The Blue Jackets’ opening night roster is up to speculation at this point in training camp, and the fourth-line left wing spot is one of the more intriguing ones that is up for grabs.
A wrist injury suffered by Justin Danforth has opened up a spot on the fourth line, with Owen Sillinger and Dylan Gambrell lining up the most in training camp alongside veterans Sean Kuraly and Mathieu Olivier.
Sillinger is a familiar face, spending the last three seasons with team’s top affiliate in Cleveland. Now, he has an opportunity to break through and join his brother, Cole, in the NHL.
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Now 27 years old, Owen Sillinger signed his first contract with an NHL team during this offseason and said it was a big moment for him and his family.
“To sign that deal on July 1 here with Columbus is massive,” he said. “I was very excited. My family is proud of myself, and I was proud of myself as well.”
Going into this preseason, he was determined to do everything he could to stay in Columbus for the regular season.
“I'm just trying to do everything I can day by day. Soak in all the details, soak up all the knowledge,” Sillinger said. “Lean on my peers, lean on my teammates and just do the best I can.”
This includes him showcasing his versatility on the ice. In training camp, he has played in both the left wing spot and as a center. He said in recent years that was something he had to get used to with the Monsters.
“'I’m comfortable in all three positions up front there,” Sillinger said. “For the past three seasons I've been playing pro, I've been all over the map, as far as left wing, center, right wing. It doesn't really matter to me. I feel like I can play anywhere from the first line to the fourth line. Seriously, whatever the team needs me to do to win hockey games.”
A season ago, Sillinger was a major contributor to the Monsters’ Calder Cup playoff run as he helped lead them to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final. He finished with three goals – including two game-winning tallies in the opening series win vs. Belleville – and three assists in 14 games.
Sillinger said that he learned a lot during the postseason and it helped further his game.
“It was just maturity, with puck decisions and what you can and can’t get away with,” he said. “Learning how to win hockey games, learning how to win games 2-1 and 1-0.”
Sillinger certainly comes from a hockey family – in addition to Cole, his father, Mike, played 17 NHL seasons and his brother, Lukas, is a senior at Arizona State – but his road to an NHL contract was a long one. After three seasons with Penticton of the BCHL, he played four years of NCAA hockey at Bemidji State – two of them with Lukas – and was one of the top scorers in college as a senior with 47 points in 39 games.
He then signed with the Monsters and has been a mainstay in Cleveland since, scoring 11 goals with 40 points a season ago. He also brings a physical nature, tying for the CBJ lead in Saturday night's preseason game with five hits.
While he’s had the opportunity to play preseason games with Cole before and the two were Monsters teammates in 2022-23, this year is his best chance to join Cole full-time in the NHL.
“It's obviously pretty special,” Owen said. "Cole is my brother, my friend, and hopefully he's gonna be my teammate here pretty soon. We just kind of allow each other to make mistakes and learn from each other and learn from our teammates.”
Cole Sillinger echoed his brother's thoughts about how he is excited for the day they get to share the ice for a regular season NHL game.
“It's what we've dreamed of to hopefully play together in the NHL one day,” Cole said. “He's got a great opportunity for that. He's working extremely hard. He's a super focused and dedicated guy, so we'll see.”
