CBJ assign Kivlenieks to AHL Cleveland Monsters

The Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled goaltender Cam Johnson to the club's taxi squad and assigned goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks from the taxi squad to the Cleveland Monsters, the club's American Hockey League affiliate, Blue Jackets General Manager and Alternate Governor Jarmo Kekalainen announced today.
Johnson, 26, has gone 11-16-5 with a 3.80 goals-against average, .873 save percentage and one shutout in 32 career AHL games with the Binghamton Devils and 23-11-2 with a 2.28 GAA, .926 SV% and five shutouts in 38 career ECHL contests since 2018. This season, he has posted a 6-1-0 record with a 1.77 GAA, .941 SV% and two SO in seven games with the ECHL's Florida Everblades.
The Troy, Michigan native played four seasons at the University of North Dakota from 2014-18, compiling a 56-26-12 record, 2.10 GAA, .914 SV% and 12 shutouts in 102 career outings. In 2015-16, he went 24-4-2 with a 1.66 GAA, .935 SV% and five SO in 34 games to lead the Fighting Hawks to the NCAA championship. He earned NCAA West Second Team All-American honors and was named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team that year.
Kivlenieks, 24, went 1-1-2 with a 2.95 GAA and .898 SV% in six games with the Blue Jackets in 2019-20, including a 31-save performance to beat the New York Rangers, 2-1, at Madison Square Garden in his NHL debut on Jan. 19, 2020. He also posted a 9-8-3 mark with a 2.96 GAA, .904 SV% and one shutout in 20 games with the Monsters last season.
Signed by Columbus as a free agent on May 25, 2017, the Riga, Latvia native has gone 27-33-8 with a 3.23 GAA, .892 SV% and three shutouts in 77 career AHL games over the past three seasons. In 2016-17, he was the United States Hockey League's Most Valuable Player and Most Valuable Goaltender after going 36-7-6 with a 1.85 GAA, .932 SV% and five shutouts with Sioux City.
The Blue Jackets return to action on Tuesday when they host the Dallas Stars. Game time from Nationwide Arena is 7 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast live on FOX Sports Ohio and the FOX Sports Go app with coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m. with the "Blue Jackets Live" pre-game show. It will also be broadcast on the Eldorado Gaming Scioto Downs Blue Jackets Radio Network, including flagship station 97.1 The Fan in Columbus.