The 2018-19 season is not yet here, which means rankings and lists are in vogue.
Sporting News decided to release a farm system ranking for every team in the NHL. The Columbus Blue Jackets didn't fare so well, they ranked 28th out of 31 spots.
A snippet providing a brief explanation for the low ranking:
Rest easy, Blue Jackets fans. Your team at the NHL level is young, exciting and loaded with star-caliber players south of 25 years old. But gambles in each of the last two drafts, coupled with the rapid promotion of 2014 and 2015 draftees, have sprung a few leaks in the good ole prospect pool.
Here are the prospect rankings for the Blue Jackets, per Sporting News:
| PROSPECT | POSITION | 2018-19 TEAM (Proj.) | ACQUIRED |
| 1. Elvis Merzlikins | G | Lugano (NLA) | 3rd/2014 |
| 2. Alexandre Texier | C/W | Kalpa (SM-Liiga) | 2nd/2017 |
| 3. Vitalii Abramov | C/W | Cleveland (AHL) | 3rd/2016 |
| 4. Liam Foudy | C | London (OHL) | 1st/2018 |
| 5. Jonathan Davidson | RW | Djugardens (SHL) | 6th/2017 |
| 6. Gabriel Carlsson | LHD | Cleveland (AHL) | 1st/2015 |
| 7. Andrew Peeke | RHD | Notre Dame (NCAA) | 2nd/2016 |
| 8. Kirill Marchenko | RW | SKA-1946 (MHL) | 2nd/2018 |
| 9. Danill Tarasov | G | Tolpar (MHL) | 3rd/2017 |
| 10. Emil Bemstrom | C | Djugardens (SHL) | 4th/2017 |
The rankings were done by a draft expert, but the list was peculiar and not in line with many thought processes established by other writers. It's the offseason, however, so embrace debate!
