8. DETROIT
TOP 10 PICKS – 4
TOP 20 PICKS – 6
TOP 50 PICKS – 11
Danielson is a decent center prospect but he didn’t live up to the hype of being top-ten draft picks last season. Danielson went from .49 goals per game in his draft season to .44 gpg, and the club will be hoping for more from him. Kasper put up decent stats as a 19-year-old AHL rookie but he really started to find his way by playoff time, notching four goals and seven points in nine games. They will be keys to future Detroit success up front. If they live up to their potential the Wings will make some noise as they have quality U25 depth on the wing. Berggren had more than a ppg in the AHL and should be ready for a regular top-nine role. Buchelnikov has the skill to find a spot in Detroit’s top six. Raymond is one of the most productive young forwards in the NHL and Nygard has power-forward potential, a welcome addition to the group from the first round of the 2024 draft.
7. COLUMBUS
TOP 10 PICKS – 4
TOP 20 PICKS – 6
TOP 50 PICKS – 11
You are laying the foundation for a playoff club that will be tough to play against when you grab imposing centers with top-four selections in back-to-back drafts. Lindstrom and Fantilli bring a compelling combination of grit, size and skill that will be tough to counter in a seven-game playoff series. The additions of Harris, Elick, and Marrelli shore up the defence which already has Mateychuk, Jiricek, Svozil and Ceulemans. That is a solid septet moving forward, and Mateychuk’s impressive AHL playoff indicates that he can step into a power-play role with Columbus when he’s ready. The club could use another high-end goalie prospect and may still be missing a bonafide number one defenceman but this is perhaps the deepest prospect group the club has ever had, and two or three years from now this will be a team NHL clubs will be reluctant to face.
6. CHICAGO
TOP TEN PICKS – 3
TOP 20 PICKS – 7
TOP 50 PICKS – 15
Having the 2022-23 Calder Trophy winner Bedard on the roster puts Chicago in the top half of these rankings alone, and even if you add in the likes of Moore, Nazar, Levshunov, and Korchinski, the Hawks have a promising future. Chicago likely needs one more draft to add another legitimate top-six forward and top-three defence prospect before they have the depth to contend with the top five but they’re getting there quickly. Vanacker and Boisvert add some size and sandpaper to the top nine. When five of your top six U25 forwards were top-20 picks, it signals better days ahead. Gajan is a solid goalie prospect having been selected top 40 in 2023 but he had an underwhelming season in Green Bay.
5. UTAH
TOP 10 PICKS – 5
TOP 20 PICKS – 7
TOP 50 PICKS – 14
Utah GM Bill Armstrong has built this team smartly by being patient and loading up on top-90 picks. Utah is still a year or two away from serious playoff contention but there has been significant progress made in fortifying the prospect pool since Armstrong took over as Arizona’s GM. Utah’s future will depend significantly on the fate of four top-12 picks. If Soderstrom and Hayton can ever reach their draft-day potential and But and Simashev develop as hoped, this club will be formidable in two or three years. Soderstrom’s time is quickly running out, and Hayton needs to take another step this season. Cooley is the real deal and rangy defenceman Kesselring also received votes for the Calder Trophy last season. Kesserling and Macelli have been pleasant surprises since neither was selected in the top 60. Iginla and Guenther both have the potential to be 35-goal snipers. Look for Utah to be formidable in a couple of years.
4. SAN JOSE
TOP 10 PICKS – 3
TOP 20 PICKS – 5
TOP 50 PICKS – 11
Any club with a potential top line of Smith, Celebrini and Eklund has a bright future, all being top-seven picks and Celebrini having the potential to be a franchise player. Smith may play at center but there are some question marks in his defensive game and paring him with Celebrini might be the perfect choice as Celebrini will be an excellent defensive center at the NHL level. The additions of Dickinson, Wallenius, Roberts and Misskey went a long way to building a promising defence corps but the club could still use one more blue-chip defence prospect, and that will likely get addressed in the next draft. The Sharks dealt from a position of strength in giving up David Edstrom in the Askarov deal. They are still loaded with center prospects even if Smith plays beside Celebrini as Bystedt, Bordeleau, and Lund all have top-three center upside. Askarov gives the Sharks a high-end goalie prospect for the first time in recent memory, and he will get an opportunity to be the club’s mainstay in goal.
3. BUFFALO
TOP 10 PICKS – 5
TOP 20 PICKS – 8
TOP 50 PICKS – 18
No other club can match the number of high draft picks under the age of 25 and while some have yet to reach their full potential they are all young and promising. The Sabres had so much depth that they dealt a top-ten prospect from two years ago to fill a position of need and remain in the top three in terms of u25 depth. It could be argued that they selected too many undersized forwards with high selections in the past four years but, just like with Matt Savoie, others can be traded to fill other needs in the future as they remain prime assets.
Over the next three years, the Sabres will have Rosen, Ostlund, Helenius, and Benson battle it out for top-six positions along with Kulich and Peterka. All are quality prospects but you can expect one or two of them to end up on different clubs in the future as Buffalo tries to find the proper balance between size and skill in the top nine. The defence also holds a ton of promise with two former first overall picks and a fourth overall pick all having yet to reach their primes. Perhaps they are still a year away but this club should soon be a perennial playoff contender for the first time in 15-plus years.
2. ANAHEIM
TOP TEN PICKS – 6
TOP 20 PICKS – 6
TOP 50 PICKS – 15
It is essentially a dead heat between Montreal and Anaheim in u25 forward and defence depth as each organization is fully stocked. Both organizations have multiple players that can be top-two centers or top four-wingers, and defence corps with plenty of depth, especially on the right side. The Canadiens’ goaltending and right defence depth are what stack the odds in their favor at this point but both teams have very bright futures. Anaheim has a nice mixture of size, grit and skill in its top forward prospects. McTavish, Gauthier, and Sennecke should complement Carlson and Zegras quite well. There is adequate depth on left defence to make a future deal for a right-shot defender, This became more of a factor after Jamie Drysdale was dealt but the Ducks couldn’t pass on a complete player like Gauthier.
Mintyukov and Zellweger have the smarts and skills to quarterback each power-play unit and Solberg and Warren have shutdown defenceman potential. Solberg also has underrated offensive potential and Luneau could develop into a solid two-way defender. When a young first-round pick like Lacombe might be fifth on your u25 defense depth chart, you know that there is quality depth in the organization. None of the right defencemen, however, have the upside of Montreal’s David Reinbacher or Logan Mailloux, and that gives Montreal a slight edge. Dostas is the most proven U-25 goaltender in either organization but he’s also the eldest, and Fowler has elite starter upside, making them pretty even. What gives Montreal a slight advantage overall is Primeau’s emergence last season. At this point, he’s a more proven netminder than Clara and Clang.
1. MONTREAL
TOP 10 PICKS – 4
TOP 20 PICKS – 8
TOP 50 PICKS – 15
The Canadiens have star potential at each position and unequaled overall depth compared to the other 31 NHL teams. Anaheim would be close but the advantage goes to Montreal for having more proven NHLers. We can be less certain about the career NHL potential of Cutter Gauthier, Beckett Sennecke and Leo Carlsson than we are today about Caufield, Suzuki Dach, and Slafkovsky Montreal has their unknowns like Demidov, Hutson and Hage but Demidov and Hutson’s potential are limitless. They are the X factors potential-wise that tilt the comparison in Montreal’s favor. It’s also becoming apparent that Jacob Fowler could be an elite NHL goaltender. Granted, the Ducks already have a solid one in Lukas Dostal but the six-year gap in age works gives Fowler the nod in ultimate potential. Cayden Primeau is no slouch either, and that one-two combination gives Montreal the edge in goal defence and forward. It’s tight at all three positions, however, and the Ducks have a bright future ahead of them.
It’s an impressive mixture of size skill and strength in Montreal’s group. Slaf has the potential to be the NHL’s preeminent power forward, and Demidov is one of the most skilled players from the past ten drafts, Hutson has point-per-game potential if he can find a regular role, and Fowler may develop into an elite NHL starter. Xhekaj has demonstrated that he can be a top enforcer over the next decade. Kaiden Guhle is beloved by coaches and scouts throughout hockey and has top-pairing potential along with Reinbacher and Mailloux, who could both end up being the top defenceman from their draft classes. Add in Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Kirby Dach, who are all established top-six NHL players, and it’s hard to dispute that the Canadians have their best u25 group in decades, perhaps ever,
