Owen Griffin’s rise on the Blue Jackets’ summer 2026 top prospects list says plenty about how much his stock has changed in a year. He moved up to No. 17 this offseason after being ranked No. 20 last year, and the jump comes after another productive season that didn’t get enough attention because Oshawa finished last in the league.
The ranking itself was put together by the Union and Blue staff - Matthew Duffey, Mike Stump, Weston Motz, Struan McNevan, and Curtis Deem - and only includes players 24 and under with fewer than 25 NHL games. Griffin landed at No. 17, with Mike and Struan placing him 14th, Weston 15th, Curtis 17th, and Matthew 19th.
That’s a long way from where his junior career started. Griffin entered major junior in 2023 as the sixth overall pick in the OHL draft after dominating U16 play, and the expectations were high right away.
His rookie season, though, was rough. He managed just one goal and six points in 61 games, and there wasn’t much to point to beyond the effort he kept putting in.
He answered with a much stronger draft-eligible season. Griffin found his stride in the second half, finished with 51 points in 62 regular-season games, then turned heads in the playoffs with 16 goals and 29 points in 21 games.
That run helped Oshawa reach the finals, and his two-way game took a clear step forward. His draft stock climbed, and he was generally projected as a third-round pick before Columbus took him 160th overall in the fifth round.
The late selection made sense on paper. At 5'10 and 170 pounds, Griffin doesn’t fit the usual mold for an NHL center, and the year before the draft didn’t exactly help his case.
But he’s kept proving that the breakout wasn’t a one-off. This past season, he put up 67 points in 66 games while playing for a Generals team that finished as the worst in the league.
He was also the clear offensive driver, with the next highest scorer finishing ten points behind him and the next closest trailing by 25.
The numbers matter, but they don’t tell the whole story. Griffin’s game is built on constant work: effort on every shift, good awareness, speed, and enough offensive skill to keep people paying attention. The package also includes motor, physicality, and a solid two-way foundation.
Yup, Owen Griffin can play hockey🤯 #OSHvsPBO pic.twitter.com/PD3VWNCG3k
- Oshawa Generals (@Oshawa_Generals) October 19, 2025
He also got a taste of the pro level when he signed with the Cleveland Monsters on an amateur tryout contract. He didn’t play in a game, but time around pro practices and training should still help him down the line.
Now Griffin is headed back to the OHL, this time with the Guelph Storm after a trade for a handful of picks. That move gives him a new setting and a much stronger team, and it comes with a major backdrop: Guelph is set to host the 2027 Memorial Cup. As host, the Storm are automatically in the tournament, which brings together the OHL, WHL, and QMJHL champions to decide the CHL title.
Host teams usually load up, and the source material notes that the hosts have won the Memorial Cup in two of the last five seasons. For Griffin, that means a chance to play in some of the biggest games of his career so far alongside better talent.
There’s still room for his offense to keep climbing, and if it does, his upside could look a lot different than it did when he was first drafted. With the Memorial Cup typically ending by early April, another stint with the Monsters wouldn’t be a surprise - and this time, he could arrive with even more momentum behind him.
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Blue Jackets Prospect Jordan Dumais Is Suddenly At A Dangerous Crossroads
Jordan Dumais arrived in the Blue Jackets system with plenty of intrigue after Columbus took him in the 2022 draft, and for a while his offensive touch looked like it would translate quickly. He was a high-end CHL scorer, the kind of prospect who could force his way onto the radar with skill and pace, but the move to the AHL has been far less smooth as injuries and other issues have chipped away at his momentum.
The concern now is less about what Dumais once was and more about how much runway he has left to reestablish himself. His production has been limited at the pro level, and he was out of the lineup at the end of the AHL season and again during the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs, a reminder that his path has become far more complicated than anyone expected when he was drafted. [Read more 🡒]