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Jenner got the enviable task of playing alongside Johnny Gaudreau last season, but that assignment didn't bolster the veteran center's offensive production. Jenner had 26 goals and 45 points in 68 games last season after finishing the 2021-22 campaign with 23 goals and 44 points in 59 contests. In other words, his points per game dipped marginally in his first campaign with Gaudreau. That's less a reflection on the quality of his linemates and more the reality that we've already seen Jenner's peak. He's a capable center who wins faceoffs and plays with a physical edge -- he had a 54.7 success rate on the draw, 51 PIM and 129 hits in 2022-23 -- but the 30-year-old isn't an elite offensive talent. If he stays healthy, then there's a good chance he'll manage to reach the 50-point mark for the first time in his career, but given his significant injury history, hitting that milestone should be seen as a best-case scenario.
Jenner's season was derailed by a back issue which sidelined him starting in the middle of March and caused him to miss the rest of the year. It's a shame because Jenner was in the midst of what was by far his best season to date. He finished the abbreviated campaign with 23 goals and 44 points in 59 games. Jenner's 14.4 percent shooting percentage was the highest of his career, and while that number is indeed high, it's not astronomical. Jenner saw 2:58 of power-play time per game after averaging just 1:25 per game with the man advantage the year prior. Jenner would seem to be one of the Jackets most at risk of seeing his role decrease following the addition of Johnny Gaudreau in free agency, so keep that in mind on draft day.
Jenner has tallied 19 goals, 41 points and a minus-23 rating in 111 games over the past two seasons, but that didn't stop the Blue Jackets from handing him a new four-year, $15 million contract extension in late July. Jenner's best NHL campaign was a 30-goal, 49-point effort back in 2015-16, but that was a direct result of a 13.3 percent shooting percentage, a number Jenner has never come close to matching in any other campaign. He's also throwing the body less than ever before and his shot numbers have dipped. In short, there's not a whole lot here to get excited about from a fantasy perspective.
The veteran grinder managed a career-low 24 points for a season in which he played at least 70 games in 2019-20, and that 30-goal campaign he produced in 2015-16 increasingly looks like a typo on his resume. Jenner is, however, still a key part of John Tortorella's Jackets, as he's one of the glue players on the roster -- he's blocked at least 70 shots and dished at least 100 hits in five straight campaigns, although last year's 109 hits was also a big downturn from the 200 plus he was racking up a couple seasons ago. Still only 27 years old, Jenner may be wearing down, but he should still contribute strong secondary stats for the two years remaining on his contract.
A Swiss army knife of a player, Jenner has settled into a reliable spot on the Columbus roster over the last three seasons, bouncing between a checking line and secondary scoring assignments and producing double-digit goals and 30-plus points while playing a gritty two-way game. He wasn't as physical as usual in 2018-19, falling well short of fifth career 200-hit campaign, but nagging injuries may have played a role in that decline, and he looked 100 percent during the playoffs, laying 32 hits in only 10 postseason games. The 26-year-old may need to ramp up that physicality this season. The club's offseason losses in free agency significantly reduces the roster's offensive skill level, and a return to a more grinding style of play could be the result -- a style right in Jenner's wheelhouse.
If any player is emblematic of the current Blue Jackets roster and philosophy, it's Jenner. The physical forward plays with heart and grit and can line up in nearly any role while getting the most out of his skills, but he also has a limited offensive ceiling and his 30-goal eruption a few years ago looks increasingly like an aberration. The 25-year-old signed a four-year extension in the offseason that could keep him in Columbus through 2021-22, and while he did have an impressive finish to his campaign last season (eight goals and 19 points in his final 28 games, a 55-point pace), he's not likely to keep that up over a full 82-game schedule even if he does see significant ice time in the top six.
The feisty forward wasn't able to duplicate his breakout 30-goal performance from 2015-16, but in large part that was due to the development of the players around him rather than a big regression in his own play. While not a natural scorer, the 24-year-old is strong on the puck and his max-effort style and high compete level in all three zones fit in very well on a team that has developed an identity as a relentless opponent. As the organization’s young snipers, such as Oliver Bjorkstrand and Sonny Milano, continue their development and push for top-six spots, Jenner could eventually find himself sliding down to the third line, where his grit and two-way play would be right at home.
Jenner was one of the few players to step up for the Blue Jackets in a lost season. The 23-year-old had his best year yet with 30 goals and 49 points, establishing himself as one of the team's building blocks for the future by playing an abrasive, two-way game that endeared him to coach John Tortorella. While he flipped between left wing and center during the year and his 53.1 percent faceoff win rate led the team, Tortorella preferred using him on the wing despite the team's lack of depth up the middle following the Ryan Johansen trade. Jenner will likely remain primarily on the wing in 2016-17, but given his excellent chemistry with Brandon Dubinsky, the duo should anchor the Jackets' top line, providing Jenner with plenty of opportunity to repeat or even top last year's numbers.
Jenner's sophomore campaign was a bit of a dud, as hand and back injuries knocked him out for huge chunks of time, limiting him to just 31 games. The good news is that he was skating top-line minutes before the back injury ate up three months of his season; the bad news is that he didn't enjoy that sort of ice time upon returning for the final 11 games of the year, and the Jackets signed Brandon Saad in the offseason to ride shotgun on the first line with Ryan Johansen. Still, Jenner should slot in as the second-line left wing, and see plenty of power-play time en route to a hike in offensive production. Fantasy owners in specialty formats will appreciate that Jenner complements that production with plenty of hits, too.
By just about any measure, Jenner's rookie season was a successful one. After a slow start, he scored 14 goals and 26 points over his final 55 games with a plus-12 rating, adding three goals and five points in the Blue Jackets' first-round playoff loss to the Penguins. Jenner's 212 hits on the season led all rookies, and he finished the year firmly entrenched among the Jackets' top-six forwards, seeing plenty of ice time alongside Ryan Johansen. A sophomore slump is always possible, and he doesn't have a huge offensive ceiling, but as his body and his game mature, Jenner figures to be yet another Columbus forward who plays hard in every zone and can contribute in a variety of fantasy categories.
Jenner ended his junior career with a bang, scoring 45 goals and 82 points in 56 games for Oshawa (OHL) before a late-season AHL stint in which he looked right at home. He's a coach's dream, playing a fierce two-way style and backing down from no one, and after a standout preseason he seems ready to settle into the Blue Jackets' lineup. Jenner's lack of elite offensive skills could limit him to a third-line role, but he's arguably the best faceoff man in the world outside of the NHL and that skill alone could land him plenty of man-advantage ice time once he establishes himself. He won't be a fantasy stud, but he will be a fan favorite.
Boone is a two-way center prospect that wrapped up his OHL career with 22 goals and 49 points in 43 games. He will now try to prove in the AHL that he can be more than just a checking line player in the pros after his tenure with Oshawa.
Jenner was a point-a-game player last season in the OHL, but it was his leadership, character and work ethic that made the Blue Jackets trade up to grab him in the draft when he slipped out of the first round. It's a good fit from an organizational perspective as he'll have no better role model for his style of play, and no better comp for his possible ceiling, than R.J. Umberger.
