While the rest of the Blue Jackets practiced on Oct. 19 in Calgary, Blue Jackets defenseman Anton Stralman and his girlfriend, Johanna, were married -- two years earlier than they expected and in a "ceremony" they never could have imagined.

The couple rushed into matrimony so that Johanna and their two kids -- 2-year-old daughter Liv and 3-month-old son Lowve -- could quickly obtain a U.S. visa to join Stralman living in Columbus.

"It wasn't the wedding most people dream about, that's for sure," Stralman said. "At some point, you just had to laugh about the whole situation."

It took place on a Monday afternoon in Stralman's apartment, the one in which the family lived while he played for the Calgary Flames. Most of the furniture was gone, he said, except for a few rental pieces wrapped in plastic for the next tenants.

"The fireplace wasn't working, our 2-year-old was on the floor crying, I had on jeans and T-shirt. None of our family was there. If anybody cried, it wasn't out of happiness."

Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson, who traded for Stralman only two weeks earlier, was the groom's unofficial "best man", as well as the photographer.

"(Jackets center) Sammy Pahlsson was going to go as the witness," Howson said. "But he needed to be at practice, so

"It's one of the more unusual days I've had as a general manager, to be sure."

Julie Gamble, the club's manager of team services and travel secretary, was the unofficial maid of honor. Aside from serving as a second witness, Gamble's biggest contribution was calming Liv's tantrum so the wedding could proceed peacefully.

"Liv dropped her toy horse behind the stereo," Howson said. "Julie saved the day."

Most of Stralman's teammates didn't know he was getting married until the night before when they gathered in downtown Calgary for the annual "rookie" dinner. They tried to make do.

"Lamest bachelor party ever," defenseman Mike Commodore said.

Stralman phoned his parents in Sweden with the news a few days later after he found the right way to tell them. He didn't feel comfortable discussing it with the media until recently, either.

He's reached a happy medium between anger at the process and humor at the circumstances it created.

"We did it so we could be together," Stralman said. "It's unfortunate it has to be like this. There was a whole lot of frustration with the whole situation getting her (a visa). My family couldn't come live with me because we're not married. I don't understand that.

"We're still going to get married in Sweden, probably in summer 2011. That's been the plan all along. Now we have a story we can tell for a long, long time."

Sestito recalled

The Blue Jackets recalled left winger Tom Sestito from minor-league Syracuse. He could take rookie Nikita Filatov's spot in the lineup tonight when the Jackets host Edmonton at 7 p.m. in Nationwide Arena.

In 16 games with the Crunch, Sestito has five goals, three assists and 64 penalty minutes.

Sestito has played in one NHL game -- April 6, 2008, vs. St. Louis -- and collected 17 penalty minutes, including a fighting major.

"(Sestito) has had a heck of a start to the season," Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock said. "He's a good add for us.

"We think there's more to his game than just the fighting, and we talked to him about it when we sent him down. If he plays the right way, that stuff will follow him."

Slap shots

Pahlsson is still having fluid drained off his elbow and is not likely to play tonight. Defenseman Rostislav Klesla (lower body) is still a game-time decision.

aportzline@dispatch.com