If you want to be one of the best teams in the NHL in the Salary Cap Era, you have to draft and develop your own prospects so you can build for the future with young contributors on cheap entry-level contracts. When you look at some of the top teams in the league like the Carolina Hurricanes, New Jersey Devils and Toronto Maple Leafs, you see teams that have developed through the draft and that continue to build their prospect systems for the future.
Related: The NHL’s Top 100 Prospects – Preseason Ranking
Some of the top teams on this list year in and year out, like the Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens and Anaheim Ducks continue to develop and compete for the future, while other teams like the Buffalo Sabres and Minnesota Wild are competing for the playoffs while also having great prospect pools. Having a deep farm system can go a long way toward a team’s long-term success. Without further ado, here are the offseason farm system rankings heading into the 2024-25 season.
Much like the top 100 prospects article, this ranking is going to be based on the quality and potential of each team’s prospect pool. Players are listed in no particular order. I will be using Corey Pronman’s definition of “prospect” for this, so if you’re confused about why players like Simon Nemec or Olen Zellweger aren’t on the list, this is why. “A skater no longer qualifies as an NHL prospect if he has played 25 games in the NHL in any campaign, regular season and playoffs combined, or 50 games total; or reaches age 25 by Sept. 15. A goalie no longer qualifies as an NHL prospect if he has played 10 games in the NHL in any campaign, regular season and playoffs combined, or 25 games total; or reaches age 25 by Sept. 15.” (From: “Pronman: 2019-20 NHL Farm System Rankings”).
32. Boston Bruins
Previous Ranking: 28
Top Five Prospects: Fabian Lysell, Dean Letourneau, Mason Lohrei, John Farinacci, Reid Dyck
The Boston Bruins have made just 31 selections in the last six NHL Drafts combined (5.1 selections per year), with only five of those being in the first two rounds (three first rounders and two seconds). That lack of draft capital is bound to leave you near the bottom of a list like this, but their all-in strategy over the past few seasons has left them has really done a number on their ranking here.
Boston’s prospect pool is quite dry at the moment, with Fabian Lysell standing out as a bright spot. Lysell is an excellent skater and he has great hands so I expect he’ll provide value in the NHL, he’s just not enough to drag the Bruins out of the bottom spot here. One other prospect who I think deserves a little bit more attention is Dean Letourneau, a massive forward with excellent hands and agility for someone of his size. His initial plans were to spend all of next season in the USHL but has since decided to take a swing at the NCAA with Boston College.
31. Ottawa Senators
Previous Ranking: 32
Top Five Prospects: Carter Yakemchuk, Jorian Donovan, Zack Ostapchuk, Tyler Boucher, Xavier Bourgault
This might be lower than some would expect for the Senators to land, but come on, look at that list. Now, there’s no reason to panic, the reason their prospect pool looks so bare is simply because most of their best young players have graduated from this list and into the NHL full-time. If this were a ranking of the best young cores then the Senators would find themselves significantly higher on this list (closer to top-10 than bottom-10 for sure) on the backs of players like Jake Sanderson, Ridley Greig and Tim Stutzle.
I am a very big Carter Yakemchuk fan. I know he didn’t exactly wow NHL teams at the draft combine, but I see a defender of his size who moves through traffic like that and I see someone who could possibly be the next Brent Burns. Despite my very high opinion of him, Yakemchuk was not enough to raise the Senators very much in this league-wide ranking.
30. Tampa Bay Lightning
Previous Ranking: 30
Top Five Prospects: Conor Geekie, Ethan Gauthier, Isaac Howard, Dylan Duke, Niko Huuhtanen
The Tampa Bay Lightning narrowly avoided hitting the bottom spot here for a fourth consecutive time, and that is mostly thanks to them landing Conor Geekie in a trade at the 2024 Draft. Tampa has gone all in several times now and they’re clearly trying to find a new balance of young talent on cheaper deals.
Geekie is competitive and uses his size well against shorter and weaker junior competition, and his playmaking from the perimeter on the power play is likely going to translate to the NHL. The projection is tantalizing, but the reason people are hesitant about Geekie is that his skating is average at best. He will need to keep putting work into his ability to play at a fast pace but his length and skill combo should make him an effective middle-six player for Tampa Bay regardless.
Ethan Gauthier is a solid prospect, combining a high-skill game (he challenges and beats a lot of defenders one-on-one) with a very competitive and physical style. He works incredibly hard which manifests in his ability to win 50/50 puck races, gaining position in front of the opposing net, and getting under his opponents’ skin at will. I think there’s a good chance Gauthier can be a middle-six winger for the Lightning someday, but that’s not enough to vault them out of the league’s basement in terms of prospect pools.
29. Florida Panthers
Previous Ranking: 24
Top Five Prospects: Gracyn Sawchyn, Mackie Samoskevich, Michael Benning, Justin Sourdif, Linus Eriksson
The Florida Panthers certainly don’t have the deepest prospect pool, but the talent at the top-end of their pipeline was enough for them to crack the 20s. They have moved several valuable picks and prospects in recent years and it all paid off with their Stanley Cup victory last season. However, that does mean their prospect pool has seen better days.
I was a big fan of Gracyn Sawchyn in his draft season and I liked what I saw from him back in junior last season. His ability to play through contact and draw penalties is admirable and I believe it will translate to higher levels as well. Justin Sourdif is another under-the-radar type prospect who I think is worthy of more attention, especially given his early success in the AHL.
28. New York Islanders
Previous Ranking: 31
Top Five Prospects: Danny Nelson, William Dufour, Calle Odelius, Cole Eiserman, Jesse Pulkkinen
Before the 2024 Draft, the New York Islanders hadn’t made a first round selection since they took Simon Holmstrom 23rd overall in the 2019, and it shows. They broke that streak when they took Cole Eiserman 20th overall this year, giving them a prospect who has a chance to be a serious difference maker. They also have a deeper pool of guys who are likely to play for them someday.
Danny Nelson is an intriguing prospect who only recently made the switch to playing center, growing up as a defenseman. Nelson showed flashes of offensive potential last season, and has a big frame that he uses quite well. His development will likely be pretty unpredictable, though I don’t expect he’ll be much more than a good third-line center if all goes well.
27. Toronto Maple Leafs
Previous Ranking: 23
Top Five Prospects: Fraser Minten, Topi Niemela, Nikita Grebyonkin, Dennis Hildeby, Easton Cowan
The Toronto Maple Leafs are firmly within their competitive window so it would be a shock to see them land much higher on this list since they’ve traded several high picks in recent years. Matthew Knies is now a full time NHL player (to nobody’s surprise) and is no longer eligible for this list, but their ranking didn’t take much of a hit because of the positive development of guys like Fraser Minten and Easton Cowan.
While neither of these prospects had inspiring performances for Team Canada at last year’s World Juniors, a five-game sample size with new coaches, teammates, and in a new country is not as valuable as their league play in the CHL last year which was nothing but encouraging. Minten is looking like he has the potential to be a good third-line center for the Maple Leafs and Cowan has already made Toronto look really savvy for picking him up in the first round in 2023. If he keeps it up, Cowan will reach the NHL very soon.
26. Vegas Golden Knights
Previous Ranking: 25
Top Five Prospects: Trevor Connelly, Lukas Cormier, Brendan Brisson, Mathieu Cataford, Carl Lindbom
In the past I have been very critical of the Vegas Golden Knights’ tendency to trade their best prospects and picks to win-now, and I’m willing to admit when I’m wrong. I was wrong in thinking that Vegas’ “it’s just business” mentality wouldn’t work and that they should have held onto more of their futures. Obviously it all worked out for them with their first Championship in franchise history and that’s not even mentioning the fact that they’re still ranked higher than six other teams on this list.
Vegas held onto their first rounder in the 2023 Draft which they used to select David Edstrom 32nd overall. I was a big fan of Edstrom as the draft approached, and so naturally I loved the pick for Vegas . . . and then they traded him. Trevor Connelly comes with his fair share of baggage, but Vegas hasn’t been afraid to take on a little bad publicity. He’s got a ton of skill and the type of game that screams top-six winger, just don’t count on him doing that in Vegas.
25. Edmonton Oilers
Previous Ranking: 29
Top Five Prospects: Matthew Savoie, Matvei Petrov, Maxim Beryozkin, Beau Akey, Sam O’Reilly
A few months ago, the Edmonton Oilers’ prospect pool was in as rough of a spot as it ever has been during the Connor McDavid era (and probably still going back to the pre-Taylor Hall era as well). The Oilers have been doing the only sane thing a team with McDavid and Leon Draisaitl can do, going all-in by trading prospects and picks year after year. However, that leaves the cupboards pretty bare after a few years. Luckily for Edmonton, the Buffalo Sabres believed they had too many undersized, skilled forwards and traded Matt Savoie to Edmonton in exchange for useful bottom-sixer Ryan McLeod.
Savoie immediately became the Oilers’ top prospect (by a good margin), and I think he’ll prove the Sabres foolish pretty quickly. He’s a highly creative forward with a high-end skill set. The combination of speed, hands and stick handling makes him an offensive catalyst and he maintains offensive zone possession extremely well. Savoie has excellent vision to spot a lane to engage or find his teammates with a perfectly executed pass and he’s a dynamic skater as well. He got his first taste of pro hockey last Fall and was one of the best players in the WHL last year in his final year of junior play.
24. New Jersey Devils
Previous Ranking: 19
Top Five Prospects: Anton Silayev, Seamus Casey, Arseni Gritsyuk, Lenni Hameenaho, Mikhail Yegorov
Luke Hughes making the New Jersey Devils full time out of training camp last year was great news. Hughes has looked like a future star, with much of the agility and edgework of his older brothers and a much more typical NHL frame. With him moving on to the NHL, the rest of the prospect pool looks quite a bit weaker by comparison. However, I did love the Anton Silayev pick for them in the 2024 Draft, and guys like Seamus Casey and Lenni Hameenaho both look like future NHLers.
Silayev was the story of the year early on last season, going from an unknown defender in Russia’s junior system last year to an elite defensive prospect who was tearing up the KHL. He’s been a difficult player to scout because the sample size of his great play is still relatively small, but his potential is as high as any defense prospect we’ve seen in the past few years.
23. Pittsburgh Penguins
Previous Ranking: 27
Top Five Prospects: Rutger McGroarty, Samuel Poulin, Owen Pickering, Tanner Howe, Emil Pieniniemi
The Pittsburgh Penguins have been in a constant state of mortgaging the future for current success for the better part of the last decade as they tried to make the most of the primes of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin’s careers (quite successfully I might add). As a result they have only used three of their last 10 first round picks, and the prospect pool certainly reflects that willingness to move prospects and picks.
The Penguins recently traded away 2023 first rounder Brayden Yager in a 1-for-1 deal with the Winnipeg Jets for Rutger McGroarty. McGroarty is a true power forward, strong and determined enough to win pucks with great playmaking skills that allow him to make smart plays with the puck once he wins it. He’s a natural leader, shoots well, and does just about everything else you could hope for from a top prospect. McGroarty won’t lead your team in scoring, but he’ll do a whole lot of other things at a very high level.
22. Colorado Avalanche
Previous Ranking: 26
Top Five Prospects: Calum Ritchie, Mikhail Gulyayev, Oskar Olausson, Sean Behrens, Ilya Nabokov
The Colorado Avalanche had a very successful first round at the 2023 Draft, selecting Calum Ritchie and Mikhail Gulyayev, who I consider to be their best and second best prospects respectively at this point. They’ve moved plenty of prospects and draft picks over the last few years, and their lack of prospect depth shows that, but the addition of these two prospects is a serious improvement.
Ritchie had a rough draft year, with a shoulder injury derailing what could have been an elite OHL season bringing up questions about his lack of consistency. However, the fact remains that Ritchie possesses an excellent toolkit to succeed as an NHL centerman, with the size, face-off proficiency, and puck skills to even be a middle-six center someday. He had an excellent 2023-24 season in the OHL and looked like a legit NHL prospect the whole time.
21. Washington Capitals
Previous Ranking: 18
Top Five Prospects: Ryan Leonard, Cole Hutson, Andrew Cristall, Ivan Miroshnichenko, Tarik Parascak
The Washington Capitals have been going all-in for more than a decade and while it was ultimately a success with their Stanley Cup victory in 2018, their prospect pool has been a sight for sore eyes for a very long time. The Capitals haven’t had much success since despite the remarkable durability of Alex Ovechkin, and the 2022-23 season functioned as a bit of a turning point for the team as they began to re-tool and look to the future.
The past two drafts have seen Washington’s prospect pipeline improve significantly, with the crowning piece of their future coming with the eighth overall pick in the 2023 Draft where they selected Ryan Leonard, a remarkable offensive talent who makes his teammates better at every turn. Leonard works incredibly hard and has a knack for scoring big goals in dirty areas and winning puck battles. He is also a remarkable athlete, with far more strength that one might expect from him at first glance. I expect Leonard to be a legit top-six (or maybe even top-line) winger in short order, hopefully soon enough to help Washington maximize the final years of the Ovechkin era.
20. New York Rangers
Previous Ranking: 22
Top Five Prospects: Gabe Perreault, Brennan Othmann, Adam Sykora, EJ Emery, Dylan Garand
The New York Rangers have many incredibly talented young players who have already broken into the NHL full time which is why they aren’t higher on this list, although they still have a good number of players I think will have real value in the NHL someday. Adam Sykora looks like he could factor into the Rangers’ bottom-six forward group in just a few years while Gabe Perreault and Brennan Othmann each have a chance at cracking the top-six group.
Gabe Perreault was a prospect I was quite high on entering the 2023 Draft, but I understand why he fell to the Rangers at 23rd overall. His skinny frame and skating issues are certainly worrisome from an NHL projection standpoint, but in the late-teens to early 20s of the first round I really think teams were leaving a lot of potential on the table by passing on Perreault. He’s got high-end skill and hockey sense which should make him an imposing figure on an NHL power play someday even if he can’t be a dominant player at even strength. He dominated the NCAA as a freshman last season, and I expect he’ll continue to do so, even after Will Smith’s departure to the NHL.
19. Vancouver Canucks
Previous Ranking: 16
Top Five Prospects: Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Tom Willander, Aatu Räty, Arturs Silovs, Elias Pettersson
The Vancouver Canucks have risen significantly in this ranking over the past two years, rising all the way to from 30th with the addition of Tom Willander and the resurgence of Jonathan Lekkerimaki as a legitimate top-six potential prospect standing out as the main reasons. Lekkerimaki has been through the wringer since being drafted back in 2022, but his final season in Sweden was an excellent one, leading all U20 players in goals and points, as well as earning tournament MVP at the 2024 World Juniors in Gothenburg.
Tom Willander is an excellent defensive prospect, with the skill and defensive chops to be a great top-four defender for the Canucks down the road. He is also a phenomenal skater and will likely take a significant amount of pressure off Quinn Hughes once he establishes himself in the NHL. Willander’s skating allows him to remain solid defensively even on off nights, making him a remarkably consistent game-changer.
18. Los Angeles Kings
Previous Ranking: 21
Top Five Prospects: Brandt Clarke, Francesco Pinelli, Koehn Ziemmer, Alex Turcotte, Liam Greentree
The Los Angeles Kings’ prospect pool is a shadow of its former self, with prospects like Quinton Byfield and Arthur Kaliyev establishing themselves as NHLers and other young players like Brock Faber and Rasmus Kupari being traded for more established players. The Kings have one prospect to thank for their ranking here, with Brandt Clarke likely being the difference between finishing 18th and in the mid-20s on this list.
Clarke is one of the very best prospects in the world of hockey, with loads of offensive potential. He willingly jumps into play from the blueline, pinching in to keep possession or to attack space left by opposing defenders. Clarke’s awkward skating hasn’t improved much since his draft year, but he competes hard enough that he should be able to defend well enough to warrant a consistent spot in the Kings’ top-four. He was the best offensive defenseman in the AHL last year for my money and it’s only a matter of time before he makes a serious impact in the NHL.
17. Dallas Stars
Previous Ranking: 15
Top Five Prospects: Logan Stankoven, Mavrik Bourque, Lian Bichsel, Emil Hemming, Aram Minnetian
The Dallas Stars have had one of the best groups of young players for several years now, though that strength is draining out of their prospect pool as youngsters like Ty Dellandrea and Wyatt Johnston continue to establish themselves as great NHL players. However, Dallas still has a couple of really high-end prospects and several more with a good chance of becoming NHLers.
Logan Stankoven stands clearly above the rest of this group for me (metaphorically of course since the 5-foot-8 Stankoven stands above very few NHL prospects) with a near perfect NHL skill set aside from his height. Stankoven is a phenomenal skater, has a great shot, and competes incredibly hard all over the ice. He will have to prove that he’s an outlier in an era where very few players under 5-foot-10 succeed in the NHL, but he has already done a great job of proving that in the NHL experience he’s received, looking like an excellent top-six forward for the Stars down the stretch and into the playoffs.
16. Philadelphia Flyers
Previous Ranking: 20
Top Five Prospects: Matvei Michkov, Jett Luchanko, Denver Barkey, Oliver Bonk, Emil Andrae
The Philadelphia Flyers are another team that has risen significantly in this ranking recently, largely due to their very successful 2023 Draft. The Flyers added Oliver Bonk, who has a good chance of becoming a second-pairing defender in my eyes, as well as Russian phenom Matvei Michkov, giving them a whole lot more to look forward to as the team begins their rebuild in earnest. The Cutter Gauthier situation hurt their prospect pool for sure but Jamie Drysdale is no slouch as a seriously gifted skater who moves the puck well and has the potential to be a number one defender in Philly.
Michkov was a difficult player to assess in his draft season as he spent most of the year on one of the KHL’s worst teams where he was asked to score enough to keep the team afloat, with defense being secondary. He has as much offensive potential as anyone in the prospect world, but certainly has a long way to go if he wants to reach that elite level in the NHL someday. Michkov may not become a franchise-defining player for the Flyers in the future, but there’s a very good chance that he’s an excellent winger who scores a ton of points and I don’t think they’d be too upset if he caps out as a roughly 90 point winger.
15. Nashville Predators
Previous Ranking: 10
Top Five Prospects: Joakim Kemell, David Edstrom, Matthew Wood, Tanner Molendyk, Yegor Surin
The Nashville Predators have been in a weird position over the last few seasons, with their best players aging and slowing down a bit despite Juuse Saros being one of the league’s best goalies on a nightly basis. They have ultimately decided to take a bit of a step back over the past two seasons, trading guys like Mattias Ekholm and Tanner Jeannot each for massive returns. The picks and prospects that Nashville landed in those deals will likely provide at least one or two significant pieces of the next great Predators roster.
After extending Saros to a long-term contract, Yaroslav Askarov quietly requested to be traded as he saw no future for himself in Nashville with the starter’s net filled for another eight years. Askarov was Nashville’s top prospect by a solid margin, but they managed to net some good value in return for him in David Edstrom and a future first round pick. Edstrom isn’t the flashiest player offensively, but he skates well for his size and wins tons of battles, clearing the way for his linemates to produce more offense. I also loved the Yegor Surin pick in the first round of the 2024 Draft.
14. St. Louis Blues
Previous Ranking: 13
Top Five Prospects: Jimmy Snuggerud, Adam Jiricek, Dalibor Dvorsky, Otto Stenberg, Theo Lindstein
The St. Louis Blues began their retool in the 2022-23 season, and committed to giving themselves the best chance to succeed in the future, entering the 2023 Draft with three first rounders. Dalibor Dvorsky, Otto Stenberg, and Theo Lindstein are all legit NHL prospects and adding them to a pipeline that already had guys like Jimmy Snuggerud and Zachary Bolduc gave their prospect pool a huge boost.
Adding Adam Jiricek with the 16th pick of the 2024 Draft was a strong choice as well. Jiricek is very engaged physically, and has a penchant for taking big point shots. He produces a ton of chances on offense from the blueline, readily activating into play to support his teammates and keep the puck moving. Unfortunately, his excitement to join the play offensively means that he takes a lot of risks, leaving himself in really poor positions to recover defensively if things don’t go according to plan. Jiricek is really great at scanning the play off puck and he persists through pressure quite well so I think he will be able to cut down on the over-the-top risks in time.
13. Calgary Flames
Previous Ranking: 17
Top Five Prospects: Zayne Parekh, Matt Coronato, Samuel Honzek, Hunter Brzustewicz, Dustin Wolf
The Calgary Flames are still dealing with the fallout of the departures of both Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau, which has led them to trade away many of their most valuable players in the past 12 months. While their NHL lineup continues to be a difficult puzzle to solve they do have several really great prospects to look to going forward, a couple of whom I think will be making a big impact with the Flames as soon as this season (Matt Coronato and Dustin Wolf). The Flames are going to look very different over the next couple of seasons, and they’ve begun to build a really solid group of young players.
Zayne Parekh will be a massive piece for Calgary’s future, and I do think he’s a solid defender when he’s properly engaged, cutting off passes and angling opponents toward the boards. Parekh is a remarkable talent, with Quinn Hughes-like offensive upside if his development goes well, but his defensive game could get more consistent. He’s talented enough and looked strong enough defensively in the Memorial Cup that I think he’ll figure it out in the NHL though, becoming an imposing figure on the Flames’ blue line.
12. Carolina Hurricanes
Previous Ranking: 12
Top Five Prospects: Alexander Nikishin, Scott Morrow, Bradly Nadeau, Dominik Badinka, Felix Unger-Sörum
Teams that are as good as the Carolina Hurricanes shouldn’t have prospect pools as good as this team does. Despite being one of the best teams in the NHL over the past several years, the Hurricanes keep finding ways to improve their prospect system. Some of that is through shrewd scouting, which led to them drafting Bradly Nadeau near the end of the first round and Felix Unger-Sörum late in the second round of the 2023 Draft, and some of it is through remarkable development curves with prospects like Alexander Nikishin.
Regardless, Nikishin is a remarkable defensive prospect who exploded offensively last season, leading all KHL defenders in scoring. He is big (6-foot-4), has a heavy slapshot, and skates remarkably well for someone of his size. This season, Nikishin proved that last year was no fluke, once again leading all KHL defenders in points. If the Hurricanes are able to convince him to come to play for them in the 2025-26 season, he looks like he’ll be a top-four defender immediately upon arrival, possibly even a top-pairing guy.
11. Columbus Blue Jackets
Previous Ranking: 11
Top Five Prospects: Cayden Lindstrom, Denton Mateychuk, Gavin Brindley, Stanislav Svozil, Jordan Dumais
The Columbus Blue Jackets have made some massive changes over the last few years, from trading away Seth Jones for the picks that became Cole Sillinger and David Jiricek, to landing Johnny Gaudreau in the biggest surprise of the 2022 Free Agency period. Several of their best young players have already entered the NHL like Jiricek and Adam Fantilli, but the Blue Jackets still have a great pipeline, led by Gavin Brindley and Denton Mateychuk.
Mateychuk is an incredibly smooth skater, and he’s super confident when jumping into the play. Injuries to Tristan Luneau and Tanner Molendyk meant that Mateychuk was asked to do much of the heavy lifting for Team Canada at the 2024 World Juniors, and he did more than his share. He looked the part of a dynamic offensive creator, with crisp stretch passes and clever off-puck routes in the offensive zone, but he also showed how his tenacity and speed make him a real factor defensively. Mateychuk may not be a number-one defenseman in the NHL, but he has a really good chance of being a meaningful top-four piece in Columbus.
10. Chicago Blackhawks
Previous Ranking: 9
Top Five Prospects: Artyom Levshunov, Oliver Moore, Frank Nazar, Sacha Boisvert, Sam Rinzel
The Chicago Blackhawks were obviously not going to stick at the top of this list for long after Connor Bedard joined the NHL, but the success of Kevin Korchinski in the NHL is another factor that led to them dropping here. However, the fact that the Blackhawks still possess a top-10 prospect pool in the league with their two best prospects joining the NHL is remarkable. Oliver Moore and Frank Nazar look like potential top-six pieces, while second overall pick Artyom Levshunov looks like a potential top-pairing defender.
Artyom Levshunov has an incredibly exciting toolkit as a big, right-handed defender who skates incredibly well. Levshunov has a very projectable game, with the size, skating, and offense to be a great NHL defender. Levshunov’s offensive game is dynamic, with his smooth skating serving as the catalyst for each thing he does well. He’s strong in breakout/entry situations, has some clever stretch passes in his toolkit, and walks the blueline with confidence. Levshunov was a poor defender in the USHL when he first arrived, but finished that season as a strong two-way player. His first NCAA mirrored that closely, with an increased defensive responsibility as the year wore on. It looks like Levshunov is set to make the jump to the pros next season, and while his defensive game may not be great right off the bat, he’s shown himself to be a quick study.
9. Utah Hockey Team
Previous Ranking: 7
Top Five Prospects: Tij Iginla, Cole Beaudoin, Dmitri Simashev, Daniil But, Maveric Lamoureux
The Arizona Coyotes are no more, and in their place, the Utah Hockey Team makes its debut on this list. The team showed some improvement last year despite still finishing 27th in the league, largely due to the continued excellence of Clayton Keller, and both Logan Cooley and Matias Maccelli shining as solid supporting pieces. While the team wasn’t ready to emerge from the league’s basement quite yet, they’ve significantly improved the team with the addition of Mikhail Sergachev in a trade from the draft floor.
Under new ownership, the Utah Hockey Team looks poised to take a serious step forward next season, hopefully ducking the dark clouds that have been circling the franchise for many years. Drafting Tij Iginla will certainly help push the team in that direction. His game relies heavily on speed and he’s able to do a ton of damage on the rush at the junior level because of it. Iginla has an excellent wrist shot as well, but he isn’t the most gifted playmaker or physical guy. Regardless, he works hard and is often the first guy in on the forecheck.
8. Seattle Kraken
Previous Ranking: 14
Top Five Prospects: Shane Wright, Carson Rehkopf, Berkly Catton, Jani Nyman, David Goyette
The Seattle Kraken are in a really strange place for a team that has only played three seasons in franchise history. Typically, expansion teams are really bad for several years until their accumulation of draft picks turns into a really strong prospect pool which eventually turns into a good NHL team. The Kraken had a rough go in their inaugural season, but they followed that up with a remarkable bounce-back that saw them not only make the playoffs, but play spoiler as they upset the defending champion Avalanche. Now they’ve come back to Earth again and were in the wild-card race at best for most of last season. They’ve done an admirable job of accumulating talent in their prospect pool, even in the 2023 Draft when they were picking much later.
Shane Wright is undoubtedly still the top dog here, although Berkly Catton isn’t far behind and guys like Carson Rehkopf or David Goyette have shown serious potential in the OHL over the past season or two. Wright was finally allowed to play a full season in the AHL and he was a really impressive two-way competitor for a 20-year-old. Catton is a very skilled player with a ton of speed and a high-end motor. I think his offensive versatility and his potential while attacking off the rush will make him an excellent addition for the Kraken.
7. Montreal Canadiens
Previous Ranking: 8
Top Five Prospects: Ivan Demidov, David Reinbacher, Lane Hutson, Michael Hage, Owen Beck
The Montreal Canadiens have continued to build their prospect pool despite several important players, like Kaiden Guhle and Juraj Slafkovsky, graduating into full-time NHL spots. The Canadiens have a great young core already in the NHL, so having a top-10 prospect pool as well means that they are quite likely to be a dangerous team in the NHL in a few years. With Lane Hutson and David Reinbacher looking like some great defensive prospects, the Habs did well to land two quality forward prospects in the 2024 Draft with Ivan Demidov and Michael Hage.
Demidov is an incredibly talented offensive player, with great hands, a zippy shot, and some sneaky-good playmaking instincts. There aren’t many players who can handle the puck quite like Demidov. He absolutely torched the MHL last year (2 points per game) and scored 28 points in 17 playoff games. I’m confident he’ll score a ton of points in the NHL, it’s just a question of how effective of a player he can be at even strength given his smaller frame and strange skating stride.
6. Winnipeg Jets
Previous Ranking: 6
Top Five Prospects: Brayden Yager, Chaz Lucius, Brad Lambert, Elias Salomonsson, Colby Barlow
The Winnipeg Jets have an incredible group of forward prospects, with very little to show when it comes to prospects on the backend. Brad Lambert, Chaz Lucius, Brayden Yager and Colby Barlow all have great chances to become at least top-nine mainstays for the Jets someday, with each of them having at least top-six upside. They will need to diversify their prospect pool sooner than later unless they want to be left with no young options on the backend internally.
Brad Lambert has been one of the least predictable NHL prospects over the past few years, alternating between games where he looks like a sure-fire top-six centreman and games where you are left frustrated with his apparent lack of effort. Lambert’s skating ability is elite and gives him a standout skill that will translate to the NHL someday. He also has great puck skills and can make great passes or dekes while at his remarkable top speed. Last season was a positive one for Lambert who looked like a top young player in the AHL, so here’s to hoping he can continue to build on that momentum this Fall.
5. Minnesota Wild
Previous Ranking: 5
Top Five Prospects: Jesper Wallstedt, Zeev Buium, Danila Yurov, Liam Öhgren, Marat Khusnutdinov
The Minnesota Wild have had one of the best prospect pools in the NHL for a very long time, dating back to when they had dreams of signing Kirill Kaprizov and were left waiting for a few extra years. Now that he has broken several franchise records and established himself as a star in the NHL, the Wild still have a really solid pipeline with offensive talents like Zeev Buium, Liam Öhgren, and Danila Yurov as well as one of the hockey world’s most exciting goaltending prospects in Jesper Wallstedt.
Wallstedt looks like he’ll become a good starting goaltender in the NHL at least, with the potential to be a true star. After playing really well in the SHL three years ago, Wallstedt finally tried his hand in the AHL where he looked like a potential star. He definitely still needs some time to adjust to the different pace of play in North America’s narrower rinks, but luckily for Wallstedt the Wild have Marc-André Fleury under contract for another season and Filip Gustavsson for another two. A Gustavsson/Wallstedt combo could be a phenomenal goaltending tandem for Minnesota going forward, provided Gustavsson can bounce back from a rough 2023-24 season.
4. Detroit Red Wings
Previous Ranking: 4
Top Five Prospects: Simon Edvinsson, Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, Nate Danielson, Axel Sandin Pellikka, Sebastian Cossa
The Detroit Red Wings haven’t had much to celebrate over the last six or seven years except for their prospect pool. Although many of those players haven’t panned out (I’m looking at you Filip Zadina), the Red Wings have continued to develop one of the league’s deepest pipelines in terms of both NHL quality and star potential. Marco Kasper and Nate Danielson project to help solve the team’s questions at center going forward, with Simon Edvinsson and Axel Sandin Pellikka both looking like future top-four defenders in the NHL.
Some may be worried about Danielson’s lack of high-end production in the WHL, but anyone who saw him play in the NHL Preseason last Fall should know he’s well on his way to becoming a high-end NHLer. He’s got the size, skating, shot, and skill to be an impactful player in all areas of a hockey game and I will be a massive Danielson apologist until he’s a full time NHLer in the near future. Watch for him to land in the AHL next year with the Grand Rapids Griffins where I think he’ll be very successful.
3. Anaheim Ducks
Previous Ranking: 2
Top Five Prospects: Beckett Sennecke, Cutter Gauthier, Nathan Gaucher, Stian Solberg, Tristan Luneau
The Anaheim Ducks looked to be on the rise three years ago when they came out hot with a rookie Trevor Zegras and a breakout year from Troy Terry. Ultimately that season fell apart in the new year and then the past two seasons have been forgettable for the Ducks. That appears to have been the best case scenario for Anaheim as they have continued to build one of the absolute best pipelines in the NHL, with difference makers at every valuable position.
With Leo Carlsson and Pavel Mintyukov joining the NHL squad, the prospect pool was finally starting to diminish a bit (considering the graduation of guys like Mason McTavish, Jamie Drysdale, and Zegras in recent years). However, that all changed when the Ducks made the shocking trade for Cutter Gauthier, giving up Drysdale and a future second round pick. They have a built-in replacement for Drysdale in Mintyukov, who has looked great in the NHL so far, and now they have another prospect who projects to be a meaningful top-six player, likely on the wing. Anaheim shocked the world (and Sennecke himself), when they took Beckett Sennecke third overall in the 2024 Draft, giving them yet another high-end wing prospect to play next to McTavish, Zegras and Carlsson.
2. Buffalo Sabres
Previous Ranking: 1
Top Five Prospects: Jiri Kulich, Noah Östlund, Konsta Helenius, Devon Levi, Isak Rosen
The Buffalo Sabres’ young core is the envy of the league at this point, with an embarrassment of riches on their NHL roster with guys like Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power holding down the fort on the backend and both Tage Thompson and Dylan Cozens looking like excellent top-six centermen for the next decade. They have already seen many great prospects graduate into big NHL roles and they still have the best group of prospects in the league for my money.
Jiri Kulich burst onto the scene at the U18 World Junior Championship just before the 2022 Draft where he scored nine goals in just six games. He is great at finding soft spots in defensive coverage and setting up for a rocket of a one-timer. Most prospects can’t jump straight from the draft and into the AHL, but Kulich has been remarkably successful for the Rochester Americans as a teenager, giving me confidence that he could become a top-six scoring winger in the NHL in the near future.
1. San Jose Sharks
Previous Ranking: 3
Top Five Prospects: Macklin Celebrini, Sam Dickinson, Yaroslav Askarov, Will Smith, Quentin Musty
The San Jose Sharks had made some big moves to vault themselves up this ranking, but the calculations changed entirely when they won the 2024 draft lottery and traded for Askarov, one of the world’s best goalies who isn’t already in the NHL. Landing a no-doubt top-line center in Celebrini and someone with a high chance of becoming a strong starting goalie in the matter of two months gave them a huge boost here. The Sharks could still use more talent, especially on the back end, but they’ve quickly built a really formidable young group.
Macklin Celebrini is a center with a June birthday, meaning he’s one of the youngest players from the 2024 draft class, and will be just 18 years old for his entire rookie season in the NHL. Celebrini excels at everything, with great skating, goal scoring ability, off-puck play, defensive effort, confidence, and just about every other attribute you could dream of. After tearing up the USHL with the Chicago Steel, Celebrini tried his hand in the NCAA last season with Boston University and was immediately the best player in the league, winning the Hobey Baker Trophy as a freshman.
Sign up for our NHL Prospects & Draft Substack newsletter
