The Blue Jackets are heading into camp with at least one young player poised to crack the opening night roster, and maybe more if things break the right way before the preseason clock runs out.
That’s a different feel from last season, when the club got very little from first-year skaters. Jet Greaves was the exception, grabbing the starting job in goal, playing well in it and then earning a three-year contract extension over the summer.
Among skaters, though, the picture was far quieter. Columbus stayed mostly healthy, and Don Waddell’s work on the organizational depth chart kept prospects largely on the outside.
The Jackets used only 17 games from rookie skaters, with Luca Del Bel Belluz appearing in 14 and Luca Pinelli in three.
This fall should bring a much busier competition.
Del Bel Belluz sits at the front of the line. He’s not just a candidate to make the team - he’s the closest thing to a lock among the young forwards.
The biggest reason is simple: he’ll need waivers to be sent to the AHL this season, and the expectation is that he would not make it through. Multiple teams would likely claim him.
He gave Columbus plenty to think about with Cleveland last season, leading the Monsters with 58 points, including 22 goals, in 55 games. At 22, he’s already checked off just about everything he can in the AHL. The next step is the NHL.
If he’s not quite ready to jump in full time, a spot in the press box could be the temporary answer. But the long-term goal is clear: get him up to speed and into a scoring role with the Blue Jackets before this season is over. If that doesn’t happen, he starts to look like a trade chip if Columbus goes hunting for an upgrade.
Pinelli is a tougher case, but he belongs in the conversation. He doesn’t have the same contractual safety net, and he doesn’t come into camp with anything close to a guaranteed job. Still, he’s hard to ignore as a possible surprise winner.
He finished third on Cleveland in scoring with 46 points, including 14 goals, in 66 games. And his value goes beyond the numbers.
Pinelli can make a roster as a role player, not just as a point producer. He’s a high-motor player who plays inside the hard areas, wins battles, and has a knack for getting under opponents’ skin.
He’ll stand his ground when things get chippy, too, which is something this team needed last season.
The Blue Jackets seemed to notice that profile, because they signed a very similar player over the summer. That likely leaves Pinelli with a tougher path to early-season ice time, though it could also give him more room to keep building the offense he showed at the junior level.
Then there’s Guillaume Richard, the name that may surprise some people but probably shouldn’t.
If Columbus wants to finally get over the playoff hump after coming close the last couple of seasons, the issue has been team defense. The Blue Jackets have no shortage of puck movers on the blue line, but they’ve been missing a true shutdown presence ever since the trade of Vladislav Gavrikov. Richard could be that player, and there’s a real belief he could handle that role in the NHL as soon as this season.
He played 70 games for the Monsters last year and produced seven goals and 18 points. The number that jumps off the page, though, is the one nobody can ignore: a team-best plus-20. For a player with only 18 points, that’s hard to dismiss.
Richard is a smooth skater with strong gap control and the kind of defensive instincts modern shutdown defenders need. He does his job, stays out of the penalty box, and brings the size to hold up in that role at 6-foot-2 and around 190 pounds.
There are seven returning defensemen on the roster, but that may not matter much if Richard keeps pushing. He could force some difficult decisions later this month, and it wouldn’t be a shock if he ends up on the third pair to start the season.
With 23 jobs up for grabs and the assumption that Adam Fantilli is re-signed and Isac Lundestrom starts the year on the IR, the Jackets appear to have 22 spots already spoken for. That leaves Del Bel Belluz, and then a fight for whatever remains.
So if Pinelli, Richard, or any of the other prospects want to be part of the opening night group, they’ll have to push out a more established pro. That makes this a camp worth watching closely.
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