Brule: Healthy Scratch

[Tipped Off]

from the Columbus DISPATCH: http://www.dispatch.com/bluejackets/bluejackets.php?story=dispatch/2006/10/10/20061010-C5-01.html

Brule sits as healthy scratch
Highly touted rookie held out to make room for Zherdev
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
By Aaron Portzline THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Blue Jackets center Gilbert Brule, touted as a Calder Trophy candidate this season as the NHL’s top rookie, was a healthy scratch last night against Phoenix.

"You don’t want to scratch anybody. This is the tough part of my job," coach Gerard Gallant said.

"But my job early in the season is to play the guys who can help us beat Phoenix."

The Jackets had to make room in the lineup for right winger Nikolai Zherdev, who made his 2006-07 debut last night after signing a contract late in training camp.

Zherdev joined the No. 2 forward line with left winger Fredrik Modin and center Alexander Svitov, shifting right winger Anson Carter down to the No. 3 line with left winger Jason Chimera and center Manny Malhotra.

Dan Fritsche, who had played with Chimera and Malhotra, took Brule’s spot at center on the No. 4 line, with left winger Jody Shelley and right winger Jaroslav Balastik.

Brule said he wasn’t surprised, even though it’s the first time he’s been a healthy scratch since he started playing hockey.

"I only played a couple of shifts (Saturday against Chicago)," he said. "I’m disappointed, I guess. I want to be out there. I want to help us win, and I think I can do that."

The Blue Jackets’ plans with Brule are unclear, but his fortunes could change soon. Fritsche left last night’s game because of a shoulder injury.

Brule has up to two years of junior hockey eligibility, should the Blue Jackets decide to return him to the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League.

At 19, he isn’t old enough to play in the American Hockey League.

Not that the Jackets are thinking in those terms yet.

"(A healthy scratch) is not going to hurt him," Gallant said. "His attitude is fine. He’s worked really hard, he really has.

"Gilbert’s going to be a great player, and everybody understands that."

[Tipped Off]

http://www.dispatch.com/bluejackets/bluejackets.php?story=dispatch/2006/10/15/20061015-E12-02.html

BLUE JACKETS NOTEBOOK
Brule told he can relax
MacLean in no hurry to send center back to juniors for more seasoning
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Aaron Portzline
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH


ST. PAUL, Minn. — Blue Jackets president and general manager Doug MacLean said he sat down earlier this week with rookie center Gilbert Brule.

Brule has had a hard time finding playing time early this season, and rumors started cropping up last week in his hometown of Vancouver that Brule might be headed back to his junior club.

"I just wanted to make sure the kid’s not worried about anything he shouldn’t be worried about," MacLean said. "I told him to relax and play. Just play. And he told me that he’s fine, that all he wants is a chance to play."

MacLean then was hit with the $1 million question: Are the Blue Jackets planning to return Brule to juniors?

"For now, I would say no," MacLean said. "That’s not something we’ve even discussed."

But, MacLean acknowledged, it hasn’t been entirely ruled out, either.

Brule was pegged as the Blue Jackets’ No. 2 center at the start of training camp. He didn’t have a bad camp, but he didn’t have as good a camp as Alexander Svitov, Geoff Platt or Dan Fritsche, all of whom play center.

Svitov holds down the No. 2 center spot with left winger Fredrik Modin and right winger Nikolai Zherdev. Platt is playing in Syracuse. Fritsche is out at least another week because of a shoulder injury.

So Brule, who was dropped to the No. 4 line for the first two games of the season and scratched for the third, was back in the lineup last night when the Blue Jackets played the Minnesota Wild.

Can the Blue Jackets find enough ice time for Brule to justify keeping him in the NHL?

"That’s the major issue," MacLean said. "We’ve got to do what’s right for the kid."

On the flip side, is there anything Brule can gain from a fourth season of major junior hockey?

"That’s the other issue," MacLean said. "Those are the two big things we’ve got to juggle here."

There are also financial ramifications.

If Brule plays a 10 th game this season in the NHL, the first year of his entry-level contract would be engaged. The Blue Jackets wouldn’t have to keep paying him if he went back to Vancouver, but his current contract would expire in 2008-09 instead of bumping back another season.

Perhaps a bigger milestone in the Blue Jackets’ decision-making process is the 41-game mark.

If Brule is on the Blue Jackets’ roster for the 41 st game of the season – Jan. 5 in Anaheim – he’d be credited with a year of NHL service, re: one year closer to unrestricted free agency.

Brule earned a year of NHL service last season, when two serious injuries kept him on the Blue Jackets’ roster until Jan. 17.

For his part, Brule has kept a low profile.

"All the other stuff is out of my control," Brule said earlier in the week. "What’s in my control is on the ice. I’ve got to make the most of the opportunity."