In a Blue Jackets season filled with bad news, ugly losses and injuries, prospect Matt Calvert is providing a much-needed glimmer of hope for the very near future.

Calvert's name rose to prominence in the Blue Jackets organization last fall, when he parlayed a dynamic training camp into a situation that would have tormented any red-blooded Canadian youngster.

The Blue Jackets offered Calvert, their fifth-round pick in 2008, an entry-level contract that would have sent him to minor-league Syracuse, with a shot for a call-up to the NHL. (As poorly as this season has gone for the Jackets, Calvert would certainly have gotten a taste of the NHL.)

But the winger chose instead to return to his junior club, the Brandon Wheat Kings in Manitoba, for a chance to play for the Memorial Cup, the Stanley Cup of junior hockey. Brandon, as the host city, is guaranteed a spot in the four-team tournament, set for May 14-23.

"It was a really tough decision," Calvert said. "Either way, I knew I was going to be in a good situation. I couldn't really lose.

"But, going back to Brandon I knew it was a great group of guys, I knew I was going to get a chance to play for the Memorial Cup in my hometown. I couldn't pass that up."

Calvert, 20, said he hasn't once regretted his decision, but when asked whether the Wheat Kings need to win the Memorial Cup to make it all worthwhile, he thought for a moment.

"I'd say so," he said.

Calvert, a 5-foot-10, 185-pound winger, has had a wondrous third season of junior hockey.

The Blue Jackets were giddy about Calvert during training camp. Now, they're searching for lofty superlatives to describe his game.

"In every game I've ever seen him play, he's always the hardest-working player on the ice," Blue Jackets development coach Tyler Wright said. "Every shift, it's just go, go, go."

Playing on a line with two first-round draft picks - Scott Glennie (Dallas) and Brayden Schenn (Los Angeles) - Calvert has career highs of 42 goals and 57 assists for 99 points. He and Schenn are co-captains.

Calvert "is a threat every night," Wheat Kings coach Kelly McCrimmon said. "I felt that a year ago, as well, but he's really moved into elite-player status in this league.

"He's a guy who's always had to overachieve to get noticed because he was always so small. Now he's big enough. He's not a big guy, but he's big enough."

Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson was impressed by Calvert when they first met at the NHL scouting combine in June 2008.

First was Calvert's handshake, which nearly took Howson out of his shoes. Second was the passion with which Calvert described his off-ice job of pumping gas at a station on Rt. 1 in Brandon, which is about 130 miles west of Winnipeg.

"The kid is very passionate about everything he does," Howson said. "Just like he plays hockey 100 percent."

The Blue Jackets won't promise Calvert a spot on the roster next season - that's what training camp is for - but it'll surprise nobody if he sticks with the club. The two sides are close to agreeing on an entry-level contract that would kick in next season. It could be announced as soon as today, a source said.

"I'm excited to get (a contract) done and be a Blue Jacket," Calvert said. "Believe me, that's still a huge dream for me.

"But first things first. I'm going to throw everything I have into this club here and winning the Memorial Cup. I know how lucky I am, and I want to make the most of it."

aportzline@dispatch.com