Blue Jackets’ Luca Pinelli to make NHL debut against Leafs
Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Dean Evason told reporters that Luca Pinelli will make his NHL debut Wednesday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
CBJ coach Dean Evason says Zach Werenski is IN tonight against Leafs
Kirill Marchenko, Mathieu Olivier are OUT tonight
Stoney Creek, Ont. native Luca Pinelli makes his NHL debut @TSN_Sports
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) November 26, 2025
Evason also told reporters that defenseman Brendan Smith will make his Blue Jackets’ debut against the Leafs, adding that Zach Werenski will play, but forward Kirill Marchenko and defenseman Mathieu Olivier won’t be in the lineup.
Werenski and Olivier left the Blue Jackets’ Monday matchup against the Washington Capitals with injuries.
The Blue Jackets recalled Pinelli from their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters, on an emergency basis on Tuesday. The 20-year-old had five goals and five assists for 10 points in 13 games this season, leading the Monsters in goals and points.
Pinelli, a native of Stoney Creek, Ont., was taken by Columbus in the fourth round of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. He spent four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League with the Ottawa 67’s, where he scored 128 goals and 124 assists for 252 points in 246 career games. He reached career highs in 2023-24, where he finished with 48 goals and 34 assists for 82 points.
As for Smith, who signed a one-year, two-way contract with the club just a few days ago, the 36-year-old spent the first chunk of the 2025-26 season with Cleveland, recording one assist in 11 games.
In 15 NHL seasons, Smith, a native of Mimico, Ont., has 39 goals and 105 assists for 144 points in 726 career regular-season games with the Dallas Stars, New Jersey Devils, Carolina Hurricanes, New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings.
The Blue Jackets are 11-9-3 with 25 points through their first 23 games of the 2025-26 season. They are sixth in the Metropolitan Division and have a goal differential of minus-seven.