Jordan Dumais
had no doubt he was poised for another strong season when he returned to Halifax of the QMJHL after his time at Columbus Blue Jackets training camp ended.
So forgive the forward prospect for not being overly impressed when asked about his outstanding start to the season.
Dumais scored one goal and had two assists in Halifax's 3-2 win against Val-D'Or on Friday, giving him 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists) during a season-opening 11-game point streak. He also had a five-point game (four goals, one assist) against Acadie-Bathurst on Oct. 23.
"If I'm being honest, yeah," Dumais said when asked if he expected this kind of start. "I worked really hard in the summer and to be honest it's hard work paying off."
The Blue Jackets appreciate Dumais' attitude.
"It's a quiet confidence and not an arrogant confidence, which is always a good trait," Blue Jackets player development coach Derek Dorsett said. "He's a kid that believes in himself, which is awesome. Obviously, that's a good trait to have, that belief in yourself, belief that you can do the things that you want to get done."
Dumais was third in the QMJHL last season with 109 points (39 goals, 70 assists) in 68 games. After the Blue Jackets selected him in the third round (No. 96) of the 2022 NHL Draft he said his biggest focus during the offseason was improving his skating.
"Just working on my stride," he said. "I definitely feel better and faster, but it's also from getting bigger in the gym and maturing too."
Dumais also got to see what pro hockey was like during his time with Columbus, including playing 9:13 of ice time in a 4-2 preseason loss to the St. Louis Blues on Sept. 29.
"Everyone's bigger, faster, and you go on the ice with them and you realize it's a bit different," he said. "Faster, stronger, and everyone's mature. ... I know it wasn't an NHL game, but when you go into one of those games you realize what it's like. The pace of the game, it's obviously a lot different than junior hockey. You go into the game just learning and just watching them but even being on the ice changes you a lot."
For Dumais (5-foot-8, 169 pounds), those changes need to be getting stronger to be able to have success in the NHL. It's something he understands, and something the Blue Jackets underlined for him before he left Columbus.
"It's pretty obvious," he said. "My whole life I've been trying to do that anyway ... There's a lot of times during the season just to get better and stronger, make sure you don't waste your time there and try to get bigger, faster, all those things."
The physical changes for Dumais will be key to any future NHL success. His attitude already is in a good place.
"Him being a smaller guy and having that chip on his shoulder that he's going to prove people that size doesn't matter, I love that mentality," Dorsett said. "There probably have been a lot of people along the way that have doubted him and he's proving people wrong. The numbers he's put up thus far and last year is just incredible. And obviously we're happy that we got him and we're going to have a chance to work with him and try and make them real successful NHL player."
