Hockey is one of the less popular of the major sports in America. However, it may not stay
that way for long in Ohio. The local hockey team in Ohio, the Columbus Blue Jackets, have one
of the brightest futures in all of the National Hockey League (NHL). After finishing second to
last in the most recent season concluded in April, the Blue Jackets will have a top pick in the
upcoming annual draft, in which they will be picking from the top hockey prospects in the world.
Similar to the other professional sports leagues like the NBA, the NHL uses a lottery system
to determine the picks in the draft to reduce the effects of intentionally losing to gain good draft
position, also called tanking. Since the Blue Jackets finished in the bottom two this season, they
are guaranteed a top 4 pick in what some analysts are calling the best draft class in modern
history of hockey.
Arguably the best prospect in hockey history will be drafted into the NHL this upcoming
draft. Connor Bedard is a Canadian hockey player who has been talked about since he was in
middle school. He played on Canada’s national junior hockey team and tore up a league full of
players that have already found NHL success at 20 years old. Bedard was the best player, despite
being only 17 years old. He is undoubtedly the top prospect in the draft, and the Blue Jackets
have a 13.5% chance to get him. Although this may not seem very high, any chance to get a
franchise-changing player like Bedard is pretty much as good as it gets.
While getting Connor Bedard in the draft would almost guarantee a bright future for hockey
in Columbus, there are many other players that the Blue Jackets can draft to turn around their
franchise. Players like Adam Fantilli, Leo Carlsson and Matvei Michkov are all excellent players
that should perform well in the NHL.
Adam Fantilli comes out of Michigan University, from which the Blue Jackets already have
two very successful players in Kent Johnson and Zach Werenski. Fantilli won the Hobey Baker

award for the best player in college hockey this past season. Leo Carlsson is another top-tier
prospect coming from the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), the top hockey league in Sweden. He
did extremely well in a league full of men in their prime playing professional hockey. Finally,
Matvei Michkov is another prospect that could make a huge difference for any NHL team. He
comes from the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), the top professional hockey league in
Russia. So the Blue Jackets have a large pool of players to pick from when it comes time to draft
their next superstar.
While a top prospect would grow the Blue Jackets a lot, they already have plenty of
developing players to lock down their future in hockey. David Jiricek, Kent Johnson, Denton
Mateychuk, Kirill Marchenko, Yegor Chinakhov, Corson Ceulemans, Patrik Laine and Jordan
Dumais are just a couple of players under 24 years old that the Blue Jackets have. All of these
players have been extremely successful at all different levels of hockey, with some already
finding success in the NHL.
Along with all of these amazing young players, the Blue Jackets have several players who are
already very successful in the NHL. Johnny Gaudreau is the centerpiece of the franchise that will
be built around during the coming seasons. The 7 time all-star signed a 7 year contract with the
Blue Jackets, running through 2030. In 80 games with the Blue Jackets, Gaudreau netted 21
goals and dished out a stunning 53 assists. Patrik Laine is another highly talented player on the
roster. Drafted second overall in 2016, Laine is only 24 years old but has already had a 44 goal
season, although not with the Blue Jackets. He has had his struggles ever since being traded to
the Blue Jackets two seasons ago, but he has the potential to be one of the best goal-scoring
forwards in the entire league. Lastly, Zach Werenski is a defenseman who has the capability to be
top-tier if he can stay healthy. He has only played 116 games in the past 3 seasons, but has over

70 points during that time. The two-time all-star defenseman will be a staple for the Blue Jackets
for years to come if he can remain on the roster.
With all of these talented players on the team, it is reasonable to wonder why the Blue
Jackets lost as many games as they did over the course of the latest season. Over 550 games were
missed by players due to injury. Considering there are 82 games in a season, there was an
average of over 6 players out due to injury every single game. This includes forementioned star
Zach Werenski, who went down in the first week of the season with a shoulder injury and missed
the remainder of the season due to surgery. He is one of if not the best defender on the team, so
him going down was detrimental to the team’s success. Injuries do happen in sports, but the Blue
Jackets were particularly fragile during this past season. If they can manage to stay healthy
during the next season, the playoffs will likely be in the picture.
Many fans have already started to recognize the huge potential of this franchise. On average,
about 17,000 fans went to Blue Jackets home games, filling out around 85% of Nationwide
Arena’s capacity. Toward the end of the season, some Blue Jackets games had as many as 21,000
fans in the arena, which was over the capacity with the arena being 105% full. This gives the
franchise a lot of room to grow with a foundation of great fans.
Between the extremely high potential in the prospect pool, the locker room full of all-stars
and talent, and the loyal fans who show up to every game, the Blue Jackets have a very bright
hockey future. The NHL draft lottery takes place on May 8, so tune in if you are interested in
seeing if the Blue Jackets have the opportunity to draft one of the best prospects in hockey
history.

 Little kids love to be in their own world. Whether it be with princes and princesses, or superheroes, they all love to explore their imagination. 

     On May 5, all students from kindergarten to fourth grade are invited to participate in a princess dance. This event will be held at Stow High School.

     The main idea of this event is to give these young kids the chance to have an enchanting night with the high schools’ very own princes and princesses. 

     Tickets will be sold on the Hometown app for $10 each. Everyone attending the event must purchase a ticket for general admission.

     This dance qualifies as a father-daughter dance as well. It provides each child with a night of imagination and adventure. 

     Every child deserves to have an amazing experience and memory at least once in their lifetime. This dance presents just that experience for them.

     In order to purchase tickets, go to the Hometown app and go to Stow Munroe Falls Events. Once done with that, search Princess Dance, after that, tickets can be purchased for $10 a piece.

     Children of all ages should enjoy this event and the time they get to spend with the prices and princesses.

     Children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian for the night, and provide a “carriage” for each prince or princess to ride to and from the event. 

    Student council runs so many events: They put on spectacular events for all ages and people, and they have run numerous events for the school.

     Student council ran the homecoming weekend and spirit week as well. They put on spirit weeks that are all significant to the event.

     Student Council also runs the football game themes and gets volunteers to set up parades and festivals in the beginning and end of the year.

 Confidence is a beautiful skill to have, but sometimes it does not come naturally. For those who are not born with confidence, just fake it until you make it.

     Confidence in simpler terms is when a person feels sure of themself and their abilities. Many people see confidence as a green flag, specifically in interviews, a workplace or in school. With this extremely important trait existing, it is necessary that one uses it to their advantage–whether it is real or fake. 

     Sophomore, Anderson Hurst, is one of the students who has had to fake confidence in certain aspects of his life.

     “I tend to display more confidence when I’m meeting people, especially in formal settings, and when someone is making my siblings uncomfortable, I’ll show more confidence to make them more comfortable and to show the person that what they are doing won’t make it past me,” Hurst stated. 

     Outside of faking confidence in favor of oneself, it can be incredibly useful to fake confidence for others. Hurst uses fake confidence as a way to make his siblings feel more comfortable.

     While faking confidence can help in job interviews or with the people one may care about, there are plenty of other reasons why faking confidence can be helpful and useful in life. 

     “Faking confidence is useful when you’re out of your comfort zone because it’s not evident that you’re uncomfortable, and it makes you seem more mature by the way you hold yourself, possibly giving you more opportunities in life,” Hurst explained. 

     When it is evident that someone is uncomfortable in whatever position they are in, it can be difficult to trust that person. If that person fakes confidence and appears to be comfortable in their position, more people will be likely to trust them.

     Adding onto Hurst’s point that confidence can be faked for someone’s loved ones, others can truly benefit from someone else faking confidence.

     “Faking confidence can help you and the people around you grow as people. It’s a fake it till-you make it scenario. The more you act confident, after a while, you will become truly confident,” Hurst said.

     All of the proof can be in the puzzle. When someone proves that faking confidence makes them truly confident, the people around them will try the same strategies they did. 

     Faking confidence is extremely helpful in the event of showing up for others and putting on a “brave face.” More people will be likely to believe in that person, making that person believe in themselves.

     In the end, nobody can notice whether one’s confidence is fake or not, so try it out—there is nothing to lose. Faking confidence seriously can change someone’s life for the better. 

     Motivational speaker, Brian Tracy once said, “Fake it until you make it! Act as if you had all the confidence you require until it becomes your reality.”

 Calling anyone who wants breakfast, lunch and dinner–head over to a little diner known as Stownut Donut. 

     When we entered the restaurant, it almost had a ‘60s type of feeling about it. The decorations were nicely placed and made you feel at home. The waitress came over in a short amount of time and was very polite. 

     Ava ordered the #7, which contained two eggs, toast and your choice of potatoes or meat. Courtney got the #3, and it consisted of two texas-style pieces of french toast with a choice of bacon, sausage or ham. Ava got scrambled eggs, white toast and got potatoes. 

     She thought the eggs were good but a bit dry, and needed salt, but overall, it was pretty good. The toast was rather delicious after she added butter on it, she said. She thinks that was the best thing on her plate. 

     As for the potatoes, she thought those were good as well. They were seasoned perfectly; she tried them with ketchup, and they were even better than before. Overall, she said it was good so she’d rate it a 7/10. 

     Courtney got French toast with bacon. She thought the French toast was good, especially with syrup, and they had powdered sugar on them, which made them even better. The display of the French toast was good, as they looked like they were made at a fancy five-star restaurant. The bacon was good, maybe not the best thing on her plate but overall, pretty good. 

     The price range is relatively cheap depending on what you get. Both meals were $9.99 with many other options on the menu. 

One can find this small gem located in the Oregon Trails Plaza, down the street from the high school. They’re open from 6:30 a.m. – 2 p.m most days. This restaurant is definitely suitable for families and children but maybe not large groups considering there is not much room inside, but the outside would be good for a larger group. Altogether, this restaurant is a nice and comfortable place to eat and relax while enjoying some delicious food.