"Blue Jackets development coach Tyler Wright has returned from Russia with good news regarding Nikita Filatov.

Filatov, considered the top prospect outside the NHL by The Hockey News only one year ago, is working out daily, excited to return to the NHL this season, and planning to arrive in Columbus in early or mid-August, about a month ahead of the Blue Jackets' training camp.

That was the messaged delivered from Wright to general manager Scott Howson, who has decreed that all public comments by the organization regarding Filatov will run through him.

"The trip went very well," Howson said. "Tyler worked out with him, saw him working out and had lots of conversations with Nikita.

"Tyler was extremely impressed - and he's not easily impressed - with how hard Nikita is working."

Filatov has always favored a "natural" strength-training program, such as running in sand, dragging fallen trees and lifting and pushing boulders. He has not touched base with strength and conditioning coach Kevin Collins, but his body is filling out.

He weighs 187 pounds, Howson said, about 5 pounds heavier than when he arrived at training camp last fall."