2026 Columbus Blue Jackets Draft Guide

What the Blue Jackets really need is another scoring winger to join the likes of Kirill Marchenko, Kent Johnson and others.

A couple of names have been rumored linked to the Blue Jackets. Jake DeBrusk is one. On the free agency side, Jared McCann is potentially another.

However, if the Blue Jackets are going to trade the 14th pick, they need to aim higher if they can. While DeBrusk and McCann would help in the lineup, look at the gap between the Blue Jackets and the elite. It’s a pretty wide margin.

Waddell is going to have to get creative if he hopes to bring a difference maker to the Blue Jackets. He’s already expressed confidence in being able to make a move. We’ll see if that confidence can become reality. If so, expect the 14th pick to be part of that package.

Taking Care of Business

As we mentioned, the Blue Jackets have to take care of a lot of business in the next couple of weeks. Ultimately, they may have some key players from last season moving on.

While the door isn’t entirely shut on them coming back, signs point to Boone Jenner, Mason Marchment and Erik Gudbranson going to the market. As Waddell told us in the Q&A, term is a potential issue. There would have to be a major chance in stance for any of the UFAs to return. This also includes Danton Heinen.

This would leave roster openings for next season. How will Waddell elect to fill them? He’s stated he wanted to leave 1-2 spots open for competition. Beyond that, it’s what can he do to make the roster stronger?

If Jenner does test free agency and leaves, that vacates the captaincy. We’ll then see if they elect to fill it right away. Players like Werenski and Coyle would be ideal candidates for that role should it get there.

Then as for the RFAs, there isn’t as much of an urgency for this. Fantilli, Greaves and Cole Sillinger are under team control. Barring something completely unforeseen, there shouldn’t be an issue with getting these done. The question will be what the AAV comes in at for them.

New Draft Strategy

Also from the Waddell Q&A, the Blue Jackets now have a directive in later rounds to take players with more risk and more reward. It’s a switch from the safer way they used to do things.

While the overall outlook of the 2026 NHL Draft points to it being a “down year”, teams still have an opportunity to look for diamonds in the rough. Perhaps a player with skill but significant questions will get a longer look and perhaps be drafted when otherwise they would be passed over.

What will be interesting to see is how this strategy works in Buffalo. What kinds of players will they target later? Will they be able to develop a more successful track record over time?

For a market like Columbus, they have to nail the draft. That’s one way they can stay competitive in an otherwise tough situation. We will hone in on the later picks to see if anything sticks out about those prospects.

Candidates for the 14th Pick

Now that we’ve set the table, let’s get you ready for the 2026 NHL Draft for the Blue Jackets. For now, we will assume they keep the 14th pick. Who could be in play?

First, get ready for everything NHL Draft with our completely 100% free THW Draft Guide. It’s got everything you could ever want and it won’t cost you a dime to access it.

The guide has everything from over 150 prospect profiles to top-10 lists as well as team-specific articles, news stories and rankings. If you read every post within the guide, you may not even be done by Friday.

Now to the Blue Jackets. It’s clear they need an infusion of talent and skill on the wings. Scoring was an issue down the stretch last season.

There are a handful of players in the 14 range that would be enticing for the Blue Jackets. Here are the players that we think have a realistic chance of being picked based on what we’ve heard since the NHL Combine. You can find their full profiles within our draft guide.

• Ethan Belchetz
• Nikita Klepov
• Oscar Hemming
• Oliver Suvanto
• JP Hurlbert
• Wyatt Cullen
• Adam Novotny
• Mathis Preston
• Tynan Lawrence (center)

Belchetz said at the Combine he had dinner with the Blue Jackets. In addition, the team took other prospects to dinner too. To this point, we haven’t been able to pin down who else got to dine with the Blue Jackets.

The Blue Jackets met with many prospects at the Combine. Waddell sat in on the ones for prospects he called the “9-20 range.”

The only prospect above not at the Combine was Klepov. He was part of the Gold Star Event this past weekend in Florida. The Blue Jackets did send representatives to the event like they did last year. Klepov is speaking on Thursday at the Top Prospects availability in Buffalo so we’ll learn perhaps how much the team has talked with him then.

We expect Belchetz to be gone before 14. If he dropped to the Blue Jackets, we’d expect that to be the pick barring a trade. But any of the above wingers appear to fit the mold of what the team is looking for.

Keep in mind that teams have their own lists so it’s entirely possible they target another player. After the middle part of the first round, we expect wide variety on draft lists between teams.

Because of that variance, it is hard to pinpoint what the Blue Jackets may be thinking. Here is the final rankings from NHL Central Scouting so you can have a better idea of the kind of players that may be available later in the draft.

Things We’re Watching/Outstanding Questions

Here is a list of the questions we are watching for as draft week and beyond unfold.

• There will be Blue Jackets’ trades. How many and how big remain to be seen. They need a third goalie with Ivan Fedotov leaving. What impact player can they acquire and which goalie can they get to backup Greaves and Elvis Merzlikins? Yes, we expect Merzlikins to be on the Blue Jackets this season. No buyout is coming.
• Who will fill out the rest of Rick Bowness’ staff on the bench? We know Trent Vogelhuber is coming. But which experienced coach will join them?
• Waddell alluded to signing a $5 million player in our Q&A along while giving Greaves his raise. That put their cap spent around $101 million in Waddell’s mind. Who is that $5 million player and will it be a trade or free agency?
• The Blue Jackets left side of defense is set if we consider Jackson Smith. Will they do anything to address the right side? As it stands, the only righties under contract for next season are Damon Severson and Dante Fabbro. Will they draft that player perhaps for the future?
• Lastly, which players in Cleveland are ready for a full-time role? Will this impact how they approach the offseason with signings and trades?

This week promises to be full of news league-wide. The Blue Jackets are under a lot of pressure to nail this offseason. We will see soon enough if they are up to the task at hand of improving their team enough to be in the playoff conversation in 2026-27 and beyond.