Columbus Blue Jackets: Are Hitch and the Boys Ready for Prime Time?

This is what the loyal fan base have been waiting for since the team first stepped foot onto a clean sheet of ice at the beautiful Taj Mahal fans and report staff alike know to be Nationwide Arena. This brand new facility, not unlike the home town crowds, has been itching to host a first ever playoff game.

The Jackets still hold the dubious distinction of not having ever laced up the skates to play in a playoff game. This year, the buzz in the locker room is different. At this point in prior years, the most exciting aspect of the team was watching to see just how many little balls they would get.

With just eight games remaining on the schedule, the Columbus Blue Jackets currently sit in sixth spot in the Western division. The team is in the process of setting new franchise records in both wins and overall points. Columbus has 85 points, six more than the team in ninth spot on the outside looking in.

Still, the naysayers are creeping. Can they avoid imploding and finally reach the post season? How many times have we wondered if this was the year only to see the team turn tail, let their little tails hit the floor, and saunter away knowing their role in the NHL, that of bumbling midwest team that no one wants to play for. You know, the team who had top-tier players at two positions, but then a bunch of journeymen.

What makes a champion? Is it pure skill and talent? Ask the Rangers or Wings—it doesn’t HURT, but it isn’t going to take home the Cup at the end of the day.

It’s the goal scorers, the guys who aren’t concerned about their daytime-emmy good looks and go hard to the corners. It’s a sprinkling of veterans who have been to the dance and both taken home the prize, AND who have been so close that they could almost taste it.

It’s an exciting time for the Blue Jackets. The world is their oyster. They are masters of their own destiny. If Mason stays big, the defense remains capable, guys like Vermette and Huselius fill their support roles as they are expected to, the big kid from Brampton Ontario is gonna get them over the hump.

The cast is not that of a band of superstars. It’s not exactly a group of misfits who have been cast off the island either. Let’s not go so far as to try and create the Bad News Bears identity either. There are some quality hockey players on this team.

What they have simply not been able to do is put together a string of great hockey that convinces many hockey fans (especially Canadians) that Winnipeg doesn’t deserve a hockey team, and Columbus could be a Stanley Cup Champion.

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