Another NHL season is about to begin, and Pierre-Luc Dubois knows exactly what to expect.

He is no longer a teenager living in David Savard’s basement. He is no longer wide-eyed while standing across from Sidney Crosby or Jonathan Toews. He no longer looks at stars with stars in his eyes, because they aren’t stars to him anymore.

They’re his peers.

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“I’ve been playing against the same guys for two years now,” said Dubois, who surprisingly earned the role of No. 1 center for the Blue Jackets during the 2017-18 season, setting franchise rookie records with 82 games, 20 goals and 48 points. “I see some of them in the summer now, and I go on the ice with some of them or train with some of them, so it’s like … now, I’m one of them, to put it in those terms. It’s a little different.”

The Blue Jackets need it to be a little different because their roster is a little different after several key free-agent defections over the summer, including star left wing Artemi Panarin, who played predominantly on Dubois’ line the past two seasons.

Dubois and Panarin developed a friendship that was also a bit of a pupil/tutor connection. Dubois studied the dynamic Russian forward in practices, games and off-ice training, noting the attention to detail Panarin gave to all parts of his game — even things that might have seemed too small to matter.

It was part of Dubois’ maturation process as an NHL player and something he intends to do for the handful of Jackets rookies expected to contribute this season — starting with forward Alexandre Texier.

“Even though I’m just 21 and going into my third season, I’ve played all 82 games plus playoffs, plus (two) world championships,” said Dubois, who might have Texier as his left wing to open the regular season Friday against the Toronto Maple Leafs. “I’ve played big minutes, big roles, so I think I have a lot of experience. Even though I’m only in my third season, I do think I can help the young guys coming up. I can relate to them, because my first season was (just) two years ago.”

A lot happened in those two years, too.

After proving he could handle top-line minutes as a rookie, Dubois turned it up even more last season. He played all 82 games, again, and set career-highs with 27 goals, 34 assists, 61 points and a plus-16 rating that doubled his plus-8 from the 2017-18 season.

And, yet, the goal is to push those numbers even higher, despite Panarin and Matt Duchene leaving as free agents.

“He’s come a long way, but I still think there’s a lot more he can give, too,” said Cam Atkinson, who has played as Dubois’ right wing for much of the past two seasons and scored a franchise record 41 goals last season. “I think he’ll be the first one to admit it. He’s taking steps that he needs to take to become that No. 1 center, and he’s always pushing himself to get better and always trying to learn. He’s a big boy, so we’re going to need him to step up even more.”

That’s the plan, Dubois said.

After playing for Canada in the world championships in May, his second straight year doing so, he went back to Montreal. To prepare for this season, Dubois beefed up even more in the summer, adding muscle and five tattoos to his 6-foot-3, 218-pound frame, and he also continued his efforts to improve on face-offs — the lone area of his game, statistically, where he struggles.

“Last year, he was outstanding,” said Josh Anderson, a power forward who has played with Dubois in the past. “You could just see how much confidence he had with the puck. He looked like he could be the ‘go-to’ guy when he had to.”

Pausing for a second, Anderson smirked before adding a final thought.

“He’s such a big boy, too, that you don’t really see those players a lot — those big centermen who can skate and have skill and vision like him,” he said. “He’s pretty special.”

bhedger@dispatch.com

@BrianHedger