The Columbus Blue Jackets and their fans have waited for Emil Bemstrom’s best ever since he joined the team. A constant source of frustration for many fans, he has struggled with finding consistency in his game for long stretches.
It may only be the preseason but there are some signs of confidence in Bemstrom that are encouraging. He stood out on Tuesday night at Enterprise Center in St. Louis. The Blue Jackets may have lost the game 3-2. But Bemstrom showed what he could do when things are going his way.
Increased Confidence
Bemstrom scored both Blue Jackets’ goals. However, this only tells part of the story. It was not only the way he was scoring the goals. It was also the other things he was doing when he was on the ice. He played like someone who wanted to make a difference. He was dialed in.
On his first goal, Bemstrom picked his spot and snapped it over Blues’ goaltender Jordan Binnington. It was a snipe. It’s the kind of shot that has been far too uncommon for someone who has this weapon in his arsenal. Few goalies were stopping that shot.
Then later on with the Blue Jackets trailing 3-1, Bemstrom took charge. On the man advantage, he wanted the puck. He kept shooting it until he got his desired outcome. He slapped one past Malcolm Subban to get the Blue Jackets within 3-2. Although they couldn’t tie the game, Bemstrom showed a level of confidence that bodes well for him making this team.
That confidence carried over to the rest of his game. The Blue Jackets flat out dominated the Blues for most of the game from a possession standpoint. Bemstrom in particular was in position all night to make plays and keep possession. Overall, it was one of his better games in terms of overall impact.
Coach Pascal Vincent was very impressed with Bemstrom on Tuesday night. Here’s what he had to say to the media postgame about that performance.
“He impressed me. The two shots were amazing, don’t get me wrong,” Vincent said of Bemstrom. “But his tracking, his involvement, trying to execute the system that we’re trying to implement to me was even more impressive than his two goals. Good for him. That’s how you build confidence. Tonight it was really impressive.”
Bemstrom told the media that it’s a focus of his to shoot more when given the chance. He admitted he had about 10-12 shot attempts on Sunday in Pittsburgh although he didn’t score. The one thing that’s clear so far in a small sample size is that he’s on a mission to show everyone what he is capable of. He demonstrated a willingness to take the new system to heart and it has yielded promising results.
Bemstrom’s next task is to build off of Tuesday’s performance and string some good games together. He is in a dogfight for one of the last roster spots out of camp. More games like this will make it hard to leave him off come opening night.
Bemstrom’s Chances of Making Team
We’ll touch more on this when our roster 2.0 drops on Sunday after the game against the Buffalo Sabres. But one has to think Bemstrom is going to make it hard on the Blue Jackets to waive him.
Bemstrom cleared waivers and played in the AHL last season. He enjoyed success in Cleveland while rediscovering some confidence. He’s now looking to take the next step to be an everyday contributor at the NHL level.
While Bemstrom has gotten ample top-six time in this preseason, the decision will involve the bottom-six and who is most deserving of being there. The goals are a nice benefit. But if he plays defense like he is, he could have an inside track to making the team.
A couple of factors are worth monitoring when it comes to the last few roster spots. First, what is the waivers status of a player? Then who stood out the most in camp to be deserving? It’s no guarantee Bemstrom goes unclaimed should the Blue Jackets waive him. Expect him to play in an upcoming game or two as a final measure of where he’s at. Should he thrive again, we may need to start considering him as one of the 23 to make the team.
As for Bemstrom’s chances to make the Blue Jackets, it feels higher now than at the start of camp. Nothing is settled with four games yet to play. But players have to make an impression. If nothing else, he has done that.
Will Bemstrom be able to keep this going longer term? That’s the question both he and the Blue Jackets have to answer. He has talent and has motivation to prove people wrong. Now it’s up to him to give the team no choice but to keep him on the roster when final cutdown day comes. So far, he’s off to as good of a start as he could have hoped for.
More must-reads: