Blue Jackets have a ball in warmups -- but which one do they prefer?

When getting ready for a hockey game, there are certain tools of the trade every team needs.
There are saws to trim sticks the correct length and skate sharpeners to make sure players are able to cut on a dime. There are smelling salts that awaken the senses and tubs of bubble gum on each bench to keep players happy.
But the most important thing a team has to have as part of its pregame routine?
A soccer ball.

If you go to any hockey arena on any continent at pretty much any level, there might be no more indispensable piece of equipment before a game than the only thing you need to play the beautiful game.
It doesn't matter where you are, the pregame soccer juggling routine is one of the time-honored ways to get ready for a hockey game. And while every athlete has their own unique way they warm up, for many of the Blue Jackets, their favorite way to get the body moving and start getting ready for a game is juggling a soccer ball.

Patrik Laine is a participant in the pregame tradition and has years of soccer experience.
"I love soccer. I played it until I was probably like 14 years old, and I would say I was pretty good." Laine said. "My soccer skills have been getting better throughout the years. Obviously playing with a hockey team in pregame, we always do soccer."
But for the Blue Jackets this season, futbol has a new rival that has announced its arrival. Perhaps fittingly in a state that knows its way around the gridiron, the pregame football toss has served as an alternative to the soccer circle as the preferred way to warm up.
A native of Central Ohio, Sean Kuraly -- of course it was a Buckeye, in spirit if not an alumnus of Ohio State -- was the one who started tossing a ball around. Suddenly, the number of players taking part in pregame route-running in the bowels of arenas across North America was comparable to those getting in their kicks.
"It started when I was in Boston," Kuraly said earlier this season, before an oblique injury put him on the shelf. "I just enjoyed it. It was a way for me that when it feels like it's a hard day to get warmed up, to enjoy getting a little sweat, running a couple of routes and pretending I'm a Buckeye for a little bit. I think a football popped up this fall and I just ran with it.
"It was basically because there was just a football around."

Suddenly, such notable soccer aficionados as Laine and Johnny Gaudreau -- whose father, Guy, was a star soccer player in both high school and college -- were just as likely to be catching footballs as kicking soccer balls before games. Jack Roslovic and Gus Nyquist became regulars, and even Russian wingers like Yegor Chinakhov and Kirill Marchenko were tossing spirals.
"Just like Tom Brady," Marchenko said during one pregame toss in Ottawa.
"No," Vladislav Gavrikov deadpanned in return.
Football is in many ways the sport in Ohio, from the glitz and glamour of two NFL teams and pageantry of Ohio Stadium all the way to the Friday night lights that shine in small towns across the state, and there's just something about the oblong spheroid that makes you want to start tossing it around.
"It's funny -- any non-American, you can tell by the way they throw a football," Kuraly said. "Patty has come a long way. Gus and Boone (Jenner) passed it around before. Their arms have gotten a lot better. I guess, like, it's just an American thing."
While no one would confuse the Blue Jackets for Browns or Bengals based on the way the pregame football games would go, they are natural athletes with some notable attributes. Laine, in particular, has a 6-5 frame and the ability to high-point a ball that makes him look a bit like he could run down the seams as a tight end.

"Well, I only have the size," deadpanned Laine, who has attended games at Ohio State and in Cincinnati since arriving with the Blue Jackets. "I don't have the hands or the legs. The only good thing about me playing football would probably be my size. That's about it. It's hard, but you learn to appreciate those guys who do it in the NHL and college and how hard it actually is. They just make it look so easy."
Soccer, on the other hand, comes much more naturally to the Finnish forward. He grew up playing the game and was a highly touted goalie as he approached his teenage years, even being given the opportunity to pursue a path toward a professional career. Instead, he chose to stick with his love of hockey, and as he nears 200 career NHL goals, it's fair to say he went the right direction.
Among the Blue Jackets, he maintains he still has the best skills when it comes to soccer battles.
"My soccer skills have been getting better throughout the years," he said. "I would say I'm the best around here -- even though that's not very hard."
While not everyone takes part before every game, some usual attendees include Mathieu Olivier, Kent Johnson, Erik Gudbranson, Elvis Merzlikins, Kirill Marchenko, Tim Berni and Cole Sillinger.
Before the players head out to the ice for the actual pregame warmup, a small group forms to create a juggling circle. There are different types of games that the players can play in the circle, but the most common is sudden elimination -- meaning, if a player lets the ball fall on the ground, they are kicked out of the group until there is only one remaining.
Not everyone on the team has the same foot skills and experience. Johnson is a fan of the pregame soccer warmup even though he might not be the best in the circle.
"I did it a bit in juniors, but for some reason at Michigan, we didn't play before games at all," he said. "I played at World Championships and was so bad, it was embarrassing. Like, I was the worst player by far. I was like, I need to start playing again because it's so much fun, and I started playing again this year. Even though I was definitely the worst player at the start of the year, I think I'm getting better and I'm pretty good now."
But if Marchenko has his way, there will be a new warmup method next season. When he began this season with Cleveland of the AHL, Marchenko and teammates would often shoot baskets -- they do, after all, share a home venue with the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers -- and Marchenko came to enjoy working on his jump shot before games.
Shooters shoot, right? But it seems unlikely Marchenko will get that opportunity in Columbus.
"My favorite warmup I'd say is basketball," he said. "I really love to shoot. No jump, no dunk, shooting. For me, it's the best warmup. I asked if I can buy a basketball hoop, but (trainer Mike Vogt) said to me, 'No chance. Sorry. More guys try to play and they start jumping. It's bad for the ankles.' I tried."