Blue Jackets Draft Oscar Hemming 14th Overall

With the 14th pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft, the Columbus Blue Jackets have selected Oscar Hemming from Boston College of the NCAA.

About Oscar Hemming

Oscar Hemming has been a consistent riser his entire draft year, coming into the NCAA and seamlessly fitting into the Boston College lineup. He played top-six minutes right off the bat and didn’t look out of place despite being younger than everyone on his team and in the entire college circuit. He has all the attributes of an NHL power forward. From his size, strength and reach to his physicality and net-front presence, he could turn into someone like Cutter Gauthier in his prime. Like Gauthier, he has a lethal wrist shot and plenty of speed to burn. He is also a great playmaker. Basically, his package is formidable and could make him one of the NHL’s premier power forwards in the future.

As mentioned, Hemming spent his season with Boston College in the NCAA, where he notched a goal and eight assists in 19 games. While those stats don’t jump off the page, scouts noticed him every game, leading to final rankings placing him in the top 20, including The Hockey Writers‘ consensus rankings at 19th. He ended up going higher at 14th.

THW Prospect Profile Excerpt

“As the youngest player in all of college hockey at 17, Oscar Hemming is a massive winger who has impressed a ton with his ability to jump right into the lineup at Boston College. He entered a tough Hockey East conference and immediately stepped into a top-six role.

“At 6-foot-4, he looks massive on the ice and plays a power forward role. Hemming is one of the top players coming out of the NCAA in this 2026 draft cycle, which is turning out to be one of the best NCAA draft classes in a while. Other names in that group include players like Gavin McKenna, Keaton Verhoeff, Ilia Morozov, and Tynan Lawrence. Hemming and Lawrence both joined their programs midseason, and I think Hemming has made the better jump so far.”

“Hemming had issues starting the season due to contract complications with his club in Finland. Originally a draft pick of the Kitchener Rangers in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Import Draft, he ultimately decided to join Boston College midseason back in December.

“After getting into six Hlinka Gretzky Cup games for Finland’s U18 team, Hemming transitioned into college hockey. Near the end of the season, he’s played top-line left/right wing alongside James Hagens and Andre Gasseau, both Boston Bruins draft picks. Hagens was selected in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft by the Bruins, and the two have built some great chemistry; perhaps the Bruins could look into drafting Hemming?

“It has been very impressive to see Hemming move up to the top line, especially after initially starting on the second line when he joined the team. His ice time has increased throughout the season, now averaging around 16-17 minutes per game. Hemming has shown strong playmaking ability and has recorded a good number of assists so far, building chemistry with his linemates as the season progressed.”

Read the rest of his prospect profile here…

How This Affects the Blue Jackets’ Plans

The Blue Jackets have plenty of young players on their roster and in their prospect pool, and Hemming adds size and skill to that system. His character will also add a lot to their dressing room. On a team that already has sizeable players in Kirill Marchenko, Adam Fantilli and Dmitri Voronkov, he will fit in nicely with what they are doing in Columbus.