The Columbus Blue Jackets spent a lot of money in NHL free agency. The Blue Jackets spent big on Sean Monahan, signing the former Winnipeg Jets center to a five-year deal. They hope the additional experienced talent can help them progress next season.
It wasn’t long ago that the Blue Jackets were battling for playoff spots in the Metropolitan Division, but more recently they have struggled to avoid finishing in the bottom third of the division. Over the past two seasons, however, those battles have been somewhat unsuccessful.
The Blue Jackets have an impressive group of players on their roster. Monahan joins former teammate Johnny Gaudreau, forward Boone Jenner and defenseman Zach Werenski among the experienced stars. Players such as Adam Fantilli, Kirill Marchenko and David Jiricek are part of the youth movement.
Columbus will likely rely on its youth this upcoming season, which raises the question of which younger players could stand out and have a breakout season. Here are two potential Blue Jackets candidates for the 2024-25 NHL season.
Dmitri Voronkov could improve further
Dmitri Voronkov made his NHL debut in the 2023–24 season. The former fourth-round pick received more playing time in Columbus while the team went through its rebuild, but after his rookie season, they may have a diamond in the rough on their roster.
Voronkov scored 18 goals and 34 points for Columbus last season. According to ESPN, he ranked fifth on the team in points. In addition, his 18 goals were the third-most by a Blue Jackets player. Only Kirill Marchenko and Booner Jenner scored more goals in the 2023-24 season.
Voronkov also had pretty strong analytical numbers. According to Evolving Hockey, he had a Goals For Percentage of 56.82%, which was the second highest among Columbus forwards. He also had the highest Corsi For Percentage (55.62%) and the highest Corsi For Per 60 Minutes (72.31) among Columbus forwards.
Voronkov earned the trust of his coaches last season. He was one of seven players to play more than 1,000 total minutes for Columbus. There are areas of his game that still need work, but if he can improve, Voronkov could be an important part of the Blue Jackets’ future plans.
Yegor Chinakov is a candidate for the breakthrough at the Blue Jackets
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Yegor Chinakov was a surprise first-round pick in 2020. Some draft analysts had even given the Russian forward a seventh-round rating before the draft. But so far, he has proven he can be an NHL contributor. It’s just a question of how effective he can be at the next level.
Chinakov was well on his way to answering that question in the 2023-24 season. In 53 games, he scored 16 goals and 29 points. In an 82-game season, that equates to 24 goals and 45 points. Unfortunately, Chinakov’s season had to end early due to injury.
Still, Chinakov had a positive impact on the Blue Jackets, posting the third-highest goals-for percentage (53.25%), fourth-highest goals-per-60 percentage (3.55), and fifth-highest Corsi percentage (53.73%) among Blue Jackets forwards, according to Evolving Hockey.
A healthy Chinakov could certainly improve those numbers in the 2024-25 season. Especially if players like Adam Fantilli and Kent Johnson also take a step forward. In any case, Chinakov could prove to be one of the better candidates to breakout for the Blue Jackets next season. And Columbus would certainly be in top form if that were to happen.
