To put it mildly, Jake Christiansen knows his way up and down Interstate 71.

Three seasons ago, he made his NHL debut with the Blue Jackets, appearing in eight games while skating in 62 contests with the team’s AHL affiliate in Cleveland. He played in a career-best 24 NHL games in 2022-23 and another 50 with the Monsters; He played 12 games in Columbus last year and 62 games in Cleveland, where he was an AHL All-Star.

For this entire time, he was seemingly on the bubble of committing to the Blue Jackets, but that never seemed to happen. But in the meantime, the defender kept his spirits high and continued to work on his game.

“I think you learn a lot from every call, every return, every game in the AHL, etc.,” Christiansen said. “There’s a lot of things I’ve learned along the way and my game has changed a lot since I first got my chance in the NHL. It’s hard to name one because we’ve been learning constantly for four years.

“Of course you never give up. Keep working hard because there have been times when I’ve been sent down for the third, fourth, fifth time. It can be a little discouraging, but you just learn. If you keep working, keep working on your game and getting better, everything will be fine.

Through 11 games of the Blue Jackets’ season, it’s fair to say things are going well for the 25-year-old blueliner. A strong training camp earned him a spot on the opening night roster, and Christiansen spent the start of the season on the second pair with Damon Severson. He has four assists so far, skating 16:39 per night, and he and Severson have combined for 11 goals and 9 goals at 5-on-5 on the ice.

Along the way, he began to show the play that made him a standout player in the youth (22 goals and 50 points in 38 games, his final year of junior hockey with the WHL’s Everett) and also one of the best defensemen in the AHL. He is just one of two blueliners at this level to score at least 10 goals in the last three seasons; During this period, he collected a total of 37 goals and 125 points in 174 games with Cleveland.

Playing in a system that encourages defensive players to be active, Christiansen used the smooth skating skills and offensive instincts he showed in the minors to be a natural fit in head coach Dean Evason’s system.

“I think the way Dean coaches gets the linebackers more involved, and I have more confidence to get into that run,” Christiansen said. “It’s probably a combination of us continuing to work on it in the summer, getting more comfortable at this level and the style of play we’re playing.”

Evason has repeatedly talked about the players having a clean slate when he took over and it’s fair to say Christiansen has made the most of it and has held his ground so far.

“There was a position open,” Evason said. “When we went through training camp, he was the one who stepped in there. He deserved that position and played extremely well (at first). For all intents and purposes, he did that last year in Cleveland, so he was a really good fit for us at the start of the season.

“(Christiansen and Severson) both have great talent, but by playing up north they have simplified the game, they play fast. We do not deal with discs in our own region. They lift it up and move it forward. They are both great skaters. “They both participate in the game and we want all our defenders to do that.”

Severson, on the other hand, was happy to have another Western Canadian with him, as Christiansen came from the Vancouver area and Severson came from Saskatchewan. Whether it helped the duo quickly develop chemistry or whether their games just clicked together, they were successful at first.

“He’s played really well so far, he’s very confident,” Severson said. “I try to help as much as I can and do my part, but he did a good job helping me and I feel like I did my best to help him, too. I think the chemistry is there. We both like to move the puck, get involved in the game and own it. Instead of playing defense, we want to play with the puck. “We’re playing to our strengths right now and hopefully we can continue to do that.”

There may be another key to Christiansen’s success. After nagging hip issues the past few seasons, he said he trained much smarter rather than harder in the offseason, spending less time on the ice but taking a more targeted approach to training. He also changed his exercise routine to address this problem in order to feel better in games.

“Just having a pain-free, free mind is something that will go a long way,” he said. “Now I have to knock on wood. I try to keep my body active as much as possible so that my mind can work freely.

All told, things were going well for Christiansen this season, something he never doubted would happen.

“I felt like I could be at this level and that I had the skills to play at this level,” he said. “I love playing hockey, so it’s not like I’m completely grinding it out (in the AHL). I was enjoying every day and we made it to the playoffs (last season). “I’m not looking too far ahead, I’m just being where I am now and trying to help the team win.”