Unlike many of their peers at the top of our prospect pool ranking, the Columbus Blue Jackets didn't exactly plan for a rebuild. Injuries and an underperforming roster more or less forced them into this situation, and they've just made the most of it.

Adam Fantilli, David Jiříček’, Denton Mateychuk, Stanislav Svozil, and Gavin Brindley all appeared among the first 60 players in our countdown of the 100 best affiliated skater prospects outside of the NHL. William Whitelaw and Jordan Dumais could have just as easily joined them.

That’s a lot of talent, enough to propel the organization from the 16th spot in 2021 to the No. 3 spot this year. Soon, if all goes well in their development, those prospects could have the same effect on the Blue Jackets’ NHL standings.