The Columbus Blue Jackets can point to a handful of prospects worth watching, but the bigger picture is still hard to ignore: this pipeline is not ready to carry the team where it wants to go.
That’s the crux of the situation as the Blue Jackets enter Part 4 of their 2026 summer series on how they can become a contender. The organization has internal pieces, yes.
It does not have enough near-ready scoring help. And that leaves the NHL roster leaning heavily on the current core while the prospect group keeps developing.
The most glaring fact is also the simplest one. The Blue Jackets have not signed one of their own first-round picks since Adam Fantilli in 2023.
That came while former GM Jarmo Kekalainen was still in charge. Since Don Waddell took over as GM and President of Hockey Operations, the club still has not signed any of its own first-round selections, a stretch now more than three years long.
During that time, Columbus has had four first-round picks, and Waddell had hoped one of those picks in 2025 or 2026 might help the NHL roster. That has not happened.
Cayden Lindstrom (2024), Jackson Smith (2025) and Oscar Hemming (2026) are all headed to college this season. Pyotr Andreyanov (2025) will continue playing out his contract in Russia.
So none of the Blue Jackets’ top prospects will be available to help at the start of this season. Smith could still sign after his year at Penn State, but for now the burden falls on the players already in the system and already closer to the NHL.
Among that group, Luca Del Bel Belluz stands closest. He has put together back-to-back 50-point seasons in the AHL, and that kind of production puts him on the doorstep.
The question is where he fits if he makes the jump. In his earlier NHL looks, he was used in different spots throughout the lineup.
With the Monsters, he played on the top line and the top power-play unit, so a similar opportunity would make sense in Columbus, especially with uncertainty around the second line. Still, there are real parts of his game that need sharpening, including his two-way play and skating, so nothing is automatic.
Training camp will be an important test of where his skating and strength stand.
Luca Pinelli is another name to keep close. His first AHL season produced 46 points in 68 games, and he brought a feisty edge at 5-foot-9 that made him tough to ignore.
He also showed growth in his two-way play, though he still needs to use the middle of the ice more often, especially with the skill he has. Given the team’s needs, he could be one of the first forwards called up.
There are more names in the mix: Mikael Pyyhtia, Jack Williams, Oiva Keskinen, Guillaume Richard, Corson Ceulemans and James Malatesta. Sergei Ivanov is now signed, but he will stay in Russia this season before coming over. Some of the others are more depth options, while others remain further away from being NHL factors.
What the group does not have is a long list of players who look ready to step in and score 15-20 goals right away. For a team that needs offense, that is a major issue.
The highest-upside prospects are still one to four years away from making an NHL impact. Beyond Lindstrom, Smith, Andreyanov and Hemming, Charlie Elick and Evan Gardner are among the names that could become more interesting down the road.
That’s why the overall read on the pipeline is pretty clear. Columbus has some legitimate prospects and some players worth believing in, but it does not have a true wave of high-end talent ready to change the conversation. The system leans more toward size and compete in support roles than toward game-breaking offense.
And that matters. The Blue Jackets’ established core will have to do the heavy lifting while the prospects continue to mature.
Even that may not be enough to overcome the concerns that have already been raised about drafting and development. The team will also need help from outside the organization to take the next step.
So the verdict is straightforward: the Blue Jackets’ pipeline is still a work in progress, and it does not solve the biggest problem, which is scoring. This is going to take time, internal growth and the right external moves. There are pieces worth believing in, but belief alone does not put goals on the board or close the gap on contenders.
The final part of the summer series, “Making the Moves,” will look at how the Blue Jackets can address those needs without giving away the future.
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