Werenski's first day busy, but unforgettable

STRONGSVILLE, Ohio – Monsters head coach Jared Bednar joked that today’s practice was “just a normal skate.”

The sarcasm was noted, as Blue Jackets first-round pick Zach Werenski joined the club for the first time after signing an amateur tryout agreement (ATO) on Tuesday morning. Werenski is turning pro, now ready to start the next chapter of his career, and today was the first step in that direction.

He made it officially official by signing his three-year entry level contract later in the day.

For a kid growing up in Grosse Point Woods, Mich., not far outside Detroit, there was no bigger thrill than putting on the maize and blue jersey and playing for Red Berenson’s Wolverines. Werenski…