Blue Jackets prospect watch, Cayden Lindstrom is having a difficult first season in the NCAA

As the Blue Jackets scratch and claw their way up the standings, the 5th Line continues to be hopeful for a brighter future coming out of this rebuild. Unfortunately, one of the centerpieces of this rebuild is having a really difficult season in the NCAA.

Saying I have some concerns about Cayden Lindstrom's future in the NHL, might be an understatement. But we have to point out the obvious here: this team needs this pick to turn into a winner. And, at the moment, that looks like a longshot.

The Jackets drafted Lindstrom with the fourth overall pick at the 2024 NHL Draft; picking inside the top-5 for the second consecutive season. At the time, we had a positive reaction to the pick, based in the information that was made public.

Since then, however, it's hard to look at this one and not see it as a massive blemish on Don Waddell's otherwise very strong list of achievements since taking over as this team's General Manager.

That has as much to do with the players taken around Cayden as it does with his own development since the draft. The player picked just ahead of him (Anaheim's Beckett Sennecke) is currently second in the NHL in scoring amongst rookies, with 18 goals (most amongst rookies) and 44 points.

The only player ahead of him? Montreal's Ivan Demidov, who was taken one pick behind Cayden Lindstrom in this same draft. Yikes.

Obviously, it's not fair to compare these guys less than two years after these selections were made. Especially when one of them hasn't even played in the NHL to this point.

But, let's be real here: that's part of the problem in the first place. This was a top-five NHL draft pick. These guys are expected to make an earlier impact in most cases. And, even if we set aside Waddell's penchant for letting guys develop, Cayden's situation is very concerning at this point.

That's because there hasn't been much development at all. Despite the claims made by the team at the draft that he was close to a return to action; Cayden missed most of last season with a lingering back issue that required a round of surgery to correct.

He returned for his team's late WHL playoffs and Memorial Cup push, but looked like a shadow of the player that looked to be a promising future top-2 center in the NHL. Which is what made him such an intriguing pick for this team in the first place.

We hoped that the jump to the NCAA would help him get his career back on track. There are fewer games on the calendar, which means more time to get his body back into shape. And, he would have a chance to play more games against older competition, which would give us a chance to see him take bigger steps forward.

Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case. Through 25 games with the Michigan State Spartans, Lindstrom has scored 1 goal and 8 points-good for 16th on the team in scoring. He also sits second in the NCAA with 90 penalty minutes, which isn't as much of a positive as it would have been 20 years ago.

This lack of production would be less concerning if this were a result of him being buried by more experienced players. But, with players like Porter Martone (10 months younger) making the same jump and leading the way, it's quite concerning.

There is still time, but he needs to figure it out.

Part of Cayden's struggles this year are the result of more injuries. We have heard tell of a high ankle sprain and groin issues that have slowed him down this season. More than the lack of production, this is highly concerning to me.

The biggest thing we needed to see out of him was a healthy year of hockey. That has not happened. So, while the players picked around him emerge as stars in the NHL, our level of concern only continues to go up.

The good news is, there is still time here. Cayden only just turned 20 years old. He is still at least another year or two away from needing to make a serious impact in the NHL.

But, the time for him to find his game is now. The Spartans have just four games left in their season, and it would be really encouraging for him to finish this year on a strong note. One goal just isn't going to cut it from a recent fourth overall selection.

Hopefully, he can get his game on track over the next few weeks, and springboard into the offseason on a positive note.