82 Days Until Opening Night At Nationwide Arena

Mikael Pyyhtiä is someone who seems like he can be a sneaky good player. 

He was called up to Columbus at the end of the 2022-23 season to play a couple of games due to the injury situation. In the final two games, he averaged 13 minutes of ice time and had a powerplay assist. 

Last season, he spent the majority of his time playing for the AHLs Cleveland Monsters. In 60 regular season games, Pyyhtiä scored 7 goals and had 28 points, which was good enough for 7th on the team in scoring. 

He was called up to Columbus to play a game on March 14th against the Ottawa Senators, where he would spend the rest of the season due to constant injuries.

Pyyhtiä played in the final 17 games, totaling two points, while averaging 13:09 of ice time. 

After the CBJ's season ended, he, along with the other half dozen Monsters, were sent back to Cleveland to finish their regular season and to try to get into the playoffs. The Monsters would go on to win the final three games and win their division.

Mikael Pyyhtiä played in 13 of the Monsters' playoff games, scoring once and chipping in 4 assists. The Monsters would lose to the Hershey Bears in the Eastern Conference Finals, who went on to win the Calder Cup. 

Pyyhtiä, who is from Turku, Finland, is going into the final year of his entry-level contract. He will then be a restricted free agent after the 24-25 season. He's only played 67 games for Cleveland in his career and has gotten a taste of NHL life, so Im sure he is confident he can get another contract from the Jackets. Pyyhtiä has probably earned it at this point. 

With two of the top five players in points for the Monsters having left in free agency, next could be a big year for Mikael Pyyhtiä. If the Jackets can stay healthy, and Pyyhtiä can get consistent ice time in Cleveland, he should be able to easily crack the top 3 or 4 for Cleveland in terms of points. Even with missing the final month of the Monsters season playing for Columbus, Pyyhtiä still finished top 4 in games played, so getting his time shouldn't be an issue. 

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