The Columbus Blue Jackets have 19 days until opening night at Nationwide Arena. Today, we look at the history of jersey #19.
Let’s take a look.
Mathieu Darche – 2001-2002 – Undrafted out of
Saint-Laurent, Quebec.
Darche played 24 games for the CBJ over their first three seasons, totaling two points. Darche played until 2012, retiring with the Montreal Canadiens.
He is now the Assistant General Manager and Director of Hockey Ops for the Tampa Bay Lightning. He started with Tampa Bay in 2019 and has held various positions.
Sean Pronger – 2003 – Drafted by Vancouver in 1991.
The brother of Hall of Famer Chris Pronger played 104 games in Columbus and had 17 points. He also attended Bowling Green State University in Ohio.
After his two seasons in Columbus, he played for Vancouver and then left for Germany, where he played one season before retiring.
Brian Holzinger – 2004 – Drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in 1991.
He played 13 games as a Jacket in 03-04 and had one point. The Parma, Ohio native was traded to Columbus in 2003 and never played another NHL game after that season.
Holzinger also attended Bowling Green State University and won the Hobey Baker Award in 1995 when he had 66 points in 38 games. He retired in 2004.
Joe Motzko – 2004 – Undrafted out of
Bemidji, Minnesota.
Motzko played 11 games with the Jackets over three seasons where he had one point. After his time with Columbus, he played for the Capitals and Thrashers.
He left for Europe in 2009, and played in Germany, Austria, and Italy until he retired in 2014.
Alexandre Picard – 2006-2007 – Drafted by Columbus in 2004.
Picard was drafted 8th overall in 2004 by Columbus. He played 67 games over five seasons and had two points. He never played another NHL game after Columbus.
After leaving for Europe, he returned to North America in 2019 to play in The Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey, a semi-professional ice hockey league based in Quebec, where he still plays today.
Michael Peca – 2008-2009 – Drafted by Vancouver in 1992.
Peca played 136 games from 2007 to 2009 and had 56 points. After his time in Columbus, he never played another NHL game and retired in 2009.
On October 11, 2008, he received an indefinite suspension, which was later reduced to a five-game suspension, after grabbing referee Greg Kimmerly’s arm in Columbus’ first game of the 08-09 season. He is now an asst. coach for the Chicago Blackhawks.
Ethan Moreau – 2011 – Drafted by Chicago in 1994.
Played 37 games for the CBJ in 2010-11 and had six points after being claimed off waivers by the Edmonton Oilers on June 30, 2010.
The former Edmonton Oilers Captain and 08-09 King Clancy Memorial Trophy winner retired in 2012 after playing a season with the LA Kings.
Ryan Johansen – 2012-2016 – Drafted by Columbus in 2010.
Johansen was supposed to be the center of the future in Columbus, and he was until John Tortorella came to town. Johansen played 309 games for the Jackets and had 193 points, including back-to-back seasons with 63 and 71 points respectively.
He was traded to the Nashville Predators for Seth Jones in 2016, where he played 533 games for the Preds. He was never able to replicate his 71-point season from 2014-15 and hit a 64-point high for the Preds in 2019. Johansen is currently embroiled in some drama with the Philadelphia Flyers. On August 20, 2024, He was placed on unconditional waivers following material breach of contract.
Ryan Dzingel – 2019 – Drafted by Ottawa in 2011.
The former Ohio State Buckeye played 21 games as a Blue Jacket in 2019 and had 12 points after being acquired in 2019. He left in free agency and bounced around the league after that.
He played in the AHL in 23-24 for Henderson and currently doesn’t have a contract.
Liam Foudy – 2020-2024 – Drafted by Columbus in 2018.
Foudy played 90 games as a Jacket in five seasons, scoring 7 goals and totaling 19 points. He also had 35 points in 41 career games for Cleveland.
He was put on waivers on October 21, 2023, and picked up by Nashville. He signed with the New York Islanders for the 24-25 season and is slated to play for AHL Bridgeport this season.
Adam Fantilli – 2024-2025 – Drafted by Columbus in 2023.
After suffering a brutal skate cut in 2024, he was forced to miss the rest of the season. He scored 12 goals and totaled 27 points.
Last season, Fantilli got off to a bit of a slow start but really turned it on as the season went on. He would finish the season tied for the team lead with 31 goals. He also chipped in 23 assists and totaled 54 points.
This season, Fantilli is expected to take yet another step and become the dominating two-way player everyone thinks he can be. With the tutelage of Boone Jenner and Sean Monahan, he should be able to continue to grow into the face of the franchise.
There are 19 days until opening night at NWA.
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