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Columbus defenseman Zach Werenski is only 19 years old.
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Blue Jackets rookie defenseman Zach Werenski, 19, plays like a grizzled veteran

Kirk Irwin/Getty Images

Blue Jackets rookie defenseman Zach Werenski, 19, plays like a grizzled veteran

Sure, those 11 goals Columbus defenseman Zach Werenski scored in the regular season were pretty impressive.

Same with the 36 assists he earned.

And it’s hard to ignore the team-high six shots on goal he recorded in the Blue Jackets’ 3-1 loss against the Penguins Wednesday in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference opening-round playoff series, too.

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Ultimately, though, the most striking numbers associated with Werenski are the ones on his birth certificate: 7-19-1997.

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That’s because everything Werenski has achieved — and all of which he seems capable of — must be viewed in the context of him being a 19-year-old.

Good thing there’s documented evidence of that, because absolutely nothing about Werenski’s work on the ice suggests that he is a teenager. Or anything less than an established, accomplished veteran.

“He’s got a mentality, as far as how you handle yourself,” Columbus coach Jon Tortorella said Thursday. “I watch young kids in the league.

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“I’ve watched some of them and said, ‘Man, where are they going?’ Sometimes, it’s almost disrespectful to the league.

“Zach, that’s one of [his] greatest qualities. He respects the locker room, the hierarchy in there. He respects the game. Understands a little bit of the history of the game, which I think we’ve lost sometimes with some of our young kids.

“He’s become a very good pro in one year. That takes time for me, with kids, understanding how to be a pro. He’s got it already.”

 

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It certainly looked that way in Game 1, when Werenski turned in a performance Tortorella labeled “inspiring.”

Werenski did not participate Thursday in the Blue Jackets practice, but Tortorella said he simply was given a “maintenance day.”

That wasn’t entirely surprising, considering that Werenski sat out the final four games of the regular season because of an apparent shoulder injury he sustained April 2 against Washington.

Werenski said after Game 1 that he felt “really good,” and there’s no reason at this point to doubt that he’ll be in the lineup when Columbus faces the Penguins in Game 2 at 7:08 p.m. Friday at PPG Paints Arena.

For all the things Werenski does well — skate, shoot, think the game — many of his teammates believe his greatest asset is something Werenski doesn’t do — panic.

“He’s very poised with the puck,” Columbus defenseman Jack Johnson said. “He’s never seems to be in a hurry, or in a panic mode. That’s something you can’t really teach people.”

Werenski was the eighth player chosen in the 2015 draft, and left the University of Michigan after two seasons.

It was clear by then that he had enormous potential, and his arrival in Columbus generated considerable excitement.

None of that fazed him, said Seth Jones, Werenski’s defense partner.

And Jones is qualified to speak on the subject, having been the fourth player drafted two years earlier.

“He’s handled it extremely well,” Jones said. “He came in and was a big part of our success.”

In most years, a player of Werenski’s caliber would contend for the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie. That’s not going to happen — Toronto center Auston Matthews should be fine-tuning his acceptance speech — but there might be a Norris Trophy or two in his future.

Werenski also figures to play a leading role in whatever Columbus achieves in coming seasons, since he has contributed so much in his first.

“He’s really mature on the ice,” Blue Jackets defenseman David Savard said. “He looks like he’s way older than he actually is.”

 

Dave Molinari: Dmolinari@Post-Gazette.com and Twitter @MolinariPG.

First Published: April 14, 2017, 4:00 a.m.

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Columbus defenseman Zach Werenski is only 19 years old.  (Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
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