Here are NHL teams’ U25 depth charts heading into the 2024-25 season, starting with the bottom eight and working up to the top eight, to be revealed later this week. This is not a ranking of teams in general, but rather a ranking of their youth. You will notice that most of the teams at the bottom are Cup contenders, and because of that, they have been dealing away high draft picks in recent years in an attempt to win now. Conversely, many of the teams ranked at the top in U25 depth are clubs that haven’t contended for the playoffs in recent years and have been rebuilding. The cutoff date for a player under 25 for this article was Aug. 1, 1999. Anyone born on July 31, 1999 or earlier wasn’t eligible for this list. Look for the next eight to be published tomorrow.
32. BOSTON
TOP 10 PICKS – 0
TOP 20 PICKS – 0
TOP 50 PICKS – 3
When you make three top-50 picks in seven years, you are going for it, and Boston has had one of the top clubs in the league over the past 14 years. The lack of draft picks catches up with an organization, however, and the Bruins are in for some trying times in the near future as there is a serious lack of quality youth on the way; especially on the blueline and in goal. The center position is the one bright spot in this group, and look for a couple of them to end up on the wing. Fabian Lysell won’t adequately replace a declining Brad Marchand and Letourneau and Poitras aren’t the next Bergeron and Krejci. They are solid prospects, however, and more building blocks for the next generation of young Bruins will soon have to be coming.
31. COLORADO
TOP 10 PICKS – 0
TOP 20 PICKS – 1
TOP 50 PICKS – 5
Erik Brannstrom is the only top 25 pick in the system and he is now with his third organization. A club with four undersized defencemen either on the big club or in the system added a fifth, and it will be interesting to see who between Brannstrom, Felix Girard, Gulyayev and Behrens are on the blueline in a couple of years. Hopes are high for Kovalenko to adapt to the North American game after success in the KHL but beyond Ritchie and perhaps Olausson, there are no legitimate NHL prospects up front. As is the case with most of the clubs at the bottom of the league in U25 talent, the Avalanche are contenders with an elite core in the primes of their careers. They will remain competitive over the next half decade but that lack of young depth will need to be addressed.
30. FLORIDA
TOP 10 PICKS – 1
TOP 20 PICKS – 2
TOP 50 PICKS – 7
When your only top-ten U25 player (Boqvist) is on his third NHL team before the age of 24 and generally considered a bust, a spot in the bottom five of all NHL club’s U25 depth charts is hardly surprising. Anton Lundell has lived up to his billing as an all-purpose top-three center, so the club looks set for the near future with Lundell, Sam Bennett and Sasha Barkov down the middle. Vilmanis took a huge leap in his development in the past year and Samoskevich has started to reach his potential so there are some promising youngsters up front even if there are far more questions than answers in this group. The Panthers will need to add some younger defencemen to the system soon or their Stanley Cup reign will be fleeting.
29. PITTSBURGH
TOP 10 PICKS – 0
TOP 20 PICKS – 1
TOP 50 PICKS – 7
The Crosby Malkin Era has meant going for a championship every season, and as a result, the organization has only made three top-40 selections in the past decade. This is Poulin’s make-or-break training camp or he may be lost on waivers. Pickering may still be a couple of years away but he’s a solid prospect, and the second tier of forward prospects featuring Howe and Broz is decent. Considering the lack of high picks, Pittsburgh’s staff has done a half-decent job of drafting in the past few years. The key player in this group is Yager. If he can develop into a top-two center, the decline of Malkin in the upcoming years will be less impactful. Crosby may have another 5+ high-end years left so finding his replacement isn’t an immediate concern.
28. TORONTO
TOP 10 PICKS – 0
TOP 20 PICKS – 0
TOP 50 PICKS – 3
One of a handful of clubs that have traded away drafted prospects and high picks the past half-decade in a futile attempt to win now, and the result is having one of the more underwhelming U25 cores in the league. The saving grace for the club is the top three forward prospects – Knies, Minten and Cowan. All three were great value picks outside of the top 20. Cowan and Knies may be the only potential blue-chip NHLers in the group, and Cowan’s lack of size still makes his ultimate NHL upside an unknown. Danford was a much-needed addition on the blueline as he’ll bring grit, competitiveness, and heart but his offence and skill are limited and he may top out as a second-pairing defenceman.
27. TAMPA BAY
TOP 10 PICKS – 0
TOP 20 PICKS – 1
TOP 50 PICKS – 7
The acquisitions of Conor Geekie and Janis Moser nudged Tampa ahead of Pittsburgh and Toronto by a hair but when you have one former top-30 pick in the entire system under the age of 25, there’s a solid realization that the club is in “win now” mode until Victor Hedman, Andrei Vasilevskiy and Nikita Kucherov start slowing down. The good news is that it may be several years before that happens. There is still a need for top-nine forwards and top-four defencemen on ELCs to help balance the salary structure, and the hope will be that several prospects can reach their full potential and contribute in due time. The defence corps will need to be replenished soon; especially on the right side with the dealing of Mikhail Sergachev to free up cap space.
26. VEGAS
TOP 10 PICKS – 1
TOP 20 PICKS – 1
TOP 50 PICKS – 7
When Jordan Gustafson and Matias Sapovaliv are your best center prospects under the age of 25, you are in “win now” mode. We couldn’t go beyond six defence prospects due to a lack of depth. The Knights only have two U25 right defencemen in the system, and the second one (Noah Ellis) may never be signed to an NHL contract. The club has attempted to address the lack of young talent this offseason by adding two recent top-15 picks in Alex Holtz and Grigori Denisenko but it’s safe to say that both have failed to live up to expectations thus far. The club will need to draft some young defencemen and centers in the next couple of years or things could get ugly in the Nevada desert by 2027-2028.
25. EDMONTON
TOP 10 PICKS – 3
TOP 20 PICKS – 3
TOP 50 PICKS – 9
The additions of two recent top-ten picks in Savoie and Podkolzin and an early second-round selection in Jarventie would normally boost a club’s U25 depth chart but then Edmonton lost two top-15 prospects in Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway to offer sheets from St. Louis that the Oilers didn’t match. The Oilers also gave up former 22nd overall pick Xavier Bourgault in the Jarventie trade, so the club doesn’t have a single top-30 selection remaining from the past six drafts. Broberg’s emergence in the playoffs was both good and bad as it resulted in him being offer sheeted. Savoie is a key figure up front – will he be able to adapt to the NHL like he did junior given his lack of size? The Sabres indicated that they weren’t positive that he can overcome his size issues or he would never have been dealt. Look for him to eventually end up on the wing.
