Defenseman Kris Russell settled back into the Blue Jackets dressing room yesterday as if he'd never left. Long after practice ended, Russell sat around and traded barbs and jabs with three other pillars of the Blue Jackets' youthful exuberance -- center Derick Brassard, and wingers Jared Boll and Jake Voracek.

"Shaky's back in action," Boll snapped, as Russell -- known affectionately as "Little Shake" -- came into the room after practice.

Russell was recalled from Syracuse late Wednesday after spending a month in the minor leagues. He'll be in the lineup when the Blue Jackets play the Detroit Red Wings tonight in Joe Louis Arena.

"Everything's just the same around here except for Jake's hair," Russell said, joining a chorus of cracks against Voracek's newly sheep-shorn head.

But Russell believes there has been a significant change within himself.

First off, he's wearing No. 10 now.

"I never asked for No. 2," Russell said of his old number. "It's just what they gave me when I got here. I was No. 10 for five years before I was No. 2.

"But that's just a number. I guess you can look at it as a fresh start, or whatever, if you want to, but that's not really why I did it."

Russell is looking for more substantive change.

The month in Syracuse, he said, put him back in touch with his set of skills. He is a wondrous skater with very good puck skills, a player who figures to be an offensive threat from the blue line when it all comes together.

But Russell reached the point -- late in the 2007-08 season and early this season -- where he wasn't putting those skills to use.

"I really deserved to get sent down," Russell said. "For one thing, I just wasn't helping the team in any real aspects of the game.

"I needed to focus on my game and what worked for me in the past. It was a great eye-opener."

In Syracuse, Russell had the extra half-second with the puck that can help build confidence. He got used to carrying the puck more. He got back to being dangerous with the puck, not just making a play with it as quickly as possible.

In 14 games, he had three goals, five assists, 35 shots on goal and a minus-3 rating.

"Kris was a little more assertive offensively," Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson said. "He was a little more aggressive."

Russell is likely to join the Blue Jackets' third pair tonight, with either Christian Backman or Ole-Kristian Tollefsen as his partner. He'll get power-play time, too, most likely on the second unit.

Yesterday, shortly after Russell came off the ice, he was summoned to coach Ken Hitchcock's office. The two sons of western Canada had a brief but productive chat.

"As much as going down there was good for his confidence," Hitchcock said, "it was good for him to observe other people who are in the same situation he is -- young players, trying to make it up here.

"He's a player with a lot of talent. Everybody knows that. But this is a tough league to find your way in. We'll see, but I think the time (in Syracuse) will really help him. And so we're really glad to have him back."

aportzline@dispatch.com