How Blue Jackets Are Quickly Becoming Greatest Story in Sports

The Columbus Blue Jackets are turning heads in the hockey world. We dive into their season and tell you how they're quickly becoming the greatest story in sports.

The Columbus Blue Jackets are in a playoff spot. Let me say that one more time. The Blue Jackets, a team in which no one gave any chance to, would be in the playoffs if they started today.

Given what they have had to overcome since the end of the summer, it’s truly a remarkable story that’s still being written. While there’s still half a hockey season to play out, there is no question the Blue Jackets are the story not only in the NHL, but all of sports.

The question on the minds of many is how? How exactly have the Blue Jackets been able to have such a turnaround in short order after dealing with an unimaginable tragedy coupled with years of hard times on the ice?

To pinpoint one main reason would be next to impossible to do. But there are several factors that have worked out so far that have put the Blue Jackets in position to shock the hockey world. To have a full understanding of how we got to today, we have to look back at drafts past under a different regime and then build from there.

Stockpiling Young Talent

Ever since John Tortorella left the Blue Jackets, the Blue Jackets haven’t made the playoffs. Not only haven’t they made the playoffs, they’ve had multiple top-10 picks in the NHL Draft.

The hockey in Columbus hasn’t been good in recent years in any way, shape or form. On the ice, it was a struggle. Off the ice, they went through multiple coaches including one in Mike Babcock that didn’t even reach Training Camp.

The silver lining to all of the struggles has been landing good, young talent. The Blue Jackets have boasted one of the best prospect pools over the last few years.

We are now starting to see those prospects become impactful NHL players. Not only have the top-10 picks been good, so have some of their other picks when Jarmo Kekalainen was in charge.

Take a look at some of the players currently on the roster drafted by the Blue Jackets that have had a major impact on this season.

• Zach Werenski: Leads all defensemen in goals and is tied for the lead in defensemen points. A serious argument can be made for him to contend for both the Norris and Hart Trophies. He was drafted 8th overall in 2015.

• Kirill Marchenko: Leads all Blue Jackets forwards in goals, assists and points. He is on pace for 34 goals and 90 points. He already has a career high 48 points in 44 games this season. He had 42 points all last season. He was drafted 49th overall in 2018.

• Dmitri Voronkov: Has 17 goals and 30 points in 35 games playing on the top line. He’s on pace to shatter career highs in just his second season. He was drafted 114th overall in 2019.

• Kent Johnson: Has 11 goals and 24 points in 30 games this season. He started the season recording a point in each of his first nine appearances. He was drafted 5th overall in 2021.

• Cole Sillinger: Is on pace to break career highs in assists and points while establishing himself as a two-way middle-six center. He was drafted 12th overall in 2021.

• Adam Fantilli: Is starting to find his groove in his second season. He’s playing on the top line in Sean Monahan’s absence. He’s reached double digit goals and shown improvement defensively. He’s considered the team’s number-one center of the future. He was drafted third overall in 2023.

That’s just a tip of the iceberg when it comes to the impact of the Blue Jackets’ draft picks. Denton Mateychuk 10 games into his NHL career is 8-2-0 and firmly in the top-four on the blue line. Luca Del Bel Belluz was drafted in the second round and is now considered a big part of the team’s future. We haven’t even gotten to Cayden Lindstrom, Gavin Brindley or Charlie Elick yet. Reinforcements are coming and we still haven’t named the all of the potential impact players coming.

Getting young talent is just the first step. The Blue Jackets are starting to take the next step in finding the right mix to go with that young talent.

Surrounding the Talent

Another area the Blue Jackets have struggled with was putting the right pieces around the young talent. Without the right mix of leadership and veteran players, it’s hard to win in the NHL.

The Blue Jackets saw firsthand what that looked like. Although there were some veterans on the team, it never became the right mix.

But now under GM Don Waddell, the Blue Jackets have started to turn the corner in that area. Here are some key players who have helped make an impact.