Blue Jackets trim six more from roster

The Columbus Blue Jackets trimmed six more players from its pre-season trainining camp roster Sunday (Oct. 4) after wrapping up a 5-2-1 pre-season run.

The team re-assigned forwards Kerby Rychel and Markus Hannikainen along with defenseman Dean Kukan to the Lake Erie Monsters while forward Michael Chaput and defenders Andrew Bodnarchuk  and Justin Falk were issued releases with the purpose of clearing waivers and moving to the Monsters as well.

Rychel, a 21-year-old, 6’1, 203 lbs left winger from Los Angeles, CA was selected in the First Round, 19th Overall of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft by the Blue Jackets.

He wrapped up a successful junior career with Mississauga St. Mike’s Majors; Windsor Spitfires and Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League in the 2013-14 season and last year played five games with the Jackets as well as 51 at Springfield Falcons, the former AHL affiliate of the Blue Jackets. With the Falcons, he racked up 33 points (12g, 21a) and 43 penalty minutes, finishing the campaign as a +7 on the ice. He also picked up three assists, a minor penalty and a +3 rating in his five games with the big team.

Hannikainen, a 22-year-old, 6’2,” 190 lbs. forward from Helsinki, Finland. He played all of his junior with the Jokerit organization in Finland and has played on a few pro teams in the Finnish Elite League as well.

Last season, Hannikainen played 60 games with JYP in Jyvaskyla, Finland, collecting 46 points (19g, 27a) and 51 penalty minutes and finishing the season with a +22 rating. In a dozen playoff matches he added another nine points (4g, 5a) and six penalty minutes, finishing as a +2.

Hannikainen will be making his North American debut with the Monsters.

Kukan, 22, is a 6’2,” 209 lbs.defenseman from Zurcih, Switzerland. He will also be making his North American debut having already put together a long resume of  elite junior and pro with several Swiss teams.

Last season Kukan played 52 games with Lulea, putting up 13 points (3g, 10a) and 14 penalty minutes and finishing the regular season with a +2 rating.

He also played in 13 International games representing Swistzerland including three at the World Championships last spring.

Chaput, a 23-year-old, 6’1,” 196 lbs. forward from Montreal, QC was selected in the Third Round (89th Overall) of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers. He was traded to the Blue Jackets along with Greg Moore for Tom Sestito while still playing junior the following year.

He wrapped up a four year junior career with the Lewiston Maineiacs and Shawinigan Cataractes of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in the spring of 2012 and since then has appeared in 50 games with the Blue Jackets and 180 at Springfield.

Last season, Chaput picked up five points (1g, 4a) in 33 games with the Blue Jackets and added another 21 points (10g, 11a) in 45 games at Springfield.

Bodnarchuk, a 27-year-old, 5’10,” 190 lbs. defenseman from Drumheller, AB, was selected in the Fifth Round (128th Overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by the Boston Bruins. He was signed this summer as a free agent by the Blue Jackets.

Bodnarchuk played three seasons with the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior League, his final season (2007-08) as team captain.

Since then Bodnarchuk has appeared in five NHL games and another 480 in the American Hockey League, first with the Providence Bruins and then with the Manchester Monarchs where last season he won a Calder Cup Championship in his second season as that team’s Assistant Captain.

In 61 regular season games last year, Bodnarchuk totalled 25 points (5g, 20a) and 84 penalty minutes and he finished the season with a +12 rating. In the post season he played another 19 games, collecting six assists and 14 penalty minutes and finishing with a +8 rating and a ring on his finger.

Falk, a 27-year-old, 6’5,” 216 lbs. defenseman from Snowflake, MB was selected in the Fourth Round (110th Overall) of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft by the Minnesota Wild.

Last March Falk came to the Blue Jackets in a trade along with a Fifth Round pick in this past summer’s NHL draft (Veeti Vainio) for defenseman Jordan Leopold.

Falk played parts of four seasons in the Western Hockey League with the Calgary Hitmen and Spokane Chiefs before turning pro with the Houston Aeros for the 2006-07 season. Since then, the has appeared in 147 NHL contests with the Wild, New York Rangers and last season with the Blue Jackets as well as 235 contests in the American Hockey League.

Last season saw Falk playing in 39 games with the Iowa Wild where he collected seven points (1g, 6a) and 34 penalty minutes as well as 13 games with the Minnesota Wild where he picked up seven penalty minutes and finally, five games with the Blue Jackets where he totalled two points (1g, 1a) and seven penalty minutes.

These moves leave the Blue Jackets with 25 players which means at least one will need to be moved before the team opens the regular season on Thursday (Oct. 8).