46 Days Until Opening Night At NWA: The History Of Jersey #46

The Columbus Blue Jackets have 46 days until opening night at Nationwide Arena. Today we look at the history of jersey #46.

Let's take a look.

Tim Jackman - 2003-04 - Jackman was drafted by the Blue Jackets 2nd round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.

Jackman made his debut in December of 2003 after spending the previous year, and the start of the 2003 season with the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL.

After playing just 19 career NHL games with Columbus, Jackman was traded to the Arizona Coyotes on October 8, 2005. Jackman went on to play 12 NHL seasons and 483 games. He played 288 AHL games and had 138 points for five different teams. Jackman retired in 2023.

After retiring, Jackman moved into coaching, where he would coach for Minnesota State Univ. (Mankato) as an Assistant, and for Northstar Christian Academy at different levels.

Filip Novák - 2006-07 - Novák was picked in the second round of the 2000 NHL Draft by the New York Rangers. He is described as "an offensive defenseman. He can pass and move the puck very well and is a good skater. He needs to make the simple play more, though, and not try to force things."

On August 8, 2006, Novák signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets as an unrestricted free agent. During the 05-06 season, Novák would spend most of the season playing for the Syracuse Crunch, appearing in 67 games and scoring 37 points as a defenseman. He would only play in six games for Columbus and collected zero points.

Novák left North America to play in his home country of Czechia. He would remain in Europe until he retired in 2018.

Tomáš Káňa - 2009-10 - Káňa was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2006 NHL Draft by the St. Louis Blues.

On December 8, 2009, Tomas was traded by St. Louis, along with Brendan Bell, to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Pascal Pelletier. After coming to Columbus, he was sent to Syracuse where he would play 50 games for the Crunch and total 28 points. He also played 11 games for the Alaska Aces of the ECHL and collect 6 points in 11 games.

Káňa was called up by Columbus after having a very good year in Syracuse and would play in six games for the Blue Jackets and total 2 points.

After playing the 2010-11 season for the Springfield Falcons, he left North America for Europe. He has played in various leagues in different countries ever since. He is signed to play for HK Opava in Czechia's 3rd-tier league in 25-26.

Dean Kukan - 2015-22 - Kukan is undrafted out of Volketswil, Switzerland.

Dean Kukan made his NHL debut in March of 2016 after playing the majority of the season with the Lake Erie Monsters. After playing in 8 games near the end of the season, he was sent back to Lake Erie and would help the Monsters win their first ever Calder Cup. He had 5 points in 17 playoff games.

Kukan would bounce up and down between Columbus and Cleveland until 2022. He would play a total of 153 games for the CBJ and total 30 points. Where he excelled was in the minors though. He played in 142 games for Lake Erie/Cleveland and total 59 points as a fairly skilled two-way defenseman.

After the 2022 season, Kukan made the decision to return to Europe. He returned to his home country of Switzerland to play for his original club, the ZSC Lions on a five-year contract.

Kukan is also routinely chosen to represent the Swiss in international competitions. He played in the 2025 IIHF Worlds where he scored 9 points in 10 games.

Joona Luoto - 2022-23 - Luoto is undrafted out of Tampere, Finland.

Joona Luoto was signed by the Blue Jackets in June of 2022 as a free agent. Before signing in Columbus, he had played in the Winnipeg Jets organization in 2019-20.

A Finn playing for the Jets and Blue Jackets. Sound Familiar? Well, it should, because Luoto and fellow Finn, CBJ, and Jet Patrik Laine are good friends. They also hail from the same town in Finland. There were rumors that former GM Jarmo Kekäläinen signed him to make Laine more comfortable in Columbus.

Luoto would wind up playing 45 games for Cleveland, scoring 14 goals and totaling 25 points. He played a total of seven games for the CBJ and had 1 point, a goal.

Luoto returned to Europe in 23-24 and signed on to play for SC Bern of the Swiss National League. He is signed on to play for HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League and is an assistant Captain.

With 46 days left until opening night at NWA, fans are starting to get a tad restless. There's been very little news the last month or so besides small signings here and there. The RFAs are signed, there are no UFAs, so it's almost time to get down to business.

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