40 Days Until Opening Night At NWA: The History Of Jersey #40

The Columbus Blue Jackets have 40 days until opening night at Nationwide Arena. Today we look at the history of jersey #40.

Let's take a look.

Bill Bowler - 2000-01 - Bowler was undrafted out of Toronto, CA.

Bowler played a total of 9 games for the Jackets during their inaugural season and had two points. He spent most of that year with the Syracuse Crunch and totaled 79 points in 72 games. In 2002, he spent one season in Germany before retiring.

Bowler has worked for the Windsor Spitfires as the VP. of Hockey Operations and General Manager since 2019.

Brad Moran - 2001-04 - Moran was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the 7th round of the 1998 NHL Draft.

The Jackets signed Moran as a free agent in 2000. He only played in 5 games as a Blue Jacket and had 2 points. He spent most of his time playing for the AHL Syracuse Crunch. In his final year with the Crunch in 2004-05, he played in 80 games and had 72 points.

Moran left for a second stint in Europe in 2011 and played the last six years of his career there. He would retire after playing two seasons in the EIHL in 2017.

Moran would be the GM and HC of the Calgary Canucks in the Alberta Junior Hockey League from 2018 to 2025. For the 25-26 season, Moran is signed on to be the Asst. Coach of the WHL's Calgary Hitmen.

Duvie Westcott - 2001-08 - Westcott was undrafted and signed by the CBJ in 2001.

Wescott played in 201 games for the Blue Jackets from 2001 to 2008. He scored 11 goals and totaled 56 points. Wescott was described as "a gritty defenseman with a solid all-around game. Has good passing ability and powerplay skills."

After playing for Columbus, Wescott went to Europe and played the next seven seasons in the KHL, DEL, and Swiss National League. He retired in 2015.

Fred Brathwaite - 2003-04 - Brathwaite was undrafted out of Ottawa, Canada.

Brathwaite played in 21 games for the Jackets in the 2003-04 season. He went 4-11-1 with an .897 SV %. After his year in Columbus, he bounced back and forth between North America and Europe. He didn't play from 2012 to 2020. He was hired by the AHL's Henderson Silver Knights as their goaltending coach in 2020, where he remains. At age 48, he dressed as a backup for Henderson when Logan Thompson was unavailable.

Jaroslav Balaštík - 2005-07 - Balaštík was drafted in the 6th round of the 2002 NHL Draft by Columbus.

Jaroslav Balaštík played in 74 career games for the CBJ. He scored 13 goals and totaled 24 points during his tenure. After his time with Columbus, he returned to his home country of Czechia, where he would play until 2015.

Jared Boll - 2007-16 - Boll was drafted in the 4th round of the 2005 NHL Draft.

Boll played in 518 games for the CBJ and totaled 62 points. He is #1 all-time in CBJ history with 1,195 and has 154 fights to his name.

Jared Boll was a big man in his playing days. Standing 6-foot-3 and 206 pounds, there weren’t too many who would willingly step up to Boll. He was an old-school enforcer who would not hesitate to stand up for his teammates and take one on the chin if necessary. In his career, he fought the St Louis Blues more than any other team. He had four seasons where he had fight totals over 20 and there were a few seasons that were 15+. His most common opponent was Krys Bach (5), and he fought the likes of Paul Bissonnette (4), George Parros (4), and Clayton Stoner. Boll is the best enforcer the CBJ has ever had.

After retiring from the Anaheim Ducks, Boll returned to Columbus, where he is now an assistant coach.

Daniil Tarasov - 2021-25 - Tarasov was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2017 NHL Draft.

Tarasov started 61 games for Columbus during his tenure, going 19-34-6 with a SV% of .898. Used primarily as a backup, Tarasov's time is Columbus in generally looked at as a failure, but it's mainly due to injuries.

Unfortunately for Tarasov, he was stuck behind Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzļikins for a few years. While Merzļikins was struggling, he had every opportunity to grab the bull by the horns and take off, but he did not do that.

Last season, everything kind of came unglued for the young Russian. He was benched in favor of Jet Greaves on several occasions and even had to be sent to Cleveland on a conditioning assignment. Things were not going well. He ended last season with a SV% of .881.

On 26 June 2025, Tarasov was traded to the Florida Panthers, in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the 2025 NHL draft. The book on Daniil Tarasov in Columbus was finally over.

There are 40 days to go until opening night at NWA. Who was your favorite #40?

Let us know what you think below.

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