The Columbus Blue Jackets are the latest focus in our NHL prospect pool overview series.
Tony Ferrari digs into the Blue Jackets’ strengths and weaknesses, latest draft class, positional depth chart, next player in line for an NHL opportunity and more. A player who no longer holds rookie eligibility in the NHL is considered graduated and no longer a prospect for these exercises.
Initial Thoughts
The Blue Jackets are on the rise. They are starting to see the youngest members of the squad make a major impact as they look to return to the post-season for the first time since the 2020 COVID-19 playoffs. Although a few players remain from that team, this is a new generation of Blue Jackets hockey, and Adam Fantilli leads it.
Fantilli reached the 30-goal plateau as a 20-year-old center last year, finishing fifth on the team in scoring. His value as a two-way center has also begun to show itself. As Fantilli enters his third NHL season, there could be a significant step in production this year, bringing him closer to point-per-game production.
The Jackets found their franchise center in Fantilli. Now, it’s just about surrounding him with talent.
Kent Johnson helps bring that talent. This past year seemed like the first time an NHL coach embraced that Johnson is one of the most purely skilled players in the NHL. Johnson blossomed because of it with 57 points in 68 games. Johnson is capable of things most players could only dream of. He’s a video game in real life. He and Fantilli showed some amazing chemistry at times. Going into his age-23 season, Johnson is primed for a true breakout.
Fantilli and Johnson don’t qualify as prospects, but the Blue Jackets do have quite a few very solid prospects.
Headlining the group is Cayden Lindstrom, the fourth overall pick from the 2024 NHL draft. The big, physical forward has a fantastic blend of power and skill to his game. He will crush a player along the boards as they look to break out of their defensive zone, steal the puck and power his way to the net and get a shot off with a defender on his back. After missing most of this past season recovering from his back injury, Lindstrom is headed to Michigan State University, where he will get to test his skill against bigger, faster competition.
James Malatesta and Luca Del Bel Belluz got into a few NHL games but spent most of this past season in the AHL. Malatesta had a slightly more challenging season than his rookie campaign, but his intelligence and tactical play remained. Del Bel Belluz, meanwhile, took a major step up at the AHL level, which earned him an extended call up, getting into 15 NHL games. He put up eight points in his NHL stint, which is probably good enough to keep him in a roster spot going into next season.
Luca Pinelli finished his OHL career with a solid season in Ottawa despite the team missing the playoffs. Pinelli plays with his heart on his sleeve. He was a two-year captain for the 67’s and gave his all on every shift. Pinelli has a great shot, some wicked vision and tenacity that helps mute the concerns about his 5-foot-9 size. He must prove he can handle the physical nature of pro hockey. He had a brief stint in the AHL at the end of this past season and played well.
After an incredibly high-scoring QMJHL career, Jordan Dumais was injured for the first half of the year before jumping into the AHL. He had 11 points in 21 games, but he never really got up to speed. The 21-year-old will aim to return to his high-end offensive production. Dumais’ most effective play has always been in the offensive zone, using his passing and vision to open up chances for teammates.
On the back end, the Blue Jackets have a few notable players, highlighted by Charlie Elick. He is a big, mobile defensive blueliner who shows some flashes of puck-moving ability, but he’s not ever going to be mistaken for a high-end producer. His value comes from shutting play down and getting involved physically.
Stanislav Svozil is a two-way defender who has been solid in each of his two years with the Cleveland Monsters. He skates well and uses that to his advantage at both ends of the ice. He mirrors attackers, closes out at one end of the ice, evades pressure and makes crisp passes at the other. He doesn’t have much high-end skill, but he should be able to play a decent depth role with solid breakout passing and good defensive play at the NHL one day.
Corson Ceulemans has had an interesting development path. He has all the physical tools, including skating, size, strength, puckhandling and passing, but he hasn’t put it all together just yet. He went from the BCHL to the NCAA to the AHL, and each level put him to the test. This will be a big season for the 22-year-old, as he will look to finally start building and providing steady value in the AHL in hopes of earning an NHL call-up.
Key U-23 Players Likely To Play NHL Games This Season
Adam Fantilli (C), Denton Mateychuk (D), Cole Sillinger (C/W), Kent Johnson (LW/C), Luca Del Bel Belluz (C)
2025 NHL Draft Class
Round 1, 14th overall - Jackson Smith, D, Tri-City (WHL)
Round 1, 20th overall - Pyotr Andreyanov, G, Krasnaya Armiya Moscow Jr. (Rus)
Round 3, 76th overall - Malte Vass, D, Farjestad Jr. (Swe.)
Round 5, 160th overall - Owen Griffin, C, Oshawa (OHL)
Round 6, 173rd overall - Victor Raftheim Hedin, D, Brynas Jr. (Swe.)
Round 7, 198th overall - Jeremy Loranger, C, Sherwood Park (BCHL)
The Blue Jackets hope the 2025 NHL draft is the last where they pick in a non-playoff position for a while.
Big right-shot defender Jackson Smith is arguably the second-best defender in the class. He is incredibly mobile and has some of the most enticing physical tools. He’s shown flashes of puck-rushing ability and offensive creation. His most valuable trait is his transition defense, where he mirrors opposing players, steps up and either takes the puck off their stick or finishes with the body. Smith must find some consistency, but he has the tools to become a very solid No. 2 or No. 3 defenseman.
A few picks later, Columbus selected the first goalie of the draft, Pyotr Andreyanov. The highly touted Russian is one of the most athletic goalies in the class. His skating is surgical, rarely wasting a movement and consistently finding ways to stay square with the puck. Andreyanov instantly shoots to the top of the Jackets' goalie depth chart, and he could be the goalie of the future for the franchise. In the meantime, he signed a five-year contract extension with CSKA Moscow as he continues to develop.
Malte Vass is a strong defensive player, using intelligent reads and strong skating to ensure he is in a good position to kill plays. The Swede’s play on the puck is best when he keeps things simple and doesn’t try to do too much. Vass is a simple passer who finds the first outlet and hits it quickly. He’s not fun to watch from a skill perspective, but he’s effective, and his physicality gets people out of their seats.
Owen Griffin epitomizes a player who excels in many aspects of the game but doesn’t have a standout trait. Griffin shows some skill, a steady 200-foot game and a predictability in his play that coaches will love. If he were a bit bigger, teams would likely have seen him as a bottom-six option more easily, but at 5-foot-10, he must prove his worth in the bottom six to get to the NHL level one day.
In the sixth round, Columbus swung on a toolsy, raw defender with some size, Victor Raftheim Hedin. The 6-foot-4 blueliner tries to get involved in plays, whether that's jumping up to join the rush, creeping down off the point in the offensive zone or cheating over to help in the defensive zone. Raftheim Hedin must play a more structured game and learn to refine the little things, but his mobility, tools and athleticism are all interesting traits to build on.
The Blue Jackets’ last pick was a massive swing on a scoring forward from the BCHL, Jeremy Loranger. His 105 points led the league with an 18-point margin over the second-place scorer. Loranger is small, and he plays accordingly, avoiding physical play whenever possible. This was a major concern for teams, as you need some sort of ability to handle physical play. Loranger is a creative passer who weaves through traffic with the puck and fires off passes. In the seventh round, this is exactly the kind of swing you want to take.
Strengths
For a team that struggled for so long down the middle, center has become a bit of a strength in its pipeline.
Fantilli and Cole Sillinger are U-22 players already on the roster and playing center. You can add Del Bel Belluz to that list this year, in all likelihood.
Their top prospect, Lindstrom, could be the center the Jackets pair with Fantilli to form a dangerous one-two punch on the top two lines. Griffin was a nice addition in the draft. Pinelli and William Whitelaw are potential wingers at the next level, but they still have a chance to play down the middle. That’s an impressive group.
Weaknesses
The Jackets have a pretty solid prospect pool all around, but the left wing lacks some talent. Malatesta is a solid prospect, but he wouldn’t be considered a high-end player. Oiva Keskinen is a fine prospect who could be a depth scoring option, and he’ll play his first AHL season this upcoming year after a couple of solid campaigns in the Liiga. Beyond that, Columbus could use a forward or two on the left side.
Hidden Gem: Luca Marrelli, D
The activation in Marrelli’s game has always been there, but in his final OHL season, he took full advantage of it. The Oshawa defender consistently joined the rush or jumped into the fray off the blueline. It allowed him to take advantage of his ever-improving shot and continue to impact the game as a facilitator. Marelli was second in playoff scoring as he helped lead his team to the final, where they lost for a second straight year to the London Knights. He will take his talents to Cleveland in the AHL next season.
Next Man Up: Luca Del Bel Belluz, C/W
For all the high-quality prospects the Jackets have, many of them are already in the NHL, or they are a year or two away. Del Bel Belluz is next up, and although he’s less exciting than some of their other youngsters, he’s still a solid prospect. He’s a tactical scorer who finds ways to connect plays with effective passing and intelligent positioning. He’s not a star, but he will be a solid contributor.
Prospect Depth Chart Notables
LW: James Malatesta, Oiva Keksinen
C: Cayden Lindstrom, Luca Del Bel Belluz, Luca Pinelli, William Whitelaw, Owen Griffin
RW: Jordan Dumais, Kirill Dolzhenkov, James Fisher
LD: Jackson Smith, Stanislav Svozil, Malte Vass, Andrew Strathmann, Aidan Hreschuk, Daemon Hunt
RD: Charlie Elick, Corson Ceulemans, Luca Marrelli
G: Pyotr Andreyonov, Sergei Ivanov, Evan Gardner, Melvin Strahl, Nolan Lalonde
For a deeper dive into the prospect pool with player rankings, check out the Yearbook and Future Watch editions of The Hockey News in print.