COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The growth of hockey in Central Ohio can be seen Thursday when Columbus native Jack Roslovic makes his debut with the Blue Jackets.
At 23 years old, Roslovic is only three years older than the organization that developed him in their AAA program, which is led by Ed Gingher.
“I think if the Jackets don’t do and invest what they’ve done from youth to high school to AAA to adult league, I don’t think you see the success stories that we’ve had,” said Gingher, president of the Ohio AAA Blue Jackets.
Roslovic is not the first AAA Blue Jackets’ product to play in the NHL. Dublin native Trent Vogelhuber became the first player from the AAA program to be drafted when the Jackets took him in 2007. Connor Murphy, another Dublin native, was the first AAA product to be drafted in the first round in 2011 and is currently playing for the Chicago Blackhawks while Sean Kurlay became the first CBJ AAA product to play in the Stanley Cup for the Bruins.
Former Miami University men’s hockey coach Rico Blasi coached all four players. He credits the Blue Jackets arrival in the NHL in 2000 with the start of hockey’s emergence in the Buckeye state.
“To me it was a big deal when the Blue Jackets came to town,” Blasi said. “It really solidified hockey in Ohio.”
Blasi helped solidify hockey at Miami during his 20 years as the RedHawks head coach, including one season coaching Roslovic.
“In 2000 when the Blue Jackets came to town and they built up their youth program, hockey was visible in the state at an NHL level,” he said. “It definitely helped programs in Ohio.”
It helped Division I programs like Ohio State and Blasi’s RedHawks, and it also encouraged more kids like Roslovic to play hockey.
“The Blue Jackets have done a fantastic job of giving back and being involved at the youth level,” said Todd Ehrie, a coach with AAA Blue Jackets.
Ehrie has coached hockey for 27 years and is in his 12th year coaching the AAA Blue Jackets. He’s seen first hand how hockey has grown during CBJ’s 20 years in the NHL.
“I’ve lived in Columbus most of my life, played hockey here,” he said. “To see the growth of what was a couple hundred kids 20-30 years ago that has now grown into thousands of kids . . . I think players that have come through and are actually going to the professional levels makes these kids want to play hockey.”
Hockey participation is solid in Central Ohio, but the area still falls short in competition at the high school level compared to teams in the northeast and northwest region of Ohio.
Blasi and Ehrie say catching up will take more than just finding talented players.
“Developing not just athletes but coaches too and from a parents standpoint, what role they have in the development of their young son or daughter coming into the game, so everybody has a role in the development of every hockey player at any level,” Blasi said.
“Accessibility to ice rinks, so hopefully we get some more facilities that continue to be built,” Ehrie said. “And [hopefully] coaches and former players, even NHL players, come back and continue to help the youth develop.”
NHL players, like Jack Roslovic, who are proof that a kid from Columbus can play at the highest level.