Top RHL Prospect Pools, Midseason Checkin

Scott Wheeler has ranked the top 75 skater and top 15 goalie prospects once more (plus 40 honorable mention skaters and 10 goalies). See below his criteria for this list:

To be eligible for inclusion, a skater must:

1. Be under 23 years old. We know that by the time a player turns 23, he is largely done with the steep upward progression we see in prospects and will begin to plateau.
2. Not be a full-time NHL player. This is the arbitrary section of the criteria. Here, I trust my judgment for whether or not a rostered NHL player is still likely to bounce between levels more than I trust any pre-determined games played cutoff. Preference for inclusion as an NHL prospect is more likely to be given to teenagers than 22-year-olds.
3. Either be signed to an NHL contract or selected in the entry draft, without the expiration of either of those rights. Players who are signed to AHL contracts are not considered.

To be eligible for inclusion, a goalie must:

1. Be under 25 years old. This age criteria is more reflective of the typical goalie trajectory, allowing for the continued consideration of a small number of 23- and 24-year-old goalies who are very much still prospects.
2. Not currently established as one of their NHL club’s two go-to options.
3. Either be signed to an NHL contract or selected in the entry draft, without the expiration of either of those rights. Goalies who are signed to AHL contracts are not considered.

The following skaters have graduated the list since the summer:

Connor Bedard (Capitals), Adam Fantilli (Blues), Leo Carlsson (Blues), Logan Cooley (Capitals), Luke Hughes (Sabres), Kevin Korchinski (Capitals), Pavel Mintyukov (Hurricanes), Marco Rossi (Canadiens), Alexander Holtz (Senators) and William Eklund (Blues)

Without further ado, here are the rankings, using a top secret algorithm to account for both top end talent and depth:

32. Arizona Coyotes

None Ranked

31. Seattle Kraken

Alex Laferriere (S HM)

30. Dallas Stars

Brendan Brisson (S HM), Stanislav Svozil (S HM), Sergei Ivanov (G HM)

29. Colorado Avalanche

Philip Tomasino (S 75), Owen Pickering (S HM), Arturs Silovs (G HM)

28. Detroit Red Wings

Joakim Kemell (S 62), Elias Salomonsson (S HM), Xavier Bourgault (S HM)

27. Nashville Predators

Dylan Holloway (S 56), Henry Thrun (S HM), Ryker Evans (S HM)

26. Philadelphia Flyers

Carson Rehkopf (S 50), Jayden Struble (S HM), Owen Beck (S HM)

25. Ottawa Senators

Conor Geekie (S 60), Carl Lindbom (G 12)

24. Winnipeg Jets

Oliver Bonk (S 55), Samuel Honzek (S 66), Joel Blomqvist (G 15)

23. San Jose Sharks

Isaac Howard (S HM), Thomas Bordeleau (S HM), Zachary L’Heureux (S HM), Devon Levi (G 5), Artur Akhtyamov (G HM)

22. Boston Bruins

Calum Ritchie (S 36), Sam Rinzel (S 64), Lukas Reichel (S 65), Fabian Lysell (S 74)

21. New York Rangers

Logan Stankoven (S 12), Bobby Brink (S 63), Nico Daws (G HM)

20. Washington Capitals

David Jiricek (S 10), Ivan Miroschnichenko (S 69), Mikhail Gulyayev (S 71), Jackson Blake (S HM), Justin Barron (S HM)

A special note for the Capitals, who probably dropped the most in these rankings based on the graduations from the beginning of the season in Bedard (previously 1st), Cooley (6th), and Korchinski (22nd)

19. Pittsburgh Penguins

Matthew Savoie (S 20), Tristan Luneau (S 48)

18. Anaheim Ducks

Simon Edvinsson (S 11), Mavrik Bourque (S 59), Erik Portillo (S 14)

17. Florida Panthers

Gabe Perreault (S 7), Joshua Roy (S 53), Ville Heinola (S HM)

16. Los Angeles Kings

Tom Willander (S 28), Jordan Dumais (S 47), Scott Morrow (S 54), Seamus Casey (S HM), Justus Annunen (G HM)

15. Minnesota Wild

Noah Ostlund (S 51), Logan Mailloux (S 67), Eduard Sale (S HM), Isak Rosen (S HM), Vasili Podkolzin (S HM), Yaroslav Askarov (G 2)

14. Vegas Golden Knights

Cutter Gauthier (S 5), Mackie Samoskevich (S HM), Trey Augustine (G 8)

13. Carolina Hurricanes

Colby Barlow (S 39), Riley Heidt (S 73), Jesper Wallstedt (G 1), Sergei Murashov (G HM)

12. New Jersey Devils

Lane Huston (S 14), Jiri Kulich (S 21), Jakob Pelletier (S HM), Alexei Kolosov (G HM), Mads Sogaard (G HM)

11. New York Islanders

Axel Sandin Pellikka (S 24), Matthew Wood (S 31), Brad Lambert (S 34)

10. Tampa Bay Lightning

Matvei Michkov (S 1), Dalibor Dvorsky (S 30), Dmitri Simashev (S 43), Carter Mazur (S HM), David Edstrom (S HM)

9. Edmonton Oilers

Rutger McGroarty (S 18), Olen Zellweger (S 23), Jagger Firkus (S 61), Fyodor Svechkov (S HM), Luca Cagnoni (S HM), Drew Commesso (S 10)

8. Columbus Blue Jackets

Zach Benson (S 6), Danila Yurov (S 16), Arseni Gritsyuk (S HM), Dustin Wolf (G 6)

7. Vancouver Canucks

Matt Coronato (S 33), Brayden Yager (S 37), Marco Kasper (S 40), Andrew Cristall (S 58), Filip Bystedt (S 70), Filip Mesar (S HM), Theo Lindstein (S HM), Zachary Bolduc (S HM), Sebastian Cossa (G 7)

6. Montreal Canadiens

Simon Nemec (S 2), Dylan Guenther (S 22), Easton Cowan (S 41), Connor Zary (S 44), Otto Stenberg (S 72), Hendrix Lapierre (S HM), Lukas Cormier (S HM)

5. Buffalo Sabres

David Reinbacher (S 25), Quentin Musty (S 38), Daniil But (S 49), Chaz Lucius (S 68), David Goyette (S HM), Maveric Lamoureux (S HM), Spencer Knight (G 4), Michael Hrabal (G 11)

The Sabres can boast some good depth on the skater side, though Reinbacher as their top prospect could leave some to be desired. They buoy into the top 5 on the back of Spencer Knight, who seemed to have graduated from this list, but has not played an NHL game this year. His pedigree is still there, and he’s only 22, but the fact he hasn’t taken his NHL job back from Anthony Stolarz leaves some questions about his upside.

4. Toronto Maple Leafs

Brandt Clark (S 3), Bradly Nadeau (S 29), Nate Danielson (S 42), Jacob Fowler (G 3)

The Leafs boast the 3rd ranked player on each list. On one side you have Clarke, their 7th overall pick in 2021 who has had his first cup of coffee in the NHL and is going PPG in the AHL from the backend, and on the other you have Fowler, their 66th overall pick in the 2023 draft who has shot up rankings with a strong season behind a wagon of a Boston College team.

3. Chicago Blackhawks

Alexander Nikishin (S 8), Shane Wright (S 15), Oliver Moore (S 27), Tanner Molendyk (S 32), Dylan Garand (G HM)

No other team on the list has four skaters in the top 32, which is what brings Chicago up into the top 3. Nikishin is putting up great numbers in the KHL as a 22 year-old coming off of a year where he broke Kirill Kaprizov’s U22 scoring record in Russia’s top league.

2. Calgary Flames

Kent Johnson (S 9), Ryan Leonard (S 13), Jimmy Snuggerud (S 19), Liam Ohgren (S 45), Brennan Othmann (S 46), Alex Turcotte (S HM), Emil Andrae (S HM), Ethan Del Mastro (S HM)

While Johnson is only the 9th ranked prospect, the Flames are the only club with 3 skaters in the top 20, and are all but guaranteed to add another top 4 pick this year. Kent Johnson has played 42 NHL games this year, but hasn’t established himself as a full time NHLer, seemingly partly due to some questionable prospect management by the NHL’s Blue Jackets.

1. St Louis Blues

Will Smith (S 4), Jonathan Lekkerimaki (S 17), Denton Mateychuk (S 26), Frank Nazar (S 35), Gavin Brindley (S 52), Philip Broberg (S 57), Hunter Brzustewicz (S HM), Marat Khusnutdinov (S HM), Shakir Mukhamadullin (S HM), Adam Gajan (G 9), Clay Stevenson (G 13)

The Blues saw top 3 picks in Fantilli (previously 3rd), Carlsson (4th), and Eklund (35th) all leave this list since the beginning of the season and still solidly hold down the top spot on this list, thanks in good part to graduates of the USNTDP in Smith, Nazar, Brindley, and Brzustewicz. They stand to pick eight times in the first three rounds this summer and 20 times overall, and hopefully will have some actual NHL talent at some point soon.