Identify high-value targets in Ohio as Kent Johnson eyes a bounce-back year and Kirill Marchenko enters his prime, while Adam Fantilli’s sky-high draft price signals danger.
Puck drop is nearly here, and with training camps opening across the league, it's officially fantasy draft season. It's been a busy offseason, full of blockbuster trades, big-name signings and roster overhauls that are only just starting to settle.
We're going team by team to help you prepare, flagging a sleeper worth stashing, a breakout candidate ready to take off, and a bust that might not be worth the price you'll pay to draft him. Next up: the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Columbus finished last season at 40-30-12 for 92 points, fifth in the Metropolitan Division, missing the playoffs for a sixth consecutive season after being eliminated in April.
The season did include some individual bright spots, with Zach Werenski leading the team with 81 points and winning the Norris trophy while Jet Greaves emerging as a reliable presence in net, posting a 2.60 goals-against average. The Blue Jackets will look to finally break through and make it back to the postseason.
Sleeper: Kent Johnson
After a 57-point breakout in 2024-25, Johnson cratered last season, managing just seven goals and 15 assists for 22 points over 76 games with a minus-8 rating.
With a full offseason behind him, there's real regression-to-the-mean upside, and Johnson is going nearly outside the top 300 players.
The 23-year-old is also entering a contract year and will be looking to reclaim a top-six role. He'll compete with Conor Garland on the right wing, but with center locked up, his clearest path is left wing. He just needs to beat out Cole Sillinger, who's posted three straight 30-point seasons and hasn't presented to have the same offensive ceiling as Johnson. Expect Johnson to win the job and post a bounce-back season with 50 to 60 points being a real possibility.
Breakout: Kirill Marchenko
Entering a contract year, some are sleeping on the rapidly rising Russian import. The 26-year-old winger is entering the prime of his career and is being listed as a fringe top-50 player this season, although average draft position shows him regularly falling as many as ten spots.
Marchenko was five points away from a point-per-game average with 74 points in 79 games during the 2024-25 season, and after finishing this past season with 67 points in 76 games, the added motivation of a new contract should easily push Marchenko back into, if not surpassing, the point-per-game range.
Bust: Adam Fantilli
Expectations are surprisingly high for the 21-year-old Nobleton, Ontario native, as some outlets are ranking the former third-overall pick from the 2023 NHL Draft as a top-60 player this season, ahead of players like Brayden Point, Connor Bedard and Lucas Raymond, all while Fantilli has never surpassed 60 points in his career.
There is a very real possibility we see the very best version of Fantilli this season, but his draft stock having him go ahead of some of the league's best centers is simply too high. This is also the belief of most drafters, as Fantilli's average draft position is falling regularly 40 picks later. Around that range, Fantilli comes in at a much better price tag, but as a fifth- or sixth-round pick, he's far too expensive.
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