“He can completely take over a game, and I admire his gumption and fearlessness.” 18,000 words. 55 honorable mentions. Player tiers and more. scottcwheeler ranks the top 50 drafted NHL prospects ⤵️
The AthleticThis two-piece, twice-a-year project ranks the league’s top 50 drafted skaters and top 10 drafted goalies each offseason and then again at the midseason point.
A total of 11 prospects from last year’s list have since graduated to the NHL: Owen Power, Matty Beniers, Kent Johnson, Cole Perfetti, Juraj Slafkovsky, Jake Sanderson, Mason McTavish, Wyatt Johnston, Jack Quinn, Kaiden Guhle and Peyton Krebs. I love his tempo and feel for the game out there. His touch with the puck and hands both get high grades. His skating and energy level are both differentiators, and those things make for a pretty compelling package.
Hughes is a true star prospect and a breath of fresh air to watch. There’s still the odd brain cramp, but his ability to steer and influence play defensively has come a long way, and he makes transporting pucks and making opposing players miss look too easy and effortless. He’s going to be a neutral zone monster and his game in the other two zones has really begun to refine nicely.
I hate this cliche but you really can’t teach hands like his at that size. He tries things, he usually pulls them off and he’s extremely comfortable handling the puck under pressure. He has also found greater control of his gangly frame and takes up a lot of space defensively. I like how vocal he is for his age out there — a sign of his confidence. I like how hard he makes it for players to get around him. I like how his head is always up .
He has this way of getting into the spots to make something happen. I’ve often referred to him as a bit of a unicorn. He looks, at all times, completely unbothered by the stage or the pressure of opposing players. I think there are times when that can result in him trying to do too much, but you can live with it because it also produces some big plays in big moments.
There are times when scouts want to see him play with a little more fire and feistiness to really take over games and impose himself on the forecheck/in battles/into his shot, but his eye for detail off the puck puts him in a supportive role more often than an active chase, and that’s fine. He’ll surprise you with his creativity for his size, too. His wrist shot is dangerous from mid range when he has the time to get it off, though I think he’ll need to continue to improve on balancing his catch-and-release to get the most out of himself as a shooter in traffic when he’s playing off the puck. The payoff is still there, it’s just going to require a little more patience . He is still just 20, even if it feels like he has been around for longer than that now.
He’s got a strong release. He can break down defenders in traffic. He’s a sneaky-good facilitator. He’s got clear power-play upside, I think he’s got legitimate penalty-kill upside, and it’s not hard to imagine him as a third-line scorer who plays an honest game or high-skill top-six piece who can play the part of play-driver or play-finisher. He’s going to endear himself to fans, too. I don’t see his size as an issue. It’s an advantage in more ways than a disadvantage.
The appeal of his game and makeup has always been obvious. Gauthier’s a net-focussed shooter but he has worked to turn himself into a net-driven one, playing a more intentional game that knows what it is. On the puck, he uses inside body positioning to get to the middle off the cycle or the rush. Off of it, he finishes his checks and looks to help his line get it back.
He tries to guide play with and without the puck with his mobility, pivots and directional changes. He can take over a game with his ability to transport the puck and roam. He can stretch the ice on outlets. He reads the play quickly, which allows him to make hurry-up passes when a long carry sequence isn’t there for him. He sees the play develop inside the offensive zone at an advanced level and regularly hits cross-ice seams.
He just always seems to be involved in all three zones. I see a clear top-four upside and there’s nothing in his game that gives me pause in saying that.One of the hottest prospects in hockey, Snuggerud has gone from B-plus prospect to A-grade prospect this season. And on top of it all he’s also got a pro frame to build upon and a June birthday that gives him good runway. With the right development, there’s a goal-scoring top-six winger there.Guenther is a beautiful skating winger who slices through holes and dashes past flatfooted defenders with ease. He’s a flowing player who excels in transition, crossing over to build speed, attacking on angles across the line and breezing through neutral ice in possession to make plays off the rush.
And I actually quite like the way he defends. He gets back to so many loose pucks that he doesn’t have to rely all that much on engaging in battles and even when he does, his positioning, timing and active stick help him disrupt opposing carriers and break up plays. There are some limitations on box-outs and his one-on-one play at times, and he’s prone to the odd miscue inside the defensive zone, but his proficiencies more than make up for that.
But he also just always seems to play well. I love how quickly he reads the play when he gets the puck. It’s catch, survey, and quickly skate or outlet. Rinse, repeat. He almost never waits too long to make a decision. He plays a game of intellect, craft and feel. He has also begun to play more assertively and aggressively on offense in the AHL. He’s going to be a heck of an NHL player and projects as a 20-40-60 guy with defensive value for me . He faced a big setback down, and it slowed his development, but he’s going to get to where you’d hope a top-10 pick will in the end. I’ll stick my neck out on that.
I don’t see game-breaking skill or finishing, per se, but he plays with pro pace, he’s a good passer, he plays on the interior and he makes plays all over the ice. The maturity and smarts in his game define him. He plays an almost mistake-free game. And maybe most importantly, he has handled the responsibilities of center ice really well this year . It’s a big deal that he has won more draws than he has lost and has driven possession and goal-differential results at five-on-five this year.
Dumais’ extensions through his stride need some cleaning up , but he has become a tremendously hardworking player with a wide-ranging offensive game that allows him to create offence in a variety of ways. He’ll beat you with a quick give-and-go on one shift, a standstill pass or shot on the next, a dance to the high slot on the next, and quick hands and determination around the net on the next. He brings it every night. He tracks back and makes hustle plays.
He also consistently supports the play high in the offensive zone without possession when that’s his role . He can be careless with the puck and try to do too much at times but he’s also capable of going right into coverage to make something happen or breezing to the perimeter to pull eyes to him and facilitate. He moves and does things on the ice that few can and has upside as a dynamic top-six playmaker if he can get back on the trajectory he was on pre-surgery.
And then he’s got a hard, quick release which rattles off of the heel of his blade and great feel around the net. He’s always in the guts of the ice. He’ll force turnovers on the forecheck. He doesn’t stop working. He’s got slick hands, especially moving laterally. Increasingly, he looks dangerous in transition with the puck. He’s also got great poise in possession inside the offensive zone.
Add in a commitment to the puck retrievals and battles and a strong base knowledge of when to make the simple play and when to attack, and you’ve got a pretty safely projectable top-nine and probably top-six winger at an early age. And don’t confuse completeness for lack of talent, as I think that can often be misconstrued and that is not the case here. He has been leading more rushes and attacking sequences in control this year. You can’t fault his effort level. He’s strong. He can score.
That worries me, obviously. But Lucius remains a talented player and finisher. I grew fond of the player and the kid in his time at the program, and there have been real stretches in every season where he looks like a high-end offensive player. And I must admit: It has been nice, as someone who stuck his neck out for York ahead of the draft when there were divergent opinions, and who remained bullish when it took him some time to figure the pro game out, to see him playing 20-plus minutes successfully and regularly of late.
Kemell hasn’t taken a step in Liiga this season after an excellent age-adjusted year in his draft year, but he performed well at the summer and winter world juniors, where he played a competitive and borderline-powerful style while still getting his looks inside the offensive zone. He’s got some work to do to add a little more variety and pace to his game at times, but he projects as a top-six, PP1 winger who can break a game open inside the offensive zone if all goes well.
He’s known as an explosive skater who is normally the most athletic player on the ice. But he’s also got quick-twitch hands that keep up with his feet and a powerful wrist shot release which help him manufacture offence both off the rush and cutting off the wall to the slot to power past checks and get to dangerous spots to create chances. I’m still of the belief that he’s better suited for the wing than centre, but his versatility at both positions doesn’t hurt either.
He has particularly mastered the net drive into a high rotation away from coverage that brings him back to around the net. And then when he gets there, he’s got the strength to shoot from bad postures/off balance. He always put his shots into good locations it seems, too. He’s dexterous. I’m a big fan.
The strength of Faber’s game is his A-level skating and the way he uses it, only taking opportunities when they’re available offensively and playing tight gaps defensively. He changes directions beautifully on cuts. And while he may not beat opposing players one-on-one with the puck, when he’s under pressure he does a great job escaping, keeping opposing players on his back, and then head manning the puck.
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