Where are they now? - A look back at some of the ‘original’ Jackets

By Dave Weissman, Columbus Wired

Now that Columbus is playing in it’s fourth season, there is history and it’s time to take a brief look at a few of the original Jackets, what they did for us and what they are doing now.

Lyle Odelein
A fan favorite, the first player chosen by the Blue Jackets and an important early cornerstone for the franchise. He was Columbus’s first Captain and held the honor for two years. Played in 146 games for the Jackets. He tallied 5 goals and 28 assists during his tenure and was a tutor to defenseman Rostislov Klesla.

Odelein was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks on Mar. 19, 2002 for defenseman Jaraslav Spacek and a 2003 second-round pick, which proved to be an excellent trade for GM Doug MacLean. He played in 12 games for the Hawks in 2001-2002 and 65 in 2002-2003 before being acquired by the Dallas Stars at the trading deadline for in exchange for Sami Helenius and future considerations.

He played sparingly for the Stars, appearing in only 3 regular season games and two playoff games.

Over the summer, he signed a free agent two-way contract with the Florida Panthers and will certainly provide a tough grittyness to their young team.

It is rumored that Lyle has kept his house in Columbus and plans to move the family there once his career is over, perhaps after this season. It shows what type of great town Columbus is.


Robert Kron
A 13-year NHL veteran, Kron found his way to Columbus in their inaugural year. His resume said that he would provide a scoring spark. In the 1999-2000 season, the year prior to joining Columbus, he posted a 13-27-40 offensive season in 81 games with the Carolina Hurricanes.

He languished with Columbus recording only 12 goals and 22 assists in two seasons. Fans need two hands to count the numerous times he had a ‘for sure’ goal only to have it bounce off the post, slip too far to the right or left, or just missing it altogether.

In the 2001-2002 season he was sent down to the farmclub in Syracuse a few times, hoping it would help his mental game. It never did and he was a real bust. He moved overseas and played the 2002-2003 season for Findland’s Lukko Rauma, recording 4 goals and 8 assists in 23 games.


Deron Quint.
Quint was a great one when he decided to show up and play. On those nights when he did not, he was horrible.

In the 2001-2002 season, he began his career with the Jackets playing in both Syracuse (21 games, 5-4-9) and Columbus (57 games, 7-16-23). He held out of camp prior to the 2001-2002 season, but would eventually sign a one-year deal and appear in 75 games that year, recording 7 goals and 18 assists.

He was not offered a contract at the end of the year and would end up signed with the Springfield Falcons (AHL) before being picked up by the Phoenix Coyotes and playing in 51 games for them, recording 7-10-17. He signed a free agent contract with Chicago for the 2003-2004 season.

Jamie Heward.
Heward was a steady defenseman for the jackets, but for some reason wound up in either former head coach Dave King or GM/President Doug MacLean’s doghouse.

The inaugural season, he played in 69 games, scoring 11 goals and 16 assists. In 2001-2002 he was bounced between Syracuse (14 games, 3-10-13) and Columbus (28 games, 1-2-3), but spent more time on the scoresheet listed as a healthy scratch (38 games).

Even when pressed, they would not reveal the real reason for all of the scratches. He appeared in 39 games for the Servette Geneve of the Switzerland National League league, tallying 8 goals and 23 assists with a whopping 60 PIM. His career high was 64 PIM in 1992-1993 with the Cleveland Lumberjacks of the old IHL. Sounds like he was letting loose of some pent up aggression.

Jean-Francois Labbe
Who? This highly touted goaltender was backup to Marc Denis last year, but rarely saw time on the ice. Was it that Denis was superb and breaking records for minutes played? Or was it that Labbe was a great AHL player, but could not take that next step? After spending most of last season warming the Blue Jackets bench, he was not offered a contract for this season and is currently playing for Lada Togliatti of the Russian Hockey League.