Werenski has been everywhere for the Blue Jackets

With his nearly ever-present smile and joie de vivre, Kirill Marchenko has drawn comparisons to the football-loving Danny Rojas from the show Ted Lasso.

But there’s another Blue Jackets player – at least in style of play, not temperament – that could also draw a comparison to a player on the show.

“He’s here, he’s there, he’s every ... where,” was the supporters’ chant for do-it-all midfielder-turned-coach Roy Kent. (Viewers of the show know there’s a certain word also in there that we can’t publish on a family website.)

In the early throes of the 2024-25 season, that applies to Zach Werenski, the All-Star defenseman who it could fairly be said is playing the best hockey of his career to start the campaign.

It’s not just in the statistics, though those are plenty impressive, as he has two goals and four assists plus 23 shots on goal – fourth among NHL blueliners – through six games. It’s in the fact that, spurred on by a new system under head coach Dean Evason that preaches getting defensemen into the mix offensively, Werenski is free to go anywhere on the ice to make a play.

So far, he’s taken full advantage of the opportunity.

“It feels really good,” Werenski said. “I think our system allows that obviously. He wants us to be aggressive. I think we’ve been really good defensively as a team. Myself, we’ve done well in our end, so it allows us to play offense. We’ve closed down plays quickly, we’ve broken the puck out really clean. That just allows you to jump and play offense. I think starting in the D-zone to the neutral zone to the offensive zone, it’s going well right now, so it’s easy for me.”

That was on full display in Tuesday night’s victory against Toronto in which Werenski had a pair of assists, both by pushing the play. On Justin Danforth’s goal in the first period, he intercepted a pass at his own blue line, immediately hit the jets and got into the offensive zone and then threaded a pass between three Maple Leafs defenders to set up the tally from the right circle.

In the second period, he helped the Blue Jackets increase their lead to 4-0, taking a pass from Damon Severson at his own blue line, cutting around a defender and hitting Kirill Marchenko in open ice. Marchenko then sped into the zone and fired a shot that ended with Sean Monahan putting the rebound into the back of the net.

On the season, with Werenski on the ice at 5-on-5, the Blue Jackets have controlled the puck, outshooting opponents 75-56 per Natural Stat Trick. For Werenski, the key to his ability to join the offense is the fact that he’s been good in the defensive zone, breaking the puck out along with partner Ivan Provorov and not having to spend long periods of time defending.

While it may conjure memories of when Werenski was a so-called rover under head coach John Tortorella, he said the major difference is his play in the defensive zone.

“I’m definitely more responsible defensively right now,” Werenski said. “There’s still stuff to clean up, but I feel like I’m way farther ahead defensively than I was even a year ago coming back from injury. I feel like I'm just seeing the ice a lot better. My reads are better.

‘It feels like (my early years) in a sense of like the offensive side, but I feel like I'm not letting it take away from my defense, and that’s super important. I’ve worked at that for a while now, so hopefully I continue doing that all year.”

And when he does have the puck, Werenski feels more confident than ever he can put it in the net. That’s saying something for a defenseman who led the NHL with 20 goals from the blue line in 2019-20, but a change in sticks this offseason from an 85 flex to a 95 – which provides more stiffness – and a new curve has made a world of difference with his shot.

It could have been a big change, but after working out with Nashville defenseman Roman Josi – one of the NHL’s top-scoring defensemen – Werenski made the switch and hasn’t looked back.

“I didn’t love my sticks last year,” Werenski said. “For some reason last year, I couldn’t find a grip on them. We tried a bunch of different sticks, and I just couldn’t find it. The week before I came back (to Columbus), Josi came to Michigan to skate and I just liked the curve of his stick. I texted the CCM guy to see if I could try it. They sent me two Josi sticks, actually. I tried it once and I looked at (equipment managers Dustin Halstead and Jamie Healy) and said, ‘I’m switching. That’s it.’ It took me one skate and I was certain.

“I was just done trying stuff over the summer. I was like, this is the stick I’m using. It felt right. I really like it. Josi is using it, (NHL leading goal scorer Auston) Matthews uses the same curve. If guys like that are using it and it’s working for them, I feel like I could do it too.”

There’s one more component of Werenski’s game that is also coming together, and that’s from a leadership standpoint. He’s always been a lead-by-example type of player, but Werenski has become more and more vocal in the CBJ room over the years.

That’s taken on added importance this season with captain Boone Jenner and fellow alternate Erik Gudbranson on the shelf with long-term injuries.

“He’s just a calm leader,” head coach Dean Evason said. “He just works, goes about his business. Doesn’t say a whole lot. He’s very quiet in that regard, as far as verbalizing things. But you watch him when he walks through the room, he has a stature about him. Same as on the ice. He’s the guy.”