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Luca Del Bel Belluz was the game’s first star on Thursday night. (Photo by Ben Jackson/NHLI via Getty Images)

Blue Jackets Benefiting From AHL Cleveland’s Performance & Systems

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Mark Scheig | Last updated Jan 11, 2025 1:35 PM ET

The Columbus Blue Jackets’ injured list is starting to pile up again. But thanks to their AHL affiliate the Cleveland Monsters, the team hasn’t missed a step.

In their 6-2 win against the Seattle Kraken on Thursday, the Blue Jackets got important contributions from recent callups. In order to replace the likes of players like Sean Monahan, it has to be a total team effort.

Owen Sillinger was called up for the first time and made his NHL debut. Denton Mateychuk scored his first NHL goal. Luca Del Bel Belluz scored his second NHL goal in his second NHL game. Del Bel Belluz will be looking to continue his streak Saturday night in St. Louis.

Monsters Using Same Systems

It’s a true next man up mentality for the Blue Jackets. Unlike in recent previous seasons, the team has been able to have guys come in and not miss a step.

Ever since the arrival of GM Don Waddell and coach Dean Evason, one of their priorities was to ensure the same systems were being implemented with both the Blue Jackets and Cleveland Monsters. At least so far, that has panned out.

Del Bel Belluz confirmed it’s a seamless transition.

“Exactly the same,” Del Bel Belluz said about the systems used by both teams.

How are the Monsters able to ensure a smooth transition? According to Del Bel Belluz, it’s all in the preparation.

“I think that’s all with the coaching staff. They do such a great job of preparing us and being on the same page. It’s the same system both in Cleveland and Columbus. So learning the game and learning the structure helps us be able to come here and just be comfortable in our game and engraved in our minds.”

Cole Sillinger, who is back in the Blue Jackets’ lineup Saturday in St. Louis, has noticed the seamless transition of the recent callups. He took things a step further when speaking of Del Bel Belluz, Mateychuk, Sillinger and others.

“They’re elite players,” Sillinger said. “They want to do that too. They want to be able to come in the NHL and factor in right away. You know what they’re both doing in the American League. Luca is the leading scorer. Denton was torching it before and two (AHL) all-stars in the NHL. (They’re) players that are going to be really key players for us for a long time.”

Coach Evason gave credit on Thursday to the job the Monsters have done to ensure the systems are the same so that players are ready when they get their callup. He expanded on it further Saturday. Communication is key.

“All communication, from Don, (Rick) Nash, (Chris Clark) and then we talked to Trent (Vogelhuber) in Cleveland and get his assessment,” Evason said. “And then we talk about who and what position that we’re going to need somebody to fill. And we want that person to come up and play the position that they’re best suited to play as opposed to being a guy up to play two or six minutes when he’s playing 26 maybe down there. You want to put him in the best position to have success for him the individual but most importantly for the team and the organization.”

“Again, as I said the other night, Cleveland and Trent and their staff, it’s seamless when the guys come up. They play the same system. They do the same things. The talk. The terminology. Everything’s the same. So it puts a player in great position again for him to have success but for us to have success as an organization.”