The Athletic's Corey Pronman recently ranked each NHL team's U23 pipeline. The Columbus Blue Jackets were among the top half of NHL teams ranked by Pronman, as they were given the No. 13 spot.
Without much surprise, Adam Fantilli was ranked as the Blue Jackets' best under 23 player. The 2023 third-overall pick is still looking to cement himself as a legitimate NHL star but is already a very good player and showing signs of progress. The 21-year-old center posted a career-high 59 points in 82 games last season for Columbus.
Blue Jackets' 2026 first-round pick Oscar Hemming was rated as the team's second-best youngster by Pronman. The 6-foot-4 forward has the potential to become a good player for Columbus later down the road. In 19 games last season for Boston College, he posted one goal and eight points.
Cayden Lindstrom was given the No. 3 spot on Pronman's rankings of the Blue Jackets' young players. The 2024 fourth-overall pick had a quiet freshman year with Michigan State University, posting three goals, 10 points, and 94 penalty minutes in 31 games. However, he still has good upside, and it would not be surprising if he takes a big step forward this season.
The rest of Pronman's top 12 players for the Blue Jackets went in this order: Denton Mateychuk, Jackson Smith, Luca Del Bel Belluz, Alessandro Di Iorio, Oiva Keskinen, Luca Marrelli, Charlie Elick, Kirill Dolzhenkov, and Pyotr Andreyanov.
Overall, the Blue Jackets certainly have some promising young players. It will be interesting to see how many of them grow into impact players at the NHL level, just like Fantilli and Mateychuk already have.
