When Blue Jackets fans think of Mathieu Olivier, the first thing that might come to mind is him handling some of the toughest customers in the NHL the past few seasons.
It’s how the broad-shouldered wing has made a name for himself around the league, but it’s not all that Olivier brings to the table. He’s proved it the first nine games of the Blue Jackets season, in which he’s scored four goals to help the team to a 5-3-1 start.
While those numbers might catch some CBJ fans by surprise considering Olivier’s career high is the five goals he’s tallied each of the past two seasons, those in the locker room have long known about his ability to put the puck in the net.
“He’s got a sneaky skill set,” Zach Werenski said. “We see it in practice every day. I feel like fans don’t really know that. He scores a lot in shooting drills. In 2-on-1s, he’s always shooting the puck and scoring. We see it pretty frequently in practice. I’m not surprised by it, but the average fan might be a little bit. But he does it every day in this building and he works really hard at it, so I’m happy for him.”
In other words, it’s no coincidence that Olivier is off to a strong start on the score sheet, adding two assists for six points on the campaign. This summer, the 27-year-old got to work to improve his offensive game and also made a few equipment tweaks, all in an effort to round out his game.
Standing 6-1 with broad shoulders and plenty of muscle, he already knew he had the physical stature to handle the best in the game from that standpoint. After spending last summer continuing to rehab after suffering a broken tibia late in the 2022-23 season, he was also fully healthy this offseason when he returned home to train in Quebec City.
So this offseason afforded him the opportunity to add to his toolbox, and having scored 27 goals his final year of junior hockey in the QMJHL, he knows there’s some ability to put the puck in the net in his repertoire. While many of his goals are of the greasy variety, including a tap-in at the side of the net during Monday’s 6-1 win over Edmonton, he’s also shown a shot that can beat goalies, such as the 86.5-mph wrister on a 2-on-1 that got by Toronto goalie Dennis Hildeby.