CAMP AT A GLANCE
	Ron Tugnutt will see lots of rubber in Columbus.
	Coach: Dave King Camp location: CoreComm Ice (Columbus, Ohio) Report date: Sept. 8 Preseason schedule: Sept. 15: at Pittsburgh Sept. 17: Nashville (Dayton, Ohio) Sept. 20: Detroit Sept. 22: Buffalo (Syracuse, N.Y.) Sept. 23: Buffalo (Rochester, N.Y.) Sept. 26: NY Rangers Sept. 27: Pittsburgh Sept. 29: Florida (Cincinnati, Ohio) Sept. 30: Florida (Louisville, Ky.)

Because they are an expansion team, Columbus doesn't have much in the way of offensive talent. The club will have to play most of its games close to the vest just to have a chance to win a game. That's why GM Doug MacLean acquired veteran goaltender Ron Tugnutt. With Tugnutt and young Marc Denis between the pipes, MacLean has built a solid foundation.

MacLean secured some fine leadership in the form of Lyle Odelein at defense and Kevin Dineen up front. Steve Heinze and Robert Kron should provide some offense at forward. Jamie Heward and Jamie Pushor might be the best on the blue line. Coach Dave King will try tons of line combinations in camp.

Here's a look at the rest of Columbus' training camp.

Question mark: Young offense
Kron, Heinze and Geoff Sanderson are the only players on the roster who have proven they can score at the NHL level. Four forwards could emerge as surprises in camp and not only make the club, but provide some offense this season. The oldest of the group is 25-year-old right wing David Vyborny, who scored 25 goals in just 50 games for Sparta in the Czech League. Fellow countryman Martin Spanhel, 23, scored 21 times and added 27 assists for Plzen. Left wing Jonathan Schill, 21, is a hard-driving forward who notched 39 goals in just 65 games for Kingston of the OHL. The last of the group is Chris Nielsen, 20, who scored 38 times in just 62 games in the WHL last season, and is noted for his leadership abilities.

Training camp will show whether they can do anything (now) at the NHL level.

Biggest position battle: Defense
Odelein, Pushor, Heward and Deron Quint are the only defensemen assured of jobs. After those four, as many as six players compete for the final three spots. Early favorites are Frantisek Kucera, Mattias Timander and Bert Robertsson. The latter two spent last season in the NHL, while Kucera spent '99-00 in the Czech Republic but does have previous NHL experience. However, none of the three spots are locked up. In fact, MacLean and King are going to give 18-year-old Rotislav Klesla every opportunity to make the squad. In addition, Radim Bicanek and Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre have a good chance of making the team.

That's a lot of names for a few open spots.

Future watch
Here, ESPN.com looks at one or two young players who could make an impact, either now or in the future.

Rotislav Klesa (Defense):
Klesa, 18, will be the answer to a trivia question one day: Who was the first amateur player ever to be selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets? Taken fourth overall in the 2000 Entry Draft, the Czech defenseman showed a lot of poise playing juniors in Canada last season. In 67 games for Brampton of the OHL, Klesa notched 16 goals and 29 assists. Obviously, Klesa can rush the puck up the ice well and is adept at joining the play in the offensive zone. Don't be surprised if he makes the big club this season.

Training camp roster
Goaltenders: Shane Bendera, Frederic Chabot, Gene Chiarello, Jomar Cruz, Marc Denis, Greg Gardner, Ron Tugnutt.

Defensemen: Jonas Andersson-Junkka, Radim Bicanek, David Boychuk, Kevin Dahl, Robert Ek, Trevor Ettinger, Michael Gaul, Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre, Scott Heffernan, Jmaie Heward, Rostislav Klesla, Sergei Klimentiev, Frantisek Kucera, Hunter Lahache, Louis Mandeville, Petteri Nummelin, Tim O'Connell, Lyle Odelein, Dan Preston, Jamie Pushor, Deron Quint, Bert Robertsson, Shawn Skolney, Tyler Sloan, Andrei Syrubko, Mattias Timander, Dan Watson.

Left wings: Mathieu Darche, Rick Gorman, Ben Keup, Steve Maltais, Krzysztof Oliwa, Robb Palahnuik, Jeremy Reich, Chris Rowan, Geoff Sanderson, Jonathan Schill, Sean Selsmer, Jody Shelley, Martin Spanhel.

Centers: Kevyn Adams, Serge Aubin, Blake Bellefeiulle, Bill Bowler, Ted Drury, Brett Harkins, Mike Isherwood, Espen Knutsen, Robert Kron, Brad Moran, Chris Nielsen, Reggie Savage, Jeff Williams, Tyler Wright, Ravil Yakubov.

Right wings: Jan Caloun, Matt Davidson, Kevin Dineen, Bruce Gardiner, Steve Heinze, Scott Hollis, Ben Knopp, Mike Maneluk, Kent McDonnell, Trevor Roenick, David Vyborny, Alexei Yegorov.

Charles Avellino is a lead NHL researcher at ESPN.