Battalion Breakdown is a closer look at the Blue Jackets' season on a player-by-player basis. Today, BlueJackets.com continues the series by looking at Kevin Stenlund and how his performance impacted Columbus in the 2019-20 campaign.
Number: 11
Age: 23
Birth date: Sept. 20, 1996
Birthplace: Stockholm, Sweden
Height, weight: 6-4, 209
Stats: 32 GP, 6-4-10, 1.1 point shares, 49.25 xGF% at 5-on-5 per Natural Stat Trick
Contract: Pending restricted free agent
As a young player trying to crack the Blue Jackets lineup, it's not an easy time.
Columbus has a plethora of players trying to establish themselves, and while injuries gave just about everyone a chance this past season, permanent roles will be hard to come by down the road.
Such players as Alexandre Texier, Liam Foudy and Emil Bemstrom joined the lineup at age 20 because of their success at lesser levels, but there is a bevy of other young forwards also trying to cement themselves at the NHL level.
Eric Robinson, Calvin Thurkauf, Kole Sherwood, Ryan MacInnis and Stefan Matteau all were 25 or younger this year and jumped into the lineup at times with varying levels of success. The same could be said of Stenlund, who made a short cameo two seasons ago and then saw an expanded role in 2019-20.
The big center has been thought of as someone with NHL potential since he was taken in the second round of the 2015 draft. He offers size, skill and an excellent shot, with the biggest knock on him to this point is a skating stride that doesn't always look pretty but head coach John Tortorella says gets the job done.
Entering the season: After making his debut with four games played in 2018-19, Stenlund entered the season looking for a bigger role. It wasn't guaranteed, but Stenlund offered an interesting combination of size and skill that looked as though it could play in a bottom-six role.
Season recap: Stenlund began the season with Cleveland of the AHL but was summoned to the Blue Jackets in Mid-December when injuries started to pile up. In all, he totaled six goals and 18 points in 33 games with the Monsters, and he didn't take long to make an impact as in his second game with Columbus, he put in a power-play goal in a win at Detroit.
He would go on to play 32 games throughout the season, sticking with the team through mid-January, returning to Cleveland for a few games in late January and then coming back to Columbus full-time in early February.
His biggest contribution came on the power play, as Stenlund scored three of his six regular-season goals on the man advantage as well as his only playoffs tally. He proved to be a solid puck handler on the power play from the left circle with a hard shot that left Tortorella raving at times.
"He can make a play," Tortorella said. "He's got good offensive instincts. I think he's a little underrated as a skater as I watch him more. The biggest thing that I think he needs to work on, I think he needs to think quicker in order for him to get his shot through. He's got a really good shot."
Stenlund is a natural center but split time at wing and in the middle for the Blue Jackets, and he projects as someone who could be a strong player down the middle as he gains more experience at the NHL level. His ability to control games and be a strong possession player showed at times but needs to become more consistent at the top level.
Top Moment
Stenlund got into only two playoff games but scored what appeared to be a huge goal when he tallied on the power play to tie Game 5 vs. Tampa Bay at 2 midway through the second period. Stenlund followed his own shot that was stopped by Andrei Vasilevskiy and scored through traffic to put the Blue Jackets back into that game against the Bolts, one the Jackets led 4-2 before falling 5-4 in overtime.
Highlights
By the numbers
40.3: If there is one area Stenlund will need to become more consistent, it's in the faceoff circle, as he won just 40.3 percent of his draws on the year.
5-0-1: Columbus was 5-0-1 in games in which Stenlund scored a goal during the regular season.
1.07: Stenlund drew 1.06 penalties per 60 minutes in all situations this year, fourth on the team for players who dressed for at least 10 games.
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Battalion Breakdown: Looking at Kevin Stenlund's season - BlueJackets.com
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