-Francois Berube, who didn’t do too well in his short stint at the end, a far cry from the solid goaltending he showed earlier when both Korpi and the King were injured. Had we not lost Matiss before the season began, we likely would have held down the crease better in Game 82.

-This may come as a shock to you, but as the season went on, i began to turn a corner on Justin “The Bane of My Existence” Danforth. I still don’t like him, but i understand that he fits the fourth line Brad Larsen was trying to build. Go out and win that Masterton, Danny.


Part 2: My Team Awards


Note: These are only my opinion. I am open to hearing your thoughts on this, so please let me know of them.

TEAM MVP: Boone Jenner

Captain Boone earned the captaincy before the season. He was everywhere at once, getting in the shooting lanes, setting up plays, and more often than not was right in front of the net, tipping shots behind goalies the league over. Great player, great leader, really deserves team MVP.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Cole Sillinger

The youngest player in the NHL. I would know this because it’s been shoved down my throat every game over this past year. Silli has solidified himself into our middle-6, showing great chemistry with Oliver Bjorkstrand and fellow rookie Yegor Chinakhov. I feel like he can really force himself into our top 6 and get a massive payday a couple summers down the road.

BREAKOUT PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jack Roslovic

King Clancy Memorial Award nominee Jack Roslovic really exploded out of nowhere this year. The hometown boy set new records in goals (22), assists (23), points (45), and games played (81). By the end of the year, he was playing first line center alongside Gustav Nyquist and Jakub Voracek. He’s a great player, and also a great person: he has been running a charity called Rosie’s Gear For Goals, which helps younger kids in the state of Ohio achieve their hockey dreams. PAY THAT MAN THE MONEY HE DESERVES.

BEST GOALIE: Elvis Merzlikins.

Duh. On to the final leg of our journey.


Final Part: Final Grade for the Season


Remember that one post on the music thread where i ranked every Metallica album? This is where this comes into play.

I would give the 2021-22 season for the Columbus Blue Jackets a score of “ReLoad” (in normal terms, a 6 out of 10). It wasn’t the best, but there is still a heck of a lot to be proud of. Our future's so bright i have to wear sunglasses at all times. If we keep going on this path, we’re gonna be a constant threat in the Eastern Conference playoff scene for a very, VERY long time.

Thank you for sitting through that. I appreciate your patience, and i hope you continue tolerating my posts for the next year.

Sincerely,
Bobcat205

THE END

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