Owen Sillinger looks to forge his path to the top

When the prospects took the ice for the first day of the Blue Jackets’ annual development camp last week, 24-year-old forward Owen Sillinger was nowhere to be found. For a few hours, some may have questioned whether his participation would happen at all.  

But around noon, the door to the back hallway at OhioHealth Chiller North opened and the confident strut of the oldest Sillinger brother was unmistakable. After introducing himself, Owen explained that he was one of the many victims of Toronto’s Pearson International Airport travel nightmares following the NHL draft.  

But Sillinger did not appear angry or frustrated with the delay, and his struggles getting to Columbus did not affect his performance on the ice over the last two days of camp.  

Sillinger netted a goal in the annual Stinger Cup, where prospects got to play periods of 5-on-5, 4-on-4, and 3-on-3 hockey in front of a packed house of 5th Liners and most of the CBJ hockey operations staff. 

“I didn’t get to skate Monday, but I felt great as the days went on,” Sillinger said. “It was great obviously being able to play in game-like situations here.”  

“I thought I played [with] a lot of compete and pace, so I’m happy for myself.”  

In March, Owen signed a one-year AHL contract with the Cleveland Monsters for the upcoming season. After playing at Bemidji State for four years (graduating with a marketing degree), the 5-10 forward recorded a career clip of 51-64-115 with a +24 rating in 134 games. He was a member of the 2018-19 WCHA All-Rookie team his first year, earned second-team All-CCHA team honors last year when he had 47 points in 39 games, and wore the “C” on his chest his senior year. 

Of course, the name Sillinger is not new to the Blue Jackets organization. The first Sillinger nameplate was stitched on the union blue jersey in 2001 when Owen’s father, Mike, spent two of his 17 years in the NHL with the Blue Jackets.  

Fast forward 20 years, along with a few new logos and a different jersey number, and the second Sillinger name was placed in a Blue Jackets locker for Owen’s little (or maybe we should say “younger”) brother, Cole.  

The Blue Jackets selected Cole as the 12th overall pick in the 2021 NHL draft. He appeared in 79 games last season, recording 16-15-31 including a hat trick against Vegas on March 13. The Columbus-born 19-year-old quickly became a fan favorite, and Cole received well-deserved recognition when Rick Nash invited him to join Team Canada at the 2022 IIHF World…