Summer Spotlight: Bemstrom battled his way back into the lineup

Number: 52

Birth date:June 1, 1999 (age 24)

Birthplace: Nykoping, Sweden

Height, Weight:6-0, 195

2022-23 Stats:55 GP, 7-15-22

Contract:Signed through 2023-24 season (One year remaining until RFA status)

The 2022-23 season wasn't the easiest for Emil Bemstrom, but he persevered through it.

After playing 117 games the previous three seasons with the Blue Jackets, Bemstrom was an odd man out during training camp, being optioned to AHL Cleveland before the start of the campaign.

He'd end up playing the majority of the season with the Blue Jackets, but he did what he had to do when playing for the Monsters, posting a total of 14 goals and 31 points in 21 games with Cleveland.

"The way it went down for him going down, it was a really hard situation, but he handled it really well," head coach Brad Larsen said. "He handled it exactly how you'd want a pro to handle it."

According to Bemstrom, that was his goal as he headed to the minors for an extended period for the first time in his career.

"There's no way to just feel sorry for yourself and play bad," he said. "You have to keep grinding. You want to be here. It takes hard work, you know?"

He put in the work to make it back to Columbus and ended up with the Blue Jackets for the entire second half of the season. The shot that made him the leading goal scorer in the Swedish Hockey League in 2018-19 showed itself at times as Bemstrom notched three power-play goals, and he was on pace to contribute 33 points in 82 games.

Top Moment of 2022-23

At the time, some fans weren't super happy, but all's well that ends well, right? Bemstrom scored a key goal in the penultimate game of the season against rival Pittsburgh, tallying on the power play off a feed from Mikael Pyythia to tie the score at 2 with 3:25 to go. Johnny Gaudreau would go on to win the game in overtime as the Blue Jackets got a victory for the final time in the 2022-23 season. Some fans were rooting for the draft position at the end of the year, but looking back, it's fair to say things worked out pretty well for Columbus now that Adam Fantilli is in town.

Bemstrom's Top Highlights

Video: Emil Bemstrom's top plays of 2022-23

Stat to Know

One has to remember that Bemstrom was a fourth-round draft pick in the 2017 selection process, and the reality is not a ton of players taken that late even make it to the NHL, so in some ways, he's already beaten the odds. For example, while he was chosen 117th overall by the Blue Jackets, Bemstrom sits 26th in points among those selected that year, and he's third among players chosen after the first two rounds. Of players chosen in the third round or later that year, Bemstrom trails only Ottawa's Drake Batherson and Carolina draft pick Morgan Geekie, who has played for both the Canes and Seattle.

2023-24 Expectations

It feels like another big year for Bemstrom, who has never quite developed into the big-time goal scorer the Blue Jackets hoped he could be after his excellent production in Sweden in the early days of his career. What he is, though, is a dependable player who has boasted solid defensive numbers throughout his career while also still chipping in offense at times. It's also left him as a bit of a tweener, though, who has struggled to carve out a role at times. Is there more offense in him? If there is, he can earn more time and more opportunities with the Blue Jackets.

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