He's had his ups and downs with Columbus
The Blue Jackets drafted Emil Bemström in 2017, #117 overall. Although he wasn’t a high draft pick, many draft experts thought the CBJ had found a decent player—a shifty skater who would score with a very good shot.
Bemström made his NHL debut during the 19-20 season. He would play in 56 games that season, scoring 10 goals and 20 points. Additionally, he played five playoff games in the bubble in 2020 but would fail to score a point.
During the shortened 2021 season, Bemström played 20 games in the NHL, but he also played for HIFK in Liiga. He would only score three goals and total five points for the Jackets. For HIFK however, he had 17 points in 16 games. During a game in May of 2021, Bemström would net a natural hat-trick against the Nashville Predators, his first NHL goal since March 2020.
The 2021-22 season Bemström would only play 41 games for the Jackets. He scored six goals and had 11 points. He would also play four games for Cleveland of the AHL scoring two goals.
In the 2022-23 season, Bemström would see his time split between Columbus and Cleveland. In Cleveland, he would play in 21 total games, scoring 14 goals and totaling 31 points. He seemed to be able to score and assist at will. In Columbus however, it was a different story. He played in 55 games, scoring seven goals for 22 points, and would average 12 minutes a game on ice.
Fans have a love/hate relationship with Emil Bemström. Most people think of him as a top prospect with unlimited potential, but what they need to realize is that he was a 4th round pick. Although a lot of scouts and draft experts didn’t think Bemström would even play in the NHL, he has shown that he can at least score a few goals.
But on April 13th, 2023, against the Pittsburgh Penguins, that love/hate relationship came to a head. Through no fault of his own, and simply doing what he is being paid to do, he scored a power-play goal. The Penguins were winning the game at the point 2-1, with a little over three minutes left to play. Johnny Gaudreau would go on to win the game for the Jackets in OT. This win sealed the Jackets' fate in that they would not secure the worst record in the NHL, thus losing out on the chance to draft #1 overall. A large portion of CBJ fans turned on Bemström for this, unfairly. He seemed to have been forgiven after the Blue Jackets were able to secure Adam Fantilli.
What is to become of Emil Bemström? Many people think he shouldn’t take a spot over guys who are more highly rated or more skilled. There’s no debate that Bemström is skilled, but he just can’t seem to put it together in the NHL. He had a very good year in limited AHL time last year, as well as when he played for HIFK during the COVID year. The 2023-24 season is the last year of a two-year deal and will most likely split his time again between the NHL and AHL, and then he will be RFA. In that RFA year, Alexandre Texier, Kent Johnson, Kirill Marchenko, and Jake Bean will also be RFA. So Jarmo and company will have a lot of important decisions to make.
Will Emil Bemström be part of the CBJ Future?