The only thing worse than their drafting? Their developmental system.
You might want to sit down for this bit of news. Are you ready? No, really. I don't want anyone to faint when they see what I'm about to say. Ok... here goes.
In three years with Waddell at the helm, still trying to find their way out of a rebuild that started in 2020; the Blue Jackets have had exactly two players promoted to the NHL level full-time. Those players are Jet Greaves and Denton Mateychuk.
No other prospect has been given a full-time role in the NHL at this point. They have kept Luca Del Bel Belluz around this season, but only because they don't want to risk losing him for nothing via waivers. When he has played, he has not been very noticeable. I'll use the word "lost".
They have Jack Williams on the roster for the time being, but he's serving as a placeholder for Isac Lundestrom, who is working his way back from injury. Now, maybe the more shocking part of this? Brace yourself again...
There aren't any players in this system that are ready to make the leap. I'm sorry, but that's a fact. Cayden Lindstrom is just trying to survive a full season at the NCAA level. Jackson Smith is going to have quite a learning curve on the defensive side of the puck before he's truly ready.
Pyotr Andreyanov is at least four years away. Sergei Ivanov is going to need an AHL stint to adjust to the North American style of play. Maybe worst of all, the most NHL-ready player in the system wasn't even given a chance to make the cut this year. They signed a washed up veteran to fill in on the third defense pairing instead.
All of this means that we can no longer say "the future is brighter" in Columbus. The Blue Jackets appear doomed as a boring, low event, aging roster for the next several seasons. I hope to be proven wrong, but it looks pretty dark right now.
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