The Columbus Blue Jackets have seen a vast improvement in the 2024-25 season. After spending the last couple of seasons solidly out of the playoff picture by American Thanksgiving, they’ve really turned the corner. As of this posting, they are firmly in the playoff race, only two points out of the top wild card spot and one point behind the second. There have been a lot of reasons for their development. One is the change in coaching staff – with the leadership of Dean Evason clearly having an impact on this roster. Another is the emergence of several prospects to show they are capable of carrying the load as a top player on an NHL team.
One of those players who have stepped up as a legitimate piece has been the big-framed Russian forward Dmitri Voronkov. The still-young player, only 24 years old, has built on a solid rookie campaign from last season and thus far avoided the sophomore slump.
Voronkov’s Season for the Blue Jackets
There had been years and years of hype about the Blue Jackets’ two prospects from Russia – Voronkov and Kirill Marchenko – that were going to shape the future of the franchise. There were tweets upon tweets (when Twitter was still a thing) about them from Blue Jackets fans saying “I’ll believe it when I see it” or “I’m not sure they’ll ever come over.” Well, they better believe it because we are seeing it now.
Marchenko was the first to make the jump, performing well in the 2022-23 season, and Voronkov followed in 2023-24. In his debut campaign, Voronkov scored 18 goals and showed he had a nose for the net. But while many other Blue Jackets had taken a significant step back in their second seasons, not so much for him.
Despite missing a chunk of the season’s beginning with injury, Voronkov is on pace to score 35 goals and 61 points in 73 games. Totals that will blow way past his rookie figure. Those are particularly impressive numbers when you consider the organization’s history. Only two players have scored 35 or more goals in a single season for the Blue Jackets, Rick Nash – who did it three times – and Cam Atkinson – who did it twice. Pretty good company for the youngster whose powerful style of play is reminiscent of the brute force skill often displayed by No. 61 during his day.
The gargantuan forward, 6-foot-5 and 240 pounds, is an immovable object that can get into the dirty areas. He’s not the best skater or shooter – being below the 50th percentile in the vast majority of NHL Edge’s stats – but his size has allowed him to do damage in tight. 35 of his 64 shots and 10 of his 15 goals have come either in the crease or just in front of it. He’s able to score close to the net and as we saw with Zach Hyman of the Edmonton Oilers last season, that can be a lucrative trade to ply.
Related: Blue Jackets’ Fantilli Settling into Defined Role
The forward has spent most of his ice time this season alongside Marchenko and Sean Monahan. They each bring a different style of play and have been remarkably effective. According to LeftWingLock.com, when they’re together they’ve scored 21 goals and only allowed four against.
He and his teammates have been particularly hot as of late. Since Dec. 15, the Blue Jackets have had a quadrumvirate of players among the offensive leaders in the NHL. Marchenko and Monahan are tied for third in scoring with 15 points each, and Zach Werenski and Voronkov are tied for sixth with 14 points. Voronkov is in first place over that span in goal-scoring with eight.
It’s not only been Voronkov, there have been other young players who have made significant strides this season. The list includes point-per-game producer Marchenko, who has been consistently dominant, the always exciting-to-watch Kent Johnson, who has been sidelined often with injuries but is excellent when in the lineup, and the reborn Cole Sillinger, who has shown his first step forward after a couple of steps back since his rookie year. If the Blue Jackets can continue to get strong play out of those guys, they have a real shot of playing meaningful games late into the season and could even push for a wild card spot in the crapshoot that has become the Eastern Conference playoff race.
