SvoNotes: Bemstrom returns to Blue Jackets with nothing to lose

SvoNotes is a weekly column posted by BlueJackets.com reporter Jeff Svoboda. It will run each Wednesday during the season.
Over the past three NHL seasons, Emil Bemstrom played 117 games with the Blue Jackets and four with the Cleveland Monsters.
So it was certainly tough news for the Swedish wing when he found out at the end of CBJ training camp that he would be put on waivers for the purpose of being sent to Cleveland to begin the season. Simply put, his spot had been taken by such players as young sniper Yegor Chinakhov and dependable veteran Justin Danforth.
There were two ways Bemstrom could have handled the team's decision to begin him in the minors. He could have sulked or even considered a return to his home country, or he could have put his nose to the grindstone with an eye on making it back to Columbus as quickly as possible.

"This could be a real defining moment for his career," head coach Brad Larsen said in October when the decision was made. "Things change quick. If he doesn't get picked up, within a day he could be back here and thrive. It's how you handle it.
"Adversity, nobody wants to go through it. It's tough. But that's an opportunity to grow. How you handle that as a man and you embrace it and treat it the right way, you have a true opportunity to bust through on the other side of it, and that could be his situation right here."
Fast forward about a month and Bemstrom took the path Larsen had hoped. With seven goals among his 14 points in the first 10 games of the season with the Monsters, Bemstrom was tied for the AHL lead in points Monday when he was recalled to Columbus.
With injuries to wingers Danforth and Jakub Voracek, Bemstrom now has a chance to big minutes for the Jackets starting tomorrow night when Columbus hosts Philadelphia.
All because he looked at the situation and stuck with the plan to get back to where he wants to be.
"There's no way to just feel sorry for yourself and play bad," he said Tuesday in the team locker room. "You have to keep grinding. You want to be here. It takes hard work.
"I told (Larsen) I was going to work my (butt) off every day to get back here, and we are here right now."
That was music to the ears of Larsen, himself a player who swung back and forth between the NHL and AHL in his career. He knows the pain of being called into the coach's office and being told to pack his bags -- but he also knows what it takes to fight through adversity and even use it as a positive.
"I checked in every week with the coaches just to make sure, and his attitude has been tremendous," Larsen said. "He's been great with his teammates. Hardest worker in practice. It translates into games. He handled it the exact way you want to handle that situation, and I'm really proud of him for that."
Larsen said he hopes Bemstrom seizes the opportunity, and Bemstrom skated on the second line with veterans Gustav Nyquist and Jack Roslovic during Wednesday's practice. The head coach also said he hopes Bemstrom returns with some momentum after filling up the stat sheet in Cleveland.
"He deserves to be back," Larsen said. "The report I got is that he's put in a tremendous amount of work. With Bemmer, it's never been a lack of effort. Hopefully he has a little bit of confidence."
Bemstrom came to Columbus for the 2019-20 season coming off a historic performance in the Swedish Hockey League, as he posted 23 goals with Djurgardens to lead the league in tallies as a 19-year-old. He had a bright future, and a lot of that was based around his ability to put the puck in the net.
That offensive explosion hasn't quite happened yet, and in fact, Bemstrom has earned more plaudits for his solid defensive and possession numbers in his NHL career than his scoring stats. Though there have been some high-water marks, including his hat trick late in the 2021 season, Bemstrom boasts a 19-17-36 line in his NHL career to this point.
They aren't bad numbers, especially for someone who is still 23, but the Blue Jackets have long hoped there would be more for someone who brings a big-time shot and plenty of scoring expertise at the AHL, international and overseas levels to the table. The hope is confidence plus experience will help take Bemstrom to another level upon his return.
"I have nothing to lose," Bemstrom said. "I just have to play my game."

Finland Memories

Before it gets too far in the rearview mirror here, how about one last look back on the Blue Jackets' trip to Finland for a pair of games last week in the NHL Global Series.
The on-ice portion of the trip obviously wasn't what the Jackets wanted at the end of the day, with the team dropping decisions of 6-3 and 5-1 to Colorado in games played at Nokia Arena in Tampere, Finland.
At the end of the day, for the team, the trip was about coming home with points, especially as the Jackets have been battling to find traction here in the early going. But we'd be remiss if we didn't thank everyone in both Tampere and Helsinki, where the Jackets stayed the first three nights of the trip, for their hospitality and for an experience that will last a lifetime.
One thing I particularly enjoyed was a trip before Friday's game to the Suomen Jääkiekkomuseo (Finnish Ice Hockey Museum) in downtown Tampere. Housed in the Vapriikki Museum Center right on the edge of the Tammerkoski rapids that bisect the city, the museum features artifacts from throughout the history of Finnish hockey.
The sport has grown rapidly in the Nordic nation for the past 100 years, and hockey has become the unquestioned favorite sport of Finland. The Finnish Liiga has become one of the most respected in the world -- and Tampere is ground zero, where the Tappara/Ilves rivalry is perhaps the fiercest in the country -- and national team success is a particular point of pride in the country
The Hall of Fame itself had plenty of CBJ ties, including former Jackets players Fredrik Norrena and Petteri Nummelin. Three current Blue Jackets staffers -- director of amateur scouting Ville Siren, European development coach Jarkko Ruutu and pro scout Mikko Makela -- are also enshrined, and one has to think CBJ general manager Jarmo Kekalainen will be one day as well given his pioneering role in NHL management.
It was also cool to see former Ohio State women's hockey defenseman Emma (Laaksonen) Terho in the Hall of Fame, as she is not just one of the top Buckeye players of all time but a decorated Olympian with the Finnish national team. Her Buckeye jersey hangs inside the Hall just up the hallway from Patrik Laine's Blue Jackets sweater, perhaps another reminder that Columbus hockey has a worldwide reach.
On top of that, the experience in Nokia Arena was second-to-none, in part because of the spirit of the Finnish fans but also the great work of in-arena host Mike Todd, who made the trip to be the man on the mic for the two games. The welcome at the arena, in Tampere and all throughout the country was something I'll never forget.
The sights and sounds were cool, the food was great, and the people were even better. Kiitos, Finland.

Welcome Back, Torts

John Tortorella is the winningest coach in Blue Jackets history and it's not even that close, to be honest. His 227 victories are exactly 100 more than the next man in line, predecessor Todd Richards, and four of the five Stanley Cup Playoffs berths in team history also occurred under Torts.
I'd expect Tortorella to get a fine welcome from the Nationwide Arena faithful tomorrow night, then, when he returns with Philadelphia. It will be the first time he's occupied the bench in Columbus since he left the ice after the shootout win over Detroit that ended the 2021 season and his tenure with the Jackets, as the team announced a mutual parting of ways the next day.
It was the signal of a new direction for Columbus, and personally, it's great to see Tortorella back in the game after he was on the media side a year ago. Hockey is better with one of its winningest coaches -- and best personalities -- in the game, and his impact on the Blue Jackets and hockey in Columbus will be part of his legacy.
"Behind closed doors," defenseman Zach Werenski said Tuesday, "he is a really good person. He is an awesome guy."
Larsen spent six years as an assistant under Tortorella and said he's excited to see his former bench boss tomorrow. When asked if he knew what Tortorella will say to him, Larsen quipped, "Yep. And I can't repeat it."
Sounds about right.