For a few reasons, development camp is one of my favorite times on the hockey calendar.
It’s a chance to see hockey in the summer, which always provides a nice respite from the summer heat. It’s an opportunity to see the newest draft picks on the ice for the first time in CBJ colors.
But most of all, it’s a great chance to get to know the players who someday will be a big part of the Blue Jackets lineup. The low-key nature of the event allows for fans and media to interact with the young players, whether it’s getting an autograph at the OhioHealth Ice Haus or a long conversation about hockey and life.
For the newest draftees, you can pick their brains about what it means to be going through a significant time in their lives. For those who have returned, it’s an opportunity to catch up and talk about how things are going.
This past week, the Blue Jackets staged the 2025 version of their prospects development camp, presented by Bread Financial. Here’s a few things I thought were interesting from chats with a number of the team’s prospects.
Smith’s athletic prowess: One thing that stands out about Jackson Smith is that he usually has a smile on his face.
The No. 14 overall pick in the 2025 draft attended his first CBJ development camp mere days after being selected, and when he was on the ice, Smith always seemed to be enjoying himself.
Another thing is clear about Smith – he's quite an athlete.
You’d say that about anyone chosen in the first round of the NHL draft, but Smith’s abilities extend well outside of the rink. He was also a high-level swimmer growing up and says he’s around a scratch golfer – two sports where being a tall, athletic person can give you quite an advantage.
As we wrote the other day, it’s a world now where so many kids specialize in one sport, but that was far from the case for Smith. His parents got him into just about everything as a kid growing up in Calgary, and it helped they were members at the Glencoe Club, a sports and recreation club that offers everything from badminton to bowling, pickleball to squash.
“I played every sport – but never in the house,” Smith said with his trademark affability.
“I used to be a competitive swimmer and did every sport you can think of,” Smith added. “It was pretty fun growing up. My parents just threw me into anything they could, and I think that really benefited me and it’s a lot of the reason I’m here.”
Smith’s ease on his feet has clearly helped him in hockey, as he was one of the best skaters available in the draft, and his ability to smoothly transition on his edges in drills and scrimmages was one of the most enjoyable parts of dev camp to watch.
One can’t help but wonder how much better he can get now that the focus is squarely on hockey, and it all goes back to those cold winter days in Calgary.
“We’re members at the Glencoe Club in Calgary, and that’s where my grandpa and my dad always brought me,” he said. “Ice was available there whenever you want. I had a lot of time to skate there, and whenever I had practices and stuff I was always so excited to go and practice. It was unreal.”
Andreyanov knows the Blue Jackets: When goaltender Pyotr Andreyanov met with the assembled media with help from interpreter and agent Dan Milstein, the 20th overall draft pick stepped up to the podium in a unique piece of attire.
You might have thought the purple hat with the interlocking “NY” logo would be world-famous, but Andreyanov said he had no idea it represented the New York Yankees. So for those fans on social media who postulated that he’s already harboring a desire to play in the city that never sleeps, don’t worry. He simply thought it was a cool lid.
“When I was in Miami, I went to the store and really liked the hat and the color, so I got it,” Andreyanov said. “I had no idea this was actually a team hat.”
The Yankees may be the Yankees, but it’s safe to say Andreyanov is more familiar with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He’s a hockey player, for one, but he’s also watched the team over the past few seasons to see the exploits of fellow Russian players Kirill Marchenko, Dmitri Voronkov, Yegor Chinakhov and Daniil Tarasov.
Andreyanov said he had no idea he’d be a Blue Jacket until the team made its announcement in the first round, but he was quite happy it worked out that way. Sartorially, it’s a good fit, too, in the goalie’s eyes.
“Of course I’ve been watching Columbus quite a bit,” he said. “I really love the Columbus Blue Jacket jersey. It goes well on me. I like it.”
Time will tell how things will pan out for Andreyanov, as the path for goaltenders to reach the NHL after the draft is often long and winding. For example, the last two goalies to be taken in the first round – Sebastian Cossa (Detroit) and Jesper Wallstedt (Minnesota) in 2021 – have combined for just six NHL appearances thus far.
That’s fine for the Blue Jackets, who are content to let him continue to develop with CSKA Moskva for the coming seasons. Andreyanov is noted for his athleticism, instincts and technical play in the crease, and he’s not afraid to throw his body or his stick around to make a save. Still, he said his best attribute is his work ethic at the young age of 18.
“I just play hockey and I just come out and I do my thing,” he said. “I give 100 percent in the gym, 100 percent on the ice, and the goalie coaches always correct and help me to be better. For all the other good qualities, you should probably be asking the goalie coach.”
Lalonde honors legends: Goaltender Nolan Lalonde has seen quite a bit of the Ontario Hockey League the past few seasons.
Lalonde signed with the Blue Jackets as a free agent in October 2022, but he has spent the past four seasons in the OHL while playing for four different teams. Lalonde played his first two years with the Erie Otters, then was traded to Saginaw early in the 2023-24 season. That proved to be a fortuitous move, as a squad led by high NHL draft picks Michael Misa, Zayne Parekh and Owen Beck – as well as Lalonde, who started 12 playoff games between the pipes – won the Memorial Cup.
Last year was split between his hometown team in Kingston and Soo, where he finished his time in the OHL.
That makes for a lot of gear changes, considering all of those teams wear different colors. But Lalonde was able to get a new setup in Soo’s red hues that he wore at Blue Jackets development camp, but one thing in particular caught my eye – his mask.
On the right side of his mask is an ode to The Tragically Hip, the iconic Canadian rock band that hails from Kingston. Fronted by the late Gord Downie, the Hip has its followers south of the border but is legendary in Canada, with nine albums reaching No. 1 on the charts.
So for Lalonde, the mask design was a natural fit.
“My whole family is big Hip fans,” he said. “We’re from Kingston, Ontario, where they’re from. My mom and my dad loved them, and I’ve grown up listening to them. Now it’s kind of ingrained in me. If you’re from Kingston, it’s a huge sense of pride.”
As for a favorite song, Lalonde said, “I like some weird ones because I’ve gotten into it. Probably ‘Silver Jet.’ That’s a pretty fun song.”
Lalonde’s tour of the OHL is over, as he’s aged out of the league now at 21. Signed by the Blue Jackets for the next two seasons, he said his plan this year is to show up wherever he’s assigned and do his best as he begins a pro career. And if there's a silver lining to his travels over the past few seasons, it’s that he's prepared for anything that might be thrown his way.
“I think there’s some maturity on the ice that’s come the last few years,” he said. “That could just be from me bouncing around to a few new places and picking up a few new things, but the age and the reps and being able to not just worry about other things and stop thinking and just play (is important).”
Strahl says Fore! Goalies are natural sources of content given their unique position on the ice and personalities, and I couldn’t help but notice something different when Melvin Strahl was heading to the ice before a dev camp practice.
He had on a white glove. No, not a goalie catching glove. A golf glove.
Lalonde joked that the first time he saw it, he thought the Swedish netminder might have a tee time. The real story? The 2023 fifth-round pick said there is a method to the madness.
“I’ve been using it for a long time,” the Michigan State-bound netminder said. “I had a break there a couple of years ago where I didn’t use it, but my dad used it when he played hockey. I tried it out and just liked the feeling of it. I feel like you get a better grip and the grip stays longer, and now it’s a feel thing.”
I suppose it makes sense, and there’s no arguing with the results. Coming over from his native Sweden for the first time, Strahl is coming off a strong season with Youngstown of the USHL, as the 20-year-old led the league and tied for ninth in league history with 33 wins.
Strahl, who also was on Sweden’s World Juniors squad this past winter, posted a 2.42 GAA and .903 save percentage as well in his first season in North America.
"I just wanted to play a lot of games, and I felt like going somewhere where I’m close to Columbus ... I’ve had (Cleveland goaltending coach Brad Thiessen) coming out once a month almost to practice with me on different stuff,” Strahl said. “I think that’s helped me a lot, too. Playing on the smaller rink and going the college route to get more time to develop before I turn pro, I think it’s the best way for me and I’m happy that I made the decision to come over.”
