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 the Minnesota Wild, 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, Buffalo Sabres and Anaheim Ducks continue to develop and compete for the future, while other teams like the Montreal Canadiens and Columbus Blue Jackets 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 midseason farm system rankings at roughly the halfway point of 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. Florida Panthers
Previous Ranking: 32
Top Five Prospects: Gracyn Sawchyn, Matvei Shuravin, Simon Zether, Jack Devine, Linus Eriksson
The Florida Panthers certainly don’t have the deepest prospect pool, and the top prospect in the their pool over the last few seasons, Mackie Samoskevich, had a strong year rookie season in the NHL, graduating himself from this list. The Panthers have moved several valuable picks and prospects in recent years, but it has all been worth it for their back-to-back Stanley Cup victories. Their prospect pool has certainly seen better days, but I doubt they are too upset about that these days.
I was a big fan of Gracyn Sawchyn in his draft season and I like what I’ve seen from him at the junior level since. His ability to play through contact and draw penalties is admirable and I believe it will translate to higher levels as well. Linus Eriksson is another under-the-radar prospect who could be a factor for the Panthers in the NHL. He is a hard-worker who has the skating and tenacity to push for a spot in Florida’s bottom-six in the next few years.
31. Tampa Bay Lightning
Previous Ranking: 29
Top Five Prospects: Ethan Gauthier, Sam O’Reilly, Dylan Duke, Niko Huuhtanen, Dylan Gill
The Tampa Bay Lightning narrowly avoided hitting the bottom spot here for a sixth consecutive time (landing in the bottom 5). Tampa has gone all in several times now and they’re clearly trying to find a new balance of young talent on cheaper deals. If Conor Geekie hadn’t established himself in their NHL lineup yet, Tampa might have found themselves a few spots higher, but I’m sure they’re happy with him where he is.
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. Sam O’Reilly (acquired in exchange for Isaac Howard) is a nice center prospect for the Lightning, with the skating and two-way effort to become a reliable bottom-six piece if his development continues well.
30. Colorado Avalanche
Previous Ranking: 19
Top Five Prospects: Mikhail Gulyayev, William Zellers, Gavin Brindley, Ilya Nabokov, Francesco Dell’elce
The Colorado Avalanche moved plenty of prospects and draft picks over the last few years, and their prospect pool has begun to really reflect that. After trading Calum Ritchie and their 1st round pick in either the 2026 or 2027 Drafts, it’s unlikely that the Avalanche will work their way back up this list anytime soon. One positive was their offseason trade for Gavin Brindley who they received from the Columbus Blue Jackets, but that wasn’t nearly enough to stop them from falling massively on this edition.
Brindley is a 5-foot-9 forward who was excellent in the NCAA as an 18-year-old freshman in his draft year. His skating is great and his high energy level makes him a possession beast. Brindley’s combination of speed and effort will make him a very flexible player who can fill in whatever role is needed of him, which has earned him lots of ice time at various levels. He is a coach’s dream as a player with great skills on both sides of the puck and a never-quit mentality. Brindley was phenomenal at the 2024 World Juniors where he was often one of the best and hardest working American players each and every game. He made the surprising decision to join the Cleveland Monsters in the AHL last season (I still believe he would’ve been better off with another NCAA season), and struggled quite a bit with the physicality of the pro game.
29. Vegas Golden Knights
Previous Ranking: 27
Top Five Prospects: Trevor Connelly, Jakob Ihs-Wozniak, Lukas Cormier, 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 a handful of 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 if it means they have a better chance of winning tomorrow than they did yesterday. He’s got a ton of skill and the type of game that makes him look like a potential top-six winger, just don’t count on him doing that in Vegas.
28. Dallas Stars
Previous Ranking: 30
Top Five Prospects: Cameron Schmidt, Ayrton Martino, Emil Hemming, Aram Minnetian, Christian Kyrou
The Dallas Stars have had one of the best groups of young players for several years now, though that strength has draining out of their prospect pool as youngsters like Lian Bichsel, Mavrik Bourque and Wyatt Johnston have establish themselves as NHL players. As a result of their success at the NHL level, the Stars have only used a total of two picks in the first two rounds of the past three combined drafts, so it makes sense that they don’t rank very high here.
While a few other prospects here project as possible NHLers, I think the most intriguing player in their group at the moment in Cameron Schmidt, the 5-foot-7 winger out of the WHL. Schmidt is an elite skater and has great puck skill, a combo that allows him to knife through junior teams at will. The questions regarding his size and ability to translate his offense up levels with much bigger and stronger opponents led to him falling to the third round of the 2025 Draft, and I expect that pick to age pretty well for Dallas.
27. Edmonton Oilers
Previous Ranking: 28
Top Five Prospects: Matthew Savoie, Roby Jarventie, Paul Fischer, Beau Akey, Isaac Howard
About a year 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 last summer and traded Matt Savoie to Edmonton in exchange for Ryan McLeod and then Tampa Bay couldn’t justify giving Isaac Howard a roster spot and they nabbed him on the trade market this offseason.
Savoie immediately became the Oilers’ top prospect (by a good margin) when they added him, and I think he’ll prove the Sabres foolish. 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. Howard is a great offensive player who can struggle a bit when it comes to the harder areas of the ice and is going to need to play with a strong playmaker. If he can earn a spot on the wing of either of Edmonton’s superstar centermen, then he’s likely to rack up points.
26. Toronto Maple Leafs
Previous Ranking: 25
Top Five Prospects: Easton Cowan, Ben Danford, Nikita Grebyonkin, Dennis Hildeby, Artur Akhtyamov
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 and good prospects in recent years. Matthew Knies is now a full time NHL player (to nobody’s surprise) and is no longer eligible for this list, and their ranking wasn’t helped when they traded away Fraser Minten to the Bruins along with their 2026 1st round pick (2025 1st was already traded at the time as well).
While his performance didn’t exactly impress at the 2025 World Junior Championship, Easton Cowan is still a really good NHL prospect who is set to make the jump to the pro level after dominated the OHL for several seasons. He rarely comes to a full stop, always poised to take action and work for the puck, something that will likely endear him to Toronto’s head coach Craig Berube. Cowan has already made Toronto look really savvy for picking him up in the first round in 2023, and if he can develop into a top-six wing for the Leafs it will make the loss of Mitch Marner sting that much less.
25. Ottawa Senators
Previous Ranking: 24
Top Five Prospects: Carter Yakemchuk, Leevi Merilainen, Zack Ostapchuk, Logan Hensler, 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 with his athleticism at the 2024 Draft combine, and was snubbed for Team Canada at the 2025 World Junior Championship, 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.
24. Los Angeles Kings
Previous Ranking: 23
Top Five Prospects: Carter George, Henry Brzustewicz, Koehn Ziemmer, Hampton Slukynsky, Liam Greentree
The Los Angeles Kings’ prospect pool is a shadow of its former self, with prospects like Brandt Clarke, 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. Clarke has been a mainstay on this list for LA since he was drafted back in the 2021 Draft, so it’s not surprising the Kings’ ranking took a bit of a hit now that he’s a regular in their lineup.
Liam Greentree is a big winger who looks like he could be a great all-round player in the NHL someday if he can make some improvements to his speed and acceleration. Greentree does most things well, fighting hard in puck battles, making smart passes, and handling defensive responsibilities well. His greatest strength is his shot which looks like a quality NHL tool though his skill with the puck is worthy of mention as well. Greentree has been a dominant offensive force in the OHL, scoring over 200 combined points in his past two seasons (209 points in 128 games played).
23. Pittsburgh Penguins
Previous Ranking: 22
Top Five Prospects: Rutger McGroarty, Owen Pickering, Harrison Brunicke, Bill Zonnon, Benjamin Kindel
The Pittsburgh Penguins have been in a constant state of mortgaging the future for current success for the last decade or two 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 only selected in the first round three times in the 10 drafts from 2015-2024. However, this past season seemed to be a bit of a turning point, with the Penguins yet again missing the playoffs and selling at the trade deadline. This ended up allowing them to make three picks in the first round of the 2025 Draft, giving their prospect pool a nice infusion of talent.
Rutger 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 the Penguins in scoring, but he’ll do a whole lot of other things at a very high level. After a bit of an adjustment period, he looked really strong in the AHL and should seriously challenge for a roster spot at this year’s training camp.
22. New Jersey Devils
Previous Ranking: 20
Top Five Prospects: Anton Silayev, Seamus Casey, Herman Traff, Lenni Hameenaho, Mikhail Yegorov
Luke Hughes making the New Jersey Devils full time out of training camp last year was great news. Ever since the 2021 Draft, Hughes has looked like a significant piece of their future defensive group, with much of the agility and edgework of his older brothers and a much more typical NHL frame. With him and Simon Nemec moving on to the NHL, the rest of the prospect pool looks a deal 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 to me as well.
Silayev was the story of the year early on during the 2023-24 season, going from an unknown defender in Russia’s junior system the prior 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 defensive prospect we’ve seen in the past few years due to his abnormally strong skating for a defender of his size (6-foot-7).
21. New York Rangers
Previous Ranking: 18
Top Five Prospects: Gabe Perreault, Brennan Othmann, Malcolm Spence, 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 questionable skating were 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 the Rangers’ power play someday even if he can’t be a dominant player at even strength. He has dominated offensively in the NCAA over the past two seasons, not skipping a beat when running-mate Will Smith made the jump to the NHL a year ago.
20. Boston Bruins
Previous Ranking: 31
Top Five Prospects: James Hagens, Fabian Lysell, Dean Letourneau, Fraser Minten, Will Moore
After making just 31 selections in previous 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), the Boston Bruins made a full 7 picks in the 2025 Draft for the second time since their infamous 2015 Draft class. That lack of draft capital is bound to leave you near the bottom of a list like this, but their injury issues and a few savy trade-deadline moves have given them a good bit more talent, with their first true top-end prospect in a decade with James Hagens.
Boston’s prospect pool earns a good bit of respect on the back of Hagens alone, who has the skill and skating to be a high-end top-six forward in the NHL. Hagens can create for himself with his agile skating or for his teammates with his excellent playmaking game, and I’m not particularly concerned about his size (5-foot-10) because of his skating and work rate. One other prospect who I think deserves 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 last season in the USHL but he decided to take a swing at the NCAA with Boston College at the last minute. While that transition has been slow, and he struggled to earn minutes, there’s still a ton of potential in his game given his size and hands.
19. Vancouver Canucks
Previous Ranking: 17
Top Five Prospects: Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Tom Willander, Sawyer Mynio, Braeden Cootes, Alexei Medvedev
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 in the SHL, 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 decent 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, much like Vancouver’s Filip Hronek can be.
18. Philadelphia Flyers
Previous Ranking: 21
Top Five Prospects: Porter Martone, Jett Luchanko, Jack Nesbitt, Oliver Bonk, Emil Andrae
With Matvei Michkov making his NHL debut this year, the Philadelphia Flyers’ prospect pool quickly became less exciting. Guys like Jett Luchanko and Oliver Bonk project as meaningful contributors down the line, but there isn’t exactly anyone who should be expected to seriously move the needle in Philly anytime soon. That was, until they landed Porter Martone with the sixth selection of the 2025 Draft, adding another premium offensive talent to their prospect pool
Martone is a skilled power forward who dominated the OHL last season. His size and high-end skill make him a handful for junior defenses, and I think it was a great decision for him to move on to the NCAA next season with Michigan State University. Martone’s size is great and all (6-foot-3), but the real reason it excites scouts is his excellent playmaking, high-end compete level, and his great hands. In the draft process, Martone compared himself to the Tkachuk brothers, and while I think he’s got a lot of their DNA as a high-skill power forward, he isn’t a pest like the Tkachuks. He battles hard for pucks and doesn’t back down from a challenge, but he doesn’t quite have that Rat X-Factor (Rat-Factor, if you will) to get under opponents’ skin.
17. Winnipeg Jets
Previous Ranking: 6
Top Five Prospects: Brayden Yager, Kieron Walton, Brad Lambert, Elias Salomonsson, Colby Barlow
The Winnipeg Jets have a good group of forward prospects, with very little to show when it comes to prospects on the backend. Brad Lambert, Kieron Walton, Brayden Yager and Colby Barlow all have good chances to become at least top-nine mainstays for the Jets someday, with each of them having varying levels of 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.
Brayden Yager was talked about in the scouting world for nearly as long as Connor Bedard, being drafted third overall in the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft and winning the CHL Rookie of the Year award following the 2021-22 season on the back of a remarkable 34-goal, 59-point rookie season. His transition game, defensive play, and wicked wrist shot make him an all around threat at the junior level. After being traded one-for-one for Rutger McGroarty to the Jets, Yager looks poised to remain in the Canadian Prairies for the foreseeable future. He grew up in Saskatchewan, played his junior hockey there (in Moose Jaw and now Lethbridge, Alberta), and will now make the jump to the AHL (Manitoba Moose) with his WHL career behind him.
16. Nashville Predators
Previous Ranking: 16
Top Five Prospects: Brady Martin, David Edstrom, Matthew Wood, Tanner Molendyk, Cameron Reid
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 yearly basis. They ultimately looked poised to take a bit of a step back two seasons ago, trading guys like Mattias Ekholm and Tanner Jeannot each for massive returns. Regardless, they went all in on the 2024 Free Agency Class, handing out a lot of money that has already not aged particularly well.
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 first round pick in the 2025 Draft that they used to add the highly skilled Ryker Lee. They also selected Cameron Reid in the first round of the 2025 Draft, a steady two-way defender who doesn’t project as a star but who could be a meaningful piece on the backend in the near future.
15. Columbus Blue Jackets
Previous Ranking: 11
Top Five Prospects: Cayden Lindstrom, Stanislav Svozil, Luca Del Bel Belluz, Jordan Dumais, Jackson Smith
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 the late Johnny Gaudreau in the biggest surprise of the 2022 Free Agency period. Several of their best young players have already entered the NHL like Adam Fantilli and Denton Mateychuk, but the Blue Jackets still have a good pipeline, led by Jackson Smith and Cayden Lindstrom.
Cayden Lindstrom is a massive power forward (6-foot-3, 205 pounds) who is incredibly quick and difficult to knock off the puck. His size advantage is part of what made him a nearly immovable object in the WHL, but he also has great hands, a strong shot, and really good puck protection instincts. Lindstrom has missed significant time in two consecutive campaigns due to a back injury, and that missed time has really started to add up. I sincerely hope he recovers and gets back on track because making the move to the NCAA next season (with Michigan State University) seems like a great move for such a physically advanced player.
14. New York Islanders
Previous Ranking: 26
Top Five Prospects: Matthew Schaefer, Calum Ritchie, Victor Eklund, Cole Eiserman, Kashawn Aitcheson
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 showed in their prospect pool. In the two years since they have selected four times in the first round, adding the four most talented prospects in their pool with the crown jewel being first overall pick Matthew Schaefer, and added Calum Ritchie in a trade Obviously, winning the draft lottery like they did certainly helped, but the two mid-firsts that they acquired look like they’re going to turn into serious pieces for their future as well.
Schaefer is their clear best prospect, as a smooth-skating defender who has the potential to become a great number-one defender for them. He skates as well as just about any defender in the world at this point which makes him a consistent factor on both ends of the ice, and he has the ability to take games over on the offensive end that few guys can replicate. Victor Eklund and Kashawn Aitcheson were the Isles’ other picks in the first round of the 2025 Draft, and they both look like real players who will add a level of skill, power and grit to the Islanders’ lineup for years to come.
13. Calgary Flames
Previous Ranking: 15
Top Five Prospects: Zayne Parekh, Samuel Honzek, Hunter Brzustewicz, Cole Reschny, Cullen Potter
The Calgary 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. The Flames have quietly done a really solid job of managing their assets during a massive fire-sale (pun-intended) over the two years or so, trading Jakob Markstrom, Elias Lindholm, and Chris Tanev amongst other players. As a result, the Flames have added some nice young talent like Cole Reschny (1st round pick received in Markstrom trade) and Cullen Potter (1st round pick received in Matthew Tkachuk trade).
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 certainly get more consistent. He’s talented enough and looked strong enough defensively in the Memorial Cup a few years ago that I think he’ll figure it out in his own end at the NHL level though, becoming an imposing figure on the Flames’ blue line for years to come.
12. St. Louis Blues
Previous Ranking: 13
Top Five Prospects: Jimmy Snuggerud, Adam Jiricek, Dalibor Dvorsky, Justin Carbonneau, 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 a guy like Jimmy Snuggerud gave their prospect pool a huge boost. They’ve done well since then as well, adding Adam Jiricek and Justin Carbonneau with first round picks.
Adding Adam Jiricek was the 16th pick of the 2024 Draft, and while he has had serious injury troubles over the past two seasons, he’s still very much a serious NHL prospect. Jiricek is very engaged physically, and has a penchant for taking big point shots. He produces a ton of chances on offense from the blue line, 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.
11. Anaheim Ducks
Previous Ranking: 14
Top Five Prospects: Beckett Sennecke, Lucas Pettersson, Maxim Massé, Stian Solberg, Roger McQueen
The Anaheim Ducks looked to be on the rise a few 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 few seasons have been forgettable for the Ducks. That appears to have been the an okay option for Anaheim as they have continued to build a strong pipeline through the draft, with difference makers at every valuable position. However, the majority of those players (Leo Carlsson, Mason McTavish, Cutter Gauthier, Olen Zellweger, etc.) have graduated to the NHL and the Ducks’ prospect pool is finally starting to look a bit more pedestrian. The 2024-25 season didn’t look too hot down in Anaheim, but that meant they got the chance to add another high-upside piece in Roger McQueen with the 10th overall pick.
Anaheim surprised a ton of people taking Beckett Sennecke 3rd overall in the 2024 Draft but the pick has already aged quite well, giving them yet another high-end wing prospect to play next to their young renters of McTavish, Zegras and Carlsson. Sennecke is a big winger with very impressive puck skill that allows him to regularly deke through several layers of defense. He can get a bit of tunnel vision and try to play hero-puck a bit, losing sight of the best play and turning the puck over by trying to deke too much, but I do think he’s made some progress in that department. Sennecke was phenomenal in the OHL last season, and was a late addition to Team Canada’s selection camp for the 2025 World Junior Championship as a result.
10. Washington Capitals
Previous Ranking: 12
Top Five Prospects: Ryan Leonard, Cole Hutson, Andrew Cristall, Lynden Lakovic, Terik 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 was a sight for sore eyes for a very long time. The Capitals have flirted with the NHL’s mushy middle since their Cup win, but blew away all expectations for them last season by winning the President’s Trophy. Despite all this, they have done a great job of compiling some really great prospects through the draft, who should help them with the franchise’s upcoming transition at the end of the Ovechkin-era.
The past few 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. Cole Hutson had himself an excellent showing at the 2025 World Junior Championship, where he led the tournament in scoring, and several other Capitals prospects such as Andrew Cristall, Ilya Protas, and Terik Parascak are all developing extremely well.
9. Seattle Kraken
Previous Ranking: 10
Top Five Prospects: Jake O’Brien, Carson Rehkopf, Berkly Catton, Jani Nyman, Jagger Firkus
The Seattle Kraken are in a really strange place for a team that has only played a handful of seasons in franchise history. Typically, expansion teams are really bad for several years until their accumulation of draft picks turns into a strong prospect pool which eventually grows into a good NHL team. The Kraken, however, have bounced around the standings in their first four seasons making high draft picks something that they couldn’t rely on. They have done an admirable job of accumulating talent anyway, with 2024 first rounder Berkly Catton leading the way as their clear top prospect.
Berkly Catton is a remarkably intelligent player, creating chances and advantages for his teammates through clever manipulations rather than through physical force. The Spokane Chiefs severely lacked high-end talent during most of Catton’s WHL tenure, so he has been leaned upon heavily. Luckily for the Chiefs, Catton has more than been up to the task of leading the team, scoring points at an absurdly high rate throughout his junior career. He 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.
8. Carolina Hurricanes
Previous Ranking: 9
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 five 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.
Nikishin is a remarkable defensive prospect who has exploded offensively, leading all KHL defenders in scoring twice in the past three seasons. He is big (6-foot-4), has a heavy slapshot, and skates remarkably well for someone of his size. Nikishin has proved that his breakout was no fluke, and made his North American debut in the 2025 Playoffs for Carolina. With Dmitry Orlov and Brent Burns moving on from the Hurricanes this offseason, there should be a much bigger role available for Nikishin in the 2025-26 season.
7. Buffalo Sabres
Previous Ranking: 7
Top Five Prospects: Radim Mrtka, Noah Östlund, Konsta Helenius, Devon Levi, Isak Rosen
The Buffalo Sabres’ young core has a huge amount of talent, 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 Tage Thompson consistently performing like a star centermen. Following the 2024 Draft, the Sabres decided that prospect Matthew Savoie was not needed, given the large number of undersized, skill-based forwards in their prospect pool. That certainly dropped them in this ranking, but they still have a good number of high-end prospects waiting in the wings.
Konsta Helenius is an excellent playmaker who competes hard enough to succeed in the Finnish Liiga as a 17-year-old in his draft year. Helenius is level-headed under pressure and makes difficult passes look routine, setting his teammates up for success. He was good (though not spectacular) for Finland at both the 2024 and 2025 World Junior Championships, though the stat sheet might not give you the best idea of how impactful he was. Helenius’ two-way play against pros as a teenager has been very impressive, especially in transition where he is able to keep up with the pace of play both physically and mentally.
6. Minnesota Wild
Previous Ranking: 2
Top Five Prospects: Jesper Wallstedt, Zeev Buium, Danila Yurov, Liam Öhgren, Riley Heidt
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 superstar 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.
Zeev Buium is a complete defenseman who had a ton of success early in his collegiate career, scoring well above a point-per-game and winning an NCAA championship as a freshman defender in the 2023-24 season. He is an excellent skater and has excellent hockey sense which allows him to defend incredibly well in the NCAA, and likely in the NHL as well. It’s becoming increasingly common to see NHL defenders succeed through puck skills and clever positioning rather than simply through physicality and I think Buium could fit that mold. Buium has a great motor and always finds himself in the thick of the action on both ends of the ice. He has good skill with the puck but his calling card will be his skating and sense which he uses to his advantage best on the rush both as a passer and a scoring threat.
5. Montreal Canadiens
Previous Ranking: 3
Top Five Prospects: Ivan Demidov, David Reinbacher, Michael Hage, Owen Beck, Jacob Fowler
The Montreal Canadiens have continued to build their prospect pool despite several important players, like Lane Hutson, Kaiden Guhle and Juraj Slafkovsky, graduating into full-time NHL spots. The Canadiens have a great young core already in the NHL, which is largely how they made the playoffs last season, so having such a strong prospect pool as well means that they are quite likely to be a dangerous team in the NHL for a long time. The Habs did well to land two quality forward prospects in the 2024 Draft with Ivan Demidov and Michael Hage, and Jacob Fowler is one of the most promising goaltending prospects in the NHL at the moment.
Ivan Demidov is an incredibly talented offensive player, with phenomenal hands, a zippy shot, and some sneaky-good playmaking instincts. Demidov is a legit top-end talent who has clear top-line potential in the NHL.There aren’t many players who can handle the puck quite like Demidov. He led all U20 KHL players in scoring last season, and I’m increasingly 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 slightly odd skating stride. It won’t be long before we find out, since Demidov looked electrifying offensively in his brief NHL debut in Montreal last Spring.
4. Utah Mammoth
Previous Ranking: 8
Top Five Prospects: Tij Iginla, Caleb Desnoyers, Dmitri Simashev, Daniil But, Maveric Lamoureux
The Arizona Coyotes are no more, and in their place, the Utah Mammoth holds their spot on this list. The team showed improvement last year, scoring 89 and finishing 20th in the league, largely due to the continued excellence of Clayton Keller, and both Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther shining as solid supporting pieces. The Mammoth are set to capitalize on the high-end prospect pool created by the now-defunct Arizona Coyotes, though winning one of the draft lotteries for the 2025 Draft certainly helps as well, leading to the addition of Caleb Desnoyers as a future leader down the middle for Utah.
Under new ownership, the Utah Hockey Team looks poised to take another significant step forward in the coming season, led by a youth movement that should make them an imposing group for many years to come. 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.
3. Detroit Red Wings
Previous Ranking: 5
Top Five Prospects: Carter Bear, Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, Nate Danielson, Axel Sandin Pellikka, Sebastian Cossa
The Detroit Red Wings haven’t had much to celebrate over the last seven or eight years, except for their prospect pool. Although many of those players haven’t panned out (I’m looking at you Filip Zadina and Joe Veleno), the Red Wings have continued to develop one of the league’s deepest pipelines in terms of both NHL quality and star potential. Nate Danielson projects to help fix the team’s questions at center going forward, while Axel Sandin Pellikka is looking like a potential star on the backend.
Axel Sandin Pellikka is a right-handed offensive defenseman who has been an offensive leader in the SHL as a teenager. Sandin Pellikka had a great showing for Sweden at the World Juniors in his draft year, improving his draft stock considerably, and has represented Sweden in two more World Junior Championships since, even being named the tourney’s top defender in 2025. He is a force on offense but don’t let that fool you, he is a hard-working defender who makes a lot of stops despite his 5-foot-11 frame, especially off the rush. I expect he’ll join the Grand Rapids Griffins in the AHL for the 2025-26 season before making his NHL debut behind Detroit’s high-end top defenders of Simon Edvinsson and Moritz Seider.
2. Chicago Blackhawks
Previous Ranking: 1
Top Five Prospects: Artyom Levshunov, Anton Frondell, Oliver Moore, 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 development of their group and a couple more top-3 draft picks have made sure they didn’t fall far. Chicago has learned the hard way that tearing a team down and tanking is easy, but building the group back up to the point they can compete for the playoffs is much tougher. Thankfully, they are set to have a steady stream of high-end young talent joining their roster for the next few seasons, all over the lineup.
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. He involves himself in every play possible, which can be a double-edged sword as he reacts and activates before thinking sometimes. 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. His decision making is still a bit raw, but he has made encouraging strides there since being drafted out of the NCAA.
1. San Jose Sharks
Previous Ranking: 4
Top Five Prospects: Igor Chernyshov, Sam Dickinson, Luca Cagnoni, Michael Misa, 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 goaltender Yaroslav Askarov, one of the world’s best goalie prospects 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. However, both of those prospects, as well as Will Smith, have made the leap into the NHL and are no longer eligible for this list. The fact that they still rank this high is a testament to the massive influx of young talent set to hit the Sharks’ lineup over the coming seasons.
Two years after we saw Connor Bedard going first overall, and three after Shane Wright went fourth overall, another CHL exceptional status player has gone in the top-5 of the NHL draft in Michael Misa. Misa plays an extremely well rounded game, with a really strong foundation of skills that should make him a great top-six forward in the NHL. Misa is an excellent skater, with the skill and hockey sense to be a great power play asset for San Jose. Misa’s fit is going to be very interesting with the Sharks, given they have Macklin Celebrini as a no-doubt first line center and Will Smith as a possible 2C for the future. Smith showed signs of great chemistry with Celebrini as a winger as last season went on so I think that opens the door for Misa to stay at center in the NHL.
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