Yahoo Sports The Columbus Blue Jackets Have 69 Days Until Opening Night At Nationwide Arena: Jordan Dumais
Jordan Dumais was born just outside of Montreal on the island of Ille Bizard, Que. But don't let a 5-foot-9 and 174-pound frame fool you.
“I have a chip on my shoulder," he has said in the past. "That’s just who I am."
As for how he got a Quebec-sized chip, there seem to be a few different reasons.
Obviously, his size is one of them. The other has to do with scouting reports regarding his skating, and Dumais, who took the criticisms personally. He turned what was a negative into what might now be a positive.
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Having spent the summer of 2022 in the gym and on the ice performing power-skating drills in hopes of getting quicker, any skating issues he had are not as pronounced as they once were. But as he works his way up to the professional level, it still could hold him back if he doesn’t continue to address it.
In January 2022, Jordan was left out of the CHL prospects game. From that point until the end of the season, he went on a tear, averaging three points per game and ending the year with 39 goals and 109 points. In the playoffs, he had six points in five games.
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There was something else that happened to Dumais that season, which only seemed to drive him more, and it was being left off the Team Canada roster for the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championships. Not only was he left off the team, but the tournament was being played in the same arena, The Scotiabank Centre, that his junior team, The Halifax Mooseheads play in.
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Dumais didn’t seem happy about it. So what did he do? He went on another tear, this time setting records along the way, ending the season with 54 goals and 140 points — just three points behind Connor Bedard as the second-leading scorer in the entire Canadian Hockey League that season.
But why was he left off Team Canada? The answer seems to be for a few reasons. The first is that Dumais is a pure winger and does not play center at all. On that year’s edition of Team Canada, the right-wingers could play either wing or center, giving more flexibility to the team.
Dumais finished the 2022-23 season by breaking the record for franchise points with 140, with the old record being 137. This was a 23-year-old record. He also won the QMJHL MVP. He played in 15 playoff games and had 21 points. Dumais did miss some playoff games due to injury though.
Jordan Dumais would be sent back to junior after CBJ training camp last fall, but only after he had to stay in Columbus due to an injury. So, his last junior season was delayed.
After missing some time to be evaluated in Columbus, Dumais finally returned to Halifax. He played in 21 games and had 47 points before the injury bug struck once again.
This time he had surgery to repair a sports hernia. Reports were also out there that he needed double hip surgery stemming from a broken hip he suffered when he was just 15 years old. He called it quits for the season and decided to get it all fixed.
In March, Dumais was charged with DUI and was suspended for 5 games. A charge that still isn't done making its way through the Halifax court system.
Dumais was at CBJ development camp this year and seemed to be skating at full go. He'll come to fall camp and try to make the Jackets, but will most likely be in Cleveland playing for the Monsters.
He'll go to Cleveland and try to get them back to the Calder Cup Playoffs. There will be some new blood in the lineup this upcoming season, and Dumais will be looking to start his professional career on a hot note. He joins James Malatesta, Luca Del Bel Belluz, and Stanislav Svozil as the young guys with extreme potential. But he'll also get guidance from Trey Fix-Wolansky, another undersized forward who has become the highest-scoring player in Cleveland Monsters history. He could learn a thing or two from TFW.
The Jordan Dumais Experience(ment) is about to begin.
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