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The Blue Jackets recently installed their 25th Anniversary Logo they are using at center ice in 2025-26. (Photo credit: Columbus Blue Jackets)

Blue Jackets’ Luca Pinelli Impresses in NHL Debut

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Mark Scheig | Last updated Nov 28, 2025 2:55 PM ET

The Columbus Blue Jackets were in need of bodies. Thanks to the injuries to Kirill Marchenko and Mathieu Olivier, an emergency recall was needed for Wednesday night’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The moment turned into the NHL debut for former Ottawa 67’s captain Luca Pinelli. Not only did he draw into the lineup, he started right in the top-six playing with Sean Monahan and Cole Sillinger.

But that’s not all. Pinelli had a good first couple of shifts in which he was noticeable with the puck and playing the body. That earned him time on the second power play unit.

And it didn’t end there, either. Pinelli saw the ice in overtime on the second shift even before Adam Fantilli and Kent Johnson took the ice.

When the dust settled on a 2-1 overtime win for the Maple Leafs, Pinelli played over 16 minutes. That was almost double the ice time Yegor Chinakhov had on the fourth line.

As you might expect, Pinelli will remain in the lineup for his second NHL game when the Blue Jackets host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Black Friday night at Nationwide Arena. Marchenko and Olivier remain out as they each are recovering from upper-body injuries.

Team Reaction

Pinelli will again skate in the top-six to at least start the game. Head coach Dean Evason didn’t hesitate to elevate him once he saw what he was doing early in the game.

“Just his compete,” Evason said. “What we thought maybe he wasn’t going to do, some puck battles and some wall play and getting pucks out. He did that and that gave us confidence to continue to play him in key situations at the end of that game and in a tie hockey game in an overtime. But he competes his butt off. So that is what we enjoyed and liked the most.”

Evason went on and said that Pinelli “exceeded the areas of concern.” It’s high praise for a player who has made a career of proving all his doubters wrong.

Fantilli has plenty of familiarity with the Pinelli’s as he played with Luca’s brother Francesco on the Toronto Red Wings. Fantilli is not surprised at what he saw out of Luca.

“It’s great to see,” Fantilli said. “You love seeing him come up with confidence. He’s staying with me right now so I was just telling him, don’t even worry about your performance tonight. Just try and remember everything. Enjoy it. You only get one first game so I think he did that. He really enjoyed it. He played great. Everyone’s happy about it so it’s good to see.”

Evason earlier talked about Pinelli’s compete. Fantilli added what he thinks Pinelli does that helps him be a factor in games.

“He’s a hard worker,” Fantilli said. “He likes to get in front of the net, get his nose dirty. It’s part of what got him here and I don’t expect him to change anything.”

As for Pinelli himself, he handled his business the same way he has his entire career to date.

“I think there’s obviously some nerves,” Pinelli said. “But honestly, I felt pretty good going into the game. So (I) didn’t really overthink stuff too much. When it’s in the moment, I’m just in game mode. It was definitely nice to be put out in those situations.”

Pinelli being able to come right in and fit seamlessly in the Blue Jackets’ lineup was the result of the work the Cleveland Monsters have done in making sure the systems are the same on each team.

“The coaches. They did a great job showing me all the systems and stuff like that,” Pinelli said. “So it was comfortable for me to transition here.”

Pinelli played 16:20 in his debut recording two shots, a hit (although it felt like more) and a block. He made a few good reads on plays and completed a couple nice passes to setup scoring chances.

When the head coach elevates a player, you take notice. When a player is doing that in their NHL debut, it becomes memorable. Pinelli’s NHL debut was memorable for all the right reasons. He and the Blue Jackets hope to carry that momentum over into Friday night’s game against the Penguins.

As for the game itself, the Blue Jackets are making no changes to their lineup from Wednesday. It means Jet Greaves starts his ninth game in the last 11 overall. The Penguins will counter with Tristan Jarry, who is making consecutive starts himself. That likely means Arturs Silovs will play Sunday against the Maple Leafs.