Summer Spotlight: Cole Sillinger

Number:34
Birth date: May 16, 2003 (age 19)
Birthplace: Columbus, Ohio
Height, Weight:6-0, 201
Stats: 79 GP, 16-15-31
Contract:Signed through 2023-24 season (Two years remaining until RFA status)

Looking back, not even Brad Larsen could have predicted how the 2021-22 season would go for Cole Sillinger.
There were whispers early on that Sillinger, who grew up with a stick in his hand as the son of an NHL player and the youngest of three hockey-playing brothers, might have what it takes to stick with the Blue Jackets as an 18-year-old rookie. But it's Larsen's job to coach the team, not listen to the hype, and logic told the CBJ head coach that such a young center would have a hard time sticking all season long.
As such, Larsen went into the campaign expecting to send Sillinger back to junior hockey at some point during training camp or early in the season. Instead, all Sillinger did was not just stay with the Blue Jackets all season, he scored the third most goals of a CBJ rookie in the team's history.
"What he did as an 18-year-old, that's a pretty special year," Larsen said. "We joked about it early on, but I was actually very serious -- I tried many times to get him out of here. I did. I said, 'I need to get you out of here,' but he wouldn't go away. He would not go away, this kid, and made our team. And if you talk to him, he had a lot of ups and downs too, a lot of peaks and valleys. When you talk about that trajectory curve, he's still he's young but he's one of the guys that we're very excited about, obviously."
Sillinger ended up playing in all but three games, and his 16 goals as a rookie trail only Pierre-Luc Dubois (20) and Rick Nash (17) in team annals. Three of his tallies were game winners, and Sillinger led the Blue Jackets in individual scoring chances per 60 minutes at 5-on-5, per Natural Stat Trick. On top of that, he was lauded throughout the year for his effort and defensive knowledge, putting himself in the right spot to make plays in all three zones.

Top Moment of 2021-22

You could pick so many, and it's hard not to go with his first NHL goal in just his fourth game and the fantastic celebration that followed. But we'll go with his hat trick against Vegas on March 13 that helped push Columbus to an 6-4 win. Sillinger scored in the first then notched back-to-back goals in the second, making him just the fifth Blue Jackets rookie and the second youngest Columbus player to post three goals in a game. On top of it, he became the first 18-year-old to notch a hat trick in the NHL since Patrik Laine in 2017 when the CBJ standout was with Winnipeg.

A Sillinger Highlight

Stat to Know

It's hard to really put Sillinger's debut season into the proper context, and his offensive numbers as an 18-year-old compare favorably to those put up by such top overall picks as Nash or burgeoning New Jersey standout Jack Hughes. But hopefully this will help -- just seven players from the 2021 draft played in the NHL a season ago, and only two of them saw action in more than 10 games a season ago. Sillinger skated in 79, while Arizona defenseman Janis Moser played in 43. Simply put, his season was so far ahead of the curve that it's almost laughable.

2022-23 Expectations

Sillinger might be the most fascinating Blue Jackets player going into the season. Will a sophomore slump be in the offing, or will he continue his upward trajectory into being a center who can impose his will on the game across all 200 feet of ice? It seems like it would be a big mistake to bet against him given what he accomplished this past season, and it wouldn't be a huge surprise to see him make another jump into being a top-six center who doesn't look out of place with the team's impressive arsenal of attacking talent. No matter how it breaks down, the Blue Jackets are lucky to have Sillinger on their side. The future couldn't be much brighter for someone who seems like he's going to be a standout in this league for a long, long time.