Blue Jackets' Vitali Abramov: Ineligible to begin season in AHL

Abramov must return to the QMJHL this season if he doesn't crack the Blue Jackets' roster out of training camp, Tom Reed of The Columbus Dispatch reports.

The NHL and CHL (the junior system that includes the QMJHL, OHL and WHL) have a long-standing agreement that any player under 20 who's already on a CHL roster won't be sent to the minor leagues, so despite the fact that Abramov dominated for Gatineau last season with 46 goals and 104 points in 66 games, the 19-year-old will have to spend one more year in the Q if there's no room for him in Columbus. As he did in 2016-17, though, expect him to be added to AHL Cleveland's roster late in the year for its playoff push once Gatineau's campaign is over.