Development camp notebook: Fisher family goes through a whirlwind

Tim Fisher just couldn't stay home.
The father of Blue Jackets seventh-round draft pick James Fisher went through a whirlwind few days in the first half of July, just like his son. The Fisher family drove to Montreal for the draft that began with the first round July 7, then James was taken with the 203rd overall pick a day later.

After celebrating that night in Quebec, the family returned home July 9 to the Boston area, where James grabbed his gear and flew to Columbus for the team's development camp July 11-13.
Tim wasn't necessarily going to join in Ohio, but as he sat at home on Sunday, July 10, the itch was there. Quickly, a plane ticket was booked, and Tim was a constant presence at OhioHealth Chiller North for the Jackets' three-day camp.
"I wasn't planning on it," the elder Fisher said about coming to Columbus. "And then Sunday I was sitting around my house and thinking I had watched everything he's done in hockey since he was 6 years old and thought I can't miss this. So I hopped on a plane and was here by 8 o'clock that night."
The younger Fisher was happy to have the family support during his first trip to Columbus to don the union blue, but most of the excitement came on the ice. A product of the Belmont Hill School in suburban Boster, Fisher was the third-youngest player at the camp at 18 years old and spent last season skating against high schoolers.
In Columbus, the competition was much different -- and much more experienced, to say the least, with a handful of pro players even on the ice.
"I think it was definitely a huge jump, but I'm right there with everyone," he said. "It was a lot of fun. Playing against those guys is just going to make you better. It was awesome. It was a great experience.
"You come out here and you're facing guys that have played World Juniors, pro hockey, college hockey. You can see how bad they want to win. You just have to want it more. If I go into the corner with a guy who might be a little bigger than me, that compete has to be there. It was a big jump, but it was a great learning phase for me."
Fisher will now head to Youngstown of the USHL for the upcoming season before playing college hockey at Northeastern University in his hometown. But for a few days, he got the chance to put on a CBJ jersey with his fellow NHL hopefuls less than a week after being drafted.
"It was awesome," Fisher said. "These guys are from all over the place, but we all come to Columbus, you're one big group, one family, a bunch of Blue Jackets. It was awesome to meet a lot of characters and personalities. It was fun."

Bjork Makes An Appearance

The Blue Jackets entered last season with just two right-shot defensemen on the roster in youngsters Andrew Peeke and Adam Boqvist, and while handedness is not an end-all, be-all trait for the CBJ when it comes to blueliners, there does seem to have been a focus on bringing more of those players into the organization.
Columbus signed Nick Blankenburg out of the University of Michigan late last season, then drafted David Jiricek at No. 6 overall and added Erik Gudbranson in free agency from Calgary.
But an under-the-radar move came in late May when the Blue Jackets signed 24-year-old Swedish defenseman Marcus Bjork as well. And whereas Fisher was among the youngest players at the team's development camp, Bjork was the second-oldest player there behind just Owen Sillinger.
"I'm like a father out there," Bjork joked. "It's fun."
Columbus invited Bjork to the camp just so the two sides could become more familiar with each other in person, as the defenseman got a chance to see the city as well as meet the team's coaching staff.
Bjork brings good size to the table at 6-3, 203 pounds, and he's totaled a 6-25-31 line in 103 games over the past two seasons with Byrnas of the Swedish Hockey League. The Blue Jackets liked what they saw, and there was already familiarity there given the fact CBJ director of pro scouting Josef Boumedienne was Byrnas' interim coach at the end of the 2020-21 season. Blue Jackets scouts, including Boumedienne and GM Jarmo Kekalainen, watched Bjork play about five or six games a season ago.
"They want players like me -- defensemen who want to play the puck, to handle the puck," Bjork said. "Josef and Jarmo watched me this season, and they love how I've developed my game. It was easy to sign."
Bjork says while he boasted more of an offensive game when he was younger, he has focused in recent years on the defensive side of the puck. That's helped make him an SHL regular for the last four seasons, but Bjork said his dream is to make it at the NHL level.
He returned home to Sweden after the camp but pledges to return to Columbus ready to battle for a spot on the team's blue line this season.
"I want to play," he said. "I am not going to sit around; I want to have a spot. I am going to have a good summer back home now and get ready for it and then see what happens. Of course I want a spot, but it's going to be hard. There's a lot of good players in Columbus."

A Good Home

Due to a renovation project to the team's weight room and training facilities under way at Nationwide Arena, the Jackets set up shop for the three-day camp at OhioHealth Chiller North in Lewis Center.
Since May, Chiller North has housed on- and off-ice workouts, equipment storage and player rehabilitation for the Blue Jackets, with CBJ players sharing the facility with youth camps, skating classes and anyone else from the Columbus community who has a need for ice. With three NHL-sized rinks, 15 dressing rooms and a private second-story viewing area, Chiller North has been a perfect choice for the temporary housing.
"Oh, this is neat," Chiller North operations director Jason Beebee said. "To have the Columbus NHL team here doing this camp, seeing some of the players that have been walking in and out … this is neat. The Chillers have really grown because of the Blue Jackets, and so having them spend some time here, this is neat."
Chiller North has hosted development camp and catered to the needs of the Jackets all summer while still maintaining their day-to-day ice availability.
"This is just another challenge for us," Beebee added proudly.
In 1993, the first Chiller facility opened in Dublin (only five current Blue Jackets were alive at that time). Since then, there are now seven rinks operated under the Chiller name: North, Dublin, Easton, Ice Works (Worthington), the Ice Haus (Downtown), Springfield and Taft Coliseum at the Ohio Fairgrounds.
"Basically anything ice sports related," Beebee said, "we want people to think of the Chiller ice rinks."
If you walk into a Chiller on any given day, you can see figure skating, synchronized skating, sled hockey, speed skating (Easton) and curling (Springfield), as well as youth, high school, adult league and (now) even Columbus Blue Jackets hockey.

No More Mr. Nice Guy

It's always fun to catch up with Ole Bjorgvik-Holm, the 2020 fifth-round pick from Norway who brings personality in spades.
Simply put, he's a great guy to talk to, which made it a bit funny when he was asked about the price of adding more physical play to his game. Bjorgvik-Holm has a big body (6-3, 194) and has been told that will be part of his meal ticket to the NHL, but that carries with it the fact he might have to step up and drop the gloves occasionally.
In fact, he fought three times last year while playing with Mississauga of the OHL, which led a writer to joke that Bjorgvik-Holm's personality doesn't make him seem like too much of a fighter.
"You don't think so?" he said. "I am a nice guy, but I am also very competitive, and I want to do whatever it takes for our team to win. Whatever I can bring to the table, I bring it."
Bjorgvik-Holm was a big presence for the Steelheads, one of the best teams in the OHL last year, posting a 3-10-13 line and earning 82 penalty minutes in 54 games. Likely now Cleveland-bound for the upcoming season, the defenseman said he watches a lot of Calder Trophy winner Moritz Seider of Detroit and tries to pattern his game as someone who stars in the defensive zone but can add some offense as well.
"You just have to be reliable when the coach puts you out in the defensive zone so he knows what he's going to get," Bjorgvik-Holm said. "Just be reliable, be a good defensive player. You have the forwards to score goals. Obviously it's cool to help out once in a while, but mainly take care of the defense and be the quarterback back there and see the play develop and talk a lot and just make it easy on each other."
He was also happy to watch the CBJ draft, which saw the Blue Jackets draft his Mississauga teammate, center Luca Del Bel Belluz, with a second-round pick. Bjorgvik-Holm raved about the young pivot's skill and personality off the ice, noting it was a "really good draft pick."
Did he tell that to Kekalainen?
"No, I didn't," Bjorgvik-Holm said with a laugh. "But actually, Rick Nash would come out and see me (in Mississauga) and he would obviously see Luca and also see (Montreal second-round pick) Owen Beck. I spoke with Rick about it. I said, 'This guy, he's legit. Good guy, working hard off the ice.' It's good to have him here."
Tyler Mordarski contributed to this report.