CBJ Team Report

    (Columbus, Ohio)

     Well, things have turned around a little since the last team report. The jackets won't be jockeying for a playoff position anytime soon but they have returned to respectability. They have jumped all the way up to 27th overall in the entire AHL. This is due to the recent hot streak the team has been on, having them compile a 6-3-1 record  over their last 10 games. They are still scoring a lowly 1.98 goals per game but believe it or not that is an improvement over their early season average. Columbus is most definitely proud to be leading the entire AHL in one category, and that category is Pims/Game...hey, if you can't win you may as well try to keep fan interest. As long as the current GM is able to retain his job as the head honcho of the team they will continue to employ multiple pugilists to keep fans happy and build team comraderie.

     On a personal level however, things have not gone as planned through the first half of the season on the offensive front. Team captain and leading scorer Mikko Koivu has registered only 31 points through 40 games so far. A respectable total, but a letdown nontheless. David Backes continues to struggle mightily, posting only 4, that's right, 4 goals through 40 games, all the while getting top line minutes! We could go up and down the roster and list the rest of the disappointing seasons players are having, but we'll end off there.
     Let's talk about something that the Jackets can be proud of. That is, the mountain of penalty minutes this team has piled up over the course of the season. The Jackets would likely have compiled even more penalty minutes if not for the rule change prior to the season that gave less reward to teams who were involved in more fights. This has had a widespread effect on many of the AHL rosters, forcing many teams to limit the games of their enforcers, or just plain plopping their enforcers in the press box. Nonetheless, there have been some impressive displays of pugilism so far this season.

     Columbus has managed to engage in 73 fighting majors so far in the teams 40 games.

The team leader in fighting majors is Jody Shelley (who is also the league leader) with 18 scraps so far on the season. He has also registered 178 penalty minutes, which puts him on pace for 365 on the year, which would be yet another strong season in a Blue Jacket uniform for him. Second on the team in fighting majors is Zenon Konopka, who has compiled 15 fighting majors. Either of these two could likely have more if it weren't for each other "stealing" fights from the other. Konopka is also leading the league in penalty minutes with an astonishing 215 through 40 games, which puts him on pace for 441 on the season.
     The Jackets also roster 5 other players with at least five fighting majors, those players are Jared Boll, Derek Dorsett (on pace for 277 pims), Mark Stuart, J.F. Jacques, and David Backes.
     Lastly, we'd like to give plugs to the 'tenders Marc-Andre Fleury and Nikolai Khabibulin for stellar seasons with this team.