Blue Jackets: Dorsett pulls no punches on offense
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Neal C. Lauron | Dispatch
Blue Jackets agitator Derek Dorsett is on pace for a career high in points.
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One Signed, Two Set Free
The Blue Jackets have agreed to terms with defenseman Austin Madaisky on a three-year, entry-level contract, and the official deal should be announced shortly. Madaisky was a fifth-round pick (No. 124 overall) in the 2010 NHL entry draft.
Two other picks - right winger Petr Straka (2nd round, No. 55) and defenseman Brandon Archibald (4th round, No. 94) - have been informed by the Blue Jackets that they won't be signed, sending them back in the pool of draftable players for next month's draft in Pittsburgh.
Of those two, Straka is the mild surprise.
He had 28-36-64 in 62 games with Rimouski (QMJHL) during his draft year, but tailed off badly the last two seasons. In 2010-11, he had 10-15-25 in 41 games. This season, he had 18-19-37 in 54 games. That's fewer points the last two seasons -- 62 in 95 games -- than he scored as a 17-year-old.
However, Straka made a pretty good last-best argument for a deal with his performance in the QMJHL playoffs. He had 10-12-22 in 21 games, becoming a point-a-game player once again. The bet here is that he gets drafted his June, but certainly on Saturday (2nd through 7th rounds) and probably later in the day.
The Blue Jackets acquired the pick used on Straka with the 2010 trade deadline deal that sent winger Raffi Torres to Buffalo.
Madaisky, meanwhile, blossomed this season in his fourth year of juniors, the last three spent with Kamloops (WHL). He had 13 goals, 37 assists, 50 points and a plus-20 rating, all career highs. He also had 87 penalty minutes. He could play a fifth year of junior next season, or begin his pro career, likely with AHL Springfield.
Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson and the hockey operations department face one last difficult decision as it pertains to the 2010 draft class. Goaltender Mathieu Corbeil remains unsigned, and the Jackets still aren't sure if they want to keep him in the fold.
"We'll evaluate him in the Memorial Cup and make a decision," Howson said. "Not sure right now."
Corbeil is 50-11-2 in the last two seasons with Saint John of the QMJHL, which won the Memorial Cup last season and is a favorite to repeat. Corbeil, named the QMJHL's goalie of the year, is 16-0-1 in this year's playoffs, with a 2.18 goals-against average and .917 save percentage.
Those numbers will cause many readers to scratch their temples and wonder: "How could they possibly not want this guy?" What the Blue Jackets are trying to determine is if Corbeil is a product of a powerhouse hockey club or a goaltender with legitimiate NHL potential. These are the questions that keep scouts up late at night.
Two weeks ago, the Blue Jackets seemed to be leaning away from signing Corbeil. These days it seems to be leaning back the other direction, though no decision has been made.
-- Aaron Portzline
twitter: @aportzline
Blue Jackets interim coach Todd Richards used to love to hate Derek Dorsett.
Richards coached against the Blue Jackets right winger in the American Hockey League, as an assistant with the San Jose Sharks and for two seasons as coach of the Minnesota Wild.
“You didn’t like him,” Richards said. “To me, that’s the ultimate compliment to a player.”
Dorsett, once simply irksome to opponents, has become a loathsome and valuable presence in the Blue Jackets’ lineup.
He leads the team in fighting majors (14) and ranks third in NHL penalty minutes (148).
But Dorsett, in his fourth season, is no longer a novice fourth-line grinder.
One of the upsides to a dismal, last-place season has been his emergence as a
multipurpose talent.
He scored the winning goal in a 2-1 victory over St. Louis on Tuesday. It was his 10th goal of the season. Only former All-Stars Rick Nash (18) and Jeff Carter (12) have scored more for the Blue Jackets.
Dorsett, who had four goals in each of his first three NHL seasons, doesn’t suddenly fancy himself to be a twirling sniper. But he has a newfound confidence in his ability to provide brute and beauty, perhaps in the same shift.
“I feel like I'm more comfortable with the puck, not as afraid to make mistakes as I was in my first couple of years in the league,” Dorsett said. “My dad always told me when I was going through midget and junior (hockey) to always be unpredictable.
“He always used the example of Mark Messier. You never knew if he was going to run you through the wall. So always be unpredictable because it creates space for you, but also for your teammates.”
Dorsett is generously listed at 6 feet, 190 pounds. His willingness to hit and be hit has paid dividends.
“Everyone considers him an edgy player, an energy player, a physical player,” Richards said. “None of that has changed. There is the reputation of Derek Dorsett now, and that gives him more opportunities to contribute offensively.
“Defensemen know that if he’s coming down the wall on a forecheck, there is a chance they are going to get hit, and maybe they make a little bit quicker decision.”
If that leads to a turnover, Dorsett will likely have a back-handed compliment for the guilty party at the next stoppage. He can chirp with the best of them.
And he’s more than willing to sort things out with his gloves off if an opponent is offended or a teammate is wronged, a trait much appreciated when Blue Jackets enforcer Jared Boll is out of the lineup because of injuries.
“I had (Wild agitator) Cal Clutterbuck for two years, and I know people don’t like him,” Richards said. “But you know what he does for the team. Derek is that and probably a little bit more because Derek backs it up.”
Dorsett, now a regular on the third line, is on pace for career highs in games, points and shots. He joined the rotation of alternate captains earlier this season.
He has averaged 14 minutes, 10 seconds of ice time a game, more than five minutes of what he averaged as a rookie in 2008-09.
“I feel that I can put points up, put numbers up,” Dorsett said. “Really, my game is pretty simple.”
smitchell@dispatch.com
