Columbus Blue Jackets’ Top 3 Prospects & Their Outlooks for 2026-27 – The Hockey Writers – Columbus Blue Jackets

The Columbus Blue Jackets’ rebuild hasn’t yet yielded the results they had hoped for. They have not made the postseason since the COVID-19 playoffs in 2020, and they don’t have the type of prospect pool they should have after missing the postseason for over half a decade.

The Blue Jackets are never quite good enough to compete, but are also never quite bad enough to select first overall in the NHL Entry Draft. So, how do they hit on a rebuild without falling far enough down the standings to draft a top prospect? They have to make smart, financially sound, and highly touted prospect upside trades. The Blue Jackets have not done that yet.

What do they have? Here’s a look at the top three prospects in the Blue Jackets’ system and when we can expect them to join the big club.

1. Jackson Smith – Right Defenseman (ETA 2027)

Jackson Smith was selected 14th overall by the Blue Jackets in 2025 and has been their top prospect since the halfway point of this season. He is everything they will want in a future top-pairing defenseman to play with Zach Werenski, including bringing the firepower to eventually become one of the best pairings in hockey.

At just 18 years old (he turns 19 in just over a week), he not only has the highest floor of all the Blue Jackets prospects but also gives them the highest ceiling amongst their top prospects, leading into the 2026-27 season when he returns for his sophomore season at Penn State University.

After his freshman season, Blue Jackets’ scouts feel they may have hit a homerun with their first selection in 2025. He scored 11 goals and 15 assists, and was a 0.74 point-per-game player as a freshman in the Big Ten, earning All-Big Ten Second Team and All-Big Ten Freshman Team honors.

Smith’s 11 goals were tops in the Big Ten, and tied for fourth in the country amongst all defensemen, while his 26 points tied him for 15th in the country and tops in the Big Ten amongst defensemen as well. At 6-foot-4 and 195 lbs, the offensive-minded defenseman could complete a three-headed monster on the Blue Jackets’ blue line with Werenski and Denton Mateychuk, whose game took a massive step forward this season.

If Smith can continue to develop and play the game with as much pace and skill as he did as a freshman, or take it to another level in his sophomore campaign, he could get the call to the NHL at the end of his season with Penn State. If the Blue Jackets are in the playoff mix late next season, a call-up should be in the cards.

2. Cayden Lindstrom – Center (ETA 2028)

The Blue Jackets’ fourth overall pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft is a player with a ton of untapped potential. Cayden Lindstrom from the Medicine Hat Tigers in the Western Hockey League, at 6-foot-3, 220 lbs, possesses a physically imposing frame and has the skill and skating ability to become a future top-line center in Columbus.

The main issue with Lindstrom is his health, specifically his back, which has caused him problems for the better part of two seasons. However, he played for Michigan State this past season and didn’t have the offensive output he might have hoped for, but at least he was able to get his legs underneath him for 31 games in East Lansing.

Lindstrom and the Blue Jackets are hoping he can get back to the form he showed with the Tigers, which landed him fourth overall – a season that included 27 goals and 19 assists through 32 games.

Second goal of the weekend for Cayden Lindstrom who gets the rebound! pic.twitter.com/YR6C4Afhsp

— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) March 7, 2026

After a few back injuries and a herniated disc, there is growing frustration that he may not pan out as a prospect. The timeline for Lindstrom is one of the hardest to predict, simply because the Blue Jackets must sign him to an entry-level contract by 2028 or lose his rights.

Essentially, he has another two years before Columbus has to make a decision. For a player with as much upside as he has, the organization is hoping that a return to Michigan State and another season under his belt should give him back that spark, and hopefully, the rehabilitation to help him find his game.

At 20, he still has time to find his game, and the Blue Jackets are simply hoping he takes a big step this season, with the potential to be a top-six center down the middle with Adam Fantilli.

3. Luca Del Bel Belluz – Center/Left Wing (ETA 2026)

There is a very real possibility that the Blue Jackets get extremely unlucky with their impending unrestricted free agent class, which leaves a big opening on the roster for players who have either dominated in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Cleveland Monsters or for a top prospect to make the team out of training camp.

The list of standouts from Cleveland begins with Luca Del Bel Belluz, who crushed the competition in the AHL, cruising to 58 points in 55 games. He posted 22 goals this season, following up last season’s 27 goals in 61 games. Del Bel Belluz is a sniper and would be a huge boost to the Blue Jackets’ offense very quickly.

He is not only a skilled shooter, but he finds the smallest windows for passing lanes and rips it in to set his teammates up for success. He added 36 assists this season, which is the most of his professional career, and lands second to his campaign in the Ontario Hockey League with the Mississauga Steelheads when he scored 46 assists in 2022.

Mikael Pyyhtia scores his second goal of the game to put the Cleveland Monsters within one of the Grand Rapids Griffins, 3-2.

This time it was on the power play.

Beautiful pass from Luca Del Bel Belluz to make that happen. #gogrg #lgrw #ahl #fearthedepths #cbj pic.twitter.com/8HcNljAFCH

— y-Elaine Shircliff (@imaraindancer) April 19, 2026

While he has been great in the AHL and other junior campaigns, he has struggled to find his footing in the NHL after three different call-ups. In 30 games with the Blue Jackets, Del Bel Belluz has three goals and seven assists, with a plus-1 rating.

At 6-foot-1 and 185 lbs, he has shown the ability to play bigger than he is, and win board battles efficiently, as well as be a key player in the two-way department, forcing turnovers and winning neutral zone puck battles. He is a great passer, has a great shot, and knows how to use his eyes to manipulate defenders and goaltenders to make the game easier for others around him.

He could make a big impact as a middle-six forward on the Blue Jackets, and this offseason could be the first in which he is given a real chance to reach the NHL level. Del Bel Belluz will be worth keeping an eye on this summer.

All three of these players are top prospects who have shown at different levels the ability to be a future NHL contributor or maybe even a star. With the Blue Jackets in a rebuild, their chance of making an impact may come sooner than expected. Columbus’s stars of tomorrow are right around the corner.