Minnesota State's Brett Moravec Signs With ECHL's Indy Fuel
It came as good news for any hockey fan that the negotiations for the new CBA between the NHL and the NHLPA went so smoothly that they were able to ratify it a year before it even came into force. No strike, no lockout nonsense, just uninterrupted hockey for the next five years (the last year of the current CBA and the four years of the new one).
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New York Times
28 minutes ago
- New York Times
Marchand's Plan: The Home Run Derby and how MLB should present its game in the future
As an event, the Home Run Derby is built for modern media. Standing out on the summer calendar, it is unique and fun. And there is only one of them. For Major League Baseball, as it tries to 'eventize' and create the showcases that are increasingly what the streamers — the Netflixes, YouTubes and Amazon Prime Videos — want, this week is the one on the regular season calendar that already sets the league up for the future. Advertisement But MLB must figure out how it offers its sport to fans increasingly frustrated by the confusion of where to find their games, the cost to access them and the recurring threat of local blackouts. MLB will not be able to solve its problems until the start of the 2029 season, when its current national and international contracts are all completed, but we have devised a potential strategy, with a focus on reach, simplicity and revenue. Our plan was conceived after talking with media and baseball executives to try to see if it can work. Let's take a look. Before we get to the 2029 plan, we need an update on the current state of the sport's media contracts, as commissioner Rob Manfred hopes to announce by the All-Star Game the short-term, three-year future for the rights to the Derby, Sunday Night Baseball and eight-to-12 playoff games. NBC, Apple and a return to ESPN have been the most prominent names in play, but it remains unclear if MLB will be able to fully restore the $1.65 billion that ESPN opted out of paying over the next three years. ESPN didn't invoke the opt-out clause because it no longer valued baseball. Rather, ESPN balked at the idea of paying an average of $550 million per year for the remainder of the package. ESPN's deal was seemingly overpriced in a market that values scarcity, uniqueness and a league's most pivotal matchups. Plus, in comparison to MLB's other national packages, it is hard not to see that ESPN was doling out too much. After the 2028 season, the contracts with Fox and TNT Sports will be over. Fox pays $729 million per year on average for a package that features the World Series, and TNT Sports, which has a league championship series, is a little less than $500 million per season. Major League Baseball also has its international rights up at that same point. A platform like Netflix might have particular interest in the Japanese market, where MLB, led by the Dodgers, continues to surge, as evidenced by the popularity of the Tokyo Series. Advertisement You could make a pretty good George Costanza argument here. There is an old Seinfeld episode where George just did the opposite of his typical, hapless instincts, finding life-changing successes with the strategy. MLB should consider that for its future media plan. At the moment, the league is not set up particularly well (though, it has had a good ratings year and big attendance numbers). Its current media setup is a total mess: Like a lot of sports, MLB has gone from 'Who's on first?' to 'Who has the game?' Besides the deals listed above, MLB has an exclusive Friday Night Baseball double-header package with Apple TV+ for $85 million a year, while Roku pays just $10 million a season for late morning/early Sunday afternoon games. While MLB likes to call these experiments, the Roku deal in particular is mind-bogglingly ill-advised, as it set a new marker for how much exclusive national regular season games should cost and, as an added bonus, made the ad market more difficult for Fox, ESPN and TNT Sports because Roku charged so much less for its ad space than the other networks. Apple, which is paying far less than ESPN's deal, receives basically the same exclusive games on Fridays that ESPN has on Sundays. Manfred has indicated a desire to reset the formula. Taking a page from a 'former Yankee executive,' Mr. Costanza, 'Opposite Rob' is going in the right direction. Well, we still haven't talked in detail about the regional sports network issue. With cable diminishing, the RSNs, whose most important clients have been baseball, are decomposing. MLB would like to have a 'nationalized' local rights package, where fans can directly subscribe to their favorite team's games — no matter where they live — by the end of the decade. Advertisement However, teams like the Yankees and Dodgers are worth a lot more in regional rights fees than clubs like the Pirates and Marlins and would need to see revenue sharing readjusted to make it worth their while to be part of a nationalized local-rights deal, or MLB would have to figure out a way to compensate the more valuable clubs. It's not an easy lift. (Plus, we should mention that hanging over everything is a potential lockout in 2026.) The first thing MLB should realize is it is not the NFL. The Home Run Derby is a legit event with strong numbers (averaging 6.4 million viewers over the last four years, while the All-Star Game was at 7.6 million over that same period), but those are dwarfed by every weekly NFL package, whose audiences rate three to five times larger. The NBA, which just got an incredible 11-year, $76 billion media deal (and limited itself to three national carriers: ESPN/ABC, NBC and Amazon Prime Video), made more of its games exclusively national. Manfred has hinted at following that model. Maybe that works. Maybe not. Especially when you consider that neither Apple nor Roku are looked upon as audience-driving successes and neither provides public ratings numbers to prove otherwise. But the same way MLB has far greater attendance than the NFL (in part because its teams have 81 regular season home dates compared to at most nine for NFL teams), MLB should lean into the strengths of its consistent, reliable, 7-month-long local fan interest. And yet MLB's current set-up is best described as fan-unfriendly. Going forward, MLB needs to avoid the slicing and dicing that can see a team like the Yankees appear on up to seven networks over a seven-day week: YES, Amazon Prime Video, Apple, TBS, Roku, Fox and ESPN. That's not good. We would create a Monday-through-Friday MLB-branded subscription service to be distributed on as many platforms as possible, including YouTube, ESPN's new direct-to-consumer platform, Apple, Amazon, Roku and Fubo. Be everywhere, simple and easily accessible. The RSNs would still have weekday games that air locally. But any fan, anywhere, would be able to watch their favorite team, through any streaming platform they use. This idea would satisfy subscribers because it would be easy to understand — your MLB subscription gets you access to your team's games, regardless of where you are watching and with no blackouts — and would have enough games to make subscribing worth it for fans. Advertisement It would also allow the biggest weekend series to have visibility on Friday nights through the subscription service. For example, if the Yankees played the Dodgers over a weekend series, the Friday night game would be on the national MLB subscription service, as well as YES and SportsNet LA for local fans. It would also remove the frustration of not easily understanding where your team's game is going to air. In an ideal world, we would see the league charge somewhere between $4.99 and $9.99 per month, but MLB may look to earn more with a $19.99-$29.99 range. Yes, we'd want the league to make money, but we also want as many people as possible to see the games to keep growing fans, so we'd try to go cheaper. The revenue would mostly go to MLB (and shared with teams), with the platforms taking a small cut from every sale. The approach from Monday through Friday is to be everywhere and to satisfy fans with simplicity, volume and value. For the weekend games, we would create scarcity by partnering with two or three broadcast entities, be it Fox, ABC, NBC or CBS, with inventory mainly featuring the most popular national teams (Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, Braves, Cubs, Red Sox, Cardinals and anyone who plays their way into this category). These 'national' games would be focused on broadcast TV exclusivity with the possibility of reserving one slot for a streamer. On Saturdays, we would ideally want three national games, in windows at 1 p.m. ET, 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. The prime-time game would be the only game scheduled in prime time, like Fox's Saturdays, but with more exclusivity. (One backup game will be scheduled in case of rain or where the heat is too great without a dome.) The games not on the national broadcasts would revert back to the monthly subscription service/RSNs. On Sundays, we would try to do the same as Sunday with an NFL-type setup with 1 p.m. ET, 4 p.m. and prime-time windows. Sunday Night Baseball would have the schedule to itself, just like Saturday nights. For example, the 1 p.m. national game of the week on Saturdays and Sundays could air on Fox or NBC, the 4 p.m. national game of the week could air on Amazon Prime Video, and the 7 p.m. game of the week could be on ABC. Advertisement The package for participating partner networks would also include regular-season high-value tentpole events that mirror MLB's very successful 'Field of Dreams' and Little League park games, Opening Day, Memorial Day, July 4th, the Tokyo Series (along with any other international games), the Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game. These could potentially be more valuable than the regular weekend games. The most valuable part of the 'national' package is the playoffs, including the two league championship series and the World Series. The three TV partners would split the playoffs (similar to the current model) and would rotate airing the World Series. This would allow for the most money and exposure. With this plan, MLB could potentially maximize the amount of revenue and reach with an easy-to-find, simple-to-understand, affordable global plan, along with modernized localization with the weekday games for the biggest fans. For the more casual fan, it would create enticing events and more appointment viewing, with easily accessible weekend games and featuring the most popular teams. MLB has to solve for simplicity, scarcity and scale. If it tries to just chase old money looking for the biggest check for now and not the best way to present its beautiful game as the consumption and distribution landscape shifts under its feet, it will be making a mistake. MLB has done some smart things in recent years, starting with the pitch clock, to modernize the game. If it doesn't chase the past and looks forward, it could innovate itself into a model that potentially could be worth more over time.
New York Times
34 minutes ago
- New York Times
Top 100 drafted NHL prospects ranking: Schaefer, Misa, Demidov lead Wheeler's summer 2025 list
Welcome to the summer 2025 edition of my ranking of the NHL's best prospects at The Athletic. This two-part, twice-a-year project ranks the league's top 100 drafted skaters and top 20 drafted goalies, which will be released tomorrow. This edition of my top 100 drafted prospects ranking includes 24 players from the 2025 draft, 26 from 2024, 25 from 2023, 21 from 2022 and four from 2021. It's made up of 67 forwards and 33 defensemen (of which 14 are lefties and 19 are righties). Advertisement To be considered a prospect, a skater must be under 23 and not fully established with his NHL club. The latter qualifier is arbitrary. There, I trust my judgment for whether a player should be considered fully graduated more than I trust any predetermined games-played cutoff. Preference for inclusion as an NHL prospect is more likely to be given to teenagers than 21- or 22-year-olds. Since the last edition of this ranking, the following players are now considered graduated: Will Smith, Denton Mateychuk, Frank Nazar, Jiri Kulich, Marco Kasper, Lian Bichsel and Elias Pettersson. The Blackhawks lead this edition with seven prospects in the top 100, followed by the Capitals and Predators with six, and the Islanders, Blues, Sharks, Mammoth and Wild with five apiece. Three teams don't have a ranked prospect: the Panthers, Stars and Avalanche (though Colorado has a netminder in the goalie ranking). As always, the list is also broken down into tiers and presented within our fully sortable user interface. Schaefer, who was the No. 1 pick in the 2023 OHL draft and became the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft despite missing much of his draft year with mono to start it and then a broken collarbone suffered in the second game of the World Juniors (he didn't get back skating until March 13). He regularly logged mid-20s minutes for Erie as a rookie as a 16-year-old and they looked like a completely different team with him playing closer to 30 as a 17-year-old. He led Canada White to gold at world under-17s as captain and a big-minute player, pushing 30 per game when it mattered there. He was impactful as an underager at U18 worlds in Finland. He was outstanding at Hlinka as Canada's No. 1 defenseman and captain for a second time. In the 17 OHL games he did play between mono and the injury at the World Juniors, he was phenomenal for the Otters, making a number of highlight-reel, coast-to-coast plays. He was the biggest standout at the two-game CHL-USA Prospects Challenge. He was a standout at the red-white scrimmages and his U Sports game in selection camp for the World Juniors, and when the puck dropped on the actual tournament, I thought he looked like Canada's top D through three and a half periods before he got hurt. You get the point. Even with the lost time, the performances have piled up. When you consider that Schaefer was less than two weeks away from being eligible for the 2026 draft, and the maturity and smarts that already exist in his game, there's a lot to get excited about. But it's his brilliant, frankly incredible skating (he's the best-skating D prospect in the world for me) that really elevates his projection as a potential No. 1 D and two-way transition monster. He has great posture and glide. He's a balanced and flowing skater with light edges and great posture on his heels skating backwards as well as his toes going forward. He's mobile in all four directions. But his ability to fly north-south, transport pucks down ice, track back when he's carried end-to-end, go back and get pucks and catch guys defensively is elite. He also manages play in front of him. He has a good stick and an ability to close out on carriers, be disruptive and then advance and steer play down the ice. He'll occasionally overskate his gaps and close-outs and get beat one-on-one, but he recovers so effortlessly. His game is poised and efficient with the puck while also maintaining big-play upside. He's mature beyond his years in terms of reads and decision-making. He's competitive and leads by example. Schaefer looks like a projectable No. 1 defenseman who covers a ton of territory, can influence play in all four corners and three zones of the rink and is never in a bad spot because of his ability to flow and gallop across the ice. Misa, the OHL's eighth exceptional status player, drew headlines when he broke Connor McDavid's OHL Cup scoring record with 20 points in seven games while playing up a year with the Mississauga Senators in what became his final year of minor hockey. He then followed that up with an impressive 15-year-old season in the OHL, missing 20 games after fracturing the top of his tibia in a knee-on-knee collision and still leading the Spirit in scoring. If not for the injury, he might have broken John Tavares' exceptional status year scoring record of 77 points. Last season, in what should have been his rookie year in the OHL, he finished second to Zayne Parekh on the Spirit in regular-season scoring and finished the year with 91 points in 89 combined regular-season, playoff and Memorial Cup games on the Memorial Cup champs. Two summers ago, he also played his way up Canada's lineup at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and registered eight points in five games as an underager (he skipped last summer's tournament while dealing with some back tightness). Entering this season, scouts wanted to really see him take charge more and take over as the guy for the Spirit and that's exactly what he did, answering the questions some had of him with an emphatic draft year in which he led the league in scoring, was its top player basically from start to finish, and tied Tavares for the most points by a U18 skater in the OHL since 2000 with 134 (in two fewer games than Tavares). I also thought he was one of the standouts of the CHL-USA Prospects Challenge. He didn't have the same impact in Saginaw's first-round sweep to Erie, but he was also playing banged up for a second consecutive playoff run. A center coming up, Misa played mostly on the wing in his first two seasons but found another level in the move back to the middle this year, playing to nearly a goal per game and over two points per game. Misa is a beautiful skater with some quiet explosiveness and a real knack for weaving, cutting, turning and spinning in control of the puck to either shake defenders under pressure in the offensive or defensive zone or slip past them in transition with his speed and agility. He's also a very smart player who makes his linemates better with his playmaking, vision and ability to execute while tightly covered. Off the puck, he's willing to track, stick with plays and compete (I've seen him sacrifice the body to block shots, etc.), hallmarks of his game in minor hockey that have also been more consistent this year — though I'd argue they were always present and he played a more well-rounded game last year than he was given credit for by some. He finishes his checks and has good defensive instincts on interceptions and support. He gets the puck a lot and then protects it beautifully. There are times when he'll turn over pucks, or when I'd like to see him work to get open and glide less, but he has done a nice job cutting back on both of those this season and has been a top player in the OHL at five-on-five, on the penalty kill (where he leads the league in short-handed points) and on the power play. Misa is a slippery player in the offensive zone. He's a weaving skater in transition and has developed more of a scorer's mentality and started to look for his own looks more, using his natural curl-and-drag wrister more intentionally and getting to the guts of the home-plate area with more consistency. And there's natural skill and playmaking layered in, which lights up when he gets the puck inside the offensive zone. The move back to center really involved him in more plays and highlighted the value of his skating, which is most useful when he's getting touches lower in the zone. He's also now almost 6-foot-1 (up from 5-foot-11 in his exceptional status season). I projected his production to jump to the 90-to-100-point range in his draft year, and for him to climb back into the top-five mix, but he took it a step past that and showed real star quality. Read more in our feature here. Demidov is the most purely skilled forward prospect in the sport and is now the KHL's U20 scoring record holder after he eclipsed the marks previously set by Kirill Kaprizov, Matvei Michkov and Evgeny Kuznetsov. In his draft year, Demidov's play during the MHL playoffs (which ended due to a lower-body injury just prior to SKA winning the championship) crystallized him behind Macklin Celebrini as the No. 2 prospect in the 2024 NHL Draft for me. In his post-draft season, his play with SKA in the KHL did the same for him as one of the top prospects — period — in the game for me. He has brilliant individual talent but I've also heard good things about his work ethic on and off the ice, he's in great shape (an athletic 6-foot-0.5 and 190ish pounds) and he has developed some layers to his game so that he's not a one-trick pony as a dancing offensive-zone player (he played to excellent two-way results for a winger in the KHL last season, too). Demidov is a skill-first playmaking forward who finished third in the MHL in scoring three seasons ago (extremely rare for a player that age in a league typically dominated by 19- and 20-year-olds) and played at a higher point-per-game pace than the two players in front of him alongside his older brother, Semyon. Two seasons ago, after a strong preseason with SKA, he won a KHL job out of camp but played little and then, after bouncing between levels trying to rediscover his game, injured his knee and missed a month and a half. After returning, he tore up the MHL with one multi-point game after another and five to 10 shots per game, putting together one of the most productive extended stretches of play ever at Russia's top junior level and making pretty goals look casual. Last season, despite averaging just 13:45 per game on the year, he was still SKA's second-leading scorer. Demidov's a true play creator, and you want the puck in his hands so that he can slip around the ice to make things happen for himself or his linemates. His ability to get off the wall to the middle with the puck on his stick into traffic, his manipulation one-on-one, his knack for dodging sticks and checks, his heel-to-heel maneuvering, his cross-body handles and his passing through layers to the weak side of coverage are all extremely high-end and look singular to him and his very wide stance/unique posture. And while his skating in straight lines doesn't have a standard look to it and was a topic of conversation pre-draft, he's still a fast skater and very shifty side to side. He has elite handling (though he can get himself into trouble trying to beat two or three guys in a crowd, he also often beats multiple guys in a sequence and has a major highlight reel quality) and has made more one-on-one skill plays over the last two seasons in the MHL and now KHL than almost any prospect I've scouted at the same ages. He's also a pretty engaged off-puck player who keeps his feet moving, hunts pucks on the forecheck and can turn a steal into a game-breaking play in an instant. Demidov is one of the most dynamic and skilled prospects to come out of Russia in recent memory (his game also has more of a pro style, competitiveness and roundedness to it than Michkov's had at the same age). He profiles as a point-per-game, first-line, All-Star-level winger. I truly believe he's going to mesmerize in the prime of his career in the NHL. Parekh is one of the most talented prospects in the sport and has the potential to be an offensive game-changer. He might even be in a special tier offensively. Three seasons ago, despite playing in just 50 of Saginaw's 68 games after missing three weeks due to injury from the end of February into March and another couple for the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge (where he scored three goals and five points in seven games as the highest-scoring defenseman on the fourth-place-finishing Canada Black), he still broke the OHL's all-time goals record by a U17 defenseman, scoring 21 times. An OHL Cup All-Star and first-round pick into the OHL before that, Parekh then became the most talented offensive defenseman in junior hockey over the last two years, winning the CHL's defenseman of the year award and scoring and producing at an all-time great draft-year rate, breaking the 30-goal and 90-point mark as the leading scorer on the Memorial Cup hosts by more than 20 points. He was also extremely impactful against the three best teams in the CHL at the Memorial Cup, playing big minutes to help the Spirit to the championship (though he missed some playoff games due to an upper-body injury, he was still a difference-maker for Saginaw in the postseason). He got off to a slow start last season after a very short summer due to the Memorial Cup, the draft, development camp, rookie tournament and the World Junior Summer Showcase, but he made plays with ease in the second half and still managed to somehow finish with 35 goals and 118 points in 66 combined regular-season and playoff games. Parekh plays an aggressive and natural offensive style that looks to attack off the line into the slot or even the front of the net or below the goal line. He'll also regularly involve himself in the rush, much like a winger does, driving down the wall in control to look to challenge defenders and attack into his shot or create an odd-man rush. He's extremely confident offensively and opens up his feet (where necessary) around the zone without going to his heel-to-heel by default. He has great hands and a casual-looking skating posture (he has excellent feet crossing over and falling onto his heels, but does lack pull-away speed in straight lines going forward), which he uses to carry pucks with a visual ease and beat the first layer of pressure to get to his spots. When the puck arrives on his stick, it just seems to stop and glue to him through his movements — a very rare quality that almost makes him look lackadaisical with the puck because it's settled so easily into his pocket and upright stance. He likes to roam, but he's also learning to pick his spots better, and his head is constantly on a swivel to identify where he is in relation to his teammates. When he plays freely, which is almost always, you're drawn to him whenever he touches the puck because he's always a threat to make something happen and he sees and identifies plays early. He protects the puck extremely well with players leaning on him, escaping situations you wouldn't expect him to and often avoiding contact with deft little pre-planned plays (though he'll also take a hit to make a play). He has great footwork and edges to manipulate across the line and stop up along the boards to change directions or maintain gaps. I also believe he defends at a high enough level to be given free rein to go out there and be himself offensively. Though his defense has been a common criticism among scouts at times, I'd argue he has a great stick (which is long and which he hides really well until an opportunity to be disruptive presents itself) and reads the play at a high level in anticipation. I've liked what I've seen from him on the penalty kill, and even though he definitely doesn't play a physical style and can get exposed for not being hard enough in engagements, I think he's made important progress in his own zone and he's also become a very chippy/mouthy/pest-like player (though his lack of discipline at times can get him in trouble). There are times when his posture will look disengaged and upright, and you'd like him to really get low and battle, but he's playing to win pucks with his stick and does so quite well (he's never going to be a staunch defender). Add in that he's a very good communicator (he's constantly talking on the ice), has passes that are almost always tape-to-tape and perfectly flat, an ability to draw penalties escaping pressure as well as just about anyone in the draft class (he's never in trouble) and a want to have the puck and make a difference, and there's a very high-end package. If he can defend at a reasonable level in the NHL (which I believe he'll be able to), he has true star power offensively. I'm bullish on him becoming one of the top offensive defensemen in the world. Buium put together one of the best seasons by a teenage defenseman in modern college hockey history in his draft year, was a big part of two gold medal-winning World Junior teams and was a marked man and one of the best players in college hockey as a sophomore to solidify his status as one of the top D prospects in the game. As a freshman and sophomore, he produced above the rates of established NHL stars at the same age and elevated again and again in big moments (the World Juniors, the NCHC Tournament and finally the national championship). Buium, a December 2005 birthday who spent two seasons at the national program before his draft year, wasn't viewed like he is now coming out of the NTDP but did really hit his stride in the second half of his U18 year, becoming a driver for the U18s and showing glimpses of what was to come. In college, after growing to 6 feet, he not only maintained his identity but really expanded on it, playing leading minutes and impacting play in all areas with his very active and influential brand of hockey. I didn't think he played the same brand in the NHL or at men's worlds in the spring, and thought he didn't look his confident self at both, but with proper coaching I expect his game to expand again. He's a plus-level skater and handler who plays an extremely involved game in all three zones, whether that's activating into the rush or off the point, shaking pressure on exits or across/off the blue line (which he does extraordinarily well, making opposing players miss), working in and out of give-and-gos, or playing tight gaps against the rush. He's a very busy player on both sides of the puck, and he gets in and out of his transitions and footwork so quickly that he can play that style. When he's dialed in, applying pressure on and off the puck and using his feet and his skating to influence play, he can really impact a game in a lot of ways and take over play both offensively (with his activations and evasiveness in the offensive zone) and defensively (with his ability to swallow up top players). His shakes and deception have gone from a strength to a game-breaking quality. His head is always on a swivel. He opens up and walks the line to create lanes for his shot and pass so well, even working off his off-side. He side-steps past opposing players with ease. He has great hands (complemented by those inside edges and shoulder fakes). Some questioned his lack of physicality (with one scout even calling him soft) early on in his draft year but those questions have been emphatically answered in the last two years going to work on some of the more talented forwards in college hockey defensively in big moments — and top players at the World Juniors (I thought after a bit of an off start in this year's tournament that he really elevated in the medal round and defended at a high level). He has learned that the faster he cuts off plays, the more he can play offense, and has really begun to take space more assertively defensively (on top of all of his stickwork and footwork). He'll occasionally lose a battle in front or in the corner, but he defends at a high level in every other area, and his ability to shake and dance past and around coverage can really open up the offensive zone for his team when he's out there. He has played some very high-level hockey for a while now (three springs ago to finish strong at the NTDP, again at the World Junior Summer Showcase, again at two World Juniors and as a big-time freshman and sophomore in college) and projects as a first-pairing, play-driving, extremely involved defenseman with a real chance at stardom. Dickinson is a very projectable defenseman who has size, high-end skating and an offensive game that really rounded into form two seasons ago and took an even bigger step last year on route to 30-plus minutes per game as the best D in the CHL. Three years ago, he stepped right onto a deep Knights blue line at 16 (which is rare), and played bigger minutes by year's end than some drafted guys (which is rarer), including in key situations in the playoffs. Two seasons ago, he played a leading role in all facets of the game on another strong London team (which included successfully quarterbacking one of the power-play units and developing his shot into more of a weapon to nearly hit 20 goals), making two huge plays in the Memorial Cup final. Last year, his game continued to expand as a dominant two-way force who crushed huge minutes to incredible on-ice results and a Memorial Cup win. He's a strong 6-foot-3/4, 210ish-pound defenseman whose skating is a major strength (forward, backward, four-way mobility — the full package for a defender his size). He plays to who he is and what makes his game so successful. He defends at a very high level for his age, both man-to-man, down low and positionally in his own zone. He has skill and command with the puck in the offensive zone and shows real vision and an NHL shot consistently. There are times when he needs to pivot and set his gaps earlier (when he's ready and in flow to accept the rush, he's an excellent defender), but his only major hiccup is decision-making under pressure in his own zone. He still needs to read the ice and move it quicker at times, and there are moments in games when he doesn't process it fast enough coming out of his own zone and can turn over pucks (though that improved last season). On offense, he shows comfort, speed, presence and even deception past opposing forwards, and has developed a nice feel for the game offensively when there are plays to be made. He just needs to count, read and problem-solve faster in his own zone. Some still have minor concerns about his IQ but he has all of the physical tools you look for, he can really shoot it (which I know he has worked on to turn into a real weapon), he comfortably handles and skates it, he has a high floor, and he could have a very high ceiling (at both ends) with continued development along the path he's on. There are also some who want to see him play a little meaner, but he's a dominant defender at the junior level, and he competes/plays hard across huge minutes. He's also helped by a June birthday that gives him some runway to continue to find new levels/layers and get the reps in with the puck in his own zone. He can dominate a game in all three zones and four corners of the rink, which is saying something for a defenseman his age. His size, skating, defense and blossoming offensive game make him a true top prospect. He looks like he's going to be a two-way stud in the NHL, and if he continues to improve the way he reads pressure, I think there's first-pairing upside. He has also twice worn a letter for Hockey Canada. Levshunov is a stud D prospect who developed rapidly over his first two seasons in North America pre-draft and then averaged more than 20 minutes per game in the AHL as a teenage rookie (in a season that came with some highs and lows as he learned the pro game in real time). He finished second on the Big Ten-champion Spartans in scoring (35 points in 38 games) and first in goal differential (plus-27) as a freshman defenseman in the NCAA in his draft year. He had a stellar rookie season in the USHL before that, registering 43 points in 65 combined regular-season and playoff games with Green Bay to fast-track his way into college hockey. It's not easy to play big minutes to excellent two-way results or produce at a near point-per-game rate as a teenage D in college hockey, let alone one with a language barrier in a new culture who just two seasons ago had only ever played in Belarus. While I thought he should go back to college for one more year and his introduction to the AHL was a bit of a learning curve after starting the year injured, Levshunov played big minutes in Rockford, played on the power play and the penalty kill, his shot generation was strong and he was involved in a lot of action — for better or worse — at both the AHL and NHL levels with his chicken-with-his-head-cut-off see-and-react game. Levshunov's profile checks a lot of the boxes of a high-end defenseman. He's a righty with an extremely imposing and physically mature build already. He's a long skater with plus-level four-way mobility (including a gazelle-like stride the length of the ice). Though he was a little green defensively when he arrived in the USHL, he has made fast progress and has really figured it out over the last three years (which included becoming a top penalty killer with the Gamblers after not starting there two years ago, and leading the Spartans in time on ice last year). His ceiling defensively is sky-high with the right development. That ceiling is led by a physical nature that regularly sees him bowl over opposing players (even on reverse hits) and outmuscle in 50/50 battles. Offensively, he can pass and shot shape but mostly impacts offense with how eager and loose he plays as a carrier and activator who confidently leads exits and entries and loves to hop off the line (including deep into the O-zone) and join the rush whenever he can with his skating, which I expect him to do more and more of as he gets more and more comfortable at the pro level — and which I hope the Blackhawks encourage him to lean into. He also walks the line proficiently and can escape and control the puck against pressure, which has allowed him to produce very high shot totals across levels. After beginning to take over games offensively and show a more dynamic element over the second half of his season in the USHL, he played with an abundance of confidence and identity in college hockey two seasons ago (even if that identity is a little haywire at times) and was immediately himself at the pro level (I think he'll always be a very loose, hectic player). He already possessed all of the tools he needed to become a top-pairing D, and he just keeps getting better and better. The decision-making is a little raw, but he's very much still learning it as he goes, and the raw tools are also incredibly appealing considering his relative inexperience, all things considered. With continued fine-tuning, I believe there's legitimate first-pairing upside there. His ability to impact play all over the ice and jump in and out of plays will define him. I expect him to do that in the NHL in a big way in time as well. He's capable of becoming a force. Hagens, after two years as the top player at the NTDP and two record-setting international events at U17 and U18 worlds, entered last season as a front-runner to go No. 1. His draft year was good without being a star-making campaign, though. He played to a point per game as a freshman at BC and was a driver of positive results who often played over 20 minutes for the Eagles. At the World Juniors in Ottawa, he was also the No. 1 center on a gold medal-winning Team USA, leading their forwards in ice time (20:33), and was their fourth-leading scorer with nine points in seven games. I'm still very high on Hagens, but some scouts wanted to see him score more and get to the net more than he did in college. There were a couple of games against bigger, older, heavier college teams where it didn't come as easily as it has against his peers. Hagens' game is about skating and playmaking. He's extremely breezy as a skater, making his patterns look easy out there. To use a hockey cliche, he's on top of the ice, he's agile and his stride and edges are dynamic, light, mobile and adjustable, with legitimate speed and quick acceleration through his crossovers and cuts (he often beats guys on angles and loses them on cutbacks). He has high-end touch and handling and real finesse as a passer or in playing pucks into space for himself. He's very aware of spacing and timing on the ice and does a good job hitting his spots off the puck to present an option in motion to teammates as well as finding teammates when they're open with his vision through layers. He has an impressive small-area game and an even more impressive game in open ice, with an ability to take his first touch and put opposing defenders on their heels when he gets the puck. He makes a lot happen in transition with his ability to flow up ice and make plays at pace, because the puck just sticks to his stick, and he moves with control of rare quality. He has phenomenal dexterity and reflexes catching passes into his first touch. He's crafty and has a game that mixes delays with one-on-one skill that pulls defenders in and then beats them. He has drive and wants to take charge on the ice. As soon as he gives it, he's dashing to get open. He tries things and has the skill to pull off bold decisions when he makes them. His game has detail. He has some sneaky jam and competitiveness, with more of a willingness to put his nose in dirty areas than some scouts give him credit for, in my opinion. He'll engage in battles. He's an impressive athlete, with natural strength for 5-foot-10/11 that certainly isn't overpowering but allows him to stay on pucks. He'll also stand his ground post-whistle. He's well-conditioned and doesn't tire over the course of games or shifts. He's slippery off the cycle and has a nifty release (I expect the goals will come next year). But it's his combination of skating, skill and craft that defines him. Hagens profiles as a top-of-the-lineup, play-creating center in the NHL with a similar profile to Utah's Logan Cooley. I remain a big believer in him and his game, and expect him to be one of the top forwards in college hockey as a sophomore and outperform his draft slot in his career. Read more in our feature here. Because of his October birthday and advanced game and size, I've seen a lot of Martone live (in Switzerland and Finland for two under-18 worlds, in Mississauga and Brampton over three years in the OHL instead of two pre-draft, in Plymouth for the World Junior Summer Showcase, in London and Oshawa for the CHL-USA Prospects Challenge, in Brantford for the OHL Top Prospects Game, in Ottawa for selection camp for the World Juniors and then the tournament, etc.). Entering his draft year, Martone already had a ton of prestige. He'd already scored 33 goals in the OHL as the Steelheads' second-leading scorer. He'd already captained Canada to gold with 23 points in 14 combined games across two U18s. Then he got off to one of the hottest starts in the OHL in his draft year and scored the overtime winner at the OHL Top Prospects Game. He played a limited role at the World Juniors and had a limited impact early in the tournament, though, and some started to wonder whether his average pace/skating is a potential limiter to a game that otherwise looks like it has NHL star potential as a highly skilled modern power forward. His production also leveled out a little as the season went on, though he still finished with 98 points in 57 games (a 117-point, 68-game pace) and, for me, was the Steelheads' best player in their first-round loss to Oshawa, winning his minutes. Martone plays a physical, direct game with real skill and scoring ability. My viewings before last year had honestly been a bit of a mixed bag, with game notes in which I thought he looked like a stud and others in which I left the rink not feeling like he made much of a mark and wasn't in line with the hype. Last year, though, he looked dominant more consistently and completely took over some Steelheads games I was at (particularly early in the year when he was one of the best players in the OHL out of the gate). Martone has a pro game and frame. He battles for pucks when he's on them, goes to the net, finishes his checks and will drop the gloves. He handles the puck extremely smoothly for his size and can be quite noticeable in possession when he's playing with confidence and intention. I've seen him make a ton of individual skill plays one-on-one, cleanly beat goalies from midrange with his strong shot and release and execute low-to-high plays from below the goal line or off the cycle. He has a nifty toe-drag (both release and one-on-one handles) and slick handles for a nearly 6-foot-3 player, regularly making individual skill plays on the puck. He has a deceptive release point. He's an excellent passer of the puck. There have been games in which I've wanted to see him keep his feet moving and reach in a little less off the puck, and where his discipline on (in terms of play selection/turning it over) and off the puck (bad penalties, losing his man to chase, not finding open space, etc.) have been an issue. His skating can kick out from the knees a little bit, too, and his skating will need to improve if he wants the rest of his game to really pop at the next level. But he has a lot of attributes (size, strength, power, shot, playmaking, puck skill) and he's going to score goals, make plays and potentially impose himself in the NHL when he really comes into his own. He's a stud, and most NHL clubs love his skilled power forward game, even if some softened on a couple of his attributes. Martone has the talent to become a high-end point-producing winger in a strong 6-3 package. Read more in our feature here. The WHL's fourth-leading scorer in his draft year, Catton registered 54 goals and 120 points in a combined 72 regular-season and playoff games on a Spokane team that lost more games than it won. He had real pedigree even before his draft season, too, as a No. 1 pick into the WHL who was an offensive catalyst on a bad Chiefs team in his rookie season and who also led Canada Red to silver as captain at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge with 12 points in seven games and then again captained Canada at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup with a tournament-leading eight goals and 10 points in five games. He continued to build on his strong statistical profile last season as well, producing near the top of the WHL again (151 points in 77 combined regular-season and playoff games) and looking like he was playing with his food after the arrival of Capitals top prospect Andrew Cristall (they were the best duo in the CHL and made plays with ease inside the offensive zone). Catton's dangerous whenever he's on the puck and shines with his knifing, slippery game. Inside the offensive zone, the way he baits and shades, drawing players to him and then playmaking past them with a pass or a cut, is pretty impressive to watch. Catton is a heady playmaker who uses spacing to his advantage and sees the ice at an advanced level, regularly executing quick plays through coverage or delaying into a pre-planned play. He has multi-dimensional skill, with an ability to play both with speed on the rush (he's a smooth, fast and nimble high-end skater) and more slowly inside the offensive zone when the pace ramps down and he has to spin away from pressure (which he does so well). He has great instincts offensively. He tracks back consistently and will get up and under sticks to win his fair share of battles, with more room to round out his game defensively (mostly inside his own zone) and steady progress made on that front. He supports play well off the puck defensively, which was a focus of his this year. He gets to the guts of the ice and also makes plays out wide. He thrives in tight spaces and on cutbacks; he can play on the perimeter or take it to the net, and he has a dangerous and quick release while moving. He does such a good job losing defenders with his back to them to avoid getting pinned down because of how adjustable his skating is through stops and starts and tight turns. He draws a lot of penalties with his skating and has also been a top penalty killer in the WHL the last two years because of his ability to pounce and create offense short-handed. He has some very translatable top-six elements with his skating and skill set. I believe he has the chops to stick as a center despite being on the smaller side as well, because you want him getting touches lower in the zone so that his skating can lead in transition. He has a bit of an injury history, which has impacted a couple of offseasons and led to him sitting out of U18 worlds, but he's an exciting talent with high-end offensive chops. Desnoyers was the No. 1 pick in the 2023 QMJHL Draft after a run to a silver medal at the Telus Cup (Canada's under-18 championship) and captaining Quebec at the Canada Winter Games. He was one of the top young players in the Q as a rookie two seasons ago, regularly playing 20 minutes per game as a forward for a good Wildcats team, and wore a letter for the gold medal-winning Canada White at under-17s as well as for Team Canada at the Hlinka. I thought he had a tough time as a center in a limited role at U18 worlds (despite registering five points in five games) two springs ago and his numbers didn't pop out of the gate last season, but he was one of the best players in the QMJHL for six months and has really elevated his game — and, importantly for scouts, his production — as the top forward on the top team in the QMJHL despite dealing with two injured wrists from November onward. He stamped that by leading the Wildcats to a Q title as the league's playoff MVP with 30 points in 19 playoff games as well. He wasn't able to rise again in the Memorial Cup for them, but the wrists were really nagging him by then, and he still made two big plays in the semifinal. Desnoyers is a good-sized center with room to add muscle, and scouts love him as a projectable top-six center who plays a smart, detailed, well-rounded two-way game with good skill, smarts and poise. Desnoyers is competitive and has great habits. He's committed to playing defense, supporting pucks, staying in good positions and not cheating for offense. He gets glowing reviews as a winner that people gravitate around. He's opportunistic and gets open really well. He excels in the faceoff circle. He involves himself in play, he can carry and hold pucks or play off his linemates in give-and-gos, he has a real feel for the game offensively, and he's consistently impactful. While he's not a dynamic skater or individual creator, I see plenty of skill and have seen him make plenty of high-skill plays (including a Michigan goal and a ton of high-IQ, quick-hands plays in tight/in traffic) and he's a better skater than his older brother Elliot was at the same age. If he can add a little more pace and muscle, he's going to have a long career as an important center who contributes to winning on good teams. He has had a very comparable QMJHL career and impact to Nico Hischier and Pierre-Luc Dubois, who were both also top-five picks. He's more Hischier than PLD, too. Read more in our feature here. The top Swedish prospect in the 2007 age group, Frondell dominated at the J20 level two years ago and excelled internationally at the World Junior A Challenge, the world under-17s and particularly the U18 Five Nations (both last year's, when he was dominant as an underager, and this year's in Helsinki). He struggled to create offense at this year's U18 worlds, though, and while he arrived late and was coming off a run to SHL promotion with Djurgården and dealing with jet lag, his final showing was a disappointing one. He looked as if he belonged with the Djurgården pro team in the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan as a 16-year-old before hurting his foot in late February and later his knee (which required surgery), two injuries that combined to keep him out for most of 2023-24 and the start of last season. After jumping back into the men's team's lineup in limited minutes right away last year, Frondell looked early on last season at both the pro and junior level like he was still finding his game, pace and conditioning. He really stood out over the final few months, though, before playing a bit of a lesser role in the playoffs, with a couple of four-point games in Allsvenskan and that aforementioned second standout showing at Five Nations that included a two-goal, three-point game against USA (though he also had a mediocre Five Nations mixed in with his mediocre U18 worlds). All told, it was a bit of a mixed bag for Frondell this year, with some real highs (two or three months of excellent play against men) and some real lows. His HockeyAllsvenskan production was very strong in a historical context; on the whole, it should be noted, producing in line with names such as William Nylander and David Pastrnak at the same age. There's a lot to like about Frondell's game. He's heavy but plays with intention, strength and some power (there were some questions about his fitness level after the time off, but he worked on it and quieted those concerns with a strong showing at the combine). He's competitive. He excels in puck protection (which, again, we saw more of late in the Allsvenskan regular season). He engages himself on and off the puck, offensively and defensively, to get involved in impacting play in all three zones. He has fairly quick hands, a big one-timer, a natural and hard release and a good sense for spacing and attacking. He has an ability to both create his own looks (though I want to see him do it more consistently), challenge defenders and find and use open ice to play off and to his linemates and free up his shot. He can be relied upon defensively and does a good job supporting play and picking up his assignments when he needs to help out the D. Though he has played mostly wing for Djurgården's men's team, he's a natural center and I've liked him at both positions but he projects as a center for me. He has pro quality and tools. I've wondered about whether his pace (he can look like he has big boots out there at times) and his playmaking are high-end enough, but he should be an excellent top-six player in the NHL who has a strong combination of size, strength, shooting and two-way play. I stuck my neck out on Perreault in his draft year, and I remain bullish on him as one of the most talented and offensively intelligent prospects in the game despite a lack of initial production in his introduction to the NHL in the spring. When the points pile up like they have, and they happen while making the kinds of plays that he does, you can't ignore them. You can say what you will about his skinny frame (though he has added substantial muscle, at least relatively speaking, in recent years). You can say what you will about perceived questions of skating (which I think completely lost the plot in his draft year). You can say what you will about his linemates at the NTDP and BC. But it's Perreault who holds the program's single-season points record, it was Perreault who, before missing a few games to injury, led the Eagles in scoring as a freshman for much of last season before finishing with a rare 60-point season anyway, and it was Perreault who again led them in assists as a sophomore. I see an incredibly clever facilitator and playmaker who plays the game with a light touch and a heady spatial awareness of not only where his teammates are, but where he is in the flow of play (and relative to defenders). The son of former longtime NHLer Yanic Perreault and brother of Jacob Perreault, Gabe doesn't have his dad's defensive acumen or his brother's build (Gabe is now listed closer to 180 pounds, Jacob is closer to 200), but he's a highly intuitive player who sees the play develop offensively at a more advanced level than his two family members did/do — and comparably to any prospect in the sport for me. He has extremely quick hands to complement that mind for the game offensively and allow him to execute all the plays he sees. He problem-solves his way out of trouble as well as just about anyone his age that I've watched. He has dexterous tools catching, tipping and redirecting pucks on first touch. He arrives in space at exactly the right time to make himself available and finish plays. His ability to bait defenders and open them up so that he can slide passes through their feet is so impressive. He gets shots off extremely fast and without bobbles in catch-and-release sequences. He plans things out on the ice at speed and then finds ways to make his desired play. He's a slick one-on-one player but will also wait for that extra split-second and then just sling a pass tape-to-tape across the grain. He has become a bit of a puck thief, consistently tracking back hard to empty the tank and make effort plays on lifts. There are times when he waits too long to make his plays, but you live with that, given his unique ability to find guys in open space with real craft and puck skill in possession. He's a better skater than he gets credit for, with average to above-average speed and developing power to his stride as he has gotten stronger. I see a skilled, crafty, inventive, nifty top-six playmaking winger with clear PP1 upside. I think he has a chance to be a star if the Rangers develop and use him properly. Sennecke is a high-skill individual player with length (up over 6-foot-4 now) who two years ago, after an up-and-down start to his draft season, became a game-changer after the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game and finished on an emphatic note with an excellent playoff performance with the Gens, regularly pulling people out of their seats. Last season, he followed that up by becoming one of the most productive players in the OHL, registering 50 goals and 118 points in 74 combined regular-season and playoff games. He's one of the most exciting pure-skill prospects in the sport. One of the more productive rookies in the OHL in his 16-year-old year, Sennecke was a standout on a young Oshawa team two years ago, earning Second All-Rookie Team honors and playing both wings successfully (he's a right-handed shot but often played the left wing with first-rounder Calum Ritchie, although he has played mostly right wing since). He looked a little skinny when I first went to see him play three years ago, and he has still looked that way in repeat viewings in Oshawa, Moncton for the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game (where I thought he was one of White's most noticeable players), Plymouth for the World Junior Summer Showcase and Ottawa for Canada's selection camp for the World Juniors (where I thought he played really well and deserved to win a job on the team), but that's driven by a growth spurt that sprouted him up and his room for physical growth is exciting now (he has already begun to fill out, too). His stride and shot, which both lacked power at 16, have also made clear progress. His release, which has always been naturally quick, now has some oomph, and his skating has really smoothed out and is an asset now, which has helped his dynamic rush game. Sennecke can definitely handle the puck. He has extremely soft hands and confidence on it, even under pressure, spinning and weaving off the wall or attacking right into defenders with his stick skill, regularly finding his way out of tough spots and traffic with craft and creativity. The puck just sticks to him. He also moves well in control, side-stepping checks and sticks nicely. He's impressively dexterous and does a good job catching bad passes and handling the puck in his feet. But he does have a habit of playing one-on-one a little too much at times, which has frustrated some at times, but also more often thrills in sequences of skill on the puck. He'll dangle past a defender multiple times a game, but also sometimes turn the puck over trying to be a hero when there are better plays. There are also times when he needs to empty the tank on the backcheck, but he has made more of an effort to finish his checks and battle through contact over the last 18 or so months (his flat games are fewer and fewer now and I've seen more and more games where he has battled and competed). He has legitimate high-end talent on the puck and his feet and stick move in and out of unison to shade away from opposing reach-ins niftily. He also sees through coverage well and — when he's not so focused on making the individual play — can really pass it through gaps in coverage. He's still got some work to do and some development in front of him, but the potential reward could be one of the more skilled tall wingers in the NHL. With a little more muscle and maturity, his game could continue to take off. He's still got some work to do to win more battles and round out his game defensively, but he has made important strides on both fronts, and he has clear top-six talent/dimension. Leonard is a prospect whom everyone respects, even if they don't like him. It's impossible not to. He's a powerful, high-RPM player who makes things happen when he's on the ice and who pulls teammates into the fight with his scrappy, competitive, never-stop style. He's not just the energy guy or a battler, either. He has really quick side-to-side hands, a hard, NHL shot that rattles off his stick and quick crossover patterns that allow him to use those hands to get to places where he can look to shoot. He'll flash one-on-one skill, pulling pucks through his feet and around defenders. His focus is on getting to the interior (to a fault at times), and he attacks there fearlessly with a sturdy stride. He'll take a beating over the course of games and keep sticking his nose in every battle/continue to attack into contact. Add in strength, power, a strong build, an ability to drive and shed contact when he gets bumped and a defensive conscience and there's more than just a hands-shot-worker skill set, too. He's not the most cerebral player, he can be a little too net-focused at times and his discipline/hot-headedness can get him into trouble, but he has taken noticeable strides to become a little more inventive and a little less predictable from A to B (I've been more and more impressed by his little hesitations and his widened vision in possession). He does need a specific type of linemate as he can take up a lot of air on his line, so to speak, but you've always been able to live with it because of the consistency of his impact. His backhand has also become a legit weapon, adding another layer to his shooting arsenal. There's just so much that looks translatable about his game. The way he gets shots off hard, even from off-balance and sometimes falling stances. The way he battles and the fearlessness with which he drives the net. His overall dexterity. Leonard should be the kind of player who will score, add physicality to a line and slide up and down a top nine in an NHL lineup while endearing himself to his coaches — and occasionally infuriating them. He scored 30 goals in back-to-back college seasons, which is a very impressive feat. Leonard is a driver who has looked like a No. 8 pick between BC and two strong showings at the World Juniors (winning a pair of gold medals, including one as captain and tournament MVP) since the draft. His play selection isn't always great, and he can take too many unnecessary penalties when his intensity boils over, but he can also be a shift-to-shift force. I think the NHL will be a little more of a learning curve for him than he maybe expects it to be, but he should become a unique player in the prime of his career. It's no secret that I am — and have been — a fan of Nemec. And I'm going to double down here and predict a breakout with the Devils and at the Olympics in 2025-26. His introduction to the Devils organization three years ago through the summer's rookie camp, the fall's rookie tournament, his first preseason and then his first few weeks in the AHL was actually a bit of a bumpy one. He struggled on the power play. He didn't look like his usual self at five-on-five. He was just off, after a career to that point where he had looked ready for every new challenge — against professionals in Slovakia, as MVP at the Hlinka, as captain at the World Juniors, even at men's world championships. He really hit his stride in early December of that season, though, and for me was Utica's best defenseman in the second half of his rookie season and again to start two seasons ago before performing really admirably across his first 60 games in the NHL. Though he wasn't been able to secure a full-time roster spot with the Devils again last season, I liked him in the playoffs and it's still important to remind yourself that he just turned 21 and that despite his three years in the AHL he was still one of youngest defensemen to play in an NHL game last season. Nemec's statistical profile to this point in his career, for his age, remains pretty pristine as well. He's a calculated and poised three-zone defender who is capable of organizing play from the top of the zone, executing through seams in coverage at a high level and starting and leading his fair share of rushes. He has good edges and four-way mobility, which he uses to manipulate and steer play through intelligent routes on and off the puck. He also regularly flashes sneaky deception, poise and even ambition. Though I wouldn't say he's a dynamic, game-breaking type offensively, he's plenty calm and talented. He knows when and how to push. The challenge Nemec has faced is that while he played a fairly polished defensive game at a very early age, his play defensively hasn't found another level beyond that, and his NHL results in his own zone have been just OK (though, again, the playoffs were really promising). I still expect him to become the best defenseman out of Slovakia since Zdeno Chara and a No. 2 (or high-end No. 3) guy who plays a play-driving modern game. The game just comes easily to him when he's at his best, with everything happening in front of him and the ice tilted in his favor. It happens so subtly, too, with occasional flashes when he's really dialed in as well. It's short little passes, quiet steering of play, little skill plays and then a big moment when the team needs him, rather than constant flashes. His type of game is the direction the position should be going. Now it's up to him to show it consistently at the NHL level, which I think he will do next season. Mrtka is a towering right-shot defenseman who skates extremely well and played huge all-situations minutes for Czechia at the Hlinka last summer and then Seattle in the WHL and the national team again at U18 worlds in Texas (where he was outstanding in the tournament opener against Team USA but didn't stand out in the same way in Czechia's other games). With the Thunderbirds, he was phenomenal, playing to nearly a point per game on a low-scoring team, logging an average of 27 minutes and often 30, and going over the boards first on both the power play and penalty kill. There was debate in the 2025 draft class as to who the second-best D was, but for me, it was Mrtka. He's very intriguing and I'm higher on him than I was on other towering recent high picks such as Anton Silayev and Dmitri Simashev (though he and Silayev are extremely close for me and I thought about ranking Mrtka below him here). Mrtka can transport pucks down ice, activate and join the rush, walk the line and even side-step pressure in control. He shows poise and comfort on the puck with a willingness to hold onto it and make a play in small areas (though I think he can be indecisive at times). He has a good shot that he keeps low and on target and can occasionally really attack into (which I'd like to see him do more of). He's super smooth moving around the ice. He defends well with his long reach and standout skating ability. He has a good stick. With his length and mobility, his defensive upside is high. I've seen him play physical and impose himself that way as well, though there are scouts who want to see him play a little harder at times and coaches may try to push him that way at the NHL level. Mrtka is also a June birthday who should be able to take advantage of his extra runway and already doesn't have some of the kinks you expect a D his size and age to have. I think his ceiling is quite high. His skating and calm with the puck are both very rare attributes in a player his size. Read more in our feature here. Sandin Pellikka had a brilliant run in the SHL the last two seasons, producing at near-historic rates as a teenager in both, winning an SHL title, winning back-to-back directorate awards as the top defenseman at the World Juniors (he was Sweden's youngest defenseman the first time he did, too) and emerging last season to play 20 minutes per game and become one of the league's most productive defensemen regardless of age before coming over for a fine but unspectacular introduction to the AHL. Sandin Pellikka is an individually talented, competitive 5-foot-11 defenseman with natural scoring instincts and the tools to execute. He has really good edges and mobility and has shown improved speed in straight lines to pull away from chasers (with more room for growth there still). He walks the line to get shots through at a high level, wants the puck in the offensive zone and has the skill and shot to make things happen when teammates find him off the point or as the trailer off the rush (which he often activates into). He keeps his head up in the neutral and defensive zones and is a confident puck carrier on exits and entries. Though he's not big, he's athletic and he plays hard and physical and engages in battles in the defensive zone with some sneaky strength. He has a good stick. He does a good job maintaining gaps and matching opposing forwards step for step skating backward and times his close-outs and pinches effectively. He can really shoot it with a pinpoint accurate shot, a wrister that comes off hard and an eagerness to put pucks on net from the point. He has comfortable handles. He walks the line looking for his shot and chances to take space off it to attack into better spots, but he'll find open teammates cross-ice through seams as well and is seeing the ice better and better. There are times when he can wait too long to make his decisions and I wouldn't call him super creative or a highlight reel type, but he's very talented, he makes good choices more often than he's careless and he has progressed really rapidly. He projects as a high-end offensive defenseman and defensively capable second-pairing one at five-on-five. When he's on, he can control the game in all three zones and really drive shot creation. Defensemen of his size have struggled in recent years to make the same impact in the NHL that they made at lower levels, but I think ASP gets there. I did think about ranking him a little lower here, though. Yakemchuk was one of the highest-scoring and most penalized draft-eligible defensemen in recent WHL history, breaking the rare 30-goal and 70-point benchmarks, and sailing past 100 penalty minutes with the Hitmen (who missed the playoffs) two seasons ago. That's a year after he scored 19 goals (third among WHL D) on a middle-of-the-pack team and was the only 2024 draft-eligible to make one of the WHL's All-Star teams when he was named a Central Division Second All-Star, which was important considering he was only a couple of weeks away from being eligible for the 2023 draft. I thought he was unremarkable at the 2023 U18 worlds, and he struggled in stretches at both the World Junior Summer Showcase and his first rookie tournament with the Senators last August and September, but an impressive first main camp with the Senators demonstrated his upside. After returning to the WHL, he had a good season and made some modest progress in a couple of important areas, but didn't take a big leap forward. Led by his instincts, plenty of confidence and legit skill for a D his size, Yakemchuk generates a lot from the back end. While his game in the WHL has come with some give and take, he has pro size, a pro shot, excellent one-on-one skill and hands and an attack mentality that's complemented by an active disposition to eagerly jump off the line or into the rush. He's also got a developing sense for when to hold it and when to move it, which has been a work in progress for him over the years. He also protects the puck extremely well for a defenseman, which allows him to make the most of his decisions to involve himself in the play around the offensive zone, holding pucks past and away from reaching defenders and sometimes dazzling in extended sequences with the puck. It's not uncommon to see him take a puck to the inside of the wall, beat his man off the line or go to the front of the net. And while he has work to do to refine his game and reads defensively, he has the size and tools (it never hurts when you're a 6-foot-3 righty) to take the steps he needs to there, and he plays really hard at both ends. I would like to see his skating — which is fine going forward but heavy-footed in other areas and can burn him — improve, particularly from a standstill (where he can be a little slow out of the blocks). He's not a natural athlete, either. There are games, though, in which he dictates terms with his offense and physicality, really taking charge on the ice. If he can get a little quicker and continue to mature in his decision-making, he has high-end upside, especially offensively. I did debate ranking him to 24th or 25th here instead of 19th. O'Brien was the OHL's Rookie of the Year two seasons ago after playing to above a point per game and leading all rookies in points and assists. He didn't grab me in repeat live viewings in the OHL that year and early on last season to start his draft year, but he really took off as the year went on and sold me in the second two-thirds of it. He created a lot for the Bulldogs and drove his line (while not playing with OHL leading goal scorer Nick Lardis at five-on-five, and without his usual running mate of Marek Vanacker until the end of November). He was a little quiet at two separate tournaments for Hockey Canada, but he was definitely a little snakebitten in his scoreless Hlinka last summer and didn't play the typical top-six role he has in the OHL. He nearly broke 100 points by year's end, finishing with 98. He then had 11 points in 11 playoff games and played a lot for the Bulldogs in their final four games after Lardis went down with an injury. He's a finesse player with tons of feel, skill, poise and craftsmanship on the puck and as a passer (he seems to know where guys are even when they're in his blind spot). The IQ and passing ability are high-end tools. He has a high-end ability to put pucks into spaces for both his linemates but also himself. He's a decently fast skater who uses fluid crossovers to build speed and weave up the ice in control. I've wanted to see him own his ice, up his tempo and put the puck in the net more at times, but he has shown he can do all of that. He's extremely smart on and off the puck. He's also viewed as a competitive enough center (though he supports play well off the puck, I'd like to see him involve himself more in the fight and he lacks a physical element) who should fill out his frame (which should also help him in the faceoff circle, where he struggles). It's also worth noting that he's a June birthday and the son of two high-level hockey players, so the athleticism is there, and the muscle should come. The skill, sense, IQ and ability to make plays at different paces are all very appealing when you consider he's still a lean almost-6-foot-2. Read more in our feature here. I've got a lot of time for Eklund, but most do. He's a 2006 who played 30 pro games in the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan two years ago, registering 10 points and looking like he belonged. He then took another step last season, producing regularly at the pro level on a Djurgarden team that earned promotion into the SHL and impressing as one of Sweden's better forwards at the World Juniors. He also stood out on a team that needed him to be an impactful top-six player as a 2025 draft-eligible at U18 worlds two years ago and had a strong World Junior Summer Showcase leading into the season. The younger brother of Sharks first-rounder William Eklund, Victor gets above-average grades for his smarts, skill and skating, but he's really a standout competitor who works and plays extremely hard for a 5-foot-11 winger. He wins races. He keeps his feet moving. He gets inside body positioning. He finished his checks and battles. He can play the bumper or the flank on the power play. He has great edges and handles, and a quick and accurate wrister. And he plays an intuitive, heady game on and off the puck, but can also be a go-getter who relies on timing and instincts. I think he has the tools to develop into a nice top-six player in the NHL. He's a smallish winger, but he has proven through his motor, skill, good feel for the game and determination that he can still be a driver. He uses Travis Konecny as his comp, and it's a fitting one. He's a very good, likable hockey player who is going to have a long career. Martin is a well-rounded, fearless, workhorse, pro-style forward whose combination of competitiveness and strength has endeared him to scouts and OHL coaches and players alike. He played huge, all-situations minutes for the Soo last season, often clocking 25-plus minutes as a forward, and then wore a letter for Canada at U18 worlds and was one of the best players in the tournament. He plays extremely hard, he plays in the guts of the ice, his effort level and physicality get A grades and he stays involved in all three zones, constantly seeming to make things happen and have an impact on shifts and games. He's strong on his feet and finishing checks, delivering some of the hardest hits I saw all of last year and doing it seemingly every game without being a dirty player. He has good hands and reflexes on tips and redirects around the net. He has some raw power and should continue to get even stronger. He has a B and C game that allows him to consistently impact games in a variety of desirable ways. While I wouldn't call his skill or skating extremely dynamic, he's very talented, regularly attacking at and challenging defenders with his hands and middle-lane drive and beating goalies with his quick release (he has an NHL shot already). So he's not just a worker type with secondary skill; there's some play-driving and individual playmaking to his game as well. He's going to have a long career as a productive up-and-down-the-lineup player in the NHL and should be an excellent and unique top-six forward (whether as a center or winger) in his prime. There's some untapped potential yet with him and his development curve as well. He's very early in it, and while he's a quick skater and a very powerful player, both of those things still have another level. I don't think there's a more competitive, honest, stick-to-it, high-motor player in the game. I thought about ranking him a couple of spots higher here. Read more in our feature here. A standout October 2006 with size and some real skill, McQueen is a big, right-shot center with talent on the puck and skating that has come a long way over the last couple of years to fall into place more naturally. The big question with McQueen has been about his health. He impressed for Canada at U17s, Hlinka and U18s — where, after a standout first game, he got injured in the second game of the tournament — and has had stretches of dominant play for Brandon in the WHL, including early on last season after a four-goal game to kick-start his draft year. He missed 15 games with a back injury midway through two seasons ago, though, and after returning for the playoffs and U18s and getting off to that hot start last season while still trying to manage it, it flared up enough that he and his team felt it was important for him to step away from his draft year and get it right. (He initially said the injury was a bulging disc but recently said it was actually a pars fracture, or a spondylolysis — a stress fracture of the spine.) After missing almost his entire draft season, he returned to play in early March and looked like he was getting back into the swing of things early before getting closer to form down the stretch and finishing with 20 points in 17 games on the year. But he wasn't himself in Brandon's first-round playoff series against Lethbridge and missed the final two games of it again. On talent, upside and pedigree, he's a top prospect and was viewed as a potential top-five pick at one point. But the lost development time and the way his back impacted him across two seasons raise questions. As a player, I like his tenaciousness/willingness to go get pucks and then stick with them when he has them. When he was younger, he lacked strength, and his skating dragged behind/never properly loaded because he was trying to cheat his mechanics to keep up, but it has started to come, and there's belief it will continue to develop as he adds strength (he moves well now) if he can stay healthy. He uses his linemates well. But it's his ability to control and manipulate pucks in tight to his body, with his length, that I think distinguishes him and gets scouts excited. He can carry pucks into traffic and problem-solve in ways that players his size typically struggle to do. He can also go to the net and make tuck plays/rebounds with good dexterity, which has helped him play the net front successfully on the power play, a translatable role for him. His shot is pinpoint accurate around the home-plate area and even from tough angles. There are the makings of a really unique player there, and the payoff could be significant, especially given how quickly his skating has improved. When he's on the ice, he looks like a potential top-six center with some really unique attributes. Silayev is a unicorn 6-foot-7 defenseman who surprised some people with a hot start offensively in the KHL in his draft year and rose to the top of the class playing legitimate minutes for one of the KHL's better teams for most of the year (including in the playoffs) — an extremely rare feat for a 17-year-old. His 11 points in 63 games broke the league's under-18 scoring record (Vladimir Tarasenko had 10 points and Kirill Kaprizov and Evgeny Kuznetsov each had eight at the same age). He played on the power play, consistently registered multiple shots per game and even played both sides. Last season didn't keep climbing along that meteoric trajectory at the same pace, and I'm not sure there's as much offense as we saw early on in his draft year for a stretch (largely due to average smarts), but Silayev remains an exciting and unique prospect with a high defensive ceiling. He's an excellent skater who walks the line with ease, drops back onto his heels comfortably and pushes forward to either carry pucks up ice, close gaps or disrupt a carrier with an active stick. He has more steps to take in his decision-making on the puck (I find he's a little too trigger-happy — he actually shows good poise and comfort when he doesn't rush), his shot (which he gets off in volume and does a good job putting on target, but will definitely need to add power as he gets stronger and works on it) and his ability to really impose himself with his size even more than he already does (which he really learned to do in his draft year, leading Torpedo in hits). He has shown some handles for a big man, he's disruptive in zone defense and hard to beat off the rush because of his length and there's plenty of room for continued growth and development within his game. I see the appeal of Silayev and the projection. His upside is obviously extremely high, especially if he can continue to develop his offensive game and maintain his mobility as he gets heavier. Lindstrom is a big (6-foot-4, 215 pounds), strong center with prototypical power-forward tools as an excellent skater who already uses his size to his advantage, whether through finishing his checks (hard), shielding pucks, pushing through contact or going to the net front to provide screens or take pucks to the far post. He also has excellent skill and natural quick-twitch hands, both in flight and around the net and the wall (including getting off the wall and pulling pucks into his feet to release from different stances and change angles). He can play off the puck, take up space in front and make plays in tight, or jump into space off the rush with his skating, play on the cycle and stay over pucks to help his team maintain possession inside the offensive zone. He can create in transition — putting defenders on their heels with a head of steam — and even make skill plays from a standstill inside the offensive zone getting to the inside (a real strength). He's a powerful skater and athlete who can pull away in open ice and win races. He's also strong in the faceoff circle and distinctively competitive, with room to grow in both and really elevate as a true competitor. He looks like a safely projectable second-line center or winger, which at his height and with his skating would make him a pretty rare player type in the league. There are some who believe he might even have first-line upside if he can get healthy and stay on the track he was on before the injury in the first half of his draft year. His sample is small, but he's an easy player to like and one that scouts saw a lot of potential in pre-draft because of his rare makeup and rapid development. In the front half of his draft year, it was really easy to see why so many were excited about him, given his makeup, size and position (though there are some who think he may end up on the wing and question his hockey IQ/decision-making/reads/play selection at times). He was utterly dominant just before the back injury and looked like a force on the ice when he was at his best. There are now some questions about time lost and it's going to be essential that he stay on the ice next year at Michigan State, but a positive freshman year in the move to college could put him right back on track as well. The hope and appeal are very real. Now he has to realize it. For a long time, Rinzel's appeal was all about the potential, and it always felt like he was just scratching the surface. He has realized that potential over the last 18 months, though, and it no longer feels raw and 'what if.' He found another level after returning from the World Juniors two years ago and hasn't looked back, climbing a steep incline in his progression to become one of the top defensemen in college hockey as a sophomore last season and then immediately impressing at the NHL and bypassing Kevin Korchinski on the depth chart. He's a long, right-shot defender who thrives in transition, continues to fill out his frame, has already quickly played catch-up with his peers and has time (thanks to a late June birthday) to continue to do even more of that. He's a fluid skater with an active stick and an eager approach to playing offense and defense that keeps him involved in all three zones (which comes with some good and bad but more good than bad). His game used to be a little haywire, his play selection needed some buttoning up, and he'd occasionally get burned, but all of those things have started to fall into place nicely for him as he has gotten more reps and his skill and talent have taken over from there. You can see the tools, and he has really figured out how to deploy and utilize them in a more cohesive way. You can see his confidence building in real time as he starts to look like more than just his length and skating, too. He can really impact play when he's reading the game well. While he was a work in progress when he was drafted and still has plenty of development in front of him, he's already much less raw than he was. The University of Minnesota has done an excellent job developing defensemen in recent years, and he made some big improvements there. He now looks like he's going to be a top-four D and power-play quarterback. Snuggerud was one of the Golden Gophers' leading scorers in three consecutive seasons and looked like a good and borderline impactful top-nine forward right away with the Blues in the spring. He was one of the hottest prospects in hockey in his post-draft season, going from B-plus prospect to A-minus (or close) with a rare 50-point freshman season. He didn't get back there as a sophomore after linemates Logan Cooley and Matthew Knies both turned pro, but he still scored 20-plus goals for a second time and was the Golden Gophers' best forward for me, even if he finished third on the team in points. He then set career highs in goals (24) and points (51) as a junior to lead the Golden Gophers in points by a dozen as a junior last year before registering eight points in 14 combined regular season and playoff games in the NHL. Snuggerud's game was always strong at the program, where he played on the top line and showed above-average tools and first-round merits, but every piece of it has elevated a little since then. Plus-shot (had that already). Plus-skill. Good enough skater (has gained half a step). Hard on pucks. Hunts and sticks with pucks. Consistently impactful. Finding ways to release and move as soon as he has made his play so that he can get open for the next one again. It's all there now. And maybe we all should have seen it coming. When I polled the 2004 U.S. NTDP players for their most underrated teammate, he was basically the unanimous answer. Snuggerud is a well-rounded three-zone player with a versatile offensive game who can make plays with skill and will. His head is always up and on a swivel, even in congested areas. He's good below the goal line and makes a lot of low-to-high plays into the slot to find cutting teammates for chances. He goes to scoring areas and follows shots to the net to get to rebounds, playing a determined forechecking game. He has a dangerous one-timer, catch-and-release wrister and natural shooting motion — pucks come off his blade hard and quickly — but he doesn't tunnel-vision for his shot, he sees the ice well and he can make plays back against the grain. He has good hands, which helps him make outside-in plays to beat defenders one-on-one more than he gets credit for. He uses space well and makes a lot of plays off his backhand. He's strong on pucks and stick lifts. He has some touch as a passer. And on top of it all, he's also got a pro build and a June birthday that gave him good runway to get better post-draft. There's a goal-scoring second-line winger there. After playing his rookie season in a limited role with the WHL champion Seattle Thunderbirds — at times even scratched — Tij, the son of Jarome Iginla and the No. 9 pick in the 2021 WHL Bantam Draft, was traded to Kelowna and took off with the Rockets in his draft year, regularly looking dangerous both off the rush and attacking inside the offensive zone. Last season, he got off to a strong start in Kelowna before undergoing hip surgery. Since the trade to the Rockets, he has combined for 131 points in 96 combined games between two regular seasons and one playoff run at 17 and barely 18 years old. In between, he had a point in every game at U18 worlds and finished the tournament with goals in the semifinal against Sweden and final against USA to end with 12 points in seven games (fifth in the tournament). He's an excellent skater who can beat you in a straight-out race, cut past you laterally with quick weight shifts or build speed through tight crossover patterns around the offensive zone. On the puck, he's a threatening individual creator who can create in knifing bursts and works quickly to put defenders on their heels, attacking on angles and jumps. Off it, he has great instincts for jumping into gaps in coverage to get open for his linemates. His snap shot, which has a traditional look to it and is more wrists and leverage than the curl-and-drag you commonly see now, consistently beats goalies cleanly with both its pop and how quickly it comes off. He has high-end handling (he has impressive hands in tight and always seems to handle his first touch at speed, even when pucks are put into his feet) and adjustability, which blends with real creativity to create an often-dynamic one-on-one player. He's an impressive athlete who performed well in the combine testing. He's also a fan favorite type who gets after it on the forecheck and involves himself in the play often, with some sneaky strength (though I think his defensive awareness and consistency still need to come, and his off-puck play might have been a little overrated in his draft year). Add in NHL puck skill and a dangerous and heavy wrister from midrange, and you've got a fun player and prospect. Add in the emergence of a power game that has seen him really begin to take pucks to the inside and drive the net, and suddenly you've got a perimeter and interior offensive threat who has strength, speed, skill and scoring in his profile. He has a top-six, scoring-skill-jump profile. He has a ton of tools, and they've come along at an exciting rate. He's going to score goals and make plays in the NHL. I expect him to be a big part of the Memorial Cup hosts in Kelowna next season and Team Canada at the 2026 World Juniors in Minnesota. Cristall has been one of the WHL's top scorers over each of the last three seasons and was a final cut by the Capitals and Canada's World Junior team (after a four-point game at this World Junior Summer Showcase and a primary assist/several chances against U Sports, it should be noted). He registered 44 goals and 126 points in 73 combined games in the regular season and playoffs two years ago to lead the Rockets in scoring by 27 points over 2024 top-10 pick Tij Iginla. Last season, he was the most productive player in junior hockey, split between Kelowna and Spokane, toying with teams alongside Kraken first-rounder Berkly Catton after a trade to Spokane and registering an incomprehensible 69 goals, 104 assists and 173 points in just 76 combined regular-season and playoff games. Though his first-round WHL playoff series and U18 worlds underwhelmed many and combined with concerns about his skating and size (5-foot-10 winger) to result in a second-round selection at the 2023 draft, Cristall has since proven to be one of the most creative, crafty playmakers outside the NHL. He isn't afraid to try things and possesses a rare ability to play in small areas, pull eyes and bodies toward him and then expose opposing structures to the weak side of coverage. A quad contusion cost him five weeks as his stock was on the rise in his draft year, but it shouldn't have taken anyone watching the Rockets long to realize just how much offense he creates for himself and his teammates while being a marked man every game. Outside of Connor Bedard, he had one of the most productive draft-eligible seasons in recent WHL history. Over the last two seasons, he has also played with more pace and a stride that looked like it had cleaned up a bit. Despite his diminutive size, he's also a smarter player off the puck/defensively than he has gotten credit for and is often in the right position above the puck to hold play inside the offensive zone. He'll make effort plays defensively to stretch out and knock a puck out of the zone or work to gain inside body positioning on the forecheck and surprise people with the number of pucks he wins. He's a ton of fun to watch with the puck on his stick. When you think you've got him trapped, you usually don't, and not because he's faster than you but because of how clever he is (he'll often make plays past you with the puck even if he doesn't skate it through you). He's just a natural creator for himself and others who manufactures offense in a variety of ways inside the offensive zone and has developed his rush game to create at his own pace and find ways to enter the zone in control as well. And while his speed in straight lines still isn't a strength and has some kinks, I'd say it's NHL average now, and his footwork is adjustable in tight spaces. He can also stickhandle himself into trouble at times, but he does such a good job holding onto pucks until his options open up that you're OK with the odd offensive-zone turnover, especially because he can always fall back on his finesse and touch on the puck to put it into space for someone else if he gets cornered. Despite his size, he'll also track pucks to the net so that he can be opportunistic. His skill, touch, problem-solving and spatial awareness are legitimately high-end, and I believe in his ability to become a top-six winger in the NHL. Carbonneau is on the older side as a November 2006 birthday, but he broke the 30-goal mark as the Armada's leading goal scorer and second-leading point-getter two seasons ago and then broke the 45-goal mark last year as one of the Q's leading scorers before scoring three goals in five playoff games in a first-round loss to Sherbrooke (in a series I thought he was owed more in; he averaged 5.6 shots per game). He also played well in the CHL-USA Prospects Challenge, which I think is important for the Q players to demonstrate. Carbonneau is a talented offensive-zone player with naturally quick hands, a quick release that can beat goalies from midrange and change angles on defensemen and strong athletic tools as a solid and sturdy skater with a pro frame. He can challenge defenders and threaten offensively on or off the puck. He has good outside-in hands pulling pucks across his body. He has a good wall game. He can make plays for himself or play in and out of give-and-gos, though he does try to beat guys one-on-one a little too much (albeit often pulling it off). He's a volume shot generator without sacrificing shot quality. And he has really grown into the body of a power forward, with a very strong physical build and an ability to play through contact. When there's an opportunity inside the offensive zone, whether it's off a broken play or in tight, he's usually there to capitalize and make something happen. I don't think he has star power, but he's quite skilled — skilled enough to project as a strong and productive second-line forward if he continues to develop more pace and consistent habits off the puck. I did think about ranking him a little lower here, but I'm high on the player. Read more in our feature here. Ritchie is the complete package and has been one of the top players in the OHL for the last two seasons. From my first live viewing of him four Octobers ago in St. Catharines when he looked like the Generals' most talented forward in just the second game of his OHL career; to his four-goal, seven-point series in Oshawa's six-game first-round defeat against the Kingston Frontenacs three years ago; to his Hlinka performance two summers ago; to Langley at the CHL Top Prospects Game, Switzerland for U18 worlds and continued live viewings in Oshawa right into the OHL Final this year, Ritchie has consistently impressed me (he didn't elevate at the World Juniors for Canada but I thought he was fine there and it was a collective problem). On the puck, he's a multifaceted playmaker who often looks like the player who was the No. 2 pick in the 2021 OHL Priority Selection and an OHL First All-Rookie Team member. Off the puck, he's a reliable two-way center who defends and supports play but can also play off his linemates offensively without taking up too much oxygen on his line. He has quick hands (he's prolific on breakaways/in the shootout), a dangerous curl-and-drag wrister, decent cleverness to his game as a passer (whether through seams or often blind), slick skill in traffic and out wide sliding pucks under sticks and rotating through coverage or past checks for a player his size, and a knack for finessing pucks into spots for himself or his linemates to skate onto. He has also begun to fill out his frame (though his shoulder surgery did hurt a key summer for him post-draft), which has helped turn him into a diligent, relied-upon two-way player off the puck. He's also strong in the faceoff circle, makes those around him better, and has picked up a bit more of an acceleration gear from a standstill (and his skating was completely fine before that). He takes smart routes with and without the puck, he has become a reliable three-zone player and the skill is there (he has superb puck control skill). He does a good job finding inside ice in possession (or off it). He's also a very selfless player for his age who is quick to change in the offensive zone and will sooner make the right play than try to overdo it. I've noticed an uptick in his physicality as well, both in the OHL and at the World Juniors, where he did a good job forechecking and finishing his checks. I've liked the progress I've seen in how strong he is over pucks and getting up and under sticks to take them back in pursuit or go to the net for tips (which he's actually quite dexterous on) instead of always trying to free himself for his shot. When he keeps his feet moving, he's an impressive player. I see second-line potential and his ability to play center and the wing will help him reach that potential. A dynamic goal scorer in the truest sense, Eiserman possesses an exhilarating ability to cleanly pick his spots in the net and regularly beat goalies one-on-one. He can score in every way: long-range, midrange, jam plays, rush plays, quick hands in tight, the one-timer, a lethal catch and release (there isn't a pass he can't take and get off). In his U17 year at the NTDP, he showed one of the better shots and sets of hands I've seen in a player that age. In his U18 year, he chased down Cole Caufield's all-time NTDP goal-scoring record. He's also a late August birthday, which I think sometimes got lost in evaluations of him during his draft year in how scrutinized he was as a player and even person at times. Last season he led the Terriers in goals as a freshman with 25 in 39 games, including one in each of BU's games at the Frozen Four, and was productive in very limited usage as the 13th forward for Team USA at the World Juniors, scoring some big goals in a role he seemed to really embrace (which was positive as the actual seven points in seven games). His 25 goals also led all U19 skaters in college hockey, and his 36 points were one shy of Hagens' 37. Eiserman is a shot creator and finisher with a multi-faceted offensive zone package and an ability to score off the rush. There have been some big games over the years where he has found it tougher to beat top defensemen one-on-one, causing some to question him, but I thought he answered that emphatically in some big games last year. Eiserman is always a threat to score, even when he's occasionally forcing things or fighting it in a game, because all he needs is one look. He's also more competitive than he gets credit for, with a real willingness to forecheck and battle for pucks even if he'll occasionally also cheat for offense. I actually think he's a better skater than he has been given credit for in conversations I've had with folks about him too, but it's his puck skill, quick release, shot variety — he can rip it in motion or standing still, and he'll make goalies guess wrong in alone because of how fast his hands are — and sneaky strength (when he uses it, which he has started to do more) that have allowed him to score with relative ease against his peers. But how easy that part of the game has always been for him has also created some bad habits. He can frustrate, and scouts desperately wanted to see him round out his game and improve his play selection in his draft year (which I also thought he made progress on at BU). I've seen progress in his playmaking and off-puck detail with the Terriers, frankly. He can be a little careless and selfish with the puck, but he actually has good vision when he looks for it as well. He can get carried away trying to do too much: stickhandling into trouble, shooting into shin pads, forcing shots from bad spots on the ice or trying to be too cute. He does the hardest thing in the sport to do better than anyone his age, though. He doesn't miss when he has an opportunity. And it's so hard to find goal scorers like him outside of the very top of the draft. I have seen him play pretty complete, competitive games. I've also seen him zip passes around and show a playmaking tilt, and think he's an underrated passer who actually identifies second and third options quite well, even if he doesn't always give the puck to them. Eiserman produces that 'he's about to score here' feeling every time the puck comes to him in a good spot, and that supersedes the ongoing work he needs to do in other areas for me right now. It's cliche, but you can't teach that. He looks to me, with continued coaching, like he's capable of becoming a 30-goal-scoring winger and PP1 focal point. But I understand the reservations many have about him and his game. He's a complicated player and person, though I think overanalyzed as well. Jiricek has some extremely desirable attributes, marked by a booming point shot (he does a really good job keeping it on target and a couple of feet off the ice); a strong 6-foot-4 frame that continues to fill out (he's over 200 pounds); and a commanding on-ice presence that can look to take control with the puck inside the offensive zone. Defensively, he's a capable man-to-man in-zone defender and though I do worry about his stilted backward skating/pivots and how often he gets caught flat-footed off the rush, he closes out on gaps (he can struggle maintaining them but using timing to his advantage and is eager to pounce) with his length and aggression. Offensively, he leads a ton of rushes as an equally eager puck transporter (he's a better skater going forward than backward) and he's a capable handler and distributor whose point shot is complemented by an aggressive approach. There are also some subtleties to his game (first passes that are almost never off target, a sneaky-silky first touch for a player his size into his first move and an ability to make a second move, etc.). But his modus operandi is that he's a confident, active, engaged, talented player who has almost all of the tools you look for in a top defender, except for the footwork on his heels. When his timing is on and he's stepping up early to take ice in the neutral zone, he can really dominate a game on both sides of the puck. He can be a little overzealous at times (offensively and defensively) and will occasionally get burned wide, but that eagerness to make something happen also defines his game, and he's a lot to handle when he builds a head of steam through his tall crossovers and starts circling the offensive zone to attack. He wants to dictate and influence the game on his terms, rather than wait for it to come to him (which can also come with waiting a little too long to make his decisions at the time, but is more often apparent in quick, aggressive choices). He has a couple of kinks to iron out with his decision-making and footwork, but the rest is there, and he has legitimate top-four upside with continued development. Aitcheson was a big-minutes player for Team Canada at the 2024 U18 worlds — where his ice time rose when the games and the shifts mattered most, especially in defensive situations — and has been a big-minutes player for Barrie the last two seasons (in his draft year, he also wore a letter and was a go-to contributor on both the power play and penalty kill). He's a powerful, bullish defender who is hard to play against, defends firmly and commands his ice. He knows who he is and plays with confidence and aggression, often directing his teammates and always talking (to his teammates and opponents). He's strong on the PK. He's chippy and extremely physical, looking for every opportunity he can to lay a hit, get in someone's face or give someone a shot. He's eager to drop the gloves. He's a willing shot-blocker. He has step-up physicality and likes to knock guys around (I've seen him lay some huge hits in visits to Barrie). He has a hard shot, scored 26 goals last season as a D, scored half a dozen more in the playoffs and makes a good first pass. He's a strong enough skater (though his feet can splay and kick a little when he's in a hurry and he's still got work to do on his stride mechanics, which I know have already been a focus) and a physically mature athlete with some real power and presence about him. He has a good stick, so his defending isn't completely reliant on his physical play. His discipline and decision-making can get him into trouble, and he takes a lot of stick penalties and will make the odd mistake, but he can play in all situations and has a lot of the tools you look for in a hard-nosed two-way type. Aitcheson was named to the OHL's Second All-Star Team in 2024-25. He's going to have a long career in the NHL as a two-way competitor with some real bite. Read more in our feature here. The most productive defenseman in NTDP history and the first defenseman to lead the World Juniors in scoring, Hutson is a highly talented offensive defenseman who just turned 19 and has a star-level statistical profile already. He played to a point per game as a primary play creator with Team USA at the World Juniors and BU as a freshman, finishing second on the Terriers in scoring with 48 points in 39 games and winning the NCAA's rookie of the year award. He's a 5-foot-10/11, 171-pound left-shot defenseman with dynamic on-puck movement, impressive handling and an NHL release (he has a wicked release and pre-shot adjustment). His point-per-game U17 season (and well above point-per-game U18 team production) set the single-season D points record at the NTDP, and he set the all-time mark at U18 worlds, doing it while four and a half months younger than his big brother Lane was at the same age (he was the most talented defenseman on either of the NTDP's teams in his two years there, which says something considering what Zeev Buium has since become). He was also the most impressive defenseman as an underager at a previous U18 worlds. In his draft year, though the points didn't come quite as easily for him early on and some scouts felt he had a disappointing first half, he was excellent late in the year, and it was clear all season long that he was trying to really dial in his game defensively. His NTDP team also didn't have a great blue line around him, which required them to pull back on him a little. Last year, after what he called another disappointing start at BU, Hutson was productive even when he didn't think he was at his best and took it to another level after returning from the World Juniors (where he also led the tournament in plus-minus at plus-11 and was named to the media all-star team), leading the Terriers to the Frozen Four final. His offensive gifts are extremely impressive but Cole has more of a physical element to his game than Lane does as well, and plays opponents really hard so that his size is less noticeable (Lane's plenty competitive, but Cole delivers more hits if you will), gluing himself to them in order to be as disruptive as possible and really outwardly battling along the wall. He quickly identifies second and third options, often a step ahead of opposing structures. The way he shows one thing and does another is pretty unique. His little hesitations in control into quick, decisive attacking moments grab your attention and allow him to make plays past the first layer and walk off the line as well as any D prospect in the sport. He has the puck on a string at times. I think he's a better skater than his big brother was at the same age (he snakes his way through gaps in coverage so effortlessly, and his lateral agility on cuts is a major strength). He executes some beautiful stretch passes. He has great touch and feel on his backhand as well as his forehand. He has the shakes and head fakes that Lane has. And while there were some who questioned whether his more physical style would translate against pros, he defended really well with his feet, anticipation and timing both in college and at the World Juniors (I thought his play defensively in Ottawa was as notable as his playmaking offensively). His teams have been better with him out there on the back end in each of the last three seasons than without him. The consensus despite the production is that he's not quite as dynamic/smart as Lane, but I'm still a big believer in the talent, ranked him 34th when he went 43rd, and think he has emerged as a star prospect after his second half in college last year following the World Juniors. I think this is the approriate slotting. Bear is a late '06 who scored 25 goals and 57 points for the Silvertips two years ago and last year wore a letter, broke 40 goals and was their leading scorer and a go-to forward before suffering a skate laceration on the back of his leg during a March 9 game against Portland that partially tore his Achilles (he's now back skating, which is positive). He had some really strong showings last year both in play-driving and play-creation. He possesses quick, soft hands, legit skill, good speed and a natural shot, but he also stays around it, plays with intensity, works extremely hard and goes to the net and inside ice. Though people talk about him for his motor and pro style, I saw him make some impressive skill plays last season and dance some goalies and defensemen. But he can also beat you with his work ethic, and I like both the intentionality of his game and the way he uses his skill to play to the middle third. He works his tail off. He can push play at five-on-five, make things happen all over the ice and contribute on both special teams. He was a bit of a late bloomer, but he looks like a player now and should become an impactful top-nine worker with skill in the NHL who can be the best player on a third line or a go-getter for a top line. The more I watched him this year, the more I appreciated his game, his approach and his identity. I've been a big fan of Yurov's game and was really high on him in his draft year (when the Wild took him No. 24, he was No. 12 on my list). I had concerns for a while there about how Magnitogorsk had handled his development and the limited minutes they gave him at the KHL level even when it looked like he was ready for more, but he forced their hand with an excellent camp and start to the season two years ago and put together one of the best age-adjusted seasons in KHL history by the end of the 2023-24 campaign. Not only was he a good team's leading scorer, but he finished the season with the KHL's all-time under-21 scoring record, breaking Vladimir Tarasenko's single-season mark and passing Kirill Kaprizov and Evgeny Kuznetsov along the way. He wasn't as productive last season, but he has been a real driver of positive results in the KHL over the last couple of years and looks like he's going to be a second-line player in the NHL to me. For years, he was a rare winger who was capable of driving play, chances and results at both ends without necessarily looking like he was dominating out there. Then a move to center helped him really lean into that identity, and he looked like a natural down the middle, outside of needing some expected work on faceoffs. He has really impressed me almost every time I've watched him over the years, whether against his peers or in the KHL. Considering his ice time, he was actually quite productive between ages 17 and 19 in the KHL as well, so it's not as though 2023-24's breakout was a surprise. If you were to fill up two buckets with his tools (one for the strengths, one for the weaknesses) and place them on a scale, the bucket with his strengths in it would be overflowing, and the one with his weaknesses would be near empty. He plays hard and fast, he pushes tempo, he's a strong and balanced skater, he's an excellent give-and-go player who excels at playing in and out of space without the puck, his shot comes off his blade hard in motion (and has added some versatility/different weapons after it was more of a stand-up wrister earlier in his development), he has pro size (6-foot-1 and about 180 pounds) and skill, he's diligent in all three zones and he's almost always in the right position or reading the play to get back into it (on offense or defense). Young players are often either advanced in the way they operate on the ice but lack the high-end skill to make the most out of it, or have the skill in spades but struggle to use it because they aren't processing the game fast enough. Yurov doesn't have any problems on either front. He may not become a true star, but he has top-six tools, and his odds of really hitting relative to where he was picked feel pretty high. His successful move to the middle is huge, too. I like him as a center a lot. I did debate ranking him five or six spots lower here, but have decided to hold firm in my expectations for him. Dvorsky's June birthday made him one of the younger players in the 2023 draft, but he has already accomplished a lot at an early age. It feels like he's older than he is because of how many international events he has played in and how much pro experience he has. He led a Slovak Hlinka Gretzky Cup team that featured Juraj Slafkovský in scoring as an underager; produced well above a point per game in Sweden's J20 level four years ago; produced at a strong age-adjusted clip in his draft year in the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan (while clicking at two points per game in stints back down at J20 when the schedule allowed); drove the bus on a Slovak team that exceeded expectations in Switzerland at the 2023 U18 worlds; and has played in five World Juniors which concluded with a strong showing as their captain in Ottawa in December. And though he didn't play much in the SHL to start his post-draft season two years ago and had to move to the OHL, he was a force on Sudbury's unstoppable top line and would have easily broken 50 goals and 100 points had he started the year there. He also had more success at the pro level in the AHL in 2024-25 than he did the prior year in the SHL, finishing third on Springfield in scoring with 47 points in 64 combined regular-season and playoff games as a 19-year-old rookie (good for second in U20 AHL scoring). The big question with Dvorsky for a while was whether or not he'd be a center or a winger long-term. After noticeably adding some muscle and a little more speed (his skating still isn't a strength, but he works), I think he has a real chance to stick down the middle if he can continue to add a bit of pace. He has the roundedness, the defensive awareness and positioning, the habits and the stick detail already. He's strong in the faceoff circle, too. He uses his body to gain inside positioning on defenders and shields pucks from defenders extremely impressively. I don't think his skating is prohibitive. He has shown more fire and competitiveness as he has developed. His gifts in control of the puck are real — I actually found it weird he was cast as a high-floor 200-foot player as his draft year progressed because while his energy and detail are certainly strengths, I see legitimate finesse skills, point-production upside and power-play tools. He can run the wall or the point on the PP, effortlessly picking coverage apart and feathering pucks through seams. He has excellent touch and weight on his passes (he's a great saucer passer off his forehand and backhand in particular) and does a beautiful job waiting for lanes to open. He trusts his one-timer (a legitimate weapon) and his wrister from mid-range. He has quick hands and instincts, with standout puck control and shading — and he uses them to take pucks to the middle. I like him in give-and-gos and in individual attacking sequences inside the offensive zone. Dvorsky is a highly talented and intelligent playmaker who can threaten coverage in a variety of ways, whether that's carving through it in control at his own pace and finishing cleanly from the home-plate area, sliding off coverage to find pockets of space to get open into, or drawing coverage and facilitating — he does a wonderful job hanging onto pucks and waiting for options to open. He'll occasionally force things, but he usually finds his way through with his skill, strength on pucks and smarts. His statistical profile is really strong, too. I see second-line potential and a middle-six floor with clear power-play upside. Reinbacher is a likable player who can do it all at a decent level. We sometimes see draft-eligible D play their full draft year in a professional league. We seldom see them play big minutes in a good league, though, even when they're on the older side as Reinbacher was with his October birthday. But that's what the Austrian did in Switzerland's top flight three seasons ago, where he played over 20 minutes more often than he played under it. He drove results at both ends in those minutes, too, with a positive goal differential on an under-.500 team that was outscored pretty significantly. Two years ago was a lot tougher on a Kloten team that was difficult to watch and frankly a mess, but he was impressive in the AHL right away and showed his very tangible two-way elements with Laval. He was injured in a hit along the boards early in his first NHL preseason game this year, but after undergoing knee surgery and the six-month timeline that comes with it returned in late-February and played 20 minutes per game for them into the playoffs. Reinbacher has pro size, desired handedness and a really strong foundation of tools that all guarantee he'll become a good NHLer. He's a solid forward and backward skater (though he can look a little stilted at times) who gaps well and defends the rush effectively with a noticeably long stick. He looks to take instead of give in the neutral zone, regularly stepping up to try to bump puck carriers off possession and force dumps (though there are times that style can leave him chasing if his timing's off or he's flat-footed). He's strong. His head is always up and on a swivel, and he does a good job pre-surveying the ice when he's going back to get pucks through frequent shoulder checks. He has some poise and processing under pressure, even if his play with the puck on his stick isn't dynamic per se. He has shown a willingness to attack offensively in the AHL, but also picks his spots and doesn't search it out. I think his game works better on the smaller ice generally. I'm not in love with his upside and have reservations about whether his game has what it takes to live up to his draft slot (it just lacks a little juice for me), but he should become a really solid No. 3-4. It's too bad he basically lost his first full season in North America last year as well. He's a projectable two-way defenseman who looks like how teams want their D to look these days and he's going to have a long career. An incredibly mobile defenseman, Molendyk uses light edges to adjust and shape to coverage with ease in all four directions. He evades pressure and walks the line beautifully and effortlessly, displaying comfort on his heels and inside and outside edges. He's also a competitive defender on both sides of the puck who plays tight, active gaps to use his feet to be disruptive, step up in transition and kill plays early. In his draft year, he drove results with the Saskatoon Blades, helping them into the third round of the WHL playoffs while playing behind 21-year-old overage defenseman and captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere on the power play. Two years ago, though a couple of injuries impacted his post-draft season and cost him a top-four role on Team Canada at the World Juniors as an 18-year-old, he was one of the best defensemen in junior when healthy and finished with 66 points in 66 combined regular-season and playoff games while playing to a plus-51 rating. Last season, after nearly making the Predators out of camp, Molendyk wore a letter and played on Canada's first pair at the World Juniors in advance of a trade from Saskatoon to Medicine Hat, and then won a WHL title as the team's No. 1 defenseman. I don't think anyone who has watched Molendyk closely would be surprised if he becomes an effective all-situations, play-steering top-four defenseman on the back of his skating, comfort and consistent decision-making. He plays quickly, leads entries and exits with his feet, makes quick passes under the first layer, has poise under pressure and defends at a high level because of his feet. He has played a more ambitious offensive game over the course of the last year as well, showing more skill on the puck and upping his activity level. He really does have tremendous edges and is very smooth in possession. He's an elite skater and was one of the best players in the CHL. He can influence the game in all areas (in-zone defense, getting back to pucks, breakouts, entries, lock-up rush defense, offensive zone creation, etc.). He needs to be a little stronger on pucks/in battles at times, but he plays hard and defends at a very high level for an average-sized, 5-foot-11/6-foot D. I fully expect him to play in the NHL next season and in time be a top-four D. One of my favorites from the 2025 draft class, Reschny broke 90 points last season and was sensational for the Royals in the playoffs, taking his game to an entirely new level and finding the scoresheet in every game. He's a player I've really enjoyed watching over the last couple of years. He's highly skilled but also highly competitive and has driven both play and creation as a 5-foot-10.5 center who is athletic, very strong, involved and committed in all areas of the ice. He has a motor and defensive zone know-how and commitment, but he's also a natural playmaker, including when under pressure and with limited time and space. He creates chances for himself and his linemates, is a natural handler, finisher and passer (he sees it at a very high level) and then will work off the puck and takes pride in his play in all three zones. He's one of the best 200-foot players in this class and also one of its smartest offensive players. Though some scouts wonder about his first three steps, I think he's a good skater and certainly a better one than he gets credit for, and I have no issues with his speed or pace whatsoever. He has very quick hands. He's stronger on pucks and in battles than his height might suggest at a glance, with a thick lower half and an ability to protect pucks and shed contact low in the zone. He plays an excellent, trustworthy, dependable and consistent three-zone game. He has the IQ component on both sides of the puck. He has finesse on the puck and a natural shooter's shot, with an ability to create angles around sticks and feet or place pucks through them into space for himself or his linemates. His hands and feet also move in unison, giving him dimension one-on-one, even if he's not a burner out of the blocks. He impressed at world under-17s and the Hlinka, and the Royals have relied on him and counted on him to create offense and carry the load at 16 and 17. In both seasons, his linemates had career years playing with him. Last season, he led them in scoring while playing to team-best goal differential results (plus-42) and really driving play at five-on-five (he's also a top penalty killer for them). There were some who were starting to question if he was a first-rounder after a slow start in the fall but after a quiet first game at the CHL-USA Prospects Challenge, he went bar down for the series-clinching 3-2 goal with just over a minute left in the second game and was as hot as any player in the WHL down the stretch before stamping his season in the playoffs. I think he has a chance to be a heck of a top-nine player in the NHL, and I see a little Seth Jarvis in him. I'm higher on him than most, though. Read more in our feature here. Smith, the No. 2 pick in the 2022 WHL Bantam Draft, had a solid 16-year-old season in the WHL with Tri-City and made an impact in his minutes and role at the Hlinka, playing 18-19 minutes per game for Canada's gold medal-winning squad. Last season, he tried to play a more aggressive and ambitious offensive style and drove more offense while playing big minutes (23-24 per game) for the Americans. I've always had a bit of a tough time with him and his game, though. It can be pretty high-event hockey at both ends at times (for better and worse), and while he has all of the physical attributes and has made some high-end plays in junior, I've questioned his hockey IQ both in moving pucks under pressure out of his zone and in defending. I thought he struggled at times with his decision-making and man-to-man defense at U18 Worlds as well. There are a lot of appealing attributes, though, and he should be well-positioned at Penn State to learn the game and develop into his tools. Smith is a big, strong, powerful left-shot defenseman who plays hard and can impact play in a variety of ways. He can skate pucks through the neutral zone. He has good edges opening up in the offensive zone. He's strong through his pushes as a skater, regularly beating the first layer of pressure laterally. He walks the line proficiently and gets his shots through, opening up well. He can make plays in open ice. He can shoot the puck. He's capable of playing the game firmly and even boldly at times. He has transition value. He's competitive and strong. But his reads and processing still need some fine-tuning, he can skate himself into trouble, he can take bad routes defensively, and I'm not sold on him as a true power-play guy up levels. He has pretty much all of the makings of a top-four NHL defenseman, and he's still got some untapped offensive and defensive upside. I just haven't been able to fall in love with his game. I think the 40s is the appropriate range here. Read more in our feature here. Every team wants long defensemen who can really skate, and Simashev checks both of those boxes as a mobile 6-foot-5 lefty. He's a rangy, smooth-skating defenseman who played 18 KHL games in his draft year, was great in the MHL playoffs and played full-time in the KHL over the last two years to good results for a defenseman his age, averaging just under 15 minutes in 2023-24 and just under 16 in 2024-25. Though his numbers didn't take a step last year and his statistical profile remains modest, he has played to good defensive results on a top team while featuring regularly on the penalty kill. He's still only 20 and has already defended at a strong level in a top league. He's also comfortable playing both sides. It's hard not to like the way he can play in transition, whether defending the rush with his feet and reach, skating back to retrieve pucks or skating through neutral ice/out of the defensive zone in possession. He has shown improved comfort and smarts in control, even if his play with the puck and offensive game are never going to be his calling card. He gaps well and can take away a carrier's space. He has a good stick (he defends more with his length and feet than body) I'm still not as high on him as some others are and didn't feel he was a No. 6 pick in 2023 but he has most of the more important makings of a potential top-four defenseman who can play minutes and drive results with his defensive play, length and skating. One of the better-skating D prospects in hockey, Willander was a beast for the Swedish under-18 team and Rogle's junior team in his draft year and drove strong two-way results for the Terriers as a freshman and for the Swedish under-20 team post-draft without necessarily taking a pronounced step (his post-draft season was just OK). Last season, he played top-four minutes as a sophomore at BU and was impactful as Sweden's go-to D on a shutdown pair (and also sharing the blue line on the power play with Axel Sandin Pellikka) with Theo Lindstein. He's a strong-in-all-three-zones defenseman who plays a steady, decisive defensive game that uses his balanced skating to swallow up opposing carriers and then push forward or fall back onto his heels and outlet the puck. He pulls away or retreats from pressure with ease, and excels on exits and going back to get pucks. His head is always up. He gets his shots through. And then, on top of the pro frame, the skating and the general athleticism, he also just plays the game with an intentionality that's rare in players his age. He looks and operates like a pro out there. His passes are quick and firm. He activates when he can and picks his spots. Defensively, he's aggressive on pinches and closing gaps, and rarely mistimes them, taking away the space so well in neutral ice. He made some mistakes that showed his youth at times as a freshman, but he has looked back to his polished self this season. Willander doesn't have dynamic skill or creativity on the puck, and his offensive-zone instincts are still coming, but he projects safely as an NHL defenseman and could become a two-way transition monster in a second-pairing role. Because of how high a level he defends and skates at, he rarely has bad games and play normally tilts in his team's favor. And even though the offense doesn't always pop inside the offensive zone, he's a comfortable puck mover and transporter. He's going to have a long career as a No. 3-4. Bonk's smarts are his game's defining quality but he has also defended at one of the highest levels in junior hockey over the last couple of years, has an impressive feel for coverage and timing and escapes pressure well despite having average feet (they were once an issue but no longer are for me, though they won't be an asset at NHL speed of play). He influences the game through his effectiveness, his reads, his anticipation, his defensive know-how, his play-calling and the consistency of his habits. He knows where to be and how to play. He sees the ice at an advanced level both with the puck but maybe especially so before he gets it so that he knows where to go with it. He's not a high-end skill guy who plays the game offensively with a ton of ambition, but he moves play along, his outlets are clean, he manages the puck, he keeps the chain going and he has some unique utility/attributes (including his talked about proficiency playing the bumper on the power play). He just looks like he's going to be a solid two-way defenseman who can influence play and potentially help out on both special teams, even if he's not a natural power-play quarterback or your prototypical penalty killer. He projects as a No. 3-5 defenseman. Bonk was an important player on a strong London team in his draft year, which isn't always the case for defensemen his age under the Hunter brothers with the Knights and spoke to the maturity of his game in advance of the draft. That maturity helped him make Team Canada for the World Juniors as one of only two 18-year-old D to do so (along with the injured Tanner Molendyk, who was selected two slots after him in the first round of the 2023 NHL Draft). After returning from the World Juniors in Sweden, I thought he was one of the top defensemen in junior hockey and found another level offensively for a Knights team that went on to win the OHL title. Last year, he was again a top player for the Knights and was Canada's ice time leader (about 22 minutes per game) as a returnee at the World Juniors in Ottawa. I thought he fought the puck a little in that role, but he was asked to do a lot, and there was a lot around him that was out of sorts on that team as well (he also finished with a Canada-best plus-4 goal differential at five-on-five). He also played big minutes on route to a second OHL title and Memorial Cup, albeit in a lesser offensive role so that he could really be their go-to guy defensively. I expect him to play in the NHL in 2025-26, if not full-time, then at least to start. The BCHL's leading scorer while playing on a line with his older brother Josh (a player I vouched for as a worthy late-round flier) and one of the top-producing freshmen in college hockey two seasons ago while doing the same, Nadeau's hands, skating and shooting all get high grades. I and others thought his decision to go one-and-done and turn pro was a little premature, but he found his groove as his rookie season in the AHL went on and finished tops in the league in U20 scoring, led the Wolves in goals with 32, and finished second on the team in points with 58 in 64 (one back of Ryan Suzuki in five fewer games). He was just OK at the World Juniors and had some vanilla stretches in the AHL, but was consistently productive and found the zip to his game whenever he briefly lost it, producing on a low-scoring team and really threatening on the flank on the power play (where Hockey Canada didn't use him). He's capable of creating offense in a variety of ways, whether that's bursting wide in transition with his quick feet, attacking on angles and cuts, or releasing a pinpoint shot (whether off catch-and-releases, standstill shooting mechanics off the flank on the power play, or through his one-timer). His 113 points in 54 games in the BCHL in his draft year were the most by an under-18 skater in the BCHL since Kyle Turris in 2007, outproducing players like Kent Johnson, Alex Newhook and Tyson Jost at the same age. He built upon his excellent statistical profile playing to 46 points in 37 games with the Black Bears, fifth among U19 forwards behind only Macklin Celebrini and the BC line of Will Smith, Gabe Perreault and Ryan Leonard. He's a 5-foot-10 winger who is going to have to learn how to attack at the NHL level like he did in junior, college and eventually the AHL, but he has the talent to get there as a second-line play creator and finisher. Greentree is an interesting one because he was just OK for Canada at the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and played his way to a diminished role at the 2024 U18 worlds — after standing out pre-tournament, he seemed to struggle with the pace against the better teams — but he has been one of the most consistent game-to-game offensive players in the OHL the last two seasons. He scored 25 goals and was named to the league's First All-Rookie Team at 16. At 17, he was named captain of the Spits in his draft year as they began a rebuild and led the team in scoring by a wide margin (his 90 points were 24 more than his nearest teammate) to prove he could drive offense himself. And last season, at 18, he finished third in the OHL in scoring (albeit on a line with Ilya Protas, who finished second) and registered 63 goals and 143 points in 75 combined regular season and playoff games. But despite having a makeup (size, strength, shot, skill, on-and-off-ice habits, etc.) that would usually lend itself to being universally well-liked, and despite a strong showing at the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in which he scored, was robbed and had multiple looks against other top prospects, he had some skeptics pre-draft. Last season, he silenced some of them by remaining consistently impactful game-to-game and improving his pace (which is never going to be a strength but is passable). Greentree's game is all about subtle soft skill/finesse for a big, strong player. He finds his way onto pucks inside the offensive zone, can stay on them, can win battles and when he keeps his feet moving he plays an opportunistic style with above-average talent in multiple areas (shooting, handling, first touch for a player his size, etc.). He has skill and an NHL release; the puck comes off his stick hard and quickly and hits his spots. I haven't seen a dynamic quality and his skating needs work (though his speed is decent when he gets going and it's more through his first few steps), but he has pro size, a well-rounded toolkit offensively, individual skill and a growing statistical profile. He's not ultra-competitive, but he has played harder and with more pace this season. He's not going to be a star, but he looks like he has the makings of a solid second-line NHL forward who can play up and down a lineup. I did think about slotting Greentree lower here. Cowan is a standout skater who buzzes around the ice, works and plays hard and even thrives on the penalty kill. He emerged as an important player for a strong Knights team (especially in the playoffs where London's first line — Cowan, Philadelphia Flyers prospect Denver Barkey and Seattle Kraken prospect Ryan Winterton — was relentless) in his draft year and took another giant step forward post-draft to win both the OHL's Most Outstanding Player award and OHL Playoffs MVP, registering 138 points in 76 combined games in the regular season, playoffs and Memorial Cup. His play was so strong that it upgraded his projection from an effective third-line contributor to an impactful top-nine player for me. Last season was also another strong one and saw him return from whiplash to continue his record-setting OHL points streak, lead the OHL playoffs in scoring for a second straight year, and win Memorial Cup MVP. He had a difficult World Juniors, displaying some of the bad habits, poor play selection and hockey IQ questions that have followed him at times, but was one of the best players in junior hockey for a second consecutive season. He plays a fast, clever, determined and consistent 200-foot game, hunting pucks, winning races and then making little skill plays when opportunities or openings in coverage present themselves. He takes or plays pucks into the middle, thrives in give-and-gos playing off his linemate, supports play defensively and can play in a haze/rush but has also shown the ability to use and elevate his linemates. He does a good job holding pucks around sticks at speed. He's a heart-and-soul guy who I'm confident will take his career as far as it can go. He'll regularly gain a step on junior defenders and while his effort can sometimes be ineffectively deployed (he has work to do on his routes and decisions on and off the puck), he thrives on instinct more often than it burns him. His overreliance on those instincts will require some coaching in the NHL, though. He does play with a hunch in his stride, which impacts his game (both positively and negatively). On one hand, he's always engaged and on his toes because he never straightens up his stance and comes to a standstill, and he's agile on his first cut/change of direction (less so on his second because of the commitment required). On the other hand, when he really commits to a position into contact or a reach-in, it can put him off-balance and push him around at his size. He has learned how to make his game work on a shift-to-shift basis, though, and now makes better choices on his touches than he used to. He looks like a stud prospect now. It doesn't hurt that he has considerable experience playing all three forward positions, either, and is comfortable (preferable) on his off-wing. Howard is a player I diverged from the consensus on in his draft year, ranking him in the front half of the first round when he was drafted at the tail end of it. After an up-and-down freshman year at Minnesota Duluth and a transfer to MSU gave me some pause about whether I was a little too high on him, he has gotten back to looking like the player I believed him to be with the Spartans. He was a top team's top offensive player as a sophomore and junior, winning the Hobey Baker last season after he led college hockey in points per game (52 in 37, or 1.41 per game). He also scored seven goals and nine points at the Gothenburg World Juniors, where he was an important part of an excellent line and made some big plays in big moments, including the gold medal game, and was impressive on my trip down to East Lansing two years ago. Howard is a player with the kind of track record of success that nearly always translates. Though he's 'short' at 5-foot-10, he's not small, with a muscular build that makes him sturdier than you might expect on his feet and over pucks. He has quick crossover acceleration with a hurried stride that cranks its way up ice to give him good speed. There are times when he can look like an all-offense player, but when his effort level and tenaciousness match his skill level, you'll see him around the puck all game, which we've seen more of as he has ramped up his off-puck movement and drive at MSU. Inside the offensive zone, he's extremely dangerous on the puck, with underrated creativity to complement his high-end skill; though he tries things occasionally at the offensive-zone blue line that he shouldn't get away with, he also usually executes them. He makes a lot of plays under the triangles of defenders' sticks, he navigates in and out of holes in traffic really well, and when he's in attack mode taking pucks from a standstill into the middle of the ice to create looks, he's a ton of fun to watch and forces opposing players to reach in on him, which draws a lot of penalties. But he's even more dangerous off the puck, with a scorer's sixth sense for always arriving just in time in Grade-A locations, whether that's hiding in coverage or just staying around the puck at the net. He's the kind of player who finds ways to get open in the home-plate area and then makes quick, aggressive finishing plays either with his hands or a heavy one-touch/catch-and-release shot. I think some of his so-so freshman year can now be attributed to some of his struggles to create for himself, but also that they didn't have a natural playmaker to find him in soft space and facilitate for him. He's going to need that at the next level to make the most of his talent. Ultimately, Howard is a player who is always going to have PP utility but will require the right coach, usage and linemates to be the impactful top-six winger I think he's capable of being at five-on-five. It has been nice, though, over the last two years to see him play with more jump, get to more loose pucks, move his feet to get off the wall and to the slot/net, and be above and supporting more pucks when the other team has possession. I think he'll contribute right away with the Oilers. After a disappointing post-draft season that included two lackluster performances at the World Juniors (first in the summer tournament in Edmonton and then in Halifax) and a challenging regular season in HockeyAllsvenkan, Lekkerimaki really hit his stride in the HockeyAllsvenskan playoffs at the end of the 2022-23 season and re-emerged as a top prospect, winning a World Juniors MVP on home ice in Gothenburg and then leading his SHL team in scoring as a teenager. Some of that progression was likely some natural catch-up given his late July birthday. Some of it was good health after his draft year was impacted by injuries and illness. And some of it was natural talent taking over, and some important work done on areas of his game that needed it. Last season, he then had an as-expected up-and-down first season in North America that saw him score his first three NHL goals and nearly break 20 in the AHL but also struggle in the Calder Cup playoffs and drift at times in games on a championship team. Lekkerimaki's talent is undeniable. He's dynamic in control and threatening from anywhere in the offensive zone. He can beat you in an instant with a quick catch-and-release or curl-and-drag shot, or hang onto pucks and make things happen himself. He has a knack for hitting holes in the net, frequently beating goalies low-blocker and five-hole. He has A-level hands, a deceptive release, a lethal one-timer and a slyness to his game that allows him to get to spots to score with and without the puck. He has slowly become more threatening on a consistent basis at five-on-five against men, coming and going less in games, fading to the perimeter in control less and making sure he's getting touches by keeping his feet moving more and working to involve himself in the play more. He has learned to play with more intention off the puck and on the forecheck and has found more consistency in his approach and consequently his game. Maybe most important of all, though, he has added some more tempo to his game so that he doesn't have to default to long shots through feet because he can't attack defenders one-on-one quickly enough. He has started to push pace more and to draw more penalties because he's more comfortable hanging onto pucks longer and taking some bumps. His skating and tight turns in particular have gotten quicker. He has played with a little more fight. He's still figuring out how to be more consistent and how to make his talent work, and he's never going to be a burner in terms of speed, but he has the skill and finishing. With the right development and coaching, he always had clear upside as a top-six/PP1 finisher — you want the puck in his hands. He's imperfect, though, too. On a Michigan team that didn't have the high-end skill it had had in recent years, Hage played to above a point per game as an 18-year-old freshman last year and made a lot of plays offensively for himself (out of necessity to a certain degree). Coming up, he was a star minor hockey prospect who would have gone at the very top of the OHL draft had he not chosen to go to the Chicago Steel and commit to the Wolverines. He was then limited to just 13 games (in which he still had 10 points) in his 16-year-old season in the USHL after undergoing shoulder surgery from an injury suffered in an early practice. There are some in USHL and NCAA circles who believe that had he not lost that time, he might have been in the top-10 conversation for the 2024 draft. Though he didn't play back into that mix in his draft year, he came close, taking off in the second half of his draft year (after the Steel really struggled out of the gate as a team) and looking for a multi-month stretch like debatably the USHL's best forward before finishing with 35 goals and 79 points in 56 combined regular-season and playoff games. I believe he has top-six potential. The big question is whether he can do it as a second-line center or if he'll be better served moving to the wing (think Jordan Kyrou type). I think the wing is much more likely. Hage is a natural center with plenty of offensive dimension, though. He has pro size (6-foot-1 and 190 pounds despite all of his lost training time due to injury, with plenty more room to add muscle to his still-lean but athletic build) and skating (he's an excellent skater). He has dual-threat skill as a shooter and passer, and he can do both in flight and at pace. He's naturally talented as a handler. He can create for himself or make plays for his linemates. He plays hard, he stays on pucks and he's competitive enough (all of which I think were underrated pre-draft, even if he's not defined by his competitiveness). He reads the game well with an intelligent approach to the way he maneuvers around the ice, but also good instincts that he can fall back on. I like him in puck control/protection, including in full flight. His detail and work rate are both developing, if they're not going to be his calling card. He'll finish his checks. He should have been on Team Canada at U18 worlds two springs ago, and I think he should be in the mix for Team Canada at December's World Juniors in Minnesota (though he's certainly not a lock to make that team). His blend of skating, skill, scoring, playmaking and sense is hard to come by. I'm a big believer. Helenius put together one of the most productive under-18 seasons in Liiga history in his draft year, entering into similar territory as names like Patrik Laine, Kaapo Kakko and Mikael Granlund without quite chasing down record-holder Aleksander Barkov. He wasn't just one of the better young players in Liiga, or one of the better players on Jukurit, either. He became one of the top players in the league, period — cemented by an excellent Liiga playoffs. He did it while sticking at his natural center position as a 5-foot-11, 17-year-old, too. At year's end, he was also excellent in his debut with the Finnish men's team, earning a spot on the senior world championships roster (though his men's worlds was a little up and down). He was also Finland's top player at U18s, though he didn't completely take over in the way many expected and hoped he would. All this, after impressing at world under-17s and a prior U18 worlds; after playing 33 Liiga games as a 16-year-old two seasons ago as the league's youngest player and still registering 11 points; after impressing at the World Junior Summer Showcase two summers ago, months after his 17th birthday and still as the youngest player invited; and after centering a top-six line as an underager at his first World Juniors, where he wasn't a star but I thought played better than his two points in seven games indicated. Last season didn't represent a step forward, though. While he was a good player in the AHL and was a top point-producer for the silver medal-winning Finns at his second World Juniors, I don't think he was a standout for either and the quiet showing in Ottawa marked a second consecutive international event like that. Helenius is going to have a long NHL career and you have to remind yourself of his age when contextualizing what he's accomplished and also his at times mediocre play in the AHL last year, but there are some things in Helenius' profile that do give me pause about a true top-six projection — he may end up as more of a middle-six type. There were some who wondered for a time if he'd be a center or winger at the NHL level, but he's solid enough in the faceoff circle and aware enough defensively — it was a real strength of his game pre-draft because of his reads, positioning, tracking and puck-winning on the forecheck, but there have also been times post-draft where I've found he's not engaged as much as he was last year — that I project him as an NHL center. Helenius is enjoyable to watch navigate, manipulate and pass the puck with his smarts and intuition. He's crafty in traffic and does a great job finding ways through the neutral zone and across the line on entries. He has the ability to find his teammates in space and then get pucks to them with the perfect weight and timing, even while he's well covered. He can also stir the drink through his effort level, though again I've found it to be more inconsistent this year, and can come up with pucks when you don't expect him to (he's good on steals and lifts) while quietly and efficiently affecting play at both ends of the rink. He's capable of being a driver, though he may need to play with more pace to be one in the NHL, and a playmaker. He does such a good job identifying lanes and taking what the defense gives him. He'll look for his own look when it's there or play in a quick give-and-go when spacing tightens up. He seems to create constantly for his linemates with his poise and passing play. He's a good, though not above-average, skater who anticipates the play at a very high level off the puck — the puck just seems to find him again and again inside the offensive zone. He shields pucks extremely well for a player his size and can play keep-away to wait for his options to open up. He has a sixth sense for timing and spacing. He's usually in good support positions (sometimes to his detriment offensively, kind of like Shane Wright) and always seems to make the right decisions with the puck. He has vision and finesse, and a real east-west game. He's a problem-solver. He'll be an interesting case study in how far smarts can take a player without a defining/dynamic trait to complement the IQ. I'm a little lower on him today than I was at the draft. I debated ranking Helenius a little lower here. One of the most threatening and consistently dangerous players in the CHL in each of his final three years of junior, and Bakersfield's second-leading scorer in his rookie year in the AHL last year (while contributing in all situations), Savoie's game has some exciting elements when he's at his best. He's on the smaller side, though, and there have been questions about whether his offense will translate at the NHL level — and if it doesn't, what his role and position are as a natural center who many believe is an NHL winger. He has quick side-to-side hands that help him beat defenders one-on-one off cuts. He has an NHL release (which he can place with pinpoint accuracy from a bad angle and rip by a goalie clean from a distance, but he also loves to change up and slide five-hole). He does an excellent job creating plays to the slot out of traffic. He's a burning skater with explosiveness and quick three-step acceleration that allows him to win races, separate in transition and put defenders onto their heels, or dash through holes in coverage to the net (or draw a penalty). He's a good small-area passer who blends deception into his movements. And then on top of those things, he has a bit of a chip on his shoulder. He's always engaged, he keeps his feet moving, and he plays with a ton of energy. He finishes his checks and knocks his fair share of players over despite being on the smaller side. He's also sturdier on his feet than his listed height (5-foot-9) might suggest, which helps him play between checks. He creates a ton of breakaways for himself. It's hard for defensemen to track him when he gets into twists and turns. He's impressive in the shootout with a variety of moves he can go to. He routinely has a half step on the opposition, both in jump and in raw speed whenever he turns on the jets. He plays the game with enough drive that his size usually doesn't feel like a major factor. He seems to pounce on so many pucks when they squirt into holes in coverage. I remain a believer in him becoming a high-tempo, top-nine forward. He has been prone to injuries over the years, though, and staying healthy is going to be really important. I think he has some PP upside due to his shooting/skill package and five-on-five upside because of his skating and motor. Even in games where the points don't fall, he's usually making something happen — and he's seldom going to leave you wanting more. His speed might even make him a useful penalty killer and give him all-situations value in the NHL as well. I do see why some wonder about him as well, though, and the clock will start to tick if he can't establish himself as a regular in Edmonton next season. After registering just 14 points in his rookie season in the OHL, Luchanko got off to a good enough start to earn a 'B' rating from NHL Central Scouting in the fall of his draft year (which 'indicates a 2nd/3rd round candidate') and then rose all the way to No. 21 among North American skaters on their midseason list and No. 20 on their final list after emerging as Guelph's leading scorer (74 points in 68 games). He was then Canada's second-line center at U18s, continuing to impress scouts in Finland ahead of his selection with the 13th pick in the draft. I never quite got there, though, viewing him as more of a mid-to-late first. And while his earning games with the Flyers to start his post-draft year was certainly notable, his season in the OHL and at the World Juniors was more fine than following the upward trajectory that his draft year campaign did. I thought he was impressive on the PK for Canada, but he was their fourth center in usage and didn't generate much offense from selection camp right through pre-tournament and the tournament, and he was Guelph's best player but wasn't a force in the O. Luchanko is a standout athlete (he performs exceedingly well in fitness testing and is very strong for a 5-foot-11/6-foot player) with average to above-average skill, impressive skating ability and standout on-ice intelligence. He understands timing, spacing and puck movement at a very advanced level, always finding his way into good spots. He has good instincts on the PK and can really apply pressure with his skating. And then there are other complementary tools which come second. He protects pucks well with a wide gait. He has really good balance, posture and mechanics, and while I wouldn't call his upper-echelon skating elite, it's a definite asset, and he has some pull-away speed. He plays in and out of give-and-gos. But it's the consistency of his reads, paths and decisions that define his game. He makes the right play with the puck almost always, and he's extremely unselfish. (There are, however, times when I'd like to see him hold onto pucks and attack so that I can evaluate his skill better, but he just always gives it to the open man and then gets back open.) I would like to see him score more (he played a more aggressive style last year on a low-talent Guelph team, but can still be too deferential) as well, but when there's a play to be made, he won't hesitate to make it. He has a chance to be a reliable, fast, intelligent all-situations center, but I don't see a ton of offense in his game in terms of a top-of-the-lineup NHL outlook and expect him to become more of a middle-sixer than a true top-sixer. He has quieter tools and habits that should help him (the routes, the pressure points, the penalty killing upside, the strength, the skating, good poise on the puck and vision), but he doesn't have loud elements that really scream NHL skill player. I think Brandsegg-Nygård will have some scoring punch and presence about his game at the NHL level in the prime of his career. He's a very well-rounded and projectable winger. He's an October birthday with a pro frame who played to above a point per game at the junior level and scored his first pro goal in HockeyAllsvenskan three seasons ago. If not for knee surgery in March 2023, he might have played for Norway's senior national team at men's worlds before his draft year had even started. He then got back in time for his draft year and got off to an excellent start, registering nine points in his first three J20 games and quickly establishing himself back with the pro club, building as the season progressed toward a standout postseason that saw him register 10 points in 12 playoff games at Sweden's second-rung pro level. Last year, he played on loan with the reigning SHL champs in Sweden's top flight, averaging 14-15 minutes per game and contributing at five-on-five and on the power play. Over the last two years, he has also been really solid for the Norwegian men's national team, which has included nine points in 12 games at men's worlds, two goals in three Olympic qualifying games and a four-goal game in a men's worlds tuneup against Denmark. His numbers didn't pop in the SHL, and he only scored one goal at the Division 1A World Juniors for Norway, but he did lead the entire tournament in shots on goal with 25 in five games, so I'm not reading into it too much. After coming over to the AHL in the spring, he looked solid in Grand Rapids when I reviewed his tape for this as well. Brandsegg-Nygard's game is built upon his work ethic and drive. He's a multifaceted shooter who can score from the top of the circles with his wrister but also gets down to one knee and really powers through a good one-touch shot — skills that have helped him excel on both the flank and the bumper on the power play across domestic and international levels. He's not a dynamic individual play creator, but he has pro size (6-foot-1 and a strong 200-or-so pounds), he works extremely hard and engages himself in the play, he plays well off his linemates and he has good all-around skill. He also plays the game with a physical tilt, even against pros, constantly engaging in battles, bowling players over and keeping his effort level ramped up. He has a commitment to staying on pucks and finishing his checks and uses a long stick to protect pucks well out wide to his body. He has good straight-line skating. He looks like a projectable middle-six push-and-pop driver and shooter to me as the third guy on a more talented line or a driver on a third line with the right development. There are some who wonder about his skill in terms of NHL points, but you won't find any who don't at least like his game/style and I think it's going to translate into a real go-getter with some jam at the NHL level. Danielson is a good prospect who had a good rookie season in the AHL and who's going to be a good NHLer. He's going to be an effective and potentially impactful top-nine forward and have a long career. But his skill has never grabbed me, and I've always wanted to see him score more. His counting stats in junior never popped when you contextualized them with his late birthday and near-2022 draft eligibility. He has some pedigree, though. Danielson was an MVP of Alberta's U15 AAA circuit and the No. 5 pick in the WHL. He was a point-per-game player and one of Brandon's top producers four seasons ago. He was named captain of the Wheat Kings for his draft year, and after a bit of a slow start, he came back into his own and finished with 33 goals and 78 points as the best player on a bad team. Two years ago, he was an effective bottom-sixer for Canada at the World Juniors and the counting stats began to come more after a move from Brandon to Portland, but even then he didn't light up the league (post-trade he had 41 points in 28 regular-season games, an impressive 100-point pace over 68 games and a noteworthy uptick but production that still would have landed him third on the Winterhawks in scoring and outside of top 10 in the WHL). Last season, he was consistently good for the Griffins, logged 19-20 minutes per game in the AHL as a 20-year-old rookie, contributed in all areas, and was probably owed a little more than his modest production indicated. But that can only be a talking point for so long, too, and eventually you have to score as a top-10 pick. Danielson is well-liked by scouts and should become a solid middle-six center in the NHL (though he needs to improve in the faceoff circle). He's a pro-sized (6-foot-1, 190 pounds), hardworking pivot who can skate, drive through the middle of the ice, push tempo and play with a decent talent level and good overall detail. He plays a well-rounded two-way game, is a proficient penalty killer, wants to make a difference in all areas when he's on the ice and blends good overall skill with his effort. He plays with intention and consistency. He can simplify his game or mold his play to his line or coaching assignment. His lines tend to spend their shifts in the offensive zone. He's a good skater who can play in transition. He's a good forechecker. He has some secondary skill. He's a smart player on and off the puck, offensively and defensively. Though his game lacks dynamism for me, he's a complete player without any glaring holes. It does feel like he has NHLer written all over him, even if he doesn't grab you with high-end skill. I've just never been able to get excited about his offense. Protas was one of the biggest risers in the prospects world last season. He had a very respectable 51-in-61 season as a rookie in the USHL in his draft year (that's not an easy league to produce in as a 17-year-old, especially when your highest level of hockey previously was playing for Belarus' U18 team), finishing second on Des Moines in scoring and eighth in the league among U18 skaters. That season, considering his profile as a 6-foot-5 forward, probably should have sent a stronger signal to me than it did (he wasn't in my final top 100, and I considered him more of a late-rounder than a third-rounder). But nobody, the Capitals included, expected him to have the kind of season he had as a summer birthday 18-year-old OHL rookie last year, finishing second in the OHL in scoring and registering 55 goals and 149 points in 73 combined regular-season and playoff games. In Windsor, he featured prominently on the power play and penalty kill, played 20-plus minutes per game as a first-year forward and did it all after making the move from the wing with the Buccaneers to center with the Spits (though he has some work to do in the faceoff circle). He has great hands for a big man, with an ability to balance on his heels and pull pucks through and across his body to make plays both one-on-one and around the net. He understands how to hold onto and protect pucks and has a good feel over them as a passer who sees the ice well. His skating is below average by NHL standards, but passable for his size. He's not a mean power forward type, but he has the required skills on the cycle/on tips and redirects. It's his skill level that is ultimately pretty unique for his size. He's quite talented and made a ton of higher-end skill plays last year with the puck on his stick. He has a pretty unique NHL profile, and it's not hard to imagine him as a second-line forward in the NHL or a talented and one-of-one third-liner. Connelly is a talented playmaking winger who has been highly productive and consistently flashed exciting individual skill with Tri-City in the USHL, for Team USA at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup (where he led the Americans in scoring with 10 points in five games en route to a bronze medal), the World Jr. A Challenge (where he again led the Americans with 11 points in six games en route to a bronze medal) and the under-18 worlds (where he made some pretty plays and scored a Michigan goal, but also had extended shifts of offensive-zone time in a good pairing with LJ Mooney) before he was ejected from the gold medal game for an illegal check to the head. Last season, he was less noticeable and impactful offensively at Providence and the World Juniors, though he still flashed at both, and he was owed more on the scoresheet in college for all of the touches and carries he executed. After making what many felt was an early move to turn pro, he registered four points in his first six AHL games and made some plays there. Connelly is a high-end talent who has room to develop physically and add strength, and whose slight build doesn't hold back his shot (which uses a quick release to fool goalies, although his one-touch shots in the slot do often lack power) or his skating (which is really fast and pretty fluid even without the muscle/power that's coming). I like his work rate off the puck. He possesses borderline elite hands and his on-puck movement at speed, offensive-zone small-area skill and touch as a passer all also get high grades as he regularly makes difficult skill plays in tight coverage and finds his way out of trouble or through traffic. He's a dynamic one-on-one player who can turn defenders and goalies inside out with his hands and uses quick crossovers and a light skating stride to be agile on cuts, jumps and changes of direction. He's creative. He's as comfortable playing off his backhand as he is his forehand. He plays pucks under sticks and into space as well as anyone in his age group. And while he can try to do too much, force one-on-one plays into congested areas or be too cute, you live with it because of how often he makes something out of nothing. The big developmental leap he'll have to make is in his decision-making and discipline. He's not going to always be able to look for the pretty play as he progresses up levels, but Connelly's ability to beat players laterally and shake around and through coverage, combined with his playmaking sense, gives him top-six, PP NHL upside. He's an imperfect player and can frustrate, but the talent is there. Lakovic is a 6-foot-4 winger who can really fly and blends good handles and scoring touch into his movements nicely. He protects pucks well, can get off the wall and has taken strides to keep his head up on the puck and survey/use his linemates better and better. He's still got room to improve his scanning, off-puck play and decision-making, and his physicality needs to be more consistent, but his ability both in transition and protecting pucks in the offensive zone can really pop, and he has clear top-nine projectability with good coaching. When he's on pucks and up and under sticks and winning inside body positioning, he can be really noticeable in a game with his skating, strength, power and skill. He has quick hands and can take D one-on-one as well. Lakovic was a standout of one of the CHL-USA Prospects Challenge games and was on a 13-game point streak when he went down with a fractured collarbone that sidelined him from the end of December to the middle of February (he heated back up after returning with Moose Jaw team that has entered a full rebuild post-deadline, too). He also reportedly really impressed at Caps development camp. One of the best-skating prospects in the world, Potter is a smallish but talented and extremely fast player who uses his electric speed to put defenders on their heels, back them off, create opportunistic chances, get out in transition and jump onto loose pucks. He's a fun player to watch with his ability to go inside-out and outside-in on players, his ability to round corners on them and his desire to attack off the rush and challenge D by turning on the jets and burning them wide or blazing into a quick stop-up. He's tough to catch in straight lines or track in and out of cuts. He has some cleverness one-on-one. He can be creative with the puck on his stick. He can really get going in a hurry and has shown an ability to finish plays as well, with a great release. It sounds like he's not done growing, either, which could upgrade his projection. His decision to leave the program to join Arizona State was a testy one and some questioned whether he and his game were ready for the NCAA level, but while he was inconsistent at times in the first half, I felt he really popped late in the year with the Sun Devils before rejoining Team USA for U18 Worlds. At U18s, he made some skill plays, drew some penalties with his speed, had a goal disallowed, had some third assists and had several chances around the net that he was probably owed from. But he also came and went a little too much for some, and didn't take over like they wanted him to. He has regularly flashed and occasionally even thrilled with his speed and legit puck skill. His skating truly is on another level, both through his edges and through a uniquely wide straightaway base. There's still some real learning of the game and how to deploy his speed that needs to happen, but there's also a real draw/appeal/upside to his game. Proponents see Frank Nazar. Opponents see Fabian Lysell. I think Potter is somewhere in between (he's an even better skater, too, which is saying something next to those two, who are both high-end skaters). He's an exciting player to watch when he winds up, and while there's some boom or bust to his profile and mixed opinions on him out there (Nazar was also more consistent/responsible at the same age), the talent and speed are undeniable. He was tough to slot here, though. I thought about ranking him lower here, but decided to trust my instincts on him taking a big step next year for now. Reid was a breakout star for the Rangers last year, playing big minutes to 0.8-0.9 points per game and wearing a letter in his draft year after a strong rookie season the year prior (despite playing the second half injured). I also liked him at the OHL Top Prospects Game (where he had three assists on four West goals and also wore a letter). He wasn't as productive for Kitchener in its playoff run to the conference finals, but he was being asked to do a lot for that team, and the Rangers went as far as they could. He's a good athlete and smart, engaging and well-liked. He's a plus skater whose game is shaped by his smarts, movement and mobility. He can influence play with his feet, whether that's defending and closing gaps, escaping pressure, transporting pucks or getting open and active off the puck. He's a heady, offensively capable player, but he doesn't chase it for the sake of the points. He also defends really well, with a good stick and sense for timing and disruption. He has been a major driver of two-way results for the Rangers, and I think he's going to surprise some people in his first NHL camp and likely play his way onto Team Canada's World Junior roster as an 18-year-old D. I see a modern defenseman. He reminds me a little of top young Blue Jackets D Denton Mateychuk. I'm a big fan of the skating-smarts combo he brings. He was tremendous last year — I never saw him have a bad game in my viewings. There are some who wonder if he's dynamic enough offensively at 6 feet, but he's an excellent hockey player. Read more in our feature here. Korchinski is capable of playing an ambitious, free-flowing game when he's at his best and playing with confidence, but has struggled to consistently play at his top level and define his game against pros. He has a June birthday, so while it can feel like he's been around for a while already and he hasn't fully established himself in the NHL, it's important to remember that he was the youngest defenseman in the NHL the last two years, that defensemen typically don't make their way into the league until 22-23 and that he's still got plenty of runway to take steps and get better. I thought he finished last year on a positive note in the Calder Cup playoffs with Rockford, even if it feels like he has been passed by Rinzel and Levshunov, and that's disappointing for a No. 7 pick. Again, he just turned 21 a few weeks ago, so constantly remind yourself of that. Korchinski handles the puck smoothly on his hip, his good footwork and maneuverability (both of which have come a long way) help him adjust to, away from and around pressure and then he's a decent playmaker who can make something happen and facilitate out of all of his movement and carries. I like his stick and his ability to use his feet to defend the rush and disrupt play (though he's a better transition defender than a defensive-zone one). His hallmark has become his balance over his skates (an area that, astoundingly, was once a major concern before a growth spurt somehow straightened his posture out), allowing him to stay stick-on-stick through stops and starts with opposing carriers. He tries to guide play with and without the puck with his mobility, pivots and directional changes. He can impact play with his ability to transport the puck, roam and find seams. He can stretch the ice on outlets. He reads the play quickly, which allows him to make hurry-up passes when a long carry sequence isn't there for him. He sees the play develop inside the offensive zone and regularly hits cross-ice holes in coverage. Though his shot isn't hard, he's comfortable attacking into the slot. He's also an underrated competitor who is willing to take a hit to make a play and fearlessly pursue pucks into corners. There's still some fine-tuning that needs to happen defensively, and he's prone to the occasional brain cramp, but Korchinski can play under pressure when he's really seeing it. He has made progress making quicker decisions, he exits and enters the zone well, he controls play when he arrives there, he gaps up well in neutral ice, he sees it and handles it at an advanced level, he has shakes and shoulder fakes. He just needs to be a little firmer out there on both sides of it. He projects as a No. 3-5 and PP option. I do wonder if he becomes a change of scenery guy in the young crowd on the Blackhawks blue line in order to meet his potential, though. Hensler, who because of his October birthday played his two years at the program pre-draft and played his draft year as a freshman with the Wisconsin Badgers, consistently impressed me in early viewings in his U18 season and then left me wanting more pretty often in the second half before finishing better at U18 worlds and acquitting himself nicely at the World Junior Summer Showcase. Last season, he then played top-four minutes (more than 18 per game) for a Badgers team that lost more than it won and contributed on their power play. He was also OK in a third-pairing role at the World Juniors, where he clearly tried to simplify and play more mistake-free. I thought he was better than the numbers indicated at Wisconsin, especially given his age and the context of his team, but there are some who aren't sure what his identity/role will be in the NHL and I've also had a tough time with his projection at times. Hensler is a talented player and good prospect but he's not a no-doubter offensive defenseman or a lockdown defensive D type. He's a smooth, mobile, balanced skater. He can use his feet to attack and create lanes. He's a good athlete. He keeps his head and eyes up. He's skilled with the puck. He has a decent stick and defensive instincts. He reads the play well on both sides when he's dialed in (there are times when it can feel like he's just out there for a skate, though). There are also times when it seems like he doesn't know his identity as a player. I've really just wanted to see him take charge more on blue lines at the NTDP and Wisconsin that could have really used a horse. Even as one of the younger players on all of his teams with both USA Hockey and the Badgers, he has the talent to be more impactful than he has been (and he has been good for both). It can feel like he's unsure of himself at times out there, and his game can miss that grab-it mentality. He has moments when he jumps up in transition and makes something happen, and shows some exciting qualities and instincts. I want to see more of that, and an equal assertiveness defensively. My viewings were mostly positive last year, but I'm still waiting for him to jump off the page at me. He's capable of it. He's really fluid in and out of his edges. He has pro size. He has good handles. He has balanced posture on his heels and toes, and he's capable of using it to play strong stick-on-puck gaps and carry and lead in transition. He has poise and comfort in all three zones. He has skill and offense. He's a righty. It's in there. If it all comes together, there's a skating, transitional, PP2 second-pairing NHL D in there. I think there's some risk that he doesn't take that next step and just becomes a fine depth five-on-five guy who can move pucks, but I have a sneaking feeling he's going to take charge more next year and not look back. Kindel was one of the most productive players in junior hockey last season and did most of his damage at even strength to finish one point shy of 100. He also wore a letter for the Hitmen and reminds me a little of 2024 first-rounder Terik Parascak as a slightly undersized but opportunistic player whose great sense for timing and spacing helps him get open (though I think his engine runs hotter than Parascak's). He's a worker with legit skill and smarts. That combination of effort, sense and talent really blends well together at the junior level, and though he looks a little lean, it doesn't present itself in his game because of his work rate off the puck. I do find he can slow the play down a little too much at times, but he thinks it at a very high level. He's also got quick hands in tight to his body. His production has skewed toward a setup man profile, but his most dangerous weapon offensively might actually be his nifty wrister release, which comes off his stick effortlessly quickly, and he's using more this season. He's not a super physical player, but he wins pucks back with his instincts, drive and positioning and can be relied upon to penalty kill. I'm not sure how his game will translate up levels, but he has some believers, and he's a very intellectual, hardworking and skilled junior player who has top-six talent. He also has positional versatility and has successfully played both the wing and center after a move back to the middle last year (he played the wing as a 16-year-old). Read more in our feature here. The pace of the pro game was clearly an adjustment for McGroarty early on last season, but he really began to figure it out in the second half. McGroarty just looks like a pro hockey player in all of the areas, other than his speed/pace at times. He stands strong. He's fit. Then you add in the charisma that made him the natural choice for the captaincy at the U.S. NTDP and with last year's gold medal-winning World Junior team, and the light and energy that oozes out of him, and you have to be careful not to put too much stock into the off-ice pieces of the puzzle he already appears to have. But I think he's a darn good hockey player and the pieces of the puzzle fit together nicely on the ice as well because of his smarts. His skating doesn't look the prettiest through his first few steps, but there's some power when he gets going nonetheless. And his spatial awareness, reads and effort level help him avoid losing short races and being behind the play. He has great hands and feel on the puck as a passer. His finishing touch around the net is there, with a hard one-touch shot that leverages his strong frame to power through when he gets open in the slot. He has always been a sneaky-good facilitator who passes the puck really well and can hold it. He has particularly mastered the net drive into a high rotation away from coverage that brings him back to around the net. And then when he gets there, he has the strength to shoot from bad postures/off balance. He always seems to put his shots into good locations (along the ice, low blocker, high short side), too. He's dexterous. He's a tone-setter who will track and finish his checks even if he doesn't have the speed. The ice normally tilts in his favor: he's such a smart player, he can score, he works and he just understands where to be out there and how to put himself in positions to create offense. He reinforced his strong statistical profile from the NTDP at Michigan, where he was a point-per-game freshman and one of the top-scoring players in college as a sophomore despite a pretty severe injury in the fall (a broken rib and punctured lung). If he can get a little quicker from the jump, he has all of the other makings of a legitimate top-nine forward who can play up and down a lineup with a variety of player types. The only question is the pace for me. I thought about ranking him a little higher here and I think he's a comparable prospect to those in the 50s. Brunicke blew me away with his play at the Penguins' rookie tournament last September and was going to be on Canada's World Juniors team as an 18-year-old before he broke his wrist blocking a shot in practice. Before that, he'd registered 12 points in 15 games with Kamloops, playing his smooth-skating two-way transition game. Brunicke garnered increased attention from NHL clubs as his draft season progressed, too, before hurting his shoulder on a late hit in late February, which effectively ended his WHL season just as his momentum was really building. He returned to play at U18 worlds for Canada, though, and performed really well as an important top-six defender and particularly prominent penalty killer who was counted upon in defensive situations throughout the tournament. Last season, after returning from injury, he was involved in everything the Blazers did and finished the year with 30 points in 41 games on a low-scoring Kamloops team. At year's end, he also registered four points in 12 combined regular season and playoff games in the AHL. His statistical profile doesn't pop, but he has good size, a pro build, phenomenal skating and good sense and instincts on both sides of the puck. He has shown a real willingness to join the rush and look for opportunities off the offensive-zone blue line in the last 18 months or so, playing a very active two-way style and recovering when he's down ice with his skating. I think he has another level to find offensively — he has shown some skill on the puck, even if it's not dynamic, and the skating is truly high-end. He makes good reads around the ice, can defend with any of his active stick, length, feet or physicality, can lead exits and entries with his skating or an outlet and has progressed very quickly since playing a depth role for the Memorial Cup hosts in his 16-year-old season. He has a developing cerebral quality to his game, makes a great first pass and moves so, so well. Brunicke has learned to play with some more hardness —he'll stand up for his teammates, block shots, etc. He also didn't play on PP1 with Kamloops in his draft year because they chose to give their older guys that opportunity, so there was always going to be room for the points to come given his athleticism/skating. The Penguins drafted him 44th, but he looks like a first-rounder, and it sounds like he's going to get a real run in their main camp again this year. I expect him to be a big part of the Canadian World Junior team in Minnesota and then a transitional, two-way No. 3-5 in the NHL for a long time. Morrow was one of the most productive freshman defensemen in college hockey, led the Minutemen in scoring as a sophomore and then had a third straight 30-point season as a junior before turning pro. Most importantly, he played better defensively in huge minutes (25 per game) as a junior, taking important steps defensively. Last year, as a rookie at the pro level, he was one of the Wolves' most productive players, played 20 minutes per game in the AHL and was one of the more productive young D in the league. He also registered his first six NHL points. Morrow is a real talent who made the jump from high school hockey directly into the NCAA look easy from a skill standpoint (though he has had to do some maturing/growing up on and off the ice) and then did the same in the AHL. He still has some learning to do in terms of his defensive consistency and habits, but he's an excellent transition defender who transports pucks confidently, plays boldly inside the offensive zone and possesses impressive handling skill for a defenseman. He's an exit/entry machine who carves teams up through the neutral zone with head fakes, side steps and cuts — his skating impresses on its edges, even if he's not explosive. When he's on the ice, he wants to take over and direct play in possession, and he does so by guiding opposing players out of his way. He's also a 6-foot-2 righty whose defensive game has taken important steps to cut back on mistakes, stay in better positioning and eliminate some of the bad habits that concerned scouts. He projects as a No. 3-5, PP2 D with a real offensive tilt. Prior to last year, Solberg was a tricky one as a player who had, pre-draft, played exclusively in Norway at both a junior and then pro level which seldom produces talent. But he has also played the better part of the last five (!) seasons against men. And after an excellent playoffs for Valerenga and an even better showing playing first-pairing minutes against NHLers for Norway's national team at men's worlds, his stock was at its highest (he was the biggest riser on my board in the second half of the season) as the draft arrived. Last season, after signing with Farjestad, he registered 15 points and a plus-10 rating across 60 games in the SHL and the Champions Hockey League as a teenage defenseman. He also registered another five points in his first 10 AHL games (where I thought he was immediately very good) and another eight points in 10 games split between a second men's worlds and Olympic qualifying, playing a huge role for Norway's national team. (The more I watched Norway's pro level last year, the more I found it to be of higher quality than I thought, too, which does help with my comfort level about his projection.) His game has some real identity and form to it at an early age as well. One of the most competitive prospects in the sport, Solberg plays really hard and firm on both sides of the puck, with a mean, strong, physical presence that has seen him make life hard on opposing players whenever he has played against his peers internationally and even against men in Norway and Sweden. He's really physical in man-to-man coverage, sometimes too much so. It's tough to take him one-on-one, and then he can skate the other way, though he can also be a little too eager on that front. His reads and decision-making need some tightening at times, as he can be sloppy/turnover-prone, but his game has grown more mature as time has gone on, leaving me less concerned about his brain. He's also a strong skater and advanced athlete with an athletic 6-foot-2 build that is already over 200 pounds and is really strong/sturdy. Players with his makeup — a hard-nosed, highly engaged defenseman with good size/athletic tools who's shown enough offense — are always going to be valuable. His style really works on North American ice/in the North American game, too. I see a potential second-pair ceiling/third-pair floor as a hard-to-play against D with some secondary offense that gives the Ducks' future blue line something different from Olen Zellweger and Pavel Mintyukov. Luneau is one of the most underrated prospects in the sport for me and a player I've long had a lot of time for. He was the first pick in the 2020 QMJHL draft and looked like a surefire first-rounder through the Youth Olympics (where he was an alternate captain) and into his strong rookie season in the QMJHL (where he won the league's defensive rookie of the year award). And while it took him some time to get back to that status after a knee procedure cost him the summer, preseason and first three games of the regular season in his draft year, he hit his stride in the second half of his post-draft season, was the QMJHL's defenseman of the year three years ago and was clearly the league's most complete defenseman by a long shot (logging huge all-situations minutes and driving offense in a big way while playing a matchup role against the opposition's best). Two years ago, in his rookie pro campaign, I thought he looked like a stud in the AHL and NHL early on, and he was clearly a cut above all of Canada's other defensemen in practices and the Red-White scrimmage in Oakville for World Junior Selection Camp before a serious infection to that knee hospitalized him and derailed his season (he would have been Canada's No. 1 D and changed the look of that World Juniors team in Gothenburg). Last year, though he didn't make the full-time jump to the NHL that I think he was on track to make by now pre-infection, Luneau was one of the best all-around D in the entire AHL, driving offense and play in significant minutes. I'm a firm believer that he has to be in the NHL next year and that if that's not with the Ducks that they should move him so that he can play where he belongs somewhere else. Luneau's game isn't dynamic in the obvious sense, but he's a balanced and smooth-skating (without being explosive, something some scouts worried about but I've often argued is closer to a real strength than anything else) right-shot defenseman who can run a power play, is a plus-level passer, has developed his shot and reads the play at as high a level as just about any defenseman in his age group (with and without the puck at both ends). His skating has really looked very comfortable, flexible and smoothed out when healthy over the last couple of seasons. He plays a poised and polished two-way game that lends itself to driving play. And while he's a high-floor (he should be a strong third-pairing guy at minimum) type, I think he has second-pair upside if he can stay healthy. His size (6-foot-1, about 200 pounds), maturity, roundedness and discreet offensive game and skating have put him, when healthy, on a path toward becoming an efficient, all-purpose, two-way guy. He has proven he can control play and log significant all-situations minutes. He should be a No. 5 D right now and a No. 3-4 in the medium term. Mailloux's game still needs some work but he made some really important progress at the AHL level over the last year and a half and he had a really strong rookie season all told, finishing with 47 points in 72 games, and rookie follow-up last year with 39 points in 76 combined regular-season and playoff games while trying to put a great emphasis on buttoning down defensively and cutting down on his mistake-prone game. He has made more progress in decision-making, but last year still had some real ups and downs in first-pairing minutes for Laval (up from 20 per game as a rookie to over 21 last year), which will serve him well in the future. Though his early defensive results in the NHL were predictably a little poor, he did show his offensive presence in his very small sample of games with the Habs as well. He's a strong and athletic 6-foot-3, 213-pound right-shot defenseman who's physically advanced and showcases that strength through a strong forward skating stride, a hard and heavy shot (it's a real weapon) and a presence over pucks and in board battles. He's a confident puck carrier in transition and is eager to take space off the line to look to make a play. His game does have some notable deficiencies, including the aforementioned decision-making and reads that can let him down, but they've started to become fewer with more reps. His game is always going to come with some brain cramps, but you'll be able to live with it because of his natural talent and the personality of his game on the ice. The hiccups show up with the puck in distribution and/or on carries in dangerous spots on the ice, and without the puck in choices on when and how to close gaps or puck-watching and losing his man in D-zone coverage. He has some sloppy stickwork in man-to-man coverage that can require him to overcompensate by trying to make a hard play on the puck (which can result in some penalties) as well. He's likely going to have some growing pains once he makes the full-time jump to NHL pace/speed and may never be as buttoned up as you'd like, but the physical tools and talent are going to carry him. His game has some very real upside and some clear plus attributes, even if it'll come with the odd headache. Though this isn't a projection and he won't get there, he has a bit of a Brent Burns look to him out there. A favorite of mine, Moore has consistently impressed me across levels and competitions over the last few years — on trips down to Plymouth during his time at the program (as well as after two World Junior Summer Showcases), where he was the focal point of the 2005 age group's second line and a real driver of play and offense behind their record-breaking first line; in Switzerland for the 2023 U18 worlds, Sweden for the 2024 World Juniors (where he began as the team's 13th forward but also had a good run on the first line) and Ottawa for the 2025 World Juniors (where he created and drove more than he finished, which is a bit of a theme); and with the Golden Gophers from his exhibition run as a freshman through his sophomore year (even if he didn't take a step statistically as a second-year player). I thought he looked like he belonged in the NHL in the spring as well. His consistent game-to-game impact, even when the points aren't going in, has always struck me as well (he rarely has a bad game and works and finds ways to involve himself and make things happen). Moore's game is defined by his world-class skating ability (both in straight lines, where he turns defenders with ease out wide, in quick bursts from explosive stops and starts and rounding corners and winding up through his edges) and consistency of presence on the ice. He has gallops, cutbacks, crossovers, all of it. I've seen him create breakaways with ease, win races he shouldn't and send defenders sliding when he stops up on them with a head of steam. He also hunts pucks and applies pressure with the best of them and his motor doesn't stop, bouncing from one won battle to the next. He wants to hang onto the puck and make plays, but he'll also hurry it up and dominate in and out of give-and-gos. He has quick hands. He has a one-timer from the right flank and can really rip his catch-and-release or in-stride wrister when he gets clean looks. He's an impressive athlete who is strong for a 5-foot-11 player, which should help him stick at center up levels. He has learned to use some more diverse movement patterns to make defensemen miss and get to his spots as a shooter. He's strong in the faceoff circle. Increasingly, his game isn't all just about the speed/hound element, and I've been impressed by his puck protection in and out of stops and starts in the offensive zone, changing directions to beat defenders off the wall into valuable ice. But he just doesn't seem to finish off plays around the slot or in all alone enough and that lack of finish despite the tools to do so and some pretty goals over the years on both dekes and shots, has become a bit of a constant, raising questions about his offensive upside in the NHL. I don't see much to nitpick in his tools or his approach, although he does need to think the game a little better with the puck at times. He has the ability to impose his will on games. But while his game is fast and tenacious, I think you're more likely looking at a fast and determined third-liner. Ostlund's calling card is his airy, agile skating stride, excellent hands, cleverness and committed two-way game. The skating and defensive aptitude (including on faceoffs) make him an able penalty killer, and the rest give him clear tools of play creation at five-on-five and on the flank on the power play. He wins a ton of short races, creates quickly as soon as he's in possession and darts around the ice in control to get into scoring areas or facilitate from the perimeter. His lack of size and strength (he's a lean 5-foot-11 and 170-something pounds) has been a talking point at times, but I thought it'd make his jump to the SHL and then AHL a little more challenging than it was over each of the last two seasons. He wasn't helped by a fall hand injury in his rookie season in the AHL, but looked much better and more involved in offense in my viewings than his modest stats indicated with Rochester, and I know he turned them into big, big believers of his with his well-rounded game and consistent play. He's also got the benefit of time, his skating and the fondness coaches have for him to continue to fall back on. Ostlund's silky smooth in possession and a superb puck transporter through neutral ice. He has a slippery quality that few players have; the puck just sticks to him in tight coverage, and he is a catalyst on his line in a variety of ways. He's a nifty little player. Some scouts worry about whether he'll be able to get to the inside/hold his own physically along the wall in the NHL (he has never scored a ton), but his approach and skating should help mitigate against that. The flow, the work ethic, the ability to hang onto it or play in quick give-and-goes, his stick on steals, the changes of directions and cutbacks: there's a lot to like. He has and holds the puck a lot, he's so shifty in possession side-stepping defenders or turning them on angles, and even though he doesn't always produce something out of his natural playmaking game because he's still missing that finishing strength, he's noticeable and making plays nonetheless. The stops and starts, and how quickly and tightly he turns, really make him hard to get a handle on and have helped him escape the cycle well against bigger competition. He has skill, and he can be a driver. I'm fascinated to see if he'll make it work at the NHL level like his proponents think he will, because there aren't many NHLers with his profile to go off. If he can continue to add some muscle without slowing down, there's real appeal there as a potential top-nine secondary play-creator and linemate supporter/elevator. Cootes is a well-liked, well-rounded center who played in all situations for Seattle last season, was named co-captain in the fall and led the low-scoring Thunderbirds in scoring at just above a point per game. He was also outstanding as Team Canada's captain at U18 worlds, playing well in each game and impacting play when he was on the ice. He's a strong skater who plays with energy and detail, earning the trust of coaches with his diligent, complete game. He's a good athlete. He plays the game with determination. He's a good penalty killer and five-on-five driver. He plays the bumper on the power play well because of his nose for the net and competitiveness to get to pucks. He gets open. He has a good wrister. He always seems to be lurking around the slot and involved in everything. He works and makes little plays, arriving on time in good spots. I've wondered about whether he has enough skill to become a top-six type, but he also confidently projects as a top-nine NHLer. His U18s sold me a little more on his skill and the lack of talent around him in Seattle last season as well. He has some secondary skill and can make plays, even if it's not the focal point of his game, and he becomes more of an excellent complementary player for his linemates. I'm a little lower on him than where he was picked at No. 15, but his combination of pace, smarts, competitiveness and reliability is appealing and projectable. Lee, a Michigan State commit, was one of the top players on a Shattuck St. Mary's U18 team that had three players drafted two years ago and was arguably the most purely skilled player in the USHL last season. After getting a taste of the USHL two springs ago, he was Madison's leading scorer as a rookie in the league (albeit as a late birthday who turned 18 in the fall) and really popped with the puck on his stick at the Chipotle All-American Game as well. Lee's an extremely talented offensive winger with really quick hands who can take and beat defenders one-on-one with his individual skill level. I've seen him score some pretty goals dancing defenders. He's a crafty offensive forward who can make plays inside the offensive zone, off the rush and on the half-wall on the power play. He thinks the game at a very advanced level offensively. His skating could use another step, and his play off the puck defensively could use some rounding out, and that, combined with his average size and competitiveness as a winger, did cause debate as to whether he was a first-rounder for some teams despite having clear first-round skill. I think the Preds were smart to take the swing on his offensive gifts. They called him 'The Wizard' at Shattuck, and he lives up to it. The lightning-quick, puck-on-a-string hands. The shiftiness. The clairvoyant vision and eyes on the back of his head. The touch and finesse on passes. The feel. The natural release. He has a great energy about him and loves the game. Not that long ago, he was 5-foot-7, and now he's 6 feet and he still has room to grow and get stronger. If he can improved his skating (he performed well at the combine, which was promising of progress he has already made on that front after his growth spurt), he'll become a top offensive player in college and has top-six talent/potential. After playing on Russia's Hlinka Gretzky team four summers ago, But played to a point-per-game level in the MHL as one of its top 2005s four seasons ago and then began his draft year three seasons ago on a tear in the MHL, scoring 11 goals in his first 15 games of the season before earning a mid-October promotion to the KHL for the first time (he then scored his first two pro goals and bounced between the KHL and MHL). Two seasons ago, playing as a regular in the KHL with Lokomotiv, But broke 10 goals and 20 points despite playing very limited minutes (under 10 per game). Last season, those minutes rose about 12 on average, and he won a KHL title playing a reduced role in the playoffs (6-7 minutes per game). Despite the limited usage, he registered a respectable 28 points in 54 games, which was seventh on Lokomotiv in scoring. Though it feels like he has been around forever, he's still only 21. Scouts were drawn to But because of his size-skill combo as a 6-foot-6 winger with natural skill/scoring touch and a committed 200-foot game, and while he could look a little uncoordinated out there at times earlier in his career, those things have smoothed out, he skates well and his hands are nimble for his size. The draw is real, and there are some definite tools there. He's excellent on the wall in puck protection and also has some outside-in skill so that he can attack off holds into the middle third. He has impressive shooting mechanics given how long his stick is, and he regularly pulls pucks into his feet to change his angle face-up against goalies. I love the way he shields pucks and waits for his opportunities to attack. While he has some work to do to get a little quicker from the jump in the game's 10-foot races for the NHL, he does have some power and balance through his stride to build upon and skates pretty well for his size and age. It's hard to be a true top-of-the-lineup forward at his size, though, and he's not the most physical player, so he'll have to rely on his reach-skill-shooting combo to be an impactful secondary producer in the NHL. I think he projects as a complementary scorer who gives a lineup a bit of a different look. There's a lot to work with, though, and he's a legitimate prospect even if, like Simashev, I felt he was picked a little too high. He'll be a unique top-nine winger in the NHL and maybe even a second-line one if he hits. Salomonsson has become a very nice development story for the Jets and looks like he's going to be a good NHL player. He was off to a really positive start to his post-draft season in the SHL three seasons ago and was bound to make Team Sweden for the World Juniors before a late November ankle injury halted his year. It was particularly noteworthy after he was just OK in his draft year and didn't take the steps many hoped he would, sliding out of first-round consideration and into the second round, where the Jets took him. You don't often see teenage defensemen play 16-20 minutes per game in the SHL, but that's how much Salomonsson was playing before he got hurt and how much he continued to play two seasons ago. He was just two weeks away from eligibility for the 2023 draft with his Aug. 31 birthday, too, so had his pre-injury play in the SHL been in his draft year, he would have been viewed differently. He then became an important defender for the 2024 SHL champs and the Swedish World Junior team. Despite missing time with an upper-body injury he suffered in mid-December last year, he had a really strong first season in the AHL as a 20-year-old, driving impacts at both ends on a bad Moose team. He's a tremendous north-south skater who can join the rush with ease off the puck, skate it down ice when he has it and close gaps quickly to play a physical and tight-defending brand of hockey and funnel opposing carriers wide into rub-outs along the wall. If he does get caught down ice trying to involve himself, he tracks back easily. His decision-making does need some tightening up at times and has gotten him into suspension issues both in Sweden (in the SHL and J20) and internationally (at the U18 and U20 worlds), but his reads in other areas of the game have improved. I like his comfort level under pressure and confidence for a player as young as he is. He moves really well in all four directions, he involves himself in a lot of plays offensively, he has a pro frame and build, and most of his finer skills (including his shot and his handling) get good grades. He closes and snuffs out a lot of plays and projects as a two-way top-six defenseman at five-on-five who may be able to help out on either special team. It doesn't hurt that he's a 6-foot-2 righty, either. His problem at times in the past has been that his actual tools were better than the way he utilized them. That was something I was comfortable betting on when I ranked him 39th on my final draft board for 2022 (the Jets took him 55th), though, and I think he has figured out what he needs to be at the next level. He looks like more of a first-rounder than a second-rounder now and looks like how most teams want their D to look. Big, strong, highly mobile. Yager has been on the radar in western Canada for a long time, and he has some real pedigree to his profile and cachet to his game to support it, though his numbers never found that true upper echelon in junior. He was the No. 3 pick in the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft. He was the CHL Rookie of the Year (with 34 goals). He was an alternate captain and second-leading scorer at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. He was Canada's second-leading scorer at the World Juniors as an 18-year-old and their captain and most-used center as a 19-year-old. He was an alternate captain and one of Moose Jaw's leading scorers for two consecutive seasons, which included centering the first line to a WHL title with 49 goals and 128 points in 81 games split between the regular season, playoffs and Memorial Cup in 2023-2024. And then last year in the final chapter of his junior career, he registered 33 goals and 96 points in 70 games split between Moose Jaw and Lethbridge. He also captained Team Canada as a returnee at the World Juniors. His actual statistical profile is good without being great, but he has been a consistent offensive player in his age group while playing a detail-oriented off-puck game (he's also a dangerous and active penalty killer and is decent in the faceoff circle) as a center. Yager plays a threatening, attacking game with skill in straight lines and in cutting sequences in transition. He has smooth-skating mechanics. He's dangerous inside the offensive zone from the top of the circles in with a quick-release wrister that comes off his blade hard and with a slight, goalie-fooling adjustment pre-shot. He has good puck skill in congested areas, an ability to attack in bursts and make something happen out of dead plays, and an equal ability to play off coverage and make himself available as a shooter for his linemates. He's a natural scorer who plays a direct style, but he's also got vision and good touch (though I wouldn't say his creativity is necessarily a strength). I like the way he supports the puck defensively as a center. He's very intentional with his routes, offensively and defensively, which should help him stick at the center position long-term. He's a decent, though not standout skater (his skating hasn't taken a step to add a separation gear in the last couple of years). He's a smart player who finds ways to get open and supports his linemates well (he has the smarts and the instincts). I like his work rate. He doesn't have a star quality but he's going to play in the league and projects as a middle-six C with PP2/PK2 potential. Geekie played predominantly in the NHL last season as a 20-year-old, but also registered 20 points in 24 AHL games. He's a big forward (6-foot-4, 207 pounds) who can play both center and wing. He has clear skill as a handler, passer and shooter and a comfort trying things with the puck that I admire and you don't often see in players his size. He has impressive hands and body control for his size, which helps him control pucks inside the offensive zone and make plays while also getting the upper hand in board battles. He plays through bumps and thrives taking pucks from the cycle to dangerous areas, pushing through the guts of the ice in control, or even drifting to the perimeter in control to facilitate. He also skates well enough for his size for me — it's a little below average, and he can look like he lacks pace but I wouldn't call him slow/it a major impediment — and I think he moves better than his big brother Morgan (who has become a good NHL player) did at the same age, creating his fair share in transition at lower levels. I do find he forces things too much by trying to go one-on-one and create something that's not there. There's also a hunch to his stride. He has some work to do in the faceoff circle, too. But it's hard to deny the impressive size-hands combination he has considering his length. He has a real ability to hang onto the puck, draw players into him and then make plays through or around them. He processes the game quickly offensively, knowing where he wants to go with the puck early and constantly pre-surveying so that he always knows where his options are. He makes an unusual amount of soft little plays for a player his size and can attack into coverage because of his hands. He's really quite comfortable in control of the puck. He's also got a hard wrister. Geekie's a legitimate young player with a desirable set of skills. As he continues to work on his pace/skating, he has the touch and skill to become a pretty unique player. I expect he'll have a productive career as a middle-six forward who brings a length-skill combo to his line. There has always been a lot to like about Ohgren as a player. He's strong on pucks, holding them with ease against his peers and comfort against pros, which has helped him become a natural at drawing penalties and has helped him hold his own in a depth role to start in the NHL. He's also a combination shot-and-pass, power-and-finesse player who can show a variety of tools over the course of a game. I like the way he shades into and away from pressure in control. His shot comes off his blade quickly, hard and naturally, rocking it back into his stance and letting it go (it really rattles off his stick). His offensive arsenal is multifaceted, and he has some underrated craftiness and evasiveness to his game to complement the tools of strength, effectiveness and shooting that are more evident. He releases quickly and goes and gets pucks/wins races. He's good on the cycle. He could use another step (I always thought he might have a chance to be like Brock Boeser if things break well, but he could end up as more of a bottom-sixer if they don't) but I don't think his skating is an impediment from him having a good career as at least a complementary third-liner. It has also noticeably improved over the last couple of years (it looks lighter through his crossovers and his pickups), and he finds ways to get to pucks and/or get open around the home-plate area inside the offensive zone, where his skill and shot take over. Add in a commitment to the puck retrievals and battles and a strong base knowledge of when to make the simple play and when to attack, and you've got a pretty safely projectable winger at an early age. And don't confuse completeness for lack of talent, as I think that can often be misconstrued, and that's not the case here. He's not going to be a dynamic, high-skill guy, but he can attack when opportunities present themselves. You can't fault his effort level. He's strong. He can score. Again, there's a lot to like. Ohgren put together one of the most productive age-adjusted seasons in the history of Sweden's top junior level and two strong performances internationally for Sweden (first at last year's Hlinka Gretzky Cup, and then at the U18 worlds, where he was also the team's captain) in his draft year. And he was in the middle of following that up with a strong post-draft season in the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan while riding a three-game point streak and playing his best hockey of the season when he got injured late in January 2023, only to return and pick up where he left off in the home stretch and into the playoffs. Two years ago, after developing a nagging injury in offseason training, Ohgren then didn't play with his new club in the SHL until late November and had to be eased into the new level, but finished with a very respectable 19 points in 26 games before coming over to make his AHL and NHL debuts. He was also a little snakebitten for a third straight World Juniors, going goalless on 26 shots (second on Team Sweden) despite some really good looks. He was nearly at a point per game last season in the AHL as a 20-year-old and 21-year-old, too. Ultimately, I expect Ohgren to have a long career as a solid NHL player and secondary scorer. Scouts have long been fascinated by Lamoureux's towering 6-foot-7 frame and smooth skating. When you watch him in isolation in a practice setting, it's easy to see why. He has a short, compact stride for how big he is, he moves really well, his shot explodes off his stick from the point, he's naturally athletic and coordinated and he has a good first touch. His processing, reads and decision-making have all come a long way to cut down on mistakes and penalties (though he still takes his fair share) and improve his game management with the puck (as well as his choices on when to use his physicality, which has resulted in some discipline at times) as well. His play with the puck has also developed more poise and assuredness. He has also added some muscle to his athletic frame so that he can really impose himself defensively. He plays at a quicker pace now, making his decisions quickly. Last season was a promising one as well. He made an immediate two-way impact and looked like a stud in the AHL, and he got off to a strong start to his NHL career and I thought showed that he belonged, which is pretty rare for a D his age (he turned 21 midseason) and size — though he did hit a bit of a wall in the second half. As he continues to tweak and figure things out, there's real promise that he could become a pretty unique No. 4-5 defenseman (if Simashev hits, Utah's blue line of the future will have a distinguished look with all of that length/mobility). He was an absolute force against his peers in the QMJHL (I thought he really rose to the challenge on a disappointing Team Canada when he was asked to play a first-pairing role in Tristan Luneau's absence, too) before a shoulder injury ended his season two years ago, dominating play all over the ice. There are still areas where his game can continue to grow, and he has dealt with some injuries that have cost him valuable development time, so for him to already look as strong as he has as a pro and to have made the progress that he has when he has been healthy is quite impressive. He has some upside, and I could see him wearing a letter for Utah someday. The top pick in the 2021 OHL Priority Selection, Musty was one of the focal points of the Wolves' offense in his draft year and would have been their leader in shots on goal, assists and points were it not for a few weeks lost to a hand injury. In his post-draft season two years ago, though he dealt with a couple more minor injuries, he led the OHL in points per game (1.92) and paced for 130 points, which would have cleared league scoring champ and linemate David Goyette by 13 points. Last season, after impressing the Sharks at development camp and the preseason rookie tournament, Musty sat out the start of the season while he looked for a trade (which, it should be noted, the Sharks supported) and eventually returned and then broke his hand in November, sidelining him for another couple of months. He returned in January with a five-point game and finished the year with 31 goals and 63 points in just 36 combined regular-season and playoff games. He struggled to make an impact in his introduction to the AHL, though, and there are some who view him as a top-six or bust NHLer who may not have what it takes to crack that high in the Sharks lineup. He's a big (6-foot-2, 200-or-so pounds), strong, sturdy, athletic winger with slick puckhandling skill one-on-one and a balanced stride. He can unload from his hip into a heavy snapshot or drop and attack the net into a tuck play in tight. He's also really comfortable passing from the perimeter and hitting seams in coverage, which gives his game added dimension inside the O-zone. He's great along the wall on the cycle, but he can also occasionally make a play that pulls you out of your seat. The raw potential is there in spades, and the production and statistical profile are that of a legit NHL prospect. He has time to continue to find new levels and develop his game thanks to his summer birthday as well (he's still got some rounding out to do, though I think that has been overstated by some). There has been talk over the years about his body language and attitude as well, but I've heard mixed reviews on that front, and some think he's misunderstood. There was a time when folks thought Musty was the best American-born 2005 prospect, and while that's no longer the case, there's still real talent there. Some questioned his will/competitiveness earlier in his career, but I think those concerns have also been overstated (he can be a little inconsistent, but I've seen him have plenty of standout games where he's in the thick of everything as well). I think he has a real chance to become a skilled middle-six winger in the NHL. This season will be an important test for him as he turns pro. A toolsy, rangy forward (Rehkopf has played a lot at both center and wing, but was primarily a center in the OHL over the last couple of years) with good straight-line speed and an NHL shot and skill, Rehkopf can impress with his one-on-one ability for his size, his puck control and his ability to make plays in direct attacking sequences. He impressed scouts in a depth role with Canada at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and was cast as a bit of a potential two-way-checker type at the next level in some early conversations I had with scouts. But that's not how he is known around the OHL. He was perceived to be a one-dimensional offensive player in his minor hockey days (including by Kitchener when it picked him) and that has become more how he's viewed nowadays (which was evident in the way Team Canada staff spoke about him as basically only a scorer ahead of and during his two World Juniors, both of which I felt he should have been used more in). I wrote ahead of the draft that while he scored 30 goals in his draft year (which is not easy to do in your draft year), 'I think he might just be scratching the surface (and) the team that drafts him in the second round should look to mold him into an attacking winger with a dangerous and accurate shot, rather than a checker.' Post-draft, he then scored 58 goals and 106 points in 70 combined regular-season and playoff games, leading the OHL in power-play goals. Last season, he followed that up with 49 goals and 94 points in 63 combined regular-season and playoff games. He is so dangerous as a shooter straight-up with goalies. He has this little feint he does pre-release before he lets it go. It looks like as he settles into that feint, he's comfortable getting rid of it at any time, too. There are times when he will force it, and his decision-making isn't always buttoned up, but he has also shown some creativity. He has great, quick-twitch hands and footwork into his shooting patterns. And while his play off the puck isn't his calling card, I think it's better than it gets credit for, and the pendulum of perception about him may have actually swung too far back. I've seen him finish all of his checks in a game (including delivering some hard ones), win back pucks, stay above pucks defensively, go to the front of the net on screens instead of just looking for his shot out wide, etc. He's a very capable forechecker. He does need to tighten up with the pucks at times (he can be a little too careless), but he creates a ton of looks for himself and his skating, skill and especially shooting are projectable. He also takes good routes, finds ways to get loose without necessarily cheating for it and has clear power-play value. He has some natural tools, and now it's just about building use-cases for them so that he can apply and get the most out of them at the NHL level someday. I'd bet he's more of a top-nine-scoring winger at the pro level than a center, though. One of the hottest players in the CHL after a trade from Peterborough to Hamilton saw him score 30 goals and 56 points in just 39 games to close his draft year, Lardis has been one of the OHL's most prolific goal scorers ever since and became the first OHL player since John Tavares to score 70 goals last season. Lardis is a standout skater and natural athlete (which is evident on the ice with his natural speed but also showed up when he led on-ice testing at the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in his draft year). He's fast in straight lines and smooth weaving up ice through his carries. But he's also got a dangerous curl-and-drag wrister, a one-timer that he trusts and regularly scores on (his one-timer from the flank and even closer to the goal line is a feared weapon in junior), good touch on the puck and on the power play, an innate ability to be opportunistic around the net and, because of his speed, a knack for winning races and getting to loose pucks. He's on the smaller side for a winger (though he's a very playable and fit 5-foot-11 who has worked hard to fill out his lean frame), and he's not as engaged physically in battles as you'd hope a player with his speed would be, but his summer birthday gives him the benefit of a little more time to continue to add more strength to his natural athleticism. With the Bulldogs over the last couple of years, his speed and skill took over games offensively. He's making more and more soft area plays into space as a passer while remaining net-focused on offense. His hands are moving in unison with his feet, edging and shading pucks with ease against junior-level players. He flashes slick one-on-one handling. He's an excellent saucer passer, which makes him an even better flank guy on the power play because he can go back against the grain with a pass when the one-timer isn't there. I'd be eager to work with him to build around the quickness and top-flight speed to try to make him into a middle-six scoring winger. Not all of the Blackhawks' abundance of 5-foot-9/10/11, speedy forwards are going to be able to play on the same team, so that may work against him at some point when guys like Nazar and Moore are a higher priority, but he looks like more like a late-first/high second-rounder than a third-rounder these days. Despite his gaudy production, he has also dealt with some nagging injuries over the last couple of years. Chernyshov is a November 2005 who has progressed in line with his older age. He established himself as a point-per-game MHL player and scored his first KHL goal (at 16 years and 352 days, he was actually the 11th-youngest player to ever play in a KHL game) three seasons ago and bounced between the MHL and KHL in his draft year, showing mostly well in limited usage with Dynamo Moscow's pro team and registering 28 points in 22 games when he played with his peers. At the junior level, I felt he created more looks than his production suggested in the first half of the season. Then, in the second half, the points really started to fall and his production elevated back to where it belonged to reaffirm his first-round merits for me (he finished No. 23 on my board and the Sharks then selected him with the first pick of the second round at No. 33 after he was unable to showcase himself at Gold Star's pre-draft camp due to, of all reasons, a severe sunburn he got in Florida). After undergoing shoulder surgery in August, he then missed the first half of his post-draft season but before returning and lighting it up with the Spirit in the OHL and registering 21 goals and 61 points in 28 combined regular-season and playoff games (he also had two points in three AHL games at the end of the year), looking more like a top-20 talent than a top-40 one. Chernyshov is a big, strong (6-foot-3, about 200 pounds) winger and modern power-forward type where driving is a part of his identity but not to a bullish fault as his only focus and his skill/finesse might take on greater emphasis. He plays a straight-line game and has the individual skill and a quick release to go at defenders and make plays off the rush or finish from the slot with a quick, one-touch shot in zone. He's a smooth enough skater and his stride has some real power, which complements his impressive rush package without needing a dynamic burst. Add in a relatively committed game off the puck (there's still some room for growth there, but he competes fine), and there's a lot to like about his mold. He can attack defenders in a variety of ways, threaten on the puck or get open off it, and he works hard enough. With his tools, size and scoring skill, he profiles like a pro; a future top-nine NHL winger and secondary threat on a line who can finish, makes plays and has size. He's not a star prospect, but he looks like a top one. He's still got some learning to do, but the talent and tools are there. Casey, the 27th-ranked prospect on my 2022 draft board when he went 46th, had a bit of an up-and-down draft season, with a strong start and finish briefly overcast by some struggles in the middle, which prompted some scouts to question his top-two-round merits and his decision-making. I really liked the Devils taking a swing on him in the second round, though, and he sure looked like a top-two-round guy as a freshman and sophomore at Michigan, where he shined as a real catalyst from the back end with the puck and in distribution, finishing third amongst all NCAA D in scoring last year behind only Zeev Buium and Lane Hutson with 45 points in 40 games. He got off to a great start to his pro career as well, impressing me in Buffalo at the Devils' rookie tournament and building on that to win an NHL job, quickly score his first few NHL goals, and then immediately become a top offensive defensemen in the AHL before a December upper-body injury sidelined him and slowed down his momentum. I really like a lot of his tools in isolation. When he's on, there's an unmistakable flow to his game where the puck just moves through him to its next destination within the pace of play, whether that's a heady outlet out of a D-to-D pass or a quick carry into a cross-ice pass to allow his teammates to get open for him. Inside the offensive zone, he can make things happen with his blend of mobility and handling (he walks the line effortlessly, but he also handles the puck like a forward one-on-one). He stops and cuts back on a dime to easily lose tracking forwards. He skates so well (though better on his edges than in a straight race). He's just smooth with the puck, with an ability to hold and hold and hold when necessary (inside the defensive zone, he thrives escaping past pressure). He looks effortless out there at times, weaving in and out of coverage and mixing in delays and fakes with the puck to create space for himself or take it from others. He's a fabulous puck transporter through neutral ice and a tactile player inside the offensive zone, where his footwork shines through. He's undersized, but his feet and stick help compensate, and I think he'll get to a point where he makes his fair share of stops in the NHL. He does a good job gaining inside positioning in nose-to-nose battles for pucks defensively, and while he'll lose some physical engagements, he has shown he'll engage willingly (he's never going to be the strongest player out there, though he is a good athlete). He can also comfortably play his off-side (the left side), providing added versatility. He has top-six, PP potential with the right coach/belief/opportunity. The crowd of young D within the Devils organization works against him, but that shouldn't impact his slotting/evaluation here. Cagnoni had one of the most productive post-draft seasons by a WHL defenseman in decades two seasons ago, putting up comparable or better numbers to names like Olen Zellweger, Josh Morrissey, Kevin Korchinski and Shea Theodore, the last three of which were first-rounders and the first of which was drafted with the second pick of the second round. In fact, he had the most productive U20 season by a WHL defenseman since 1995, almost 30 years prior, registering 90 points in 65 games. He then built on that with an excellent NHL camp with the Sharks and led all U21 AHL D in scoring with 55 points in 70 combined regular-season and playoff games while playing 20 minutes per game for the Barracuda. Cagnoni's challenge, like Zellweger's before him, is that he's small (the Barracuda list him at 5-foot-9). Importantly, though, he's a superb skater. His feet noticeably kick back through his forward skating stride, but he's a plus-level skater for me in every other way, and his mobility is a major strength on the whole. He also wins on his smarts more than his skill, though I think because his hockey IQ is so high, and that's the first thing people talk about, his skill level doesn't get enough love (it's legit for me). He walks the line really well, defends with his feet and can lace shots through or attack into space to use his quick release. He played a huge role on a top junior team for an established coach who has developed a lot of defensemen, has legitimate playmaking ability, and distinguishes himself on the back of his smarts (he understands spacing and plays within the flow of play and often one step ahead of it), rounded skill and footwork. He also plays at a playable weight (180 or so pounds) and has made important progress defending in man-to-man engagements. He's going to have to keep proving people wrong to reach his upside as a No. 4/5 PP2 offensive defenseman with skating, IQ and offensive elements, but I'm a real believer. He was a second-rounder and not a fourth-rounder for me, and I think he has a real chance to run one of the Sharks' power plays of the future (which is something their current blue line lacks) and challenge Sam Dickinson for those minutes. It's not easy to score 30 goals in the USHL in your draft year (let alone 35-plus) or to lead an NCAA program in scoring as an 18-year-old freshman. It's even harder to do as a center who is counted upon and keyed in on. But as one rival USHL coach put it to me last year: 'Sacha Boisvert is a really good player.' Boisvert, a top prospect in Quebec growing up who was a first-round pick in the QMJHL even after he'd gone to the U.S. for the final two years of his minor hockey, was named to the USHL's All-Rookie Second Team two years ago after he finished third on the Lumberjacks in scoring as a 16-year-old. As a 17-year-old, he was named an alternate captain for Muskegon and played big minutes, often playing 20-24 in the second half of the season before finishing fifth in the league in goals (36) and 11th in points (68 in 61). He has continued to build on that in a strong freshman season for the Fighting Hawks this year as well, with clear areas that he can still work on and elevate. Boisvert has the desired height and position on his side, room to fill out his once-wiry frame (which he already added a bunch of muscle to the last two summers; he still looks lean with further growth to come) and NHL skill and competitiveness. Intangibles come up a lot when you speak to people about him (he even dropped the gloves a few times last year, including in the playoffs). The skill includes a quick and accurate NHL-level release, good instincts on and off the puck, above-average feet (he's a decent skater, even if a little upright in his stance), a developing power game and great feel with the puck on his stick both at speed and in slowing the game down (though a high grip and long stick can occasionally limit him with the puck so far out in front of his body). Add in his impressive work ethic and a two-way commitment, and there's a lot to like. He has to put some more weight on (he's listed at 6-foot-2 and about 180 pounds now) and improve in the faceoff circle (which will come with more strength) but there's a projectable game there with the right development/refinement and I'm confident the staff at North Dakota will do a good job with him over the next couple of years. With continued development, he projects as an impactful third-line center who could play up your lineup if needed. There's a lot to like about Poitras. Coming up, he was viewed as an above-average playmaker, athlete and overall player whose game was projectable. He then made the NHL at an early age on that basis. But some growing pains have set in, and he's still trying to find his identity/a clearly defined role (which I think he struggled with even at the 2024 World Juniors, trying to do too much there after he'd made the NHL club). I did think his time in the AHL last season was positive. In junior, Poitras played a tenacious skill game that put him on the puck and endeared him to his coaches and scouts. He's a crafty playmaker who can play with the puck on his stick, has patience in control (sometimes too much so, which results in overhanding it or not playing quickly enough) and sees the ice well. He does a good job supporting play and then pushing tempo back in the other direction. His tools get mostly Bs across the board, though, and that has made some wonder if he will be just a player. Everyone likes the hardworking, detail-oriented, decently skilled types who can work to get pucks and then make plays. But when that isn't his identity all the time and he doesn't have size or dynamic skating to fall back on, questions crop up about his ultimate upside and role in a lineup. I would like to see him get to the middle of the ice and shoot it a little more, because he has a nifty release, too. There's still reason to believe he becomes a middle-six/PP2 forward who can produce 40-50 points. He doesn't have dynamic quality, but he's a heady, intelligent player who still projects as a good, longtime NHLer. He has never inspired me, though. After an up-and-down couple of seasons for Lambert who — across five teams, four levels, three World Juniors, the pandemic, injuries and illnesses — showed some really nice flashes of the skill and skating that made him one of the biggest names in his age group growing up but also played extended stretches where he looked like he didn't know who he was or how to impact a game, things started to click for him two seasons ago. He was pretty consistent (not a term often used about him) for a player his age in the AHL, all told. Last season, though his numbers look on the surface like they took a step back, the Moose really struggled to generate offense and he still nearly led them in scoring with just 35 points in 61 games. Lambert's gifts are undeniable. He's a beautiful skater. His hands flow in sync with his feet. When he's feeling good, he's fearless with the puck, makes a ton of plays in control and looks to dictate in possession. He has excellent control of his outside edges, which allows him to carve up coverage on cutbacks and carries. He's slippery because of his ability to spin away from his man and make a play. He's a good passer off his backhand. He's capable of playing pucks into space, getting to the interior, splitting lanes and cutting off the wall aggressively, and has a low base to his stride that allows him to extend plays (though he does have a bit of a hunch to his posture, which can put him off balance). He's capable of playing the point and half-wall on the power play because of his puck skill, dangerous wrister off the flank and playmaking instincts. But there's a difference between ability and know-how or execution. Some scouts have worried about Lambert's game without the puck in terms of both his intensity off it and his ability to make things happen offensively when he's not getting a ton of touches (I actually think playing him at center full-time both in the WHL and then with the Moose, instead of bouncing him between the wing and the middle, helped to keep him more involved). Others have worried about how often he has skated the puck into trouble and made his decisions too late at times during his career. I've wondered at times whether he goes to the net enough to score up levels. With the puck, though, Lambert's a multifaceted threat who blends impressive puck skill with standout all-around skating mechanics and an attack mentality that can complement a dangerous curl-and-drag shot (which also complements the short stick he uses). There has been a boom-or-bust prognostication for him because of some of the inconsistencies and the requirement that he's going to have to play in a top-six role in the NHL. But I still believe in his ability with the right coach, and he has slowly begun to build more of an identity to his game. It can feel like he'll follow a shift where he has the puck four or five times with one where he's not processing things quickly enough or making bad decisions, but those brain cramps and bad habits have also begun to show up less. He's a fascinating ongoing case study, and there's still debate as to whether he's a center or a winger (Manitoba moved him around again last year). Wood was the youngest player in college hockey in his draft year (he was, for a moment, its only 17-year-old) and stepped right in to become an impactful offensive player and eventually the leading scorer on a good UConn team (albeit as a winger after playing mostly center at the Jr. A level, though he's comfortable at all three forward positions). Two seasons ago, his counting stats as a sophomore took a bit of a hit, moving from 34 points in 35 games to 28 points in 35 games, but most of that was the byproduct of a much weaker UConn team (a team he still led in scoring by five goals and six points) — although it did highlight concerns some have about his ability to be a driver/his need to play with other good players who can get him pucks. Last season, after a transfer to Minnesota, he played to a point per game as the Golden Gophers' second-leading scorer and was cut as a returnee to Team Canada ahead of the World Juniors before signing and registering one point in six NHL games. His statistical profile remains projectable, but there are parts of his game that feel less projectable in terms of what he'll be in the NHL. That point-per-game production as a freshman came a year after he led the BCHL in goals (45 in 46 games) and points (85) for a 1.85 points-per-game clip that stands as the most productive 16-year-old season in the league in decades. He also found ways to get his looks in a limited role at the World Juniors in Gothenburg, even if they didn't bring him back because they weren't sure where he fit in the lineup and they had questions about his skating/pace (ultimately, they probably could have used his scoring/skill). Wood is a rangy, multi-dimensional shooter and goal-scoring forward who has silky hands for 6-foot-4 (considering the long stick he uses, he has superb control on the toe of his blade out wide and the heel in tight to his feet), a marksman's shot inside the offensive zone (both through a natural shooting motion and his one-timer) and a sixth sense for arriving around the net/slot at the right time. He protects the puck really well out wide to his body, does a good job holding onto pucks for that extra second required to walk into his spots without needing bursts of speed to get there and can also slip and navigate pucks through traffic against reaching sticks. I've seen him support play well defensively off the puck, though that area is not a strength of his game. He has quick hands one-on-one, he drops pucks back into his shooting stance effortlessly and he has a beautiful curl-and-drag motion. He has also worked to up his work rate. But his skating is a limiter, and he's slow out of the blocks/hasn't made enough progress there over the last couple of years in improving it. When he keeps his feet moving in puck protection, he draws a ton of penalties, but he doesn't have NHL pace/jump, and he's not ultra-competitive or a driver. He's better suited as a playmaker and finisher than a power-forward type (he'll never be that), but he has become more competitive over time (a little more than he gets credit for). I like the way he slows down the game, adjusts and maneuvers his frame and shades pucks, and I believe he has middle-six and PP2 upside as a winger, even without the speed. There's some risk he doesn't become that, though, and doesn't find a natural NHL role for his game/profile. He needs to find a way to get quicker in order to maximize the rest of his talents, too. This year will be an important test for him at the pro level. Lindstein is an unspectacular but solid two-way defenseman whose well-rounded and mature game helped him get into 49 SHL games before he was drafted and became a 16-to-20-minute defender at the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan level two seasons ago. After playing well in a second-pairing role in Brynäs' promotion back into the SHL, Lindstein played to good results in a full-time role there as a 19/20-year-old in the SHL last season. He was also an alternate captain and a big part of Sweden's top four at U18 worlds; made a huge impression at the World Juniors in Gothenburg, showing some real offense and getting named to the tournament all-star team (he was on my ballot, too) after he was originally not even named to Team Sweden before a pair of injuries opened up a spot; and wore a letter and played on their shutdown pair as a returnee at last year's tournament in Ottawa. Next season, he'll play in the AHL with Springfield. His game isn't flashy, but he plays very sure of himself, makes his decisions quickly, executes and defends at a high level. He's also a very good skater. There's just a two-way reliability and detail to his game. He manages play and uses strong positioning, mobility, a good stick and a heady approach to have an impact in all three zones. There's also some secondary offense to his game, and he has shown some creativity and vision against his peers (he has played the power play for the Swedes but didn't for Brynäs) and good comfort at play-on-play at the pro level, moving pucks and helping out in transition. Lindstein contributes at both ends without sacrificing one for the other. I would like to see him be a little more physical/firmer in battles and engagements, but he defends mostly with his stick and skating. It feels like he has a fairly high floor/likelihood of becoming a solid D partner to someone in the NHL for a long time. Lindstrom isn't the only tough-to-slot Blue Jackets prospect. Dumais has also been kept off the ice for the better part of two years, dealing with a combination of hernia/abdominal/hip (both hips) issues. After registering four points in his first four AHL games once he returned at the end of January, he hit a bit of a wall offensively in the AHL as well. Dumais was also a super tricky — and polarizing — prospect to project and evaluate even before the injury troubles clouded his projection. I've been a vocal defender of him as a player, though, and his statistical profile is certainly one that almost never misses. He was the QMJHL MVP and the most productive player in major junior hockey not named Connor Bedard over the course of his last three seasons in Halifax. In his post-draft season, he also impressed at the Traverse City Prospects Tournament against bigger, older players. He rattled off 54 goals and 140 points in 64 games two years ago. Before tweaking his hip in Team Canada's selection camp and playing through it at the World Juniors, he had again stood out in Traverse City (as well as main camp) and had racked up 47 points in 21 games to start the year (a pace which, had he stayed healthy, would have eclipsed his already-unheard-of numbers from a year prior). Dumais is a fascinating case study as a 5-foot-8/9 winger whose skating has been a cause for some concern. His extensions through his stride need some cleaning up (they can look stunted and drag at the toe caps), but he's a harder-working player than he has ever gotten credit for (he doesn't waste energy when he doesn't need to, but when there's a puck to track and a stick to lift he'll work for it and excelled in the takeaway category in Halifax), with a wide-ranging offensive game that allows him to create offense in a variety of ways at his own pace. He'll beat you with a quick give-and-go on one shift, a standstill pass or shot on the next, a dance to the high slot on the next and quick hands and quiet determination around the net on the next. He'll track back and make hustle plays when he needs to. His shot is pinpoint accurate and gets off his blade effortlessly in catch-and-release sequences. He's surprisingly good along the wall for a small winger. Though he's not physical, he'll involve himself when he needs to. He has A-level vision, hands and anticipation. He's crafty as anything. He plays quickly when there's a quick play to be made and has a knack for identifying his next pass before he even gets the puck. He finds ways to play pucks into space for himself and escape traffic/congestion under the triangles of defenders with his small-area touch and craft. He always seems to be open in little pockets. He can thread the needle and is a silky saucer passer. He routinely elevates his linemates and does things himself (as evidenced by the uptick in their production and the gap that he still maintains well above and beyond his peers). If he can get his body sorted, I still think he's going to produce at a high clip in the AHL and that he's going to figure out how he needs to play at NHL pace, because he's too good and too intelligent on the ice not to (even if he's never a plus-skater or plus-value player defensively). He has some doubters who don't think the skating/body will get there, though, and is also a unique cat (quiet, a little cold, etc.), so there's some risk he just becomes a AAAA type. Time will tell, but he'd be one of the most productive players not to make an impact in the NHL if he can't elevate his game, and every player in this range has some projectability or upside questions. One of the more impressive 2005s in the OHL for a couple of seasons, Barlow scored 35 goals in 66 combined regular-season and playoff games as a rookie in the OHL, was named captain of the Attack for his draft year, scored 49 goals in 63 combined games that season (rare goal scoring for a player his age, and a rare honor for a player his age) and then played to a 51-goal, 68-game pace in the OHL two seasons ago after starting slow and missing time with a back injury (after a disappointing under-18 worlds while also dealing with a nagging injury). He also looked good from what I saw of him in his first three AHL games with the Moose in spring 2024. He got off to a very slow start for a 19-year-old first-rounder last year after a trade from Owen Sound to the contending Generals, taking him out of the running for the World Junior team, but his play picked up after a coaching change and he had a really strong playoffs, registering 33 points in 21 games for the Gens on a line that looked dominant when I went to see them play. Barlow plays a direct, intentional game built around good hands, a physically mature pro frame and an NHL shot (he can cleanly beat goalies from midrange). He's also an able penalty killer, which could give him all-situations upside at the next level. Whether he becomes a middle-six secondary scorer at the NHL level will be determined by his skating because, outside of his lack of pace, he has a high floor and tools. It's also fair to ask if his advanced growth gives him less runway for improvement (he really does look like a man already). He does, at times, look powerful in straight lines once he builds speed (he moves just fine through his crossovers and can build momentum that way), but he's slow out of the blocks from a standstill. I would like to see him tunnel-vision a little less and open up his plane of sight a little more as well. Even though he can score on them, he takes low-percentage shots a little too much for my liking off the rush (maybe because he feels he can't take the D one-on-one, so he shoots through them instead?). The pro build, mentality, competitiveness and scoring are appealing, though, and he brings it shift to shift. After posting 59 goals and 121 points in 85 combined regular-season and playoff games in his post-draft season, Othmann's production dipped in his final junior season (39 goals and 97 points in 84 games), in particular after a move from his Firebirds to the contending Petes (though he did still lead them in playoff and Memorial Cup scoring in the end). In between, he also looked the part of a top prospect at the World Juniors in both Edmonton and Halifax, especially in the games that mattered (he's a gamer). Two seasons ago, as a rookie at the pro level, he made his NHL debut and finished second on the Wolf Pack in goals (22) and tied for first in points (54) in 77 combined regular-season and playoff games at the AHL level. He was also a consistent shot-generator and offensive contributor while continuing to play his thorny, pest style against men. Last season, after getting off to a strong start in his second year of pro, Othmann suffered an upper-body injury that kept him out for a couple of months and and then it took him some time to get back up to speed, but he still registered 20 points in 27 AHL games on the year. He looked like just a guy in my NHL viewings, but he's knocking on the door for a full-time role now. Othmann has a dangerous, masked release that he can get off his blade at multiple points while still maintaining pinpoint accuracy. He has a good first touch into quick hands. He has that sixth sense as a scorer to find holes in coverage and in goalies to finish plays at a higher rate than most. He has a heady spatial awareness inside the offensive zone and a good feel for where his teammates are on the ice, regularly executing blind and clever passes. He plays a determined off-puck game and engages in battles. He's a physical presence when he's on the ice, a constant threat to lay a big hit. He's scrappy and mouthy between whistles (there's a bit of a chip on his shoulder on and off the ice). He has great hands around the net and on tips. He plays a direct, attacking game with the puck, and he has worked hard to get stronger and a step quicker so that he can make the most out of his natural gifts on the ice. He has gotten better and better at reading the play and breaking up passes defensively, and at moving his feet off the puck, not just to chase hits but to get up and under sticks and stay on pucks. His pace has been a bit of a question over the years, but when he plays with enough tempo, his game has an identity. I still think he has the ability to become a third-line, PP2, secondary-scoring winger with some snarl who could play up in a pinch. After missing the first couple months of his year three season ago rehabbing a hip injury that had become debilitating for him, L'Heureux was a force for the Mooseheads after returning and has progressed nicely while fearlessly playing to his identity up levels ever since. The timing of the injury was a shame, because I thought he was one of the best players at Hockey Canada's summer showcase for the World Juniors in Calgary and I think he would have had a real chance of making the Halifax team that won gold had he been healthy (even with some of the issues with on-ice discipline that have followed him, he would have made a lot of sense as a bottom-six guy). Two years ago, as a rookie at the AHL level, I liked the way his game translated. He didn't lose any of his identity as a pest/drink-stirrer and was productive and impactful while being one of the league's penalty minutes leaders (which comes with some drawbacks, but coaches have learned to live with it because he also pulls his team into the fight). I'd like to see him spend less time in the box than he does, but it's positive that he didn't change his style once he started playing against bigger, stronger competition. That continued last year mostly at the NHL level as a second-year pro as well. He's going to be someone that opposing teams are aware of and hate playing against for a long time, and it'll just be about striking the right balance within himself. When L'Heureux plays within himself, he's a powerful, talented, heavyset winger who is a lot to handle and difficult to knock off the puck. His stride can look a little choppy, but he's strong through his pushes to attack defenders, and then he has the dexterity to play through sticks and feet as well as the shot to score (when he leans into his snap shot, it really whips off his stick quickly). When he's ramped up and engaged, he's a pesky, physical, hard-on pucks winger who can barrel at, or through, opponents to the middle third of the ice, win back possession on lifts and battles and impose himself on the game. And while he can be his own worst enemy at times, he's always going to have to walk a fine line. I view him as a hard-to-play-against third-line contributor who gives a line some skill (he's quite talented) and sandpaper and could move up the lineup to play off skilled linemates in a pinch as well. He also doesn't have to play in a top-nine role to impact a game and could be an in-your-face fourth-liner (which not a lot of first-rounders have to fall back on). With the right coaching, he has what it takes to be a valuable player for the Predators. The New Jersey Devils' No. 10 pick Anton Silayev drew the majority of the attention with Torpedo two seasons ago, but scouts were also impressed by what they saw of Artamonov, albeit mostly on tape, and the Hurricanes jumped on him at No. 50 (he was No. 40 on my list). He had a strong draft-age season for a forward in the KHL and clicked against his peers in the MHL playoffs once the pro team was eliminated. He then built on that with an excellent post-draft season as Torpedo's leading scorer in the regular season with 39 points in 63 games as a teenager who played just 13 minutes per game to good results. Artamonov is a skilled and spatially aware left-shot right winger who plays the game to get open and apply pressure with the puck with his quick hands and good feel for the game. He knows who he is and how to best fit into a line, he plays within himself, and he allows the game — and the play — to come to him. He's a good skater who plays the game with decent pace, though I'd say he's more above-average than high-end. He has above-average tools in most of the areas that matter as well. And I thought last year he had more of a finishing/goal-scoring element to his game than his statistical profile in the KHL indicated, which has revealed itself more this year Early this season, he looked more like a first-round type than a second-round type. He's a solid B or B-plus prospect, even if there isn't a star quality to his game, and he's a sub-6-foot winger (he's listed at a very playable 5-foot-11 and 192 pounds). I'm a fan. He's a good, skilled, smart, diligent young player, even if it's not always flashy. Spence is a competitive, fast, detailed, hardworking player who can get out in transition or attack off the wall. He plays the game with intention, sticks with plays and has decent-though-not-dynamic skill. He plays with pace on and off the puck, keeps his feet moving and gets up and under sticks to win back possession. He has worn an 'A' and been a real play-driver for the Otters the last two years as a late 2006 birthday. He again wore an 'A' for Canada and stirred the drink with his pace, effort level, skating and shot at the 2024 U18 worlds. He was invited to the World Junior Summer Showcase in back-to-back summers as well. Though he's a winger, he has played a few games at center over the last two and a half years, and has some real versatility to his game in multiple areas. There are upside questions about his skill level and playmaking (is he just going to be a really good third-liner?), but he's a very likable style of player. He's competitive. He can be a bit of a pest, but also plays an honest, straight-line game. He has a quick catch-and-release motion. He's consistent. And he was owed more on the stat sheet last season than his numbers indicated (he had plenty of looks in my viewings and lost 10 pounds in season because of a split tongue and infection that made it hard for him to eat and swallow for a spell). Despite his early second-round selection, I viewed him as a late-first pick because of his projectability even though the offense hasn't really popped (he did still have a very respectable 82 points in 74 combined regular-season and playoff games on a team that didn't have a ton of talent around him, especially after Matthew Schaefer's injury). I hate the cliche, but he embodies "plays the game the right way,' and he can really drive down ice with his skating and straight-line speed. He's going to be a good 200-foot forward at the next level for a long time. I expect him to take a step at Michigan next season. Firkus had a phenomenal final season in the WHL two seasons ago, winning CHL Player of the Year and the WHL title with Moose Jaw. He registered an incredible 77 goals and 162 points in 87 games split between the regular season, playoffs and Memorial Cup, both tops in the CHL by a wide margin. Last year, he produced respectably for a 20-year-old rookie playing 14-15 minutes per game in the AHL, registering 39 points in 75 combined regular-season and playoff games (15th among U21 AHLers). I expect him to take a big step with Coachella Valley this year. Firkus is one of those little guys who just always seems to be around it and showing talent when he is. He plays the game with pace, energy and skill so that you can't help but notice him shift to shift as he dashes around the ice making plays offensively. With the puck, defenders struggle to stick with him off cuts, and when they do, he has the craftiness to beat them in other ways. Without the puck, he races in and out of pockets to get open. The result is an at-times magnetic game that pulls you (and opposing players) in and then beats them with aggression and intention. He's not an explosive skater, but he works, and he's both quick and nimble, plus he has added a bit of a straight-line burst/acceleration. His slight frame (5-foot-11, 163 pounds) made him a second-round pick instead of a first-rounder, but he has endeared himself to just about everyone with the way he plays, and it's clear watching him that he feels he can go out and create offense when he's on the ice. He's a slippery, always-threatening player who defenders — even, and maybe especially, those who are much bigger and stronger — either can't stop because he pounces on opportunities and beats them before they get a chance to, or struggle to stop even when they get a crack at it. There are times I've wanted to see him play a little quicker against better competition (not in movement but in decision-making). I know some folks believe he'll become the classic AAAA guy who lights it up in the AHL but never really becomes a full-time NHL guy, and those people were probably emboldened by his quiet showing at Team Canada's selection camp for the World Juniors and his fine but not sexy production last year, but I won't be surprised if he becomes a top-nine winger with some skill and quick-strike ability with the right patience and coach, either. Not every player in the NHL has to fit the same mold. Sometimes you need an opportunistic little water bug like Firkus. Parascak was a fourth-round pick in the WHL Bantam Draft who played at Edge School in his 16-year-old season and went scoreless in five WHL games before bursting onto the scene in his draft year, quickly climbing the lists of NHL scouts. He broke 40 goals and 100 points and finished top 10 in the WHL in goals, assists and points while also finishing tied for second in short-handed points with eight. He also had a respectable playoffs for the Cougars, producing over a point per game to finish his draft year. And while he certainly benefited from playing primarily on a line with veterans Ondrej Becher (drafted as an overager by the Red Wings) and Zac Funk (the league's goal-scoring leader who has since signed with the Capitals), he fit in perfectly with Funk's power-scoring game and Becher's playmaking. Last year, after both of those players turned pro, Parascak continued to produce as well, though not quite at the same clip, finishing with 92 points in 66 combined regular-season and playoff games (second on the Cougars in scoring to the next name on this list). Parascak's off-puck timing and spatial awareness define his game. He regularly gets into the right spots at the right time to bang home rebounds, tap in backdoor passes or get out in transition to give his D a stretch option on outlets (without really cheating for it). He anticipates play offensively and defensively at a very high level, knows how to get open and play to his linemates' strengths, has a great wrister and one-touch shot from midrange, goes to the net when the play funnels there instead of hanging out wide and has skill around the net and in tight to his body when challenged by defenders. He also uses his linemates extremely well, has shown nice touch as a passer and has easy handling ability. He's not a flashy skater but he's fast (I think he's a better, more controlled skater than I and others realized after early viewings last year — I've seen him pull away plenty) or individual play creator off the rush, but with timing and good skill, he makes things happen offensively. He always seems to be around chances and certainly knows where to be and how to get lost in coverage/use spacing to his advantage. He has had some big point-total/shot-total games the last two seasons, where he has gotten or set up looks on a shift-to-shift basis with his timing and game sense. He's lean still, but he's now listed at 6 feet and about 180 pounds, which is up half an inch and close to 10 pounds from his draft year. With continued development and the right NHL deployment someday, he has smart-and-skilled middle-six upside. No. 23 on my board when the Wild took him No. 64, Heidt has looked more like a late first or early second than a late second in the last three seasons for me. After registering 97 points in a full 68-game season on a middle-of-the-pack Cougars team in his draft year, Heidt finished third in the WHL in points (117) and second in assists (80) post-draft. His production wasn't quite as prolific last year, but he still led the Cougars in scoring with 99 points in 66 combined regular-season and playoff games. He was undeniably a top WHL player for three seasons, but some still wonder what role he could play in the NHL and whether he has what it takes to be a full-time middle-six/PP2 guy. Some of his struggles in higher-end environments with Hockey Canada have reinforced that (between U18 worlds, the World Junior Summer Showcase and World Junior Selection Camp, he has struggled to elevate, though I did think he was better at the WJSS than Canada's staff gave him credit for). Taken No. 2 in the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft with the pick between Connor Bedard and Brayden Yager (he and Yager were actually teammates in minor hockey), Heidt is a talented and hardworking playmaker who keeps himself involved in the play off the puck and then makes plays (especially as an equal parts instinctual and cerebral facilitator) in possession of the puck. He was also strong in the faceoff circle the last three seasons, establishing himself as a go-to guy in the dot in the WHL. He's not a speedster but he's a good enough skater who is comfortable on his edges, plays with jump, will build speed and put junior defenders on their heels and/or create separation, leads a lot of neutral-zone carries into entries and makes plays into space for himself or his linemates at pace, though he can over-pass at times (to the point where he passes up good looks). He quickly identifies gaps and vulnerabilities in coverage and then executes through seams. He'll finish his checks and can play a scrappy game when the intensity ramps up (which has resulted in a couple of suspensions in his time in the WHL). He's unafraid to try things and has the skill to execute difficult plays. He'll win inside body positioning to come away with a lot of pucks against his peers. He'll block shots. And he always seems to be around it. His ability to make plays offensively both off the rush and inside the zone (where he has slick skill in traffic, great instincts off the puck and a lunch-pail approach) also gives me confidence that he'll continue to progress. Some are concerned he doesn't score enough to project into a top-six role, or have the desired size to play the skilled worker game he plays in junior in a potential bottom-six role as a center, but I like him to figure out a fit as a talented and competitive secondary top-nine playmaker who can help a second power-play unit someday. I'll be watching him closely in the AHL this year. (Illustration: Demetrius Robinson / The Athletic; photos: Brian Babineau / NHLI via Getty Images, David Kirouac, Matt Blewett / Imagn Images)
New York Times
35 minutes ago
- New York Times
Who's the WNBA's biggest trash-talker? Top athlete? Players dished in our anonymous poll
The WNBA talent pool is deeper than ever. The MVP race features two multi-time winners in A'ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart, a first-time favorite in Napheesa Collier, and several other stars like Alyssa Thomas gunning for the trophy. The last two draft classes have been overflowing with star power and record-breaking performers including Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers. Advertisement So how do WNBA players feel about the best of the best in their league? And what do they think about a host of issues facing the league, including expansion, salaries, and collective bargaining negotiations? To answer those questions, The Athletic's anonymous player poll is back. Our writers spoke with more than 40 players from the start of the 2025 season. All 13 teams are represented, but none of the 30 rookies on rosters are included as the survey attempted to gather veterans' perspectives. Players were granted anonymity to speak freely. They were also permitted to skip individual questions; as a result, each question shows the total number of responses for full transparency. Players were not allowed to vote for their team or teammates. Two years ago, this question came down to Stewart vs. Wilson. Now, a different UConn alum takes Stewart's place in the league's hierarchy, as Collier and Wilson were neck-and-neck for the top spot. Wilson is the league's reigning MVP, capturing her third trophy unanimously in 2024 as she set the WNBA's all-time scoring record, and in a relative down year, Wilson is still second in the WNBA in scoring and third in rebounding. The two-time Defensive Player of the Year ceded that crown to Collier last season, however, and Collier looks poised to take another in 2025. After leading the 2024 postseason in points, rebounds, blocks and steals, Collier is the league's top scorer (23.6 points per game) in 2025 and has led the Minnesota Lynx to the WNBA's best record of 18-4 at the halfway point, as well as the best offensive and defensive ratings. Stewart was the only other player to get multiple votes, and Allisha Gray and Alyssa Thomas would be the other early front-runners for the All-WNBA first team. Napheesa Collier, with 3,234 points, ranks 5th all-time in points scored in Lynx franchise history.#MVPhee — Napheesa Collier Muse (@NapheesaMuse_) July 12, 2025 On Napheesa Collier: 'I love players who make the game look effortless, and her footwork is unreal.' 'Just how she's playing right now and how hard she is to stop.' 'She has had an incredible last couple years. She just hasn't quite gotten there. Last year she had an MVP season, but A'ja had an insane season, and I think (Collier) is continuing to grow this year.' Advertisement On A'ja Wilson: "It's to a point where we think what A'ja is doing is normal. But it's not.' 'She's having another great season at an MVP-level.' With the retirement of Diana Taurasi, the runaway winner of this category two years ago, there was an opening for the league's preeminent trash talker. Fittingly enough, a member of the Phoenix Mercury filled the void. Like Taurasi, Thomas backs up her talk with performance. She is the league leader in assists (9.5 per game) and one of three players to post a triple-double in 2025. And when Thomas gets the better of an opponent, she'll let them know. Although Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have reputations for trash-talking, neither received more than a vote from their peers. On Alyssa Thomas: 'She smiles and talks s—, that's the crazy part, it's psycho stuff, she's crazy, man.' 'Everyone knows AT talks s—-. I don't even guard her, and she talks s— to me.' 'She always has something, and she's always talking.' On Marina Mabrey: 'I just feel like she's always in WNBA scuffles or around them' — The Athletic's Chantel Jennings contributed to this report.
