On Thursday, Nov. 2, the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 4-2 result may not be what many expected when they saw this matchup on the schedule – the Lightning are perennial Stanley Cup contenders, and the Jackets are rebounding from one of the worst seasons in franchise history.
It seems like only yesterday we were referring to Kirill Marchenko and Dmitri Voronkov as abstract concepts – just prospects in the Blue Jackets’ system, plugging away and having successful seasons in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Many fans said the duo had been hyped for so long that they had to put them in the ‘I’ll believe it when I actually see it’ category. The game against the Lightning was Exhibit A in proving that the young Russians could be a key to the team’s future success.
Marchenko’s and Voronkov’s Start to the Season
After putting up 21 goals last season – to break the Blue Jackets’ rookie record – Marchenko had a quiet start to the season. His five consecutive games without a point smelled a little like a ‘sophomore slump’ and generated legitimate concern. So, head coach Pascal Vincent made him a healthy scratch for two games in a row. Then he was put back in the lineup against Tampa Bay.
It was a completely different story for Voronkov. In his first season in North America, he started the campaign in the American Hockey League with the Cleveland Monsters. But he was called up after four games when Patrik Laine was injured. He is now proving he’s in the NHL to stay, with a point in three of his first four games.
The two 23-year-olds were put on a line together with fellow youngster Cole Sillinger against the Lightning, and they looked really good. They forechecked and backchecked well and were by far the team’s most dynamic line with several high-quality chances.
The Russians Bring a Different Dynamic to the Roster
What’s key about Marchenko and Voronkov is that they bring a different dynamic to the lineup, and there are so few players on the roster that bring what they do.
Marchenko is a goal-scoring machine – a great shooter who knows where to be and is going to dent the twine in all sorts of ways from all sorts of places. If he is on, he’s the Jackets’ second-best pure goal-scorer behind Laine. That makes him incredibly valuable – especially if you want to score more goals than the other team.
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He is also a valuable presence in the locker room. Marchenko gives ‘golden retriever’ energy – a positive guy who is utterly ecstatic to be playing hockey for a living. That’s the kind of person who helps a locker room keep its head up during a slump.
Voronkov is a beast. The 6-foot-4 forward could be Columbus’ best power forward since Rick Nash or Josh Anderson. He plays a really heavy game and is nearly impossible to knock off the puck. As we’ve seen in a small sample size, he can throw a big hit, make a good pass, and score a big goal. The Blue Jackets don’t have anyone with that type of physical and offensive upside, aside from maybe Boone Jenner, but I consider Jenner more of a two-way player than a power forward.
It’s also important that the two like to play together, both saying in a post-game interview that it is easier to play when they share the ice – and it’s easy to see why because they’ve got a lot in common. They are the same age, from the same country, and they have a history of playing together.
They were teammates at the World Junior Hockey Championship, the World Championship, and the 2022 Olympic Games. On the international stage, Voronkov was the one leading the way with a lot more ice time – now Marchenko is taking the lead. He was in North America a year ahead and is now playing translator for the newcomer. It’s a cool thing to see, considering Marchenko was the one who needed a translator at this time last year.
Early returns on the two playing together are positive. They combined for the team’s first goal of the night against the Lightning and looked like the Blue Jackets’ best line at times. In the post-game interview, Vincent said he felt comfortable putting them out against anyone:
“They were skating, tracking back hard, Voronkov blocking some shots. That guy is really impressive,” he said. “The way he plays the game, and the way he’s able to execute the system without speaking the language, it’s really impressive. He does a lot of little things that we probably don’t see when it’s live, but when we watch the video, it’s quite impressive […] That line was really good. [Marchenko] was skating today. He was back to being the [player] that we saw last year.”
If the Blue Jackets’ Russian youngsters continue to develop and can consistently perform as they did against the Lightning, they will be difference-makers for a long time. Marchenko’s goal-scoring ability, combined with Voronkov’s heft, gives Columbus versatility and will help bring the group from good to great as they continue their quest for success.