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Can the Columbus Blue Jackets' young stars match what they did last season?
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- Can the Columbus Blue Jackets' young stars match what they did last season?
Development in the NHL isn't always linear.
In fact, it's often the opposite. The maturation process is more often impressive breakouts, followed by backward steps before further breakouts. It can be a turbulent ride, especially for teams that lean heavily on young talent.
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More: Breaking down the Columbus Blue Jackets' opening roster for 2025-26 season
That's where we find the Blue Jackets heading into their 2025-26 season opener Oct. 9 in Nashville . After outperforming gloomy predictions about last season, especially in the aftermath of losing Johnny Gaudreau to an offseason tragedy , one question looms large as the Jackets prepare to drop the puck.
Columbus Blue Jackets center Kent Johnson (91) talks to center Adam Fantilli (19) prior to the NHL hockey game against the New Jersey Devils at Nationwide Arena in Columbus on Dec. 19, 2024.
Can they outperform low outside expectations again? If an impressive group of rising young stars can't match or surpass what they did last season, can they finally end their five-year playoff drought?
"As a player, that's the fun part of the game," said Sean Monahan , a vet who's gone through the NHL's growth process. "I remember when I was in my first couple years in the league, it was a lot of hard work ... a lot of video sessions, a lot of extra work with the coaches, but once you have a good season, you want to prove it's not a one-off. You want to become a consistent player in this league."
Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Kirill Marchenko (86) during training camp at Nationwide Arena on September 18, 2025.
Columbus Blue Jackets ' youngest players challenged to keep growing
That's where the Blue Jackets' youngsters are now.
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Forwards Adam Fantilli , Kirill Marchenko , Kent Johnson , Dmitri Voronkov , Cole Sillinger and Yegor Chinakhov , defensemen Denton Mateychuk and Jake Christiansen plus goalie Jet Greaves make up the Jackets' main group of maturing NHL players. Forwards Luca Del Bell Belluz and Mikael Pyyhtia, who'll start with AHL Cleveland this season, aren't far behind.
It's a sizable group, and almost all made significant leaps forward statistically. That was a lofty requirement for the Blue Jackets to somehow overcome losing Gaudreau about a week after trading Patrik Laine , but they did it.
Now comes the hardest part.
The ask of the Jackets' youngest players this time isn't merely repeating what they provided last season; they are being counted on to raise the bar even higher. That's not just in numbers that are easily measurable. They need to continue growing into locker room voices, as well.
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"They're leaders in our room now," star defenseman Zach Werenski said. "That's what's exciting for us as older guys, and that's exciting for them, as well. We have a lot of bright hockey minds in our room, and I think a lot of those bright hockey minds belong to the young guys. It's all just being on the same page and everyone trusting each other, and I feel like we have that right now. Our young guys took a few steps last year, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them all take huge steps again this year."
It'll be a heavy lift.
Columbus Blue Jackets center Adam Fantilli (19) and left wing Dmitri Voronkov (10) react after scoring a goal in the first period at Nationwide Arena on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025 in Columbus, Ohio.
Adam Fantilli, Dmitri Voronkov could improve as power forwards for Columbus Blue Jackets
Fantilli centered the first and second forward lines for stretches last season, scoring nine of his career-high 31 goals in the Jackets' final 10 games to nearly get them into the postseason. In his final 44 games, including a stint centering the top line while Monahan was out, Fantilli scored at nearly a point-per-game pace.
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He put up 24 goals, added 15 assists, and totaled 39 points as a reminder of why the Blue Jackets snapped him up in 2023 with the third overall pick in the NHL draft. Motivated by it, Fantilli then competed for Canada in May at the men's world championships before diving into his summer training regimen.
Meanwhile, Voronkov went back to his offseason home in Russia with specific instructions. After appearing to hit a physical barrier midway through each of his first two NHL seasons, he worked hard to tone up and trim down before returning.
"He looks fantastic," Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason said at the start of training camp. "He came into the office right away and we had a chat, because when he left, we challenged him to be in fantastic shape when he got back ... he is."
Will it translate into another rise in his offensive output? It might, and if so, he could go from scoring 23 goals last season to pushing up near 30 goals or higher.
Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski (8), Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Kirill Marchenko (86), Columbus Blue Jackets center Sean Monahan (23) and Columbus Blue Jackets center Kent Johnson (91) celebrate a goal during the third period of the Montreal Canadiens at Columbus Blue Jackets game December 23, 2024 in Nationwide Arena.
Columbus Blue Jackets forwards Kirill Marchenko, Kent Johnson set high scoring standard in 2024-25
Johnson and Marchenko also made huge gains offensively. Johnson went from a frustrating second NHL campaign to adding 24-33-57 in 68 games last season, while earning roles on the second line and first power-play unit. He'll start this season at left wing on a third line with veterans Charlie Coyle and Mathieu Olivier , but he's still in his power-play spot along the right wall.
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Marchenko, who plays on the opposite side, almost doubled his offensive numbers. After posting a solid 23-19-42 in 2023-24 with a -5 plus/minus in 78 games, he finished 2024-25 with 31-43-74 with a +29 in 79 games.
He, Voronkov and Monahan became one of the NHL's most dangerous forward lines while all three were healthy, and they're staying together to start this season.
Can they do it again? Can Fantilli, Johnson and the Blue Jackets' other youngsters?
They think so.
"I feel like since I've gotten here, it's been a progression," Fantilli said. "It's been great to see and start to build that confidence in ourselves and our locker room ... and prove a lot of people wrong with how we performed last year, especially not having (Gaudreau) and having the injuries we did. We're all extremely disappointed that we didn't make the playoffs, but it's great. I couldn't be more excited. We're a confident team now."
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Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Can the Columbus Blue Jackets' young crop match last season?
