This offseason has been pivotal for the Columbus Blue Jackets, as they head into one of the most important campaigns in franchise history. On the brink of missing the playoffs for a seventh consecutive season, the Blue Jackets have to build a roster with the best chance of returning to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2020.
To return to that level of competition, they need some of their most promising players to take that next step. If they do, we can start to understand where the Blue Jackets could end up with a more complete roster. Later this week, we will publish an article with statistical predictions for Blue Jackets players this season, but right now, the focus is on three players primed to take a big step in their development and become a driving force for the team.
Denton Mateychuk
Denton Mateychuk is already a key cog in the offensive motor from the Blue Jackets’ blue line, playing on the second pairing with Ivan Provorov and playing on the second unit of both special teams.
He has shown he can play in all situations, but if the team wants their 2022 first-round pick to play up to his draft position, he needs to take another step. He has great puck vision and is an excellent skater, but there is more to his game he hasn’t tapped into in the NHL yet.
Mateychuk has shown a lot of promise with the Moose Jaw Warriors in the Western Hockey League (WHL), with three straight seasons of at least 51 assists, including 58 in 2023-24, when he also scored 17 goals, for 75 points in 52 games.
The Blue Jackets see elite offensive upside in Mateychuk, and he showed spurts of it this past season in Columbus, scoring 13 goals and 18 assists in 75 games. Towards the end of the season, it was obvious that the game was slowing down for him, and he was much more in control of the pace of play.
Mateychuk is also very patient defensively, taking only four minor penalties, the least amount by any defender with at least 50 games played. He was also part of the NHL’s All-Rookie Team in 2024-25, a season in which he played just 45 games but made a huge impact. He will need to take another step defensively as the Blue Jackets desperately need another shutdown defenseman.
He is very close to breaking out, and after Zach Werenski won the Norris Trophy last season, Mateychuk is ready to make a splash of his own. He has all the tools and the ability to have a career year; it is just a matter of pulling it all together.
Adam Fantilli
For all the hoopla surrounding Leo Carlsson and his massive new contract (thanks to an offer sheet extended by the Philadelphia Flyers), Adam Fantilli is not far behind. He has shown flashes of being a dominant top-line center, but he will have to be more consistent this season to warrant the sizable contract the Blue Jackets are in line to pay him.
Fantilli has already scored 30 goals in the NHL, and he’s a Hobey Baker Award winner as the top college player. However, through two and a half seasons, we haven’t seen all he has to offer. Is that due to a lack of talent around him, or is he too patient offensively? There is no definitive answer, but as it stands, he needs to take a step forward at both ends of the ice.
Jesus, what a sequence for Adam Fantilli pic.twitter.com/ZHaqyt0B8T
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) April 12, 2025
Fantilli is not bad defensively, but there are moments when he gets caught puck-watching, which can change a game and define his night. He has to be better in that area and be more aggressive offensively. Head coach Rick Bowness was emphatic that he wanted Fantilli to stop trying to find the perfect pass or make the perfect play and just shoot the puck. He has to begin to create on his own and make plays to take that next step.
Again, he has shown flashes of what he’s capable of. He has created before, and he has done it in clutch moments, like his goal against the Detroit Red Wings in April that tied the game with 16 seconds left. However, he has to find a way to make the offensive game easier for him.
That could be as simple as stepping up when he has possession and changing the angle of his shot. His puck vision has been good, but he has another gear. To take the Blue Jackets’ offense to the next level, he needs to drive plays even more and be more explosive and dynamic as an offensive weapon.
Kent Johnson
Kent Johnson is on this list not only because of his big drop-off in production but also the draft capital it cost the Blue Jackets to get him. As the fifth overall selection in the 2021 NHL Draft, the team needs his development to start to turn the corner.
Johnson seemed to have found his game after his 2024-25 campaign ended with 24 goals and 33 assists, performing just a little under a point-per-game pace. However, a disastrous season in 2025-26 caused concern for one of the Blue Jackets’ expected producers of the future.
That between-the-legs move from Kent Johnson to create space for his Michigan behind the net… pic.twitter.com/MMGAPRWhcW
— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) March 25, 2023
Johnson, like Fantilli, has proven what he can do. The hunger and drive to be better are there, and he has shown he can be an absolute magician with the puck on his stick, but he has to produce at 5-on-5 as well. He can’t be only a specialist, and that includes upping his defensive effort as well. The coaching staff is not going to beg him to lay the boom on a player in open ice, but he has to get in the way or make them make a move. The “ole” defense won’t suffice under a coach like Bowness.
For the Blue Jackets to take a step forward, they need him to become a top-six forward, and he needs to be dynamic with the puck on his stick. If he can play a little more physical, not run from contact, and play through it, his game will improve tremendously.
If he can also become a true 60-70 point-per-season player, it would give the Blue Jackets a great offensive attack. It would mean Johnson has to take some chances and play the brand of hockey Bowness expects of him. If he can’t find his game while playing more defensively, he will struggle to stay on the ice.
The Blue Jackets need all three of these first-round draft picks to step up their game this season. If that happens, the team could easily snap their six-year playoff drought. It starts with these players and their ability to take their games to the next level.
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