RHL Prospect Pool Rankings, 5-4

And by come back tomorrow I clearly meant come back Monday. Here is the continuation of the top prospect pools in the RHL based on Scott Wheeler’s top 25 drafted players article. As a reminder, here are the criteria that Scott uses for this list:

They are under 23 years old.

They are not a full-time NHL player. There is no pre-determined games played cutoff for this, but rather depends on Wheeler’s judgement whether the player will stick.

They are either signed to an NHL contract or an NHL team holds their draft rights.

Based on those rankings, here is a look at the top prospect pools in the RHL. Note also that these rankings are based only on the 50 skaters ranked, and do not include goaltender prospects.

Wheeler’s Article: https://theathletic.com/4163836/2023/02/13/top-nhl-prospects-2023-logan-cooley/

Honorable Mention: T-25, Winnipeg Jets

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5: Chicago Blackhawks

7. Shane Wright, C, 19, 2022, RHL 1st, NHL 4th

31. Cam York, LHD, 22, 2019, NHL 14th

38. Alexander Nikishin, LHD, 21, 2020, NHL 69th (nice)

The most exciting of Chicago’s prospects is obviously last year’s 1st overall pick, Shane Wright. After seeing their pick slide all the way to the Kraken at 4th in the NHL, and then watching those Kraken yo-yo Wright had to have Chicago’s management team sweating, but a strong World Juniors and 14 points in 7 WHL games so far this year show that Wright is still an exciting prospect. Of course, questions still remain with three players picked after Wright appearing above him in this list in Cooley, Jiricek, and Nemec, as well as Juraj Slafkovsky playing regular minutes with the Canadiens this year.

A pair of players on the older side for this list round out Chicago’s representation on this list. Cam York has split time between the Flyers and the AHL Phantoms this year, though it seems he’s likely to stick in the NHL now. Across the pond, Nikishin is putting up very impressive numbers for a 21 year-old in the KHL, especially on a large team like SKA St. Petersburg.

4: New York Rangers

9. Logan Stankoven, C/RW/LW, 19, 2021, RHL 17th, NHL 47th

12. Kevin Korchinski, LHD, 18, 2022, RHL 16th, NHL 7th

Stankoven slid nearly a full round past where the Maple Leafs picked him in the NHL, which may explain why when it came to this past November, the Mediocre Losers™ traded Stankoven basically one-for-one for Mats Zuccarello (with apologies to real Maple Leafs legend Tyler Ennis). You only need to look at the fact that Stankoven is listed at 5-foot-8 to understand why he fell all the way to the mid-2nd in the NHL. 79 points in 36 games in the WHL this year show he’s ready to take the next step next year, and only time will tell how his game translates to playing against men in the AHL and then the NHL.

The Ranger’s 1st round pick this year Korchinski obviously caught the eye of the NHL Blackhawks as they picked him 7th overall. Wheeler seems to agree with them, as Korchinski is indeed the 7th ranked prospect from the 2022 draft on this list (of course Slafkovsky is already considered a regular NHLer, and so is not on this list). 55 points in 39 games from the backend in the WHL shows an offensive ability that pairs well with his ability to defend the rush and disrupt play going the other way.

And now, in true clickbait article fashion, since I’ve already eclipsed 500 words just writing about teams 4 & 5, you’ll have to tune in next time to find out where Montreal, St Louis, and Washington rank.