COLUMBUS, Ohio — A collection of notes, insights, ruminations and did-you-knows gathered throughout the week that was for the Columbus Blue Jackets:
Item No. 1: A wild night
A player’s first call-up to the NHL is a massive moment — not just for the player but for their surrounding family. It’s one part nerves, two parts excitement and, in some cases, a major drama behind the scenes. Consider the story earlier this week when Luca Del Bel Belluz, a second-round pick (No. 44) of the Blue Jackets in the 2022 draft, was called up for his NHL debut.
Angelo Del Bel Belluz was in a real estate development meeting on Tuesday when his cell phone buzzed. If it wasn’t Luca calling, he might not have stepped outside to take it.
“Luca’s out of the breath on the other end,” Angelo said. “He said, ‘Dad, I just got called up. You have to get down here. Leave now!’”
It was 12:58 p.m. and the Blue Jackets had just recalled Luca from AHL Cleveland to make his NHL debut in the season finale vs. Carolina. The recall came late because Blue Jackets forward Dmitry Voronkov had fallen sick during the day.
Angelo’s first call was to his wife, Susy, who works for WestJet, the second-largest airline based in Canada. But she had bad news: The last direct flight of the day from Toronto to…
