With his dad, Mike playing with twelve different teams throughout his 17 year career in the NHL, there was a decent chance Cole Sillinger would be playing with his one his former teams to start his career.
That’s exactly what happened to the younger Sillinger when he was drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round of the 2021 NHL Draft.
In his first training camp with the Blue Jackets, the former Medicine Hat Tiger would make the team and would go to enjoy a very successful season.
Sillinger’s rookie campaign ended with him scoring 16 goals. His first goal will always carry significant meaning, which happened on October 21 when the Blue Jackets were meeting the New York Islanders.
“I was looking across at the faceoff against Barzal, I thought that was a cool moment, ended up beating him in the faceoff, we just chipped the puck in, and then it was kind of a cycle and then there was a change, I just got the puck and I actually brought it to the middle, I made a little toe drag move and made a good backhand, I thought that was going to go in and then the crowd got on their feet and I missed, I exited the zone while the play was in the corner and I came to the middle of the ice and Gavrikov, Vladislav Gavrikov our d-man there, he had a great backhand pass and I couldn’t miss it, it was an easy one, it was a freebie, it’s a goal that I will never forgot. ”
Even though the 19 year old is the son of a former NHLer, he found himself starstruck on a couple of occasions during his first season in the NHL. He added that throughout the year to tried to keep himself in the moment and tried not to be overwhelmed. Sillinger believes that mentality was a big reason for his success last season.
Probably the most shocking news in the NHL over the last few weeks was Johnny Gaudreau electing to leave $15 million on the table from a long term offer from the Calgary Flames to join Columbus. The Regina product believes the reason that “Johnny Hockey” decided to take his services to the Ohio capital was because there are several great things within the organization, which begins with its fanbase.
“We were out of the playoffs and still had 15 games or 12-15 games and they were still on their feet, sold out every night, rocking.”
Along with the strong fanbase, the tight knit locker room is another excellent trait of the Blue Jackets team and Sillinger thinks Gaudreau signed with Columbus because he believes they are a team that’s on the rise.
Now that he has experienced a full season, Sillinger is looking to follow up with his initial success with a stronger second season, and part of that he noted is getting stronger off the ice. On the ice, Sillinger is looking to working on the smaller details of the game and improving in areas including faceoffs and defensive technique.
Columbus begins their season on October 12, when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes.
