When Blue Jackets forward R.J. Umberger watched Derick Brassard and Jake Voracek walk down the hall from the locker room to coach Ken Hitchcock's office, he knew what it was like to be in their place.

He made similar treks four seasons ago as a Philadelphia Flyers rookie under Hitchcock.

"I see a lot of similarities now and then," Umberger said. "Us young guys in Philadelphia had those exact same meetings, and Hitch would tell us he had the same meetings with (Mike) Modano and (Jere) Lehtinen in Dallas.

"Looking back, I could see what he was trying to do, pushing us to make us better. That's all he wanted."

Umberger had another feeling of having been there before yesterday, as Hitchcock was fired as Blue Jackets coach. The alternate captain also saw the man he says he respects more than any other in the NHL get fired by the Flyers on Oct. 22, 2006.

"I'm pretty much in shock," Umberger said. "It's a really tough thing to swallow. Hitch has done so much for my career. As a player, you feel like you let him down."

Several players agreed and said they also are to blame for the team's poor showing a season after reaching the playoffs for the first time.

Hitchcock's demanding style and penchant for overloading players, especially young ones, with information likely contributed to his ouster. Some players appeared overwhelmed by the endless meetings and mixed messages.

Prized prospect Nikita Filatov returned to Russia in November, citing differences with Hitchcock. Youngsters such as Brassard and Voracek, goalless in the past 24 games, looked to be regressing. But Brassard was one of several players interviewed last night who had praise for Hitchcock.

"I respect that he tried to help me and all the young guys," Brassard said. "He was really patient with us. Some guys will say he was not right for the young players, and he was hard on us. He knew what we were about to face, and he was getting us to be NHL players."

Brassard, though, conceded the club became less instinctive as the losses piled up since late November.

"We were always well-prepared for the games," he said. "But I think our team was thinking too much in the past few months. ... I just feel bad that it turns out to be a coach getting fired."

Winger Derek Dorsett appreciated the trust Hitchcock showed in him. He enjoyed playing for the coach but figured a change was possible, given the direction of the team.

"Pro sports is a business, and when you don't win, something has to give," Dorsett said.

Umberger and Dorsett said the team's confidence and psyche had been adversely affected in recent weeks despite Hitchcock's best attempt to get the Jackets to relax.

"Part of it is that we had become fragile," Umberger said. "Something would go wrong, and the bottom would fall out."

"We can't lose sight of the players' responsibility for how we were playing. Hitch had a plan, and he knew how to coach and develop a team. But we hit a stumbling block, and things just snowballed."

Dispatch reporter Aaron Portzline contributed to this story.

treed@dispatch.com