The time for Blue Jackets' Vladislav Gavrikov to lead is now or never.
21 октября 2021 года. Brian Hedger. The Columbus Dispatch

The Russian defenseman is eccentric, eager and experienced beyond his limited NHL service time. He's an 'old soul' who can help stabilize a back end missing Seth Jones and David Savard.

He wears Air Jordans, speaks three languages, considers beer pong a sport, has a signature goal celebration and enjoys singing karaoke.

His song of choice, “It’s My Life,” was made famous by Bon Jovi, but Vladislav Gavrikov couldn’t have picked a more apropos tune. The Blue Jackets’ defenseman has just begun his third NHL season and is enjoying his life to the fullest as a player, husband and doting dad to a seven-month-old daughter.

His face is also on the façade of Nationwide Arena now, which to Gavrikov, 25, means the time to help with leadership is now or never.

“I will say, ‘Finally I am there.’ ” Gavrikov touted his billboard-sized likeness above one of the arena’s entrances. “Made it. It was a goal.”

His sarcasm is obvious, but it's not entirely a joke. In a short amount of time, Gavrikov has become a key part of the Blue Jackets’ new leadership circle. He and Zach Werenski are the only two left of the team’s previous top four defensemen and Gavrikov now wants to steady the ship.

“I feel more responsibility for the team right now, for the guys who are sitting next to me and for my game,” he said. “I feel like I should (take) one more step in my game, as a player and (with) the team here.”

Trades in the past calendar year subtracted stalwart defensemen Seth Jones and David Savard, who was Gavrikov’s former partner on the second pairing. Werenski signed a six-year contract extension following the Jones trade in July and is now an alternate captain. 

Gavrikov is leading in his own way.

“I think he’s 25 and he looks like he’s about 33 or 34, you know?” Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen said. “He’s kind of got an ‘old soul’ about him, the way he does it, but that’s the way he approaches the game. He understands the importance of that part of it. In a short amount of time he’s become a very important piece to our team in what he brings and the style he plays.”

In other words, Gavrikov is dependable for a team starting out with a lot of uncertainty along the blue line. It’s been no surprise to see him paired with Adam Boqvist after starting out in the preseason with Jake Bean &mdash two skilled, offensive-minded defensemen in the early stages of their NHL careers.

Gavrikov is early in his NHL career, too, but that tends to get overlooked because of his age, international experience and playing style.

“He drove back with me from the airport the other night, and I asked him how many years he’s played in the NHL,” said Boqvist, who played the past two seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks and has logged the same amount of time in the league as Gavrikov. “I was thinking six or so, but this is only his third. It just seems like he’s been in the league a long time.”

Gavrikov is just beginning to stretch his tentacles.

“When he played with (Savard), I called him the ‘Octopus’ and the other guy was a lumberjack,” Larsen said of Gavrikov, who stands 6-foot-3, 213 pounds. “He’s just got tentacles. He seems to get a hand on a guy and they don’t move. He’s one guy who’s very good at closing plays out. He’s a very strong man.”

Eccentric too.

Take, for instance, Gavrikov’s recent revelation during a player bio on the arena’s scoreboard that he “dominates” at beer pong and loves singing Bon Jovi’s “It’s My Life,” during karaoke. He even belted out a few lyrics, acapella, as fans laughed and cheered.

Following the interview, the song blared over the arena’s sound system, and Gavrikov began happily singing along.

“I just heard the crowd going nuts and I didn’t know what was going on,” Boqvist said, laughing. “I didn’t ask. I just saw it was ‘Gavy’ on the screen, so … you know.”

It’s one of Gavrikov’s ways to lead. It’s his life. 

“He’s got a good personality, just the jokes he makes with everybody,” Werenski said. “It seems like he’s always loose. Especially for a young team, I think it helps guys out. New guys and young guys are seeing him just having fun with it, so he’s been awesome in the locker room and, obviously, on the ice.”

On the building too.

bhedger@dispatch.com

@BrianHedger