The Columbus Blue Jackets have assigned forward Nikita Filatov to the Syracuse Crunch, the club?s American Hockey League affiliate, club General Manager Scott Howson announced today. Filatov, 18, recorded one goal and had a plus/minus rating of +1 in four games with the Blue Jackets this season. He became only the fourth player in franchise history to score a goal in his NHL debut when he lit the lamp against Nashville on October 17. He also has tallied 2-0-2 and is +1 in two games with the Crunch. Columbus? first pick, sixth overall, in the 2008 Entry Draft, Filatov tallied 32-34-66 and 90 penalty minutes in 34 games with CSKA of the Russian Junior League in 2007-08. The 18-year-old Moscow native also helped Russia capture the bronze medal at the 2008 World Junior Championships, tallying 4-5-9, 10 penalty minutes and was +7 in seven games.