18 Days Until Opening Night At NWA: The History Of Jersey #18

The Columbus Blue Jackets have 18 days until opening night at Nationwide Arena. Today, we look at the history of jersey #18.

Let's take a look.

Robert Kron - 2001-2002 - Drafted by Vancouver in 1985.

Played 118 games for the Jackets from 2000 to 2002. He never played another NHL game after Columbus. In March 2001, Kron broke his ankle when he fell over awkwardly after taking a puck to the face. It was truly one of the oddest moments in CBJ history.

Nowadays, Kron is the Director of Amateur Scouting for the Seattle Kraken.

Zenith Komarniski - 2004 - Drafted by Vancouver in 1996

Komarniski played in two games for Columbus in 03-04 and had zero points. He would never play another NHL after his time in Columbus and would retire in 2007.

Komarniski is now a youth coach in Canada.

Geoff Platt - 2006 - Undrafted out of Toronto, Ontario.

Platt played 41 games as a Jacket and had a total of 14 points. After playing five games for Anaheim in 07-08, he left for Europe where he played until he retired in 2023.

Platt is now a Development Coach for the Tappara U20 team in Finland.

R.J. Umberger - 2009-2014 - Drafted by Vancouver in 2001.

The former Ohio State Buckeye played 445 games after coming to Columbus via trade with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2008. He scored 120 goals and totaled 250 points during his time in Columbus. He was traded back to Philly in 2014 and would retire in 2017 after signing a PTO with the Dallas Stars and being subsequently released.

Umberger is now the Director of Hockey Operations and Head Coach for the Columbus Chill 18U AA.

David Clarkson - 2015 - Undrafted out of Etobicoke, Ontario.

Clarkson only played 26 games in Columbus before a serious back injury derailed his career. His contract was then traded twice before he officially retired. Clarkson stayed in the Columbus area after retiring, coaching the Upper Arlington High School Hockey Team for a season.

These days, he owns the NAHL's Colorado Grit. The Grit is a Tier II junior team based in Greeley, Colorado. The Grit will not participate in league competition during the upcoming season, as per the NAHL, but could return next season. For 25-26, Clarkson will be the head coach for the Okanagan HA Colorado 13U AAA.

Rene Bourque - 2016 - He was undrafted out of Lac La Biche, Alberta.

Bourque played 57 games for Columbus over two seasons. He totaled 7 goals and 12 points. He signed in Colorado for the 16-17 season, and then after one year, left for Sweden, where he would retire after one season.

Pierre-Luc Dubois - 2018-2020 - Drafted by Columbus in 2016.

The former number 3 overall pick for Columbus played 239 and amassed 159 points wearing #18 for the Jackets. He was traded to the Washington Capitals in 2024 from the LA Kings and will attempt to get his career back on the right track. Washington is his fourth team since 2021.

Last year with the Caps, Dubois set career highs in assists (46) and points (66).

Our Ken Campbell said of Dubois: "To say that Dubois, the third overall pick in the 2016 draft, had something of a deer-in-the-headlights complex during his first training camp would not be an overstatement. Tortorella saw a young player who was overwhelmed, so much so that he had to check with team management to make sure that was the kid they had just picked third overall. But in everything to his physique to his body language to his swagger, so much was different this year. Tortorella said that at the beginning of the season he was concerned about putting Dubois in a situation he wasn’t prepared to accept and contemplated playing Dubois at the wing. But that has kind of gone out the window with Alexander Wennberg unproductive and injured. Brandon Dubinsky was never going to fill that No. 1 center role, but he was also hurt, and the depth at center took a hit. So it’s a good thing Dubois stayed in the middle and started to produce. “We think we’re so smart, the coaches, the managers,” Tortorella said. “We have all these ideas about developing players, and we worry too much. He has blown us away with how he has handled the situation. He’s grabbed ahold of it and wants more.”

Lane Pederson - 2023 - Undrafted out of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Pederson played 16 games as a Jacket after being picked up on waivers in 2022-23 and had three points. He didn't play any NHL games in the last two seasons, and he signed with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

There are 18 days left until opening night at Nationwide Arena.

The pre-season schedule is as follows:

Saturday, Sept. 27 at Pittsburgh Penguins, 7 p.m. ET

Tuesday, Sept. 30 vs. Washington Capitals, 7 p.m. ET

Saturday, Oct. 4 at Washington Capitals, 7 p.m. ET

* Games in bold are home games *

After that, the Blue Jackets will open the regular season on the road against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena.

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