Prospect Report: Butler adds size, physicality to CBJ prospect pool

When you look at the numbers Cameron Butler has posted this year, the one that stands out is 119.
The Oshawa Generals forward posted 119 penalty minutes, second most in the Ontario Hockey League, and nearly double his total from a season ago.
And as the Blue Jackets were looking to add some size and physicality to their organization, the 6-4, 212-pound Ottawa native stood out. The result was March 16, Butler signed a three-year entry-level contract with Columbus that will begin next season.

Butler, 20, is in his fifth and final season in the OHL, and that physicality has become a trademark part of his game.
"Coming to Oshawa really helped me define my role and what it's going to take for me to play at the next level," he told Dylan Tyrer on the latest edition of the Pipeline Podcast. "I still have the ability to produce offensively, but I'm a bigger body so I've been extra physical this year and tried to be an intimidation factor on the ice. I know what I have to do to be effective, and when I do, I have a pretty big impact on the game.
"I'm a typical power forward, a big body who can skate well. I'm good on the forecheck. I'm not afraid to go to the dirty areas. I'm physical. I'm not afraid to step in and answer the bell when needed, but I'm also able to play with the puck and produce offensively."
But as Butler said, he's also able to produce. The wing posted a career high in goals and points this year with the Generals, notching a 27-28-55 line in 63 games.

Add up the whole package and Butler drew interest from pro teams, including the Blue Jackets, who got in touch recently and were able to secure his signing on the dotted line.
"Honestly, it was a pretty quick process," he said. "I heard from them probably about three weeks ago. That was the first time all year I've heard from them, but they mentioned to me they were watching closely all year. And when I first talked to them few weeks ago, it happened pretty quickly. We had a few meetings. I had a Zoom call with Jarmo Kekalainen, Basil McRae, Rick Nash, and the process just sped up from there. I'm happy that something worked out and I was able to sign with Columbus."
Be sure to listen to the Pipeline Podcast episode with Butler and Tyrer to learn more about one of the newest Blue Jackets prospects.
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The Pipeline Podcast: Cameron Butler

Monsters Nearing Playoff Bid

With 10 games to go, the Cleveland Monsters are in the driver's seat to earn a playoff bid in the American Hockey League.
The top farm team of the Blue Jackets is currently in fifth place in the AHL North Division, with the top five of the division's seven teams qualifying for the playoffs. Cleveland is a point ahead of both Laval and Belleville, and the Monsters have two games on hand on each of those squads.
The only major negative right now is the injury bug that again has hit the Blue Jackets, with such key Cleveland players as Trey Fix-Wolansky, Jake Christiansen and Billy Sweezey being called up.
"They're close," CBJ head coach Brad Larsen said about the Monsters' postseason bid. "It's important for our young guys. We want them playing in the playoffs. We have guys that are down there for that exact thing. We'll balance that. You want guys that are deserving, too, to get called up. These are discussions, and there is no right or wrong answer, but we'll talk through it."
The good news for Cleveland is reinforcements have arrived in the form of Cole Sillinger from the Blue Jackets, as well as newly signed defenseman Corson Ceulemans, a first-round pick in the 2021 draft.
Cleveland had a big weekend with those players on hand, winning two out of three to jump the Rocket and the Senators in the standings. It started with a 3-2 overtime win vs. Toronto at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Friday night, as Fix-Wolansky scored the game-winning goal, Joona Luoto and Tyler Angle also scored, and Daniil Tarasov stopped 37 shots.
Saturday, the teams headed north of the border and the result was even better for Cleveland, which posted a 4-0 victory over the Marlies. Jet Greaves stopped all 32 shots he faced in the shutout while Roman Ahcan scored twice and the Monsters also got goals from Carson Meyer and Cole Fonstad.
Cleveland then dropped a 5-2 decision at Rochester, the team just above the Monsters in the standings, on Sunday. Luoto scored and Ceulemans added the first of his pro career, but Cleveland couldn't dig its way back from an early 3-0 hole.

The Monsters and Amerks play again tonight in Rochester, then Cleveland plays home games Saturday and Sunday against Hershey.

CHL Heads Into Postseason

The junior squads north of the border have entered playoff mode, and all six Blue Jackets draft picks to be in the CHL are headed into the postseason.
That includes Jordan Dumais, the 2022 third-round pick who had a historic level of production with Halifax of the QMJHL. Dumais' 54-86-140 line not only set a Mooseheads record for points, it was the most points ever for a CBJ draft pick in the CHL, and it was the third most points in a QMJHL season in the past 20 years, trailing only Sidney Crosby and Alex Radulov.
Unfortunately, Dumais finished three points shy of presumed No. 1 overall pick Connor Bedard for the most points in the CHL, but it was still an incredible season for the Blue Jackets draftee. Halifax earned the second seed in the Eastern Conference and begins the playoffs Friday vs. Cape Breton.
Also in the QMJHL, 2021 fifth-round pick James Malatesta and the Quebec Remparts earned the No. 1 seed in the East, edging out Halifax, and will start with a best-of-seven series vs. Charlottetown. Malatesta played only 55 games because of various injuries but still finished with 37 goals (good for 14th in the league) and 29 assists for 66 points.
In the OHL, the Blue Jackets have just one prospect, but Sarnia's Luca Del Bel Belluz had a season to remember. He tallied 20 goals with Mississauga and 20 more after a midseason trade to the Sting, giving the 2022 second-round pick an even 40 on the campaign. That was good for a tie for 13th in the OHL, and he added 47 assists for 87 points. Sarnia finished third in the Western Conference and takes on Guelph to start things off in the playoffs.
In the WHL, two CBJ prospects on the Moose Jaw Warriors enter the postseason as the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference and will take on Lethbridge to start the postseason. Denton Mateychuk, the No. 12 overall pick in the 2022 draft, finished the campaign with an 8-57-65 line and was named team MVP, while Martin Rysavy (2021 seventh-round pick) had an 11-22-33 line in 47 games.
And in Regina, Bedard and CBJ 2021 third-round pick Stanislav Svozil earned the No. 6 seed in the East and will play Saskatoon to start the postseason. Svozil finished seventh in the entire CHL with 67 assists, all part of a 78-point season in 56 games that made him the second-highest scoring defenseman in the league. Svozil also has been named a first-team All-Star in the WHL East Division.
Columbus also has goalie Nolan Lalonde, who was signed to a contract before this season and has finished his season in Erie. Lalonde has been assigned to Cleveland to finish the campaign.

Prospect Notes

• No Blue Jackets prospects in the college hockey ranks advanced to the NCAA tournament, let alone the Frozen Four, but there could be a reason to watch for CBJ fans. The University of Michigan has advanced thanks to an overtime win in a regional final vs. Penn State, and the Wolverines who two players on the roster who could go in the first round of the 2023 draft in forwards Adam Fantilli and Gavin Brindley. We are sure Zach Werenski, Kent Johnson and Nick Blankenburg will have a keen eye on the Frozen Four games when the semifinals are played April 6, with the national title game to take place April 8.
• Ohio State fell short of the Frozen Four, following an opening-round drubbing of Harvard with a 4-1 loss to Quinnipiac in the regional final. The Bobcats join Michigan, Boston University and Minnesota in the final four.
• In Russia, two CBJ draft picks remain alive in the chase for the Gagarin Cup, but it could be down to one by the time you read this. Dmitri Voronkov and Ak Bars Kazan have made it through to the Eastern Conference final to take on Avangard Omsk, and the 2019 fourth-round pick of the Jackets has a 4-4-8 line and plus-4 rating in 12 games. Over on the Western side, CSKA Moscow and 20-year-old defenseman Nikolai Mararov face a winner-take-all Game 7 today against Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. Makarov, a 2021 fifth-round pick, has two assists and is plus-2 while playing 12:13 per postseason game in his first KHL playoffs.