The summer can be rough for hockey fans.<\/p>\n
If all you care about is the NHL, then there isn\u2019t much to look forward to throughout the middle of July until training camps begin in September. The news cycle is quiet. There are no games being played. And most players are lying low and staying out of the spotlight. <\/p>\n
But if you\u2019re a prospect aficionado, the hockey season never ends. There are numerous post-draft tournaments and showcases worldwide, providing teams with opportunities to assess the capabilities of the future crop of stars.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also a perfect time for us to roll out our 32-team NHL Prospect Pool Breakdown Series<\/a>, looking at the strengths, weaknesses, and top prospects for every single team.<\/p>\n To be classified as a prospect, players generally need to meet the following criteria: they must have played in 50 or fewer NHL games or spent more time outside of the NHL than in it during the previous season. Players over the age of 23 are excluded from this classification, along with certain prospects who have played fewer than 50 games but held a full-time role for a significant portion of the season \u2014 this determination is more subjective. <\/p>\n For goaltenders, the criteria are somewhat different: they must be 25 years old or younger and have played fewer than 15 games in the previous season, or they should not have spent a substantial amount of time in the NHL over the past three years.<\/p>\n So with that, let\u2019s rank all 32 NHL teams. The ranking is based on several factors, including depth and overall star power. There are some areas where the difference between spots is quite close, so if you feel like your team deserves to be two spots higher, the gap is probably too small as it is:<\/p>\n Key Prospects: Michael Misa, Sam Dickinson, Yaroslav Askarov<\/p>\n Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith became full-time NHLers last year \u2013 and the Sharks are still not done churning out high-quality prospects. They\u2019ve got a bit of everything. High-end scorers? Check. An elite defensive prospect? You bet. Not one, but two outstanding goalies? Yes sir! The Sharks have one of the most exciting futures in all of hockey, and we haven\u2019t even seen what the pool is capable of. They\u2019ll be in the hunt to land\u00a0Gavin McKenna or Keaton Verhoeff\u00a0<\/a>at the 2026 NHL Draft, but then they\u2019ll hopefully start to figure things out.<\/p>\n Key Prospects: Ivan Demidov, Jacob Fowler, David Reinbacher<\/p>\n The Canadiens are in a good spot to contend for a\u00a0playoff spot for years to come<\/a> \u2013 especially after watching Lane Hutson earn his NHL promotion last year. They might not have the deepest pipeline, but they have at least four players who reside among the top 50 in the league. The high end does the heavy lifting, but that\u2019s OK. Montreal is one of the only teams in the league with a legit top forward, defense and goaltending prospect in the system. The top three listed above are all expected to be true difference-makers, with Ivan Demidov leading the way as soon as this fall. Seriously, the Canadiens have so much going for them in their pipeline. It\u2019s ridiculous.<\/p>\n Key Prospects: Sam Rinzel, Artyom Levshuov, Anton Frondell<\/p>\n The Hawks have a young prospect pool, with many of their young talents still early in their development. I\u2019ve loved their past two NHL Drafts, with a handful of their picks just missing out on this list. I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if around 14-15 prospects currently in the system became NHLers at some point (but not all with Chicago, obviously). The Blackhawks still have their work cut out for them if they\u2019re going to start trending in the right direction. But hopefully, it won\u2019t be too long until Connor Bedard doesn\u2019t feel lonely.<\/p>\n Key Prospects: Beckett Sennecke, Roger McQueen, Stian Solberg<\/p>\n The Ducks might finally be on the come-up after years of drafting high. After watching Leo Carlsson, Pavel Mintyukov, Jackson LaCombe, Lukas Dostal, Cutter Gauthier and Olen Zellweger\u00a0become full-time NHLers over the past two years, they\u2019ve got more on the way. The team has size up front, some options on the back end and a couple of potential backup goaltenders, as well. They might lack play-drivers, but they\u2019ve got options just about everywhere else.<\/p>\n Key Prospects: Zeev Buium, David Jiricek, Danila Yurov<\/p>\n There\u2019s a good chance five players in the link above could become full-time NHLers out of training camp. That\u2019s incredible, especially when you account that there\u2019s some serious depth at every position. Zeev Buium and David Jiricek are two of the best defensive prospects around, and Danila Yurov and Liam \u00d6hgren are set to give the Wild some scoring depth in the bottom six. I\u2019m not ready to give up on Jesper Wallstedt, either, given he was one of the best goalie prospects in the world just a year ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n Key Prospects: Matthew Schaefer, Calum Ritchie, Cole Eiserman<\/p>\n The Islanders went from having one of the worst pipelines in the NHL to one of pure envy in the span of a few months. Everything changed the moment the Islanders traded veteran Brock Nelson to the\u00a0Colorado Avalanche in a deal that sent Calum Ritchie the other way.<\/a>\u00a0Suddenly, they had a top-30 prospect, giving them a legit top-two center for the long term. Biggest of all, they won the NHL Draft lottery, allowing them to take\u00a0coveted defenseman Matthew Schaefer first overall<\/a>. But a few hours before the big selection, the Islanders shipped out Noah Dobson to Montreal in a deal involving two first-rounders. They used them on\u00a0Victor Eklund and Kashawn Aitcheson,\u00a0<\/a>giving them three prospects from\u00a0Daily Faceoff\u2019s top 120 list.<\/a><\/p>\n Key Prospects: Berkly Catton, Jake O\u2019Brien, Jagger Firkus<\/p>\n I don\u2019t think it\u2019s outlandish to believe every player in this top 10 will end up playing significant time in the NHL at one point or another. Berkly Catton is one of the best prospects in hockey, and I\u2019d love to see him in Seattle this season. Wth so many quality prospects headed to Coachella Valley in 2025-26, their minor league team will be must-watch entertainment. The pipeline is deeper than many others around the league, too.\u00a0It took a bit for the Kraken to get their pool this high, but I like their future \u2013 even if the present looks bleak.<\/a><\/p>\n Key Prospects: Ryan Leonard, Cole Hutson, Andrew Cristall<\/p>\n Usually, teams near the top of the NHL standings have dismal prospect pools, but the Capitals truly have one of the best in the entire NHL.\u00a0It\u2019s hard to beat Washington\u2019s depth on the wings. Ryan Leonard and Andrew Cristall give the Capitals one high-end talent on both sides \u2013 with Leonard ready to make an impact as early as October. They also have one of the most exciting defensive prospects in Cole Hutson. At one point, it looked like the post-Alex Ovechkin era was going to be bleak \u2013 but not anymore.<\/p>\n Key Prospects: Porter Martone, Jett Luchanko, Oliver Bonk <\/p>\n I loved what the Flyers did at the draft. Porter Martone is one of my favorite prospects in hockey. Jack Nesbitt? I get the fit, even if I felt he was taken too early. Jack Murtagh, Shane Vansaghi and Carter Amico in the second could all prove to be good value. Philadelphia is set for another ugly season in 2025-26, but a handful of young prospects should see some NHL time. Don\u2019t be surprised if Jett Luchanko, Oliver Bonk, Alex Bump and Nikita Grebenkin all start the year battling for NHL roster spots, with potentially all of them heading back down to either junior or Lehigh Valley before too long.<\/p>\n Key Prospects: Zayne Parekh, Cole Reschny, Hunter Brzustewicz<\/p>\n The Flames might not have much going for them in the NHL, but there are some nice pieces coming along throughout the deep pipeline. There\u2019s a high likelihood that defenseman\u00a0Zayne Parekh<\/a>\u00a0will be in the NHL to start the season, with many believing he\u2019ll stick around for the majority of the year. The Flames have a ton of depth at center now, using their two recent first-rounders to bet on middlemen with skill to burn. Cole Reschny is one of the best playmakers outside of the NHL today, while Cullen Potter didn\u2019t let a smaller frame slow him down in college. It\u2019s a good pool, even after promoting Dustin Wolf and Matt Coronato to the show.<\/p>\n Key Prospects: Axel Sandin-Pellikka, Trey Augustine, Sebastian Cossa<\/p>\n While the\u00a0Yzerplan hasn\u2019t panned out<\/a>\u00a0into any tangible NHL success, you can\u2019t argue with the talent waiting in the wings. The most exciting element is the arrival of top prospect Axel Sandin-Pellikka in North America. He looked good in his two-game AHL stint after putting up excellent numbers in the SHL and with Sweden at the World Juniors. The Red Wings have always shown a willingness to play the patient game with their star blueliners, and it has worked out quite well for Edvinsson and Moritz Seider so far. I\u2019m excited to see what\u2019s next with ASP. They also have two of the best goaltending prospects in the NHL in Trey Augustine and Sebastian Cossa, and I feel highly about Carter Bear and Michael Brandsegg-Nyg\u00e5rd. It\u2019s a good pool, even if it\u2019s not as deep as it was maybe a year ago.<\/p>\n Key Prospects: Brady Martin, Tanner Molednyk, David Edstrom<\/p>\n The Predators have quickly built one of the most dangerous pipelines in all of hockey. It\u2019s not hard to see why. They had three first-rounders in 2025 and five picks in the top 58. Over the past three years, they\u2019ve drafted 26 prospects, with their\u00a0most recent crop<\/a>\u00a0being among the best of any team. The past NHL season might have been ugly for the Preds, but the future looks bright \u2013\u00a0and if they want to retool instead of breaking everything up, they could swap out a couple assets to make it happen.\u00a0<\/p>\n 13. Columbus Blue Jackets (2024: 11th)<\/p>\n Key Prospects: Cayden Lindstrom, Jackson Smith, Pyotr Andreyanov<\/p>\n The Blue Jackets continue to boast an impressive pipeline. There\u2019s a lot to be excited about in the long-term future, and that doesn\u2019t include some of the young talent already occupying key roles with the big club. Injuries to two of Columbus\u2019 most important prospects \u2013 Cayden Lindstrom and Jordan Dumais \u2013 stunted their development a bit.\u00a0But on the flipside, a handful of prospects deeper down \u2013 such as Luca Marrelli and Evan Gardner \u2013 helped establish themselves as legit long-term threats. I loved their draft, as well.<\/a><\/p>\n Key Prospects: Alexander Nikishin, Bradly Nadeau, Nikita Artamonov<\/p>\n The Hurricanes have built themselves up to be a perennial contender \u2013 but one that just hasn\u2019t made the right steps forward to reach the summit. The pipeline has started to slow down in recent years, but there\u2019s still plenty of value picks who could turn into NHLers or trade bait. Alexander Nikishin is ready to take the next step, while a few others should see some NHL games, too. The Hurricanes are still in win-now mode, but having a solid pipeline with more help on the way is never a bad spot to be in.<\/p>\n Key Prospects: Caleb Desnoyers, Tij Iginla, Dmitri Simashev <\/p>\n Utah doesn\u2019t have one of the deeper pipelines in the NHL, but its higher-end prospects should be true difference-makers. There are teams with pipelines I like a lot more, but I feel confident that the top eight listed below should become impactful NHLers \u2013 that\u2019s a high batting rate, no matter which team you are. It might still be a few years until the Mammoth are serious Stanley Cup contenders.\u00a0But they\u2019ve got help coming up at a decent rate \u2013 and those players should be ready to contribute once the team gets closer to taking the next step.<\/p>\n Key Prospects: Konsta Helenius, Radim Mrtka, Noah \u00d6stlund<\/p>\n There\u2019s a lot to like about Buffalo\u2019s pipeline. They\u2019ve got great center depth, starting with Konsta Helenius. They\u2019ve got plenty of defenders with NHL potential, too. I even like their goaltenders, with Devon Levi, Ryerson Leenders and Scott Ratzlaff leading the way. It\u2019s a solid pipeline \u2013 but they\u2019ve got to take a bigger step forward this year to make all that drafting work worth it. I still like this group, and the fanbase deserves a winning big-league team sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n Key Prospects: Jimmy Snuggerud, Dalibor Dvorsk\u00fd, Justin Carbonneau <\/p>\n The Blues\u2019 pipeline isn\u2019t deep. But I could see most of this top 10 play at least some NHL games, with a few becoming key components of the future. Jimmy Snuggerud and Dalibor Dvorsk\u00fd and Justin Carbonneau all have futures as top-six forwards, with Snuggerud, in particular, ready to take up the mantle out of training camp. Logan Mailloux, Theo Lindstein, Adam Jiricek and Colin Ralph give the team some serious defensive depth, and I\u2019m still a big Otto Stenberg fan.<\/p>\n Key Prospects: Rutger McGroarty, Benjamin Kindel, Harrison Brunicke<\/p>\n I\u2019ll give the Penguins\u2019 scouting department some love \u2013 they transformed this pipeline very, very quickly. After adding Rutger McGroarty via a trade last summer, GM Kyle Dubas and Co. managed to make seven picks in the top 100 back in June, including three picks in the first round. That boosted Pittsburgh\u2019s prospect pool to levels I have never seen since I started covering prospects. Pittsburgh\u2019s post-Sidney Crosby rebuild is going to be a slow one, but they\u2019re starting to actually make true progress.<\/p>\n Key Prospects: Anton Silayev, Mikhail Yegorov, Seamus Casey<\/p>\n The Devils don\u2019t have a single deep position.\u00a0But the fact that they have potential impact players up front, on the blueline, and in the crease is a reason for excitement.\u00a0Casey and Anton Silayev give the Devils some options on both sides of the back end, and I\u2019m a huge Mikhail Yegorov fan. Up front, Lenni H\u00e4meenaho could be a future 20-goal scorer in the NHL. The pool starts to trail off beyond that, but I actually like New Jersey\u2019s 2025 draft, especially up front. They have a few players who could become role guys in the NHL, and you need finds like that.<\/p>\n 20. New York Rangers (2024: 14th)<\/p>\n Key Prospects: Gabe Perreault, Scott Morrow, Malcolm Spence<\/p>\n I like a lot of the Rangers\u2019 top 10 talent, especially Gabe Perreault. The Blueshirts have struggled to hit on a few of their young stars in recent years, but they\u2019ve managed to keep a steady flow of available youngsters for a while now. They have decent forward options and a couple of solid defenders. It\u2019s not deep, and there aren\u2019t a ton of high-end assets. But it\u2019s not terrible by any means.<\/p>\n Key Prospects: James Hagens, Fraser Minten, Fabian Lysell<\/p>\n Boston\u2019s pipeline is far from deep, especially for a team that\u2019s going to need to retool sooner rather than later. But drafting James Hagens seventh overall and trading for Fraser Minten and Will Zellers gave this team a huge jolt. The Bruins have a ton of depth down the middle, but adding Hagens to the fray makes them even more dynamic. They\u2019ve got a bit of everything, from skill to speed to size.<\/p>\n Key Prospects: Brayden Yager, Elias Salomonsson, Brad Lambert<\/p>\n The Jets don\u2019t have a deep farm to choose from, and the Manitoba Moose were at the bottom of the AHL standings last year. But I actually don\u2019t mind what they have. Compared to other top NHL teams\u2019, the Jets\u2019 top prospects are above average. I feel like the good majority of the top 10 players listed below will become NHL players at some point. And that\u2019s something many other pipelines can\u2019t claim.<\/p>\n 23. Edmonton Oilers (2024: 29th)<\/p>\n Key Prospects: Matt Savoie, Ike Howard, Samuel Jonsson<\/p>\n Shoutout to the Oilers. Over the past two summers, they\u2019ve made a pair of moves to acquire Matthew Savoie and Ike Howard, making their pipeline a bit more formidable. That\u2019s not a high bar \u2013 and they still lack depth significantly. They\u2019re focused on winning now and the future has taken a hit as a result. That\u2019s normal. But adding one of the most dominant CHLers in recent years, and now the reigning Hobey Baker Award winner, is a nice haul without having to give up too much to get it.<\/p>\n Key Prospects: Easton Cowan, Ben Danford, Dennis Hildeby<\/p>\n It\u2019s still not a strong pipeline, but Toronto\u2019s depth appears to be better than it was a year ago. The team has options at every position, and while most aren\u2019t going to be impact players, they need as much depth as they can get. Toronto\u2019s focus is on winning right now, but having some legit help either down the road at Coca-Cola Coliseum or marinating in Europe could go a long way.<\/p>\n Key Prospects: Carter Yakemchuk, Leevi Meril\u00e4inen, Logan Hensler<\/p>\n There aren\u2019t many high-profile prospects waiting to take the next step forward. Fortunately, it\u2019s very likely we see the top two players on this list \u2013\u00a0Carter Yakemchuk and Leevi Meril\u00e4inen \u2013 at least start the year in the NHL, with Meril\u00e4inen projected to be the full-season backup. Beyond that, though, there aren\u2019t many others in the system who look to be more than AAAA players \u2013 guys who\u2019ll get the odd call-up, but might not have a long-term fit in any meaningful capacity.<\/p>\n 26. Dallas Stars (2024: 18th)<\/p>\n Key Prospects: Lian Bichsel, Emil Hemming, Ayrton Martino<\/p>\n The Stars have some solid defensive depth, with Lian Bichsel easily leading the way.\u00a0But beyond that, Dallas\u2019 pipeline just lacks\u2026 everything. The Stars won\u2019t be too pressed about that \u2013 they\u2019re focused on another long playoff run. But don\u2019t expect much value on the trade front if GM Jim Nill is forced to decimate the farm to bring in immediate help.<\/p>\n Key Prospects: Liam Greentree, Henry Brzustewicz, Carter George<\/p>\n The Kings spent many years with an above-average prospect pool. That\u2019s no longer the case, but they do have something that could prove fruitful: goaltending depth. The Kings have three goalies in the top five of this list, with Carter George, Erik Portillo and Hampton Slukynsky all being legit options. If they needed help immediately, they could ship one out to get some decent value back. Beyond that, though, the pipeline leaves a lot to be desired.<\/p>\n Key Prospects: Tom Willander, Jonathan Lekkerim\u00e4ki, Braeden Cootes<\/p>\n Most NHL teams with two playoff appearances in the past decade would have a solid prospect pipeline. The Canucks, though, are seriously lacking depth. The Canucks are hoping players like Tom Willander and Jonathan Lekkerim\u00e4ki can live up to their potential and become stars playing key roles in the NHL. So while I think Vancouver\u2019s pipeline definitely lacks depth, the high-end talent could be impact players sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n Key Prospects: Gavin Brindley, Mikhail Gulyayev, Ilya Nabokov<\/p>\n The Avalanche already had one of the worst pipelines in hockey. But trading Calum Ritchie \u2013 the only player\u00a0on last year\u2019s list\u00a0<\/a>with a clear pathway to the NHL \u2013 to bring in\u00a0Brock Nelson at the NHL Trade Deadline\u00a0<\/a>didn\u2019t help. But it is interesting that the Avalanche has seemingly found some value out of late-round picks.\u00a0Will it matter? No. But as they continue to chase after Cups, they\u2019re not too concerned about the long-term future.<\/p>\n Key Prospects: Sam O\u2019Reilly, Ethan Gauthier, Ethan Czata<\/p>\n The Bolts have one of the worst pipelines in the NHL. That\u2019s what happens when your focus is all on winning in the present. While I\u2019m not sure how many of them will become NHL players, I do like their depth at center. O\u2019Reilly is the obvious draw there,\u00a0even though he has a little less offensive upside than Ike Howard, whom they traded for him. There isn\u2019t much going on there beyond that.<\/p>\n Key Prospects: Trevor Connelly, Carl Lindbom, Mathieu Cataford<\/p>\n The Golden Knights, predictably, have struggled to keep a pipeline worth getting excited about. That happens when you trade away just about every first-round pick you\u2019ve ever had in a pursuit of glory. Trevor Connelly is by far the top prospect in the system, but he\u2019s coming off a difficult college season.\u00a0Carl Lindbom can be a decent goalie, while Mathieu Cataford has middle-six potential. Beyond that, most others look like depth players at best.<\/p>\n Key Prospects: Jack Devine, Linus Eriksson, Gracyn Sawchyn<\/p>\n The Panthers have plenty of depth on the wings, mostly as potential fourth-liners. They have some players with skill, and others who like to brawl. I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if Gracyn Sawchyn, in particular, moves to the wing because he seems to thrive when he doesn\u2019t need to do everything on the ice. But the reality is, there\u2019s a non-zero chance that not a single player in their top 10 prospect list becomes a full-time NHLer. Devine is arguably the best option, but he\u2019s not rounded enough for many scouts. Beyond that? Maybe Eriksson, but that\u2019s it.<\/p>\n Top NHL Prospects for 2025-26<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The summer can be rough for hockey fans. If all you care about is the NHL, then there…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":86429,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,448,82],"class_list":["post-86428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86428"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86428\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}