2026 Blue Jackets Development Camp Notes: Lindstrom, Smith, Andreyanov, Hemming – The Hockey Writers – Columbus Blue Jackets

The 2026 Development Camp is underway for the Columbus Blue Jackets. It features each of the four first-round picks from 2024-2026.

Cayden Lindstrom (2024) is attending his third development camp. Jackson Smith and Pyotr Andreyanov (2025) are each attending their second camp while newly-drafted Oscar Hemming is making his debut.

Each along with the rest of the prospects will attend camp until Thursday. The camp ends with a morning scrimmage before everyone goes their separate ways for the summer.

All four first rounders are unsigned as three of them are set to play in the NCAA’s this season while Andreyanov enters the second of his five-year contract in Russia. Each are considered a big part of what the Blue Jackets hope to accomplish down the road.

For now, each spent time on Monday answering questions from the media on a wide variety of topics. We’ll start with Lindstrom as he opened up about his time at Michigan State.

Lindstrom Reflects on First Season in College

Lindstrom’s journey has been well documented. From being the fourth-overall pick at the draft in Las Vegas until now going into his second season at Michigan State, he has had to overcome different challenges.

Lindstrom had back surgery in November 2024 to relieve symptoms from a herniated lumbar disc. The fact that is he able to play without restriction now is a good thing, despite the numerous questions surrounding how his career could go from here.

For Lindstrom, he says he’s a changed man from the time he was drafted.

“I think everything I’ve kind of been through over the past couple years has definitely changed me as a player and as a person,” Lindstrom said. “I think I have different responsibilities and different goals that I set for myself. I just look at the game different and look at myself differently now and in a more mature way and kind of a more leadership way as well. It definitely gave me a lot of time to reflect on myself and my game.”

Lindstrom scored three goals and 10 points in his 31 games at Michigan State in 2025-26. He admitted the adjustment from the WHL to NCAA was tough.

“I thought it was going to be a lot simpler for myself going in,” Lindstrom said. “College hockey is great. It’s a lot of top players and it’s fast. It’s quick and everyone’s skilled. Everyone’s big, strong and fast. I think (I’ll) just keep doing what I’m doing. I know what type of player I am. It’s still going to take time to get back to it. But I think I’m on a good trajectory to get there.”

“The biggest thing I take away is to keep working at it and take it day-by-day. You can’t really rush things and get to where I wanted to be as soon as possible. I think that’s what messed me up the most on the mental side of it. I think just taking things day-by-day and making sure I give 100%.”

The good news for Lindstrom is that health wise, he is feeling as good as he’s felt in a long time. He also has a feel for what to do if things start to feel off.

“My health is good,” Lindstrom said. “I think just everything. I think my back is the best it’s felt in a long time. And even my hips are even more mobile that I was prior to the injury. Just the little things. I take care of my body really well and I learned a lot about my body. If anything feels a little stiff or something, I know what to do to resolve it.”

In the end, Lindstrom learned a lot about himself from last season. Most notably, he knows how to better handle situations as they arise.

“I learned a lot. I don’t know where to start,” Lindstrom said. “Just both my body and how I need to handle my frustrations and emotions because I would want to do something, but my body wouldn’t want to do it but my head was thinking about what my body wouldn’t want to do. Because just getting back into things. Because taking that year off, it really for anyone, it’s tough to get back into it. And you’re still hesitant in doing whatever. And just build that confidence in the body back and knowing that you’re going to be okay. Once you have that confidence, everything kind of loosens up. Your shoulders drop and you’re feeling good and then it takes off from there.”

“I think I’m still working on that today. It’s definitely gotten a lot better since the start of last season. I’m feeling a lot more mobile and confident in my ability and in my body.”

Notable Quotes from Smith, Andreyanov and Hemming

• Smith on immediate goals for next season at Penn State: “I think I’m just looking to get better everyday. Just take it day-by-day and keep on learning. There’s always more to learn and always more to improve on. So just seeing how that goes and trying to be a leader for this next group. A lot of freshman coming in at Penn State. I think I can take on a bigger leadership role next year and become a more complete player as well.”
• Smith on Hemming: “Just talking with him, seems like a great kid. Super nice and well spoken. He’s massive and he skates really smoothly so I think it was a great pick. I can’t wait to see him develop as well. Hopefully, I get to match up against him in the tournament.”

• Andreyanov spoke to us through a translator. Despite good numbers, he didn’t think he had a good season in Russia. “Had to think about it and change a few things. I’m putting the bar very high and I’m trying to get it higher and higher every time. But the biggest change that I made, I changed my preseason preparation for the upcoming season. Hopefully, it’ll pay off.” Later, he said his season in Russia was a “shitty season.”
• Andreyanov on how often he spoke to the Blue Jackets this past season: “Honestly, after almost every single game. I had a conversation with somebody and some suggestions of how I should have played, like more aggressively or less aggressively.”
• One of Andreyanov’s hobbies? Building Lego sets. He’s also a steak and lobster guy for food. You can also find him playing PlayStation in his free time.
• Hemming has not heard from Team Finland since everything happened around leaving for Boston College. He hopes he can represent them in the future. “It’s tough for a moment but then you talk to some people and they kind of help you get through it. Just get back to work. So I think that helped me get through it, not think about it too much.”
• Hemming on why he chose Boston College: “I had a couple teams after me before Christmas but I just felt like Boston was the right place…Really liked the coaching staff and took a visit there. I loved the facilities and the campus so that’s why.” Hemming used to vacation with his family and had family in the Boston area which helped in that decision as well. They live in Florida now. He’s excited to return for his sophomore season in Chestnut Hill.