Blue Jackets’ Luca Pinelli impresses in NHL debut – The Hockey Writers Columbus Blue Jackets Latest news, analysis and more

The Columbus Blue Jackets needed bodies. Thanks to the injuries to Kirill Marchenko and Mathieu Olivier, an emergency call-up was necessary for Wednesday night’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The moment became the NHL debut for former Ottawa 67 captain Luca Pinelli. Not only did he enter the lineup, he also started right away in the top six, along with Sean Monahan and Cole Sillinger.

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

And it didn’t stop there. Pinelli saw the ice in overtime for the second team, 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 more than 16 minutes. That was almost double the ice time that Yegor Chinakhov had on the fourth line.

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

Team response

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

“Just his competition,” Evason said. “What we thought maybe he wouldn’t do, some puck battles and some wall games and getting pucks out. He did that and that gave us the confidence to continue to play against him in important situations at the end of that game and in a tied hockey game in overtime. But he battles hard. So that’s what we liked and enjoyed the most.”

Evason continued, saying 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 a lot of familiarity with the Pinellis when he played with Luca’s brother Francesco for the Toronto Red Wings. Fantilli is not surprised by what he saw from Luca.

“It’s great to see,” Fantilli said. “You love seeing him come on with confidence. He’s staying with me now, so I just told him don’t worry about your performance tonight. Just try to 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 with it, so it’s good to see.”

Evason previously talked about Pinelli’s competition. Fantilli added what he thinks Pinelli does that allows him to play a role in games.

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

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

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

The fact that Pinelli was able to come in right away and fit seamlessly into the Blue Jackets’ lineup was a result of the work the Cleveland Monsters have done to ensure the systems are the same for every team.

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

Pinelli played 16:20 in his debut and recorded two shots, a hit (though it felt like more) and a block. He made some good analyzes of the plays and completed some nice passes to create scoring opportunities.

When the head coach takes a player to the next level, you notice it. When a player does that in his 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 into Friday night’s game against the Penguins.

As for the game itself, the Blue Jackets are not making any changes to their lineup starting Wednesday. It means Jet Greaves starts his ninth match in the last 11 overall. The Penguins counter with Tristan Jarry, who is making back-to-back starts of his own. That likely means Arturs Silovs will play against the Maple Leafs on Sunday.