Preseason over, roster set

The Bluejackets today made their final moves before opening day, barring a waiver claim or trade in the next week. Here is what is looks like as of now (Courtesy of Puck Rakers):

Forwards (13): Cam Atkinson, Derick Brassard, Matt Calvert, Jeff Carter, Derek Dorsett, Ryan Johansen, Derek MacKenzie, Maksim Mayorov, Rick Nash, Sammy Pahlsson, Vinny Prospal, Ryan Russell, R.J. Umberger, Antoine Vermette.
Defensemen (8): Grant Clitsome, Aaron Johnson, Radek Martinek, Marc Methot, Kris Russell, David Savard, Fedor Tyutin, James Wisniewski.
Goaltenders (2): Steve Mason, Curtis Sanford
Injured reserve (4): Jared Boll, RW; Mark Dekanich, G; Kristian Huselius, LW; Ted Ruth, D.

The only big surprise for me was Atkinson over Kubalik. I thought for sure that they would let Cam get his feet wet in the AHL before putting the pressures of the NHL on him. Atkinson had a great camp and showed that he is going to be a player. Kubalik had a good camp but missed a portion with a concussion, so that may have been a factor. No knock on Cam here, I just thought it would have been better to let him get some experience in the AHL. I will trust the CBJ brass to know what they are doing here.

Glad to see Savard on the D, I thought he earned a spot. He still needs to improve his positioning but I thought he was ready to work his way into the lineup. I think Johnson is there until Wiz gets back, and then he is in Springfield unless there is another injury in the first two months. After that, I think Holden gets the first call up. Moore didn't look bad, but he still needs at least another year to work on his defensive game.

Goalies are what they are. I though Mason had an excellent preseason. I really wish we could have seen more of Dekanich for a better sample size. Hopefully he gets back soon so we don't have to ride Mason too hard. Sanford will have to suffice until he gets back. Then again, I did hear the Islanders might be willing to part with Nabakov...

The lines could be very interesting here. With three rookies among the forwards, I would thing Arniel would sprinkle them in with some vets to protect them. Here is what I think we might see on Oct. 7th:

F1: Nash-Carter-Prospal
F2: Brassard-Vermette-Atkinson
F3: Calvert-Johansen-Umberger
F4: Mayorov-Pahlsson-Dorsett

This is assuming DMac is still hurt. You could also switch the 3 and 4 lines if you want, the Pahlsson line will be the traditional checking or shutdown line. First thing that sticks out to me is that Scott decided to role with his 3 scoring lines. Johansen will not be asked to shut down top lines and will probably get 10-12 minutes a night. Umby will get more time on the PK and PP and at the end of games.

That is the most dangerous set of forwards I have ever seen in a CBJ uniform. They can score. The double-edged sword is that I don't feel too inspired by the defensive abilities of that group. The nice thing we have is flexibility. Umby, Vermette, and Prospal can really spot in anywhere in the lineup. It will be interesting to see what happens when Boll returns, not really sure who you send back out of that group. Just because of waivers I would think Atkinson, Mayorov, or Calvert might go to the A. Juice's return (if it happens) will make it an even tougher decision. Luckily we have some time to let things work themselves out.

For defense, a complete guess on my part:
D1: Tyutin-Martinek
D2: Methot-Clitsome
D3: Savard-Johnson

This is a little bit of a mess. I couldn't put a rookie on the top pair, so shift the right side D up a line and put Savard on the third pair. However, Russell-Savard has disaster written all over it, so you have slot Johnson in. I don't think you keep Savard up to have him sit in the pressbox, to me he has looked better than Russell. Once Wiz is back you drop the right side down a pair and Johnson or Savard goes to Springfield.

PP1: Nash-Carter-Prospal-Tyutin-Savard
PP2: Brassard-Umby-Johansen-Clitsome-Martinek

PK FW: Pahlsson-Dorsett-Umby-Vermette-Mayorov-Calvert(?)

Still think this is the best roster we have had. A little concerned about the defense. Mason is going to see a lot of shots this year, hopefully preseason was not an aberration for him. We will score more points and the power play will be better. Not sure about our PK, but I do think we are going to get quite a few SH goals with that group out there. Defense is still suspect, but should be better once Wiz is back. As many have already stated, our season may rest on Steve Mason's shoulders and his ability to keep the opposition under 3 goals a game.

Let's drop the puck already!