Brendan Gaunce spent a lot of time on Interstate 71 this past year after splitting his season with the Blue Jackets between Columbus and the AHL's Cleveland Monsters, the top farm team in the organization.
With 39 games in Cleveland under his belt to start the season, Gaunce posted a 16-12-28 line including four power-play goals. Then in his 30 games with the Blue Jackets, his most in an NHL season since 2017-18 with Vancouver, he finished with NHL single-season career highs in goals (five) and points (points) on only 8:06 of ice time per game.
"He has impressed me," Brad Larsen said late in the season. "He is a good-sized guy who can skate. He has good skills with the puck, not just scoring, but he distributes. As long as the work is there and he's mindful of certain areas -- you have to manage the puck -- I think he's a real effective player."
A first-round pick in the 2012 draft, Gaunce signed a two-year, two-way NHL/AHL extension in June.
Despite playing in only 148 career NHL games, Gaunce has valuable experience and has some hardware to show for it. He spent his 2020-21 season in the Swedish Hockey League with the Vaxjo Lakers, a move he credits with helping to rekindle his game. In 30 games between the regular season and playoffs, he combined for a 8-11-19 line en route to winning the SHL championship.