22 Days Until Opening Night At NWA: The History Of Jersey #22

The Columbus Blue Jackets have 22 days until opening night at Nationwide Arena. Today, we look at the history of jersey #22.

Let's take a look.

Chris Nielsen - 2001-2002 - Drafted by the New York Islanders in 1998.

After signing with Columbus, Neilsen played 52 games over the course of two seasons. After bouncing around the AHL for a few seasons, he left for Europe and played in Germany for a year. He decided to retire in 2006.

Nowadays, he's the attending surgeon at University Health Network and an Assistant Professor in the Division of Orthopaedic Surgery with the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto.

Luke Richardson - 2003-2006 - Drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1987.

Richardson, a former Captain of the CBJ, played 190 games in Columbus. On March 8, 2006, he was traded to the Maple Leafs, later signing with the Senators, and then retiring on November 27, 2008.

He moved into coaching in 2008 and has bounced around the NHL and AHL. His last job was with the Chicago Blackhawks, where he was fired on December 6th, 2024. Richardson will be an asst. coach for the Nashville Predators for 25-26.

Mike Commodore - 2009-2011 - Drafted by New Jersey in 1999.

Commodore was signed by Columbus on July 1, 2008, to a five-year contract worth $18.75 million. After 158 games, he was put on waivers on January 17, 2011, in which he cleared, and was assigned to the Springfield Falcons. He would report to the AHL and play 11 games, but that was it for the Mike Commodore experience.

He bounced around for a few seasons and finished his career playing in the KHL. Mike Commodore is mostly famous for his very nasty feud with Mike Babcock.

Václav Prospal - 2012-2013 - Drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1993.

Vinny Prospal played 130 games for Columbus and had 85 points. After two seasons, he retired on January 24, 2014.

After retiring, he moved into coaching. He coached youth in the Tampa area before returning to Czechia until 2021. In 2023, he was named an asst. coach for the Rochester Americans of the AHL.

Sonny Milano - 2016-2020 - Drafted by Columbus in 2014.

Milano played 116 games for Columbus over five years and totaled 42 points. He spent the majority of his time playing for the Lake Erie/Cleveland Monsters, playing in 163 games. He scored 45 goals and had 112 points.

The Sonny Milano experiment ended on February 24, 2020, when he was traded to the Anaheim Ducks.

Jake Bean - 2022-2024 - Drafted by Carolina in 2016.

On July 23, 2021, Bean was traded by the Hurricanes to the Columbus Blue Jackets and then immediately signed to a three-year contract. Bean only played 153 games for the CBJ, which was season in which he only played 14 due to having shoulder surgery.

The Jackets let him walk in 2024. He signed a deal with Calgary and played 64 games last season.

Jordan Harris - 2025 - Drafted by the Montréal Canadiens in 2017.

Harris was traded to Columbus prior to the 2024-25 season in exchange for Patrik Laine. He only played 33 games for the CBJ last season, even though he was healthy all year. The Jackets kept a lot of defensemen on the roster, and that led him to being a healthy scratch for most of the season.

Harris was not tendered a qualifying offer by the Blue Jackets in the summer of 2025, and he signed with his hometown Boston Bruins.

There are 22 days until opening night at NWA. The season kicks off by the playing the first game of the season on the road against the New Jersey Devils.

Next up is training camp, which kicks off on Wednesday, September 18. The camp will run until the preseason begins and then transition directly into the full preseason schedule. Here’s what the Blue Jackets have lined up so far.

After the first few days of camp, most rookies who received an invite will be cut and sent back to their junior teams. From there, the cuts will come more often as pre-season play gets underway.

The pre-season schedule is as follows:

Sunday, Sept. 21 vs. St. Louis Blues, 5 p.m. ET

Monday, Sept. 22 vs. Buffalo Sabres, 7 p.m. ET

Tuesday, Sept. 23 at Buffalo Sabres, 7 p.m. ET

Wednesday, Sept. 24 vs. Pittsburgh Penguins, 7 p.m. ET

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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