It’s an exciting time to be a Blue Jackets fan, and a big reason for that is the group of young forwards who helped vault the team into playoff contention a season ago.
Columbus has one of the most exciting and talented collections of skilled, up-and-coming scorers in the entire NHL, and career-best seasons from the likes of Adam Fantilli, Kirill Marchenko, Kent Johnson, Dmitri Voronkov and Cole Sillinger – all of whom were 24 or younger in 2024-25 – show the team's nucleus could be set up front for seasons to come.
But prospect pools are ever-changing, and as the Blue Jackets keep going, they’ll need to keep adding depth and talent to the forward ranks.
This week, with the 2025 NHL Draft now a month in the rearview mirror and the upcoming season on the horizon, we're breaking down where things stand in the CBJ pipeline, giving fans a look at what’s still to come in the future. Today, we’re starting with the team’s forwards, with defensemen and goalies still to come.
To be listed as a prospect, players must be under 25 years old and played less than 25 games at the NHL level.
At The Top Level
The Blue Jackets were lauded by many hockey observers for amassing one of the best prospect pools in the NHL over the past few seasons, and the NHL club has started to reap the benefits. Such names as Fantilli, Marchenko, Johnson and Voronkov have debuted at the NHL level the past few seasons and have cemented themselves as impact, top-six players; that quartet of players averaged 27 goals and 58 points apiece a season ago. The future arrived with authority in Columbus a season ago, and the Blue Jackets are hoping to ride this core of young players into a long wave of contention over the coming seasons.
Top Prospect: Cayden Lindstrom
Even after missing all of the 2024-25 regular season – and playing in just four WHL playoff games and three Memorial Cup contests – Lindstrom earns this billing thanks to his massive potential, as The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler lists him as the No. 25 drafted prospect in hockey. That starts with his size, as the 6-3 forward has the frame (and game) to develop into a dominant, physical pivot at the highest level. While Lindstrom didn’t play much a season ago after November back surgery, he spent time under the wing of CBJ players and coaches as he rehabbed in Columbus, learning the importance of taking care of his body and seeing how NHL players prepare on a daily basis. Taken fourth overall in the 2024 draft after a dominant season with Medicine Hat of the WHL (27-19-46 in 32 games), Lindstrom projects as a top-six, physical center who can both score and play a 200-foot game. Headed to Michigan State this upcoming season, Lindstrom could find himself in the NHL sooner rather than later if all goes well and he’s able to showcase his considerable skills with the Spartans.
Who's Next: Luca Del Bel Belluz
Would anyone be surprised if Del Bel Belluz finds himself on the opening night roster? The only thing stopping him might be the fact the Blue Jackets have 13 NHL forwards under contract – six of them centers – plus Mikael Pyyhtia still to sign as an RFA. But one has to be impressed with a 2024-25 season in which Del Bel Belluz tied for 13th in the American Hockey League with 27 goals among 53 points and had a successful NHL cameo that included a 2-6-8 line in 15 games. The second-round pick in the 2022 draft is still just 21 and has areas of his game he can round out, including filling out the muscle on his frame and improving at faceoffs (43.0 percent at the NHL level last season). But there’s no denying he’s looked the part in his 16 career games with the Blue Jackets, and he has to be on the short list of forwards who will get a look next season should the team’s depth be tested.
Keep An Eye On: Jordan Dumais
The Blue Jackets have some decorated players in their prospect pool, but only one who posted a 140-point season at the junior level. That would be Dumais, the third-round pick in the 2022 draft who had a sensational stat line in his draft-plus-one season, notching 54 goals and 140 points in 64 games with Halifax to post the third-most productive QMJHL season in the past 20 years behind only Sidney Crosby and Alexander Radulov. The 5-8 wing was on pace to do even better in 2023-24 (16-31-47 in 21 games) and made Canada’s World Juniors squad before a nagging abdominal injury required surgery. His rehab stretched into the start of last season, but Dumais did debut with Cleveland and posted four goals and 11 points in 21 games. Wheeler still lists him as a top-100 prospect (No. 92), and Dumais has the pure scoring ability and offensive instincts to make an impact at the pro level. Scoring is the name of his game, and if Dumais can stay healthy, a big season in Cleveland would put him on the radar for a call-up.
In The System
Here’s a look at the six other forward prospects the Blue Jackets have under contract, listed in alphabetical order:
Oiva Keskinen (2023 seventh-round pick) is coming off a solid second pro season in Finland and is expected to head to Cleveland this year, where the versatile center/wing will get his first taste of North American hockey. ... James Malatesta (2021 fifth-round pick) was a high-scoring junior player whose professional game will be defined by how well he can play a role as an undersized but energetic wing who is hard to play against. He's spent the past two seasons in Cleveland and made NHL cameos each year as well. ... Max McCue (free agent signee) is a big, physical presence who did a little bit of everything in junior hockey with London of the OHL. The 22-year-old placed 12th in the AHL last year with 122 penalty minutes. ... Hunter McKown (free agent signee) is a center with some size and skill who has spent the past two years with Cleveland. The soon-to-be 23-year-old found his scoring touch as last season went on, notching 5-7-12 in his last 14 games. ... Luca Pinelli (2022 fourth-round pick) was one of the top goal scorers in junior hockey the past two years (85 goals in 120 games with Ottawa of the OHL) and is a smart, dynamic wing with energy to his game. He’s expected to get his first full-season test in Cleveland this year after a solid showing with the Monsters to end the season ... Jack Williams (free agent signee) heads into his first pro season after serving as captain at Northeastern University. The 23-year-old can play center and wing and was a productive scorer at the college level the last two years (33-44-77 in 71 games).
The Future
Columbus also has drafted five forwards who remain overseas or in college/junior hockey, who are listed in alphabetical order.
Kirill Dolzhenkov (2022 fourth-round pick) hopes to become the next Voronkov as a massive (6-6, 234) Russian who use his size and skill to make an NHL impact. He’s split the last two seasons between CSKA Moskva’s KHL and minor-league outfits, posting 11 goals and 19 points in 79 games at the top level. ... James Fisher (2022 seventh-round pick) was drafted out of high school and played in the USHL, BCHL and college hockey since then, debuting as a freshman at Northeastern a season ago. The Massachusetts native is a hard worker with size who projects as a bottom-six forward. ... Owen Griffin (2025 fifth-round pick) led the OHL in playoff goals a season ago with Oshawa and is a versatile player who draws raves for his hockey sense and well-rounded game. Listed at 5-10, Griffin will have to outwork others to make it in the NHL but has the intangibles to do so. ... Jeremy Loranger (2025 seventh-round pick) is also a smaller (5-9) forward with loads of talent as he lit up the BCHL last year, following in Johnson’s footsteps as a 100-point scorer in the junior league. Headed to the University of Nebraska-Omaha, he should be fun to follow going forward. ... William Whitelaw (2023 third-round pick) is headed to Western Michigan University this upcoming year after two solid seasons in college hockey (21 goals in 72 games). Another player who is a bit undersized (5-9), Whitelaw has skill and sandpaper in his game.
