Now with six regular forwards due to injury, the Columbus Blue Jackets have had to grab multiple players from their AHL affiliate to fill in the gaps on their roster. Continuing with this theme, the Blue Jackets have recalled forward Mikael Pyyhtia from their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters, on an emergency loan.
There should be some excitement building in Columbus for Pyyhtia, who has now become the sixth-leading scorer on a very solid Monsters team in his first full season of professional hockey in North America. After being selected by the Blue Jackets with the 114th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, Pyyhtia spent the last two seasons in his native Finland to play for TPS of the Finnish Liiga.
In those last two years spent with TPS, Pyyhtia became one of the better offensive players throughout the league. In his 103 regular season games in the Liiga since being drafted by Columbus, Pyyhtia scored a total of 28 goals and 55 points; which is notably solid production from a player in his early 20s.
Now having fully transitioned to North American hockey, Pyyhtia has scored seven goals and 27 points already this season. Helping lead Cleveland to a 34-18-3-3 start in their first 58 games, there is every reason to believe that Pyyhtia will suit up in the Calder Cup playoffs for the first time this year.
