The Blue Jackets spent 365 days putting its list together, so what were a couple more hours when the day two kicked off Saturday. The club didn’t make its first selection until near the end of the third round, selecting Alessandro Di Iorio with the 94th pick. The center from Vaughan, Ontario, spent this year with Sarnia of the OHL but also found minutes at the international level for Canada at the U-18 Worlds, wearing a letter at the tournament.
Columbus then traded back twice before they selected wing Evan Jardine from the USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms with the 121st pick in the fourth round. This year, he averaged over a point per game (27-34-61 in 53 games) to aid the Phantoms’ successful efforts to reach the playoffs. Jardine’s commitment to Ohio State for next season brings him to Columbus much earlier than other recruits.
Di Iorio and Jardine made the trip to Buffalo, getting the opportunity to fully take in the moment their hockey dreams came true. They got to don the Union Blue jersey, paired with a matching hat, and meet the faces that make up their new community.
“It’s everything,” Di Iorio said on being drafted by Columbus. “To be drafted to the National Hockey League, you watch it growing up. To be a part of that and be a part of such a great organization is an honor.”
“I'm so excited. I've been (in Columbus) for around the last month, so I've kind of got the lay of the land and been downtown seeing where the Blue Jackets play,” Jardine said. “It's just such an honor, and I'm truly blessed to be taken by the Blue Jackets. This is how I really wanted it all to go down, so I'm so excited.”
Columbus couldn’t miss out on the trend of goalie picks this year, staking their own claim to Parker Snell from Edmonton of the WHL. Snell was ranked 19th among North American goaltenders by NHL Central Scouting, making him a particularly exciting pick considering where he was selected with the 142nd pick in the fifth round. Snell was 21-9-1 this season with the Oil Kings and posted a 2.74 GAA for the 2025-26 season, ranking sixth overall in the league while in his rookie season.
“Maturity wise, physically, he's still got room to grow and fill out his body and physique,” Columbus assistant director of amateur scouting Trevor Timmins said. “But we like the way he reads the game and his technique, and he got stronger and stronger as the year went along. We're looking forward for him to continue that progress and trending upwards.”
Overseas, Blue Jackets director of amateur scouting Ville Siren has been working hard to pinpoint the best prospects from across the pond. Sixth-round pick Anttoni Uronen and seventh-round pick Filip Novák are both strong forwards with experience playing at the highest levels in their respective leagues.
Uronen notched 30 points across 47 games this season, finding minutes across Finland's HIFK teams. From the U-18 to first-team level, Uronen never failed to find the net and produce where he could.
Novák’s year was similar to Uronen’s, in that the Czech forward was offered similar opportunities to play up a level. Novak averaged over a point per game with HC Sparta Praha U-20 before being called up. The two are equally strong in the offensive zone and have the pro-level experience scouts look for in non-North American skaters.
The one place where the Blue Jackets took a bit of a gamble is with sixth-round pick Jonas Woo. The defenseman taken 185th overall strays from the typically large frame of a blueliner, standing at just 5-9, but the player knows a thing or two about playing with some good talent. Aside from first overall pick Gavin McKenna and the Penguins’ Ruck twins, Woo even had a short stint playing with 2024 Blue Jackets pick Cayden Lindstrom.
His skill is notable – he had 86 points and a plus-63 rating in 56 games this year – and the defenseman is heading to Arizona State next season where he can focus on building strength and play against guys much larger than him.
“He's got that tenacity and the speed element, as well as the skill and competitiveness that gives him a chance to play as an undersized D-man,” Timmins said. “He's got the four-year window there for a development window, so he's got a longer development path now that he's going the NCAA route, and we'll keep good tabs on him there.”
Wrapping up the picks, it’s safe to note how these new Blue Jackets are really from everywhere – literally and figuratively. But of the guys that had the chance to share their thoughts with the media, only excitement can describe the opportunity to join the Blue Jackets organization in the imminent future.
The newest group of Blue Jackets are now headed to Columbus to take part in the team’s annual development camp, presented by G&J Pepsi, Monday through Thursday at the OhioHealth Ice Haus.
