Prospect Report: Monsters coach helping develop CBJ youngsters

One could argue one of the most important people in the Blue Jackets organization right now is Trent Vogelhuber.
The former CBJ draft pick is the current coach of the Cleveland Monsters, and given the young talent in the system, Vogelhuber and his staff are overseeing the development of some key cogs for the team's future.
Even more than that, because of injuries, the Blue Jackets have had to dip into their top minor league club more often than usual. So far, 13 players -- 11 skaters and two goalies -- have played for both the Monsters and the Jackets this season, and despite that constant shuffling, the team's record of 12-13-1-2 has the squad in the mix in the AHL North Division.

"That's what it's all about is to have guys go up and have opportunities in the NHL," Vogelhuber said on the latest edition of the Pipeline Podcast with Dylan Tyrer. "We're certainly happy to have a ton of the guys get those opportunities, and some of them are still there, which is great to see. It's been fluid with our team, obviously.
"With that being said, we have a lot of talent on our team, offensive firepower. We have been scoring a ton, and as you get with a young team, there's some inconsistencies from week to week, from game to game, even from period to period, that we're going to work through."
Those inconsistencies have led to five straight losses for Cleveland to close out 2022, but there's still a lot to like about the team. The squad's power-play percentage of 30.0 leads the AHL, while forwards Emil Bemstrom (14-17-31 in 21 games; 1.48 points per game) and Trey Fix-Wolansky (14-17-31 in 23 games; 1.35 ppg) are second and fourth, respectively, in the league in points per game.
Cleveland is also getting good showings from new CBJ signee Justin Richards (6-15-21 in 27 games), first-round defenseman David Jiricek (5-15-20 in 19 games), Kirill Marchenko (8-11-19 in 16 games), Brendan Gaunce (7-11-18) and Carson Meyer (6-12-18 in 15 games), though Marchenko and Meyer are currently with the Blue Jackets and Jiricek is competing in the IIHF World Junior Championship.
Still, such names as Jiricek, Marchenko, Bemstrom and more could be big pieces of the Blue Jackets going forward. Listen to the rest of Vogelhuber's interview with Tyrer to hear his thoughts on the top CBJ prospects that have played for Cleveland this year as well as his thoughts on player development and more in his first season as the Monsters' coach.
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The Pipeline Podcast: Trent Vogelhuber
Cleveland returns to action with a six-game road trip to begin 2023 that starts tonight at Grand Rapids. The Monsters' first home games of the calendar year will come Jan. 17-18 when they host Lehigh Valley at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

Top Prospects Shine at WJC

We've written about the impressive run by Czechia
at this year's World Juniors, spurred on by Blue Jackets draft picks Jiricek, Stanislav Svozil and Martin Rysavy, who have helped the nation get to the semifinals and on the precipice of the country's first medal at the event in 17 years.
But while those three are the only current Blue Jackets draftees who are taking part, fans with an eye on the 2023 draft have had reason to watch as well. Columbus is currently on track for a top-five pick during this summer's draft, and while much is still to play out, those thinking about the future have been watching with interest to see the players who might be on the board when the Blue Jackets do pick.
While there is much to play out with the NHL season, there is also much more time for the prospects involved to continue to make their case to be top picks, so anything we say right now can change quite a bit by the time the picks are made in late June.
Yet three players who are seem to be among the consensus best available in the 2023 draft -- Canadian centers Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilli as well as Swedish center Leo Carlsson -- are taking part in the World Juniors.
You'd have to be living under a rock to not have heard of Bedard, the almost surefire first overall pick this summer who has broken the Canadian record for both career goals and points at the World Juniors. In fact, with two games to go, the Regina Pats forward also has broken the single-tournament record for a Canadian player at the event, posting an 8-13-21 line through five games after scoring the game-winning overtime goal Monday night in Canada's victory over Slovakia.

So far, he's 10 points clear of any other player at the event, as United States center Logan Cooley -- the No. 3 overall pick in the 2022 draft by Arizona -- is next with 11. Bedard is also second in the Canadian junior leagues -- to CBJ 2022 third-rounder Jordan Dumais -- with 64 points this season with Regina.
Some saw Fantilli, a big center with the capability to take over games, as someone who could potentially challenge Bedard for the top spot in the draft, but he's not had the same impact on this tournament. Fantilli, a 6-2 pivot with 11 goals and 26 points in 16 games this year with the University of Michigan, has posted a goal and two assists to this point in the event.
Carlsson, meanwhile, is a 6-3 pivot from Karlstad, Sweden, who has a 3-11-14 line in 25 games this year with Orebro of the Swedish Hockey League. Those are solid numbers for an underager at the top level in Sweden, and he's made an impact at the tournament, posting a 2-2-4 line in five games.
Another top player in the 2023 draft, Russian wing Matvei Michkov of Sochi of the KHL, is unable to take part because Russia is not participating.

Prospect Notes

• Speaking of Dumais, not only does he lead the CHL with 68 points this season (27 goals, 41 assists), his line for the calendar year is quite impressive as well. Per CBJ Prospects, Dumais finished 2022 with a 52-85-137 line in 75 games with Halifax of the QMJHL. Dumais currently has six straight multipoint games and eight in his last nine.
• Much has been made of the success of CBJ defensemen Jiricek and Svozil at the World Juniors, as it looks likely both might make the all-tournament team. The Blue Jackets also have drafted two other defensemen in the first round in the past two seasons in Denton Mateychuk (12th overall in 2022) and Corson Ceulemans (25th overall in 2021). So far this year, Mateychuk has a 6-27-33 line and is plus-15 in 31 games with Moose Jaw of the WHL, while Ceulemans has 5-8-13 and is plus-2 in 17 games with the University of Wisconsin.
• Wing James Malatesta, a 2021 fifth-round pick, has continued to be a consistent scorer for Quebec of the QMJHL this year. After 12 goals in the first month of the season, Malatesta is up to 25 on the season, a total that is good for a tie for sixth in the Q.
• Staying in the CHL, center Luca Del Bel Belluz, a 2022 second-round pick, was named the CHL's second star of the night last night after posting two goals and an assist in Mississauga's loss at Oshawa. Del Bel Belluz is up to a 20-21-41 line this season in 34 games with the Steelheads.
• Malatesta and Dumais are on teams that could be in contention for the Memorial Cup, Canada's top junior crown, this season. In the latest CHL team rankings, Malatesta's Quebec Remparts are ranked third, while Dumais' Halifax Mooseheads check in eighth in the rankings.