It's always a pleasant surprise when your team nails their mid-to late round draft picks. The back half of any draft is typically reserved for your projects and long shots, many of whom never see much action in the show. But every now and again, there are success stories like the Jackets' former 2019 4th round pick Dmitri Voronkov.
It's hard to believe Voronkov has already spent three seasons in a Blue Jackets uniform. The Russian power-forward stands at a towering 6'5" 235lbs, and has used every bit of that size to his advantage in his young career. At his best, Voronkov is a disruptive force on the ice, a rough time for any defensemen he challenges in the corners, and an immovable net-front presence both at 5 on 5 and on the power play.
The question when it comes to this years campaign regarding Voronkov, however, isn't if he can maintain the form he's had so far. It's what exactly his "best" means going forward. To this point, he's proven he can be a roughly 40 point player that can fill the role that players like Josh Anderson used to fill in the 2010s. But with all the top line minutes and power play opportunities he has been given, it's not hard to imagine him potentially reaching another gear.
As I pointed out in his 2025-26 season review, there are plenty of reasons to think he has more to give. He had the hottest start of any Blue Jacket last season, putting up 13 points in his first 14 games. While nobody expected him to keep a point per game pace, it's safe to say that only finding 19 points in the following 49 games was disappointing.
This decline coincided with Voronkov losing his top line spot next to Fantilli and Marchenko, slipping into the bottom six, and being a healthy scratch by the end of the season. It's true that minor injuries and a midseason coaching change played a role as well, but if anything that only proves that Voronkov needs to show Rick Bowness he can be a valuable scoring piece in the new system.
It's safe to say that another season in the press box would benefit nobody, least of all Voronkov. He enters this season in the final year of his contract (4.175M against the cap) and will be an RFA next season.
With money coming off the books elsewhere, Kirill Marchenko's uncertainty in Columbus beyond this season, and a top six slot in the lineup wide open, Voronkov has the chance to find his ceiling and lock down a big payday this year. If he can't follow through, his teammates Denton Mateychuk and Kent Johnson are also hungry RFA's to be this season, and will be gunning for pieces of that pie as well.
Regardless, it's not the end of the world if he remains a hard working, half a point a game net front guy. If you told most franchises that their 25 year old 4th round pick had already become a consistent 40 point player they'd likely consider it a home run.
I'm as excited as anyone to watch a player with the physical tools Voronkov possesses play hungry and motivated. If he stays sharp, I see no reason he can't reach the 50 or even 60 point marks that have eluded him so far in his career. It would be a shame to see a project who has come as far as he has stall out. I'll be watching him closely this season, and Jackets fans should too.
Add us as a preferred source on Google