RHL Prospect Pool Rankings, 3-2

Welcome back to the countdown of the best prospect pools in the RHL based on Scott Wheeler’s top 50 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/

3: Washington Capitals

1. Logan Cooley, C, 18, 2022, RHL 3rd, NHL 3rd

3. David Jiricek, RHD, 18, 2022, RHL 6th, NHL 6th

By Scott’s rankings, Washington had by far the best haul from the 2022 draft (with the usual Slafkovsky caveat with him stepping right into the league). Also picked before the previously consensus 1st overall Shane Wright in the NHL, Cooley is lighting up the NCAA to the tune of 44 points in 31 games, the second best PPG pace for a drafted player behind Sean Farrell who is 3 years older than him. (Side-note, this Adam Fantilli kid might turn out to be pretty good, 49 points in 27 games). Cooley could turn into the crown jewel of the rebuilds of both the RHL Capitals and the NHL Coyotes, or potentially much worse for those team’s league mates, a partner in an absolutely deadly 1-2 combo of centers with either Connor Bedard or the aforementioned Fantilli.

At sixth overall, Washington then picked up the guy who looks to possibly be the best defenseman out of last year’s draft in Jiricek, though Simon Nemec will likely give him a good run for his money in that debate, which may never be truly settled if both hit their ceilings. With a big frame, good skating for his size, and his very strong transition game, Jiricek looks to be on track to be a fixture on Washington’s backend much the same way that Cooley can be up front.

2: Montreal Canadiens

4. Simon Nemec, RHD, 18, 2022, RHL 4th, NHL 2nd

16. Dylan Guenther, LW/RW, 20, 2021, RHL 4th, NHL 9th

19. Marco Rossi, C, 21, 2020, NHL 9th

A trio of top-10 picks lands Montreal the number 2 spot in these rankings. While Wheeler may have Jiricek ahead of Nemec as of today, it’s quite easy to see why the NHL Devils and RHL Canadiens chose Nemec before Jiricek, and most of that ranking is likely explained by Nemec’s shaky start in North America this season. However, since December, Nemec has been all that both of those organizations hoped he could be. Wheeler says that he expects Nemec to be, “the best defenseman out of Slovakia since Zdeno Chara,” but I wouldn’t be so quick to project him as better than the man, the myth, the legend, Martin Marincin.

In the NHL, Guenther will always be tied to Jim Benning and the Oliver Ekman-Larsson trade which got Arizona back into the top of the draft after having their 11th overall pick voided thanks to illegal pre-draft measurements. In the RHL, Montreal has to be excited about the supremely gifted winger’s potential to fit into their top 6 for years to come, especially with Guenther already getting a good taste of the NHL in 33 games so far this year.

Rossi has bounced between the NHL and AHL this year, with a disappointing single point in 16 NHL games contrasted against a sparkling 30 points in 33 AHL games. Wheeler projects him as a defensively responsible 20 goal, 60 point guy, which is a very solid asset for a Montreal team that has taken a big step into a fight for the Atlantic division this year.

Next time, I get to stretch this series out into four articles and wax poetic for 500 words about the prospect pool of your St Louis Blues, who lead the league by far with seven players recognized on Wheeler’s list.