Carson Meyer is looking good so far in the middle of the preseason.
The Ohio native, and one-time AAA Blue Jacket and Ohio State Buckeye, has notched two goals so far during the preseason.
Ed Francis recently talked about fringe players trying to make the team or carve out spots for themselves. You can probably add Meyer to that list as among those players trying to gain an extra look and prove themselves as more than just fringe players.
#CBJ best players so far I training camp:
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) October 2, 2022
1. Justin Danforth
2. Carson Meyer
3. Yegor Chinakhov
These guys are making a mess of the bottom six plans which is exactly what youd want them to do. Tough decisions are a sign of progress for the club.
Big final week coming.
Taken in the sixth round of the 2017 draft, the 25-year-old Meyer made his NHL debut last season, playing in 13 games and scoring three points (one goal, two assists).
In only his second game of the season last year, Meyer had himself a night to remember with his first career goal and first career multipoint game—one goal and one assist—in a 4-2 win at the Philadelphia Flyers. He accomplished all of that in just 9:10 of ice time.
In Saturday's 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals, Meyer scored at 12:03 to tie things up at one apiece in the first period. Meyer was able to emerge from the slot, find his spot, and fire the puck through Capitals' netminder Charlie Lindgren. Lindgren signed a three-year deal with the Capitals in July and the Blue Jackets will see more of him this season.
Carson Meyer ties the game 1-1 off an whiffed pass by Kuraly! pic.twitter.com/E3kc5e0iie
— CBJ Center (@CBJcenter) October 2, 2022
How did the scoring play come about?
"I remember I came in for somebody changing so I was kind of late to the zone," Meyer said. "(Vladislav Gavrikov) got it at the point and I think he put it down to (Mathieu Olivier). When (Olivier) and (Sean Kuraly) are down below the goal line, they're going to win that battle.
"I just was thinking, 'Let's try to get to the front of the net.' (Kuraly) tried to make a play, I think he duffed it a little bit, but it still got to me and I was just able to put it home."
It's that type of sequencing of knowing where to be and where teammates will be that comes together in the preseason and can have important dividends in the regular season.
"It helps a ton, especially in (the) preseason when you haven't played competitive games like this for months," Meyer said. "I respect (Olivier) and (Kuraly) games a lot. You know exactly what you're going to get out of them every night. It's a fun line to play on for sure tonight.
"(Kuraly) is always going to go full speed everywhere and win every battle. (Olivier), he's a really good guy to have on the line because, (the) same thing, he's not losing a battle, and I don't think anybody's messing with him or us when we're on the ice.
"I think because of that, we had a little more space out there to try and make plays."
Meyer understands how valuable these preseason minutes are.
"Everything counts," Meyer said. "I gotta bring it every shift and the opportunity to play...I don't know what I ended up getting tonight, but it felt like (Larsen) called my number quite a bit so every shift is just an opportunity to showcase and try and make the team."
Meyer played 18:55 during Saturday night's game, which led all forwards on both teams for the night. He also played 3:01 on the penalty kill.
Even if players didn't have their true A-game in the middle of a hard camp and preseason schedule, there were definitely positive takeaways from Meyer.
"He had some good shifts in there, "Larsen said. "He did some things that keep catching my eye, which is a good thing. The goal is nice but it's all those other intangibles that are catching my eye with him.
"His physicality and make sure he's hunting pucks and just tenacious, relentless out there and that's what we need to see from him."
Meyer was part of a neat moment against the Buffalo Sabres in a 4-1 win on Sept. 28 when he and Trevor Richards, also a AAA Blue Jacket alum—and the son of former Blue Jackets head coach Todd Richards—connected on a goal, as Meyer tucked in the shorthanded tally. Gavrikov picked up an assist on the play.
Pretty cool moment for two @AAABlueJackets alums Meyers and Richards connecting on a goal to make it 4-1! pic.twitter.com/ogTNeJwr2X
— CBJ Center (@CBJcenter) September 29, 2022
With only three preseason games to go and opening night being just one week away on Oct. 12 at the Carolina Hurricanes, there are only so many chances left for players like Meyer to make the case for why they should be among those players to suit up against the Hurricanes on opening night.
#CBJ head coach Brad Larsen said he thought Carson Meyer (1st Star tonight)was one of the best players on the ice tonight. He said hes playing with more confidence, working hard and definitley catching their eye. pic.twitter.com/r3nf7bp9Md
— Dave Maetzold (@DMaetzMedia) September 29, 2022
The next preseason opportunity comes on Monday night when the Blue Jackets head to Raleigh to face those Hurricanes.
