Hockey Prophets

Giorgios Pantelas $50.00 — 0% Vertti Svensk $50.00 — 0% Gleb Pugachyov $50.00 — 0% Vilho Vanhatalo $50.00 — 0% Olivers Murniecks $50.00 — 0% Oscar Holmertz $50.00 — 0% Landon Hafele $50.00 — 0% Thomas Vandenberg $50.00 — 0% Luke Schairer $25.00 — 0% Markus Ruck $25.49 ▲ 2% Cooper Williams $50.00 — 0% Jaxon Cover $50.00 — 0% Brooks Rogowski $50.00 — 0% Pierce Mbuyi $50.00 — 0% Maddox Dagenais $50.00 — 0% Tobias Tomik $50.00 — 0% Nikita Shcherbakov $50.00 — 0% Filip Novak $50.00 — 0% Adam Goljer $50.00 — 0% Blake Zielinski $50.00 — 0% Brady Knowling $50.00 — 0% Ben MacBeath $25.00 — 0% Ryder Cali $25.31 ▲ 1.2% Samu Alalauri $25.80 ▲ 1.9% Axel Brongel-Larsson $25.00 — 0% Theodor Knights $25.00 — 0% Bruno Osmanis $25.00 — 0% Landon Amrhein $25.00 — 0% Jacob Xu $25.00 — 0% Landon Nycz $25.00 — 0% Rian Chudzinski $25.00 — 0% Adam Nemec $25.31 ▲ 1.2% Max Isaksson $25.00 — 0% Tomas Galvas $25.49 ▲ 2% Chase Harrington $25.34 ▲ 1.4% Yaroslav Fedoseyev $25.00 — 0% Aleksei Vlasov $25.00 — 0% Vladimir Dravecky $25.00 — 0% Victor Plante $25.00 — 0% Zach Jovanovski $25.00 — 0% Frantisek Poletin $25.00 — 0% Jasper Kuhta $25.00 — 0% Charlie Morrison $25.00 — 0% Joe Iginla $25.00 — 0% Viktor Fyodorov $25.00 — 0% Gavin McKenna $304.24 ▲ 1.4% Carson Carels $150.00 — 0% Xavier Villeneuve $150.00 — 0% Mathis Preston $150.00 — 0% Adam Novotny $150.00 — 0% Elton Hermansson $150.00 — 0% Oliver Suvanto $150.00 — 0% Marcus Nordmark $150.00 — 0% Malte Gustafsson $150.00 — 0% JP Hurlbert $110.00 — 0% Simon Katolicky $150.00 — 0% Daxon Rudolph $150.00 — 0% Keaton Verhoeff $300.00 — 0% Ivar Stenberg $300.00 — 0% Tynan Lawrence $200.00 — 0% Ethan Belchetz $200.00 — 0% Alberts Smits $200.00 — 0% Ryan Lin $200.00 — 0% Chase Reid $200.00 — 0% Ryan Roobroeck $200.00 — 0% Viggo Bjork $200.00 — 0% Juho Piiparinen $110.00 — 0% Alexander Command $110.00 — 0% Nikita Klepov $110.00 — 0% Allessandro Di Iorio $50.00 — 0% Tomas Chrenko $50.00 — 0% Mikey Berchild $50.00 — 0% Lavr Gashilov $50.00 — 0% Jakub Vanecek $50.00 — 0% Braidy Wassilyn $50.00 — 0% Axel Elofsson $50.00 — 0% Lars Steiner $50.00 — 0% Wyatt Cullen $50.71 ▲ 1.4% Tobias Trejbal $50.00 — 0% Adam Valentini $50.00 — 0% Caleb Malhotra $110.00 — 0% Ilia Morozov $110.00 — 0% William Hahansson $110.00 — 0% Egor Shilov $110.00 — 0% Liam Ruck $110.00 — 0% Simas Ignatacivius $110.00 — 0% Niklas Aaram-Olsen $110.00 — 0% Jack Hextall $110.00 — 0% Colin Fitzgerald $50.00 — 0% Casey Mutryn $50.00 — 0% Giorgios Pantelas $50.00 — 0% Vertti Svensk $50.00 — 0% Gleb Pugachyov $50.00 — 0% Vilho Vanhatalo $50.00 — 0% Olivers Murniecks $50.00 — 0% Oscar Holmertz $50.00 — 0% Landon Hafele $50.00 — 0% Thomas Vandenberg $50.00 — 0% Luke Schairer $25.00 — 0% Markus Ruck $25.49 ▲ 2% Cooper Williams $50.00 — 0% Jaxon Cover $50.00 — 0% Brooks Rogowski $50.00 — 0% Pierce Mbuyi $50.00 — 0% Maddox Dagenais $50.00 — 0% Tobias Tomik $50.00 — 0% Nikita Shcherbakov $50.00 — 0% Filip Novak $50.00 — 0% Adam Goljer $50.00 — 0% Blake Zielinski $50.00 — 0% Brady Knowling $50.00 — 0% Ben MacBeath $25.00 — 0% Ryder Cali $25.31 ▲ 1.2% Samu Alalauri $25.80 ▲ 1.9% Axel Brongel-Larsson $25.00 — 0% Theodor Knights $25.00 — 0% Bruno Osmanis $25.00 — 0% Landon Amrhein $25.00 — 0% Jacob Xu $25.00 — 0% Landon Nycz $25.00 — 0% Rian Chudzinski $25.00 — 0% Adam Nemec $25.31 ▲ 1.2% Max Isaksson $25.00 — 0% Tomas Galvas $25.49 ▲ 2% Chase Harrington $25.34 ▲ 1.4% Yaroslav Fedoseyev $25.00 — 0% Aleksei Vlasov $25.00 — 0% Vladimir Dravecky $25.00 — 0% Victor Plante $25.00 — 0% Zach Jovanovski $25.00 — 0% Frantisek Poletin $25.00 — 0% Jasper Kuhta $25.00 — 0% Charlie Morrison $25.00 — 0% Joe Iginla $25.00 — 0% Viktor Fyodorov $25.00 — 0% Gavin McKenna $304.24 ▲ 1.4% Carson Carels $150.00 — 0% Xavier Villeneuve $150.00 — 0% Mathis Preston $150.00 — 0% Adam Novotny $150.00 — 0% Elton Hermansson $150.00 — 0% Oliver Suvanto $150.00 — 0% Marcus Nordmark $150.00 — 0% Malte Gustafsson $150.00 — 0% JP Hurlbert $110.00 — 0% Simon Katolicky $150.00 — 0% Daxon Rudolph $150.00 — 0% Keaton Verhoeff $300.00 — 0% Ivar Stenberg $300.00 — 0% Tynan Lawrence $200.00 — 0% Ethan Belchetz $200.00 — 0% Alberts Smits $200.00 — 0% Ryan Lin $200.00 — 0% Chase Reid $200.00 — 0% Ryan Roobroeck $200.00 — 0% Viggo Bjork $200.00 — 0% Juho Piiparinen $110.00 — 0% Alexander Command $110.00 — 0% Nikita Klepov $110.00 — 0% Allessandro Di Iorio $50.00 — 0% Tomas Chrenko $50.00 — 0% Mikey Berchild $50.00 — 0% Lavr Gashilov $50.00 — 0% Jakub Vanecek $50.00 — 0% Braidy Wassilyn $50.00 — 0% Axel Elofsson $50.00 — 0% Lars Steiner $50.00 — 0% Wyatt Cullen $50.71 ▲ 1.4% Tobias Trejbal $50.00 — 0% Adam Valentini $50.00 — 0% Caleb Malhotra $110.00 — 0% Ilia Morozov $110.00 — 0% William Hahansson $110.00 — 0% Egor Shilov $110.00 — 0% Liam Ruck $110.00 — 0% Simas Ignatacivius $110.00 — 0% Niklas Aaram-Olsen $110.00 — 0% Jack Hextall $110.00 — 0% Colin Fitzgerald $50.00 — 0% Casey Mutryn $50.00 — 0%

Player Notes

Random Quote From The Archive

Lukas PajerUSA vs Czech Republic (2021 World U-18s)4/29/2021There are a lot of good things in his game, but it's his one-timer that lights up a game. He plays well, skating is excellent, and made several smart choices with and without the puck. He's a player to keep an eye on as he develops over the next three or four years. Pajer looks like the type of player who cracks the NHL at 21 or 22 and people start asking about where he came from.

Number of Players

Number of Notes

Number of Games Noted
1,556 10,061 363
Brian Fogarty

Top Prospects: The Defensemen

Fall 2025

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The 2025-2026 season should see an outstanding class of rookie NHL defensemen, with all of the top five in this iteration of the Hockey Prophets' top defensemen prospects likely to see full-time NHL action. The league's top 2025 draft pick Matthew Schaefer will almost certainly get a chance to crack the New York Islanders roster coming out of camp, and the next three--Levshunov, Parekh and Zeev Buium--all had seen ice time at the end of last season. Throw in San Jose's Sam Dickinson and Montreal's David Reinbacher, and the influx of top-tiered blueliner talent is obvious.

See Also Top Prospects: The Forwards

 

Top 50 Defensemen Prospects
RankNamePositionAgeHeightWeightDraft SelectionPre-Draft RankingA/P ScoreComment
1Schaefer, MatthewDefenseman186'218611-4.24
2Levshunov, ArtyomDefenseman206'120526-2.84
3Parekh, ZayneDefenseman206'017094-4.29
4Buium, ZeevDefenseman206'0186125-4.30
5Dickinson, SamDefenseman196'2203119-2.76
6Yakemchuk, CarterDefenseman206'3202717-2.50
7Silayev, AntonDefenseman196'72071010-0.52
8Reinbacher, DavidDefenseman216'2194511-0.90
9Smith, JacksonDefenseman186'4199149-1.75
10Sandin Pellikka, AxelDefenseman215'111851714-2.03
11Aitcheson, KashawnDefenseman196'11991715-1.86
12Mrtka, RadimDefenseman186'5218917-1.88
13Hutson, ColeDefenseman195'101594329-2.35
14Hensler, LoganDefenseman196'21982332-0.06
15Reid, CameronDefenseman196'01832119-1.74
16Simashev, DmitriDefenseman216'52036310.47
17Mews, HenryDefenseman206'01897428-2.23
18Willander, TomDefenseman216'11801133-0.35
19Boumedienne, SaschaDefenseman196'11842835-0.05
20Dragicevic, LukasDefenseman206'21965718-2.98
21Bonk, OliverDefenseman216'21792236-0.73
22Marrelli, LucaDefenseman206'11858627-1.59
23Brzustewicz, HenryDefenseman196'21943122-0.91
24Fiddler, BlakeDefenseman186'42203624-0.72
25Rombach, JacobDefenseman196'620935400.29
26Gill, SpencerDefenseman196'31865932-1.57
27Molendyk, TannerDefenseman216'01812441-0.64
28Solberg, StianDefenseman206'120523550.05
29Morin, EtienneDefenseman216'01804833-2.78
30Freij, AlfonsDefenseman206'01973730-0.93
31Amico, CarterDefenseman196'523238590.73
32Gulyayev, MikhailDefenseman205'111833123-2.21
33Rinzel, SamDefenseman216'41902559-0.11
34Kettles, PeytonDefenseman186'519539540.22
35Wang, HaoxiDefenseman186'522233851.10
36Pickford, BryceDefenseman206'01838150-1.79
37Psenicka, MaxDefenseman196'518546460.39
38Mailloux, LoganDefenseman226'321431780.10
39Lamoureux, MavericDefenseman226'72142953-0.11
40Smith, TarinDefenseman206'11877951-1.10
41Bertucci, TristanDefenseman206'21796137-1.86
42Duda, ArtyomDefenseman226'11873643-1.04
43Pickering, OwenDefenseman226'51852124-0.50
44Morrow, ScottDefenseman236'219040770.16
45Sahlin Wallenius, LeoDefenseman206'01805346-1.51
46Danford, BenDefenseman206'11913175-0.45
47Jiricek, AdamDefenseman196'217616580.80
48Akey, BeauDefenseman216'01755632-1.26
49Brzustewicz, HunterDefenseman216'01907539-1.64
50Limatov, KurbanDefenseman196'31986731-0.06
 

 

Brian Fogarty

Top Prospects: The Forwards

Fall 2025

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The draft class of 2025 has been folded into the top prospect rankings, while multiple players from the spring list have graduated or aged out of the rankings, meaning that the fall list is a totally revamped ranking of the world's top forward prospects. 

For the second year in a row, the San Jose Sharks have the number one forward prospect, despite having graduated last year's top forward Macklin Celebrini. The Sharks drafted the supremely talented center Michael Misa second overall in the 2025 NHL draft, and just signed him to an entry-level contract. Misa could make the jump to the NHL this season. 

Brian Fogarty

Top Prospects: The NHL System Rankings

 

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One long-standing feature at the Hockey Prophets has been the top prospects by team ranked lists. For the first time, Hockey Prophets is publishing a ranking of the NHL systems. The rankings are based on a few key system attributes such as the highest ranking prospects, the number of prospects high on the rankings, the total depth of the system, and other considerations. Having a single, super-talented prospect will weigh heavily, but so will having several high-quality prospects. When it all gets sorted out, the ranking should give a feeling for the systems that are going in the right direction and those that have a lot of building to do in the years ahead. 

The thirty-two teams in the ranking will be published as they are produced, with discussions of each system and some of the key prospects in the team's pool. Each team will be given a score on a scale of one to five, with one being a shallow pool and five being a sea full of potential stars. 

See Also Top Prospects: The Forwards

See Also Top Prospects: The Defensemen

 

Team Rankings:

#32: Boston Bruins
#31: Florida Panthers
#30: Tampa Bay Lightning
#29: Vancouver Canucks
#28: Toronto Maple Leafs
#27: Vegas Golden Knights
#26: Ottawa Senators
#25: New York Islanders
#24: New York Rangers
#23: Edmonton Oilers
#22: Pittsburgh Penguins
#21: Buffalo Sabres
#20: Colorado Avalanche
#19: New Jersey Devils
#18: Carolina Hurricanes
#17: Dallas Stars
#16: Washington Capitals
#15: Los Angeles Kings
#14: Nashville Predators
#13: Winnipeg Jets
#12: Philadelphia Flyers
#11: St Louis Blues
#10: Minnesota Wild
#9: Columbus Blue Jackets
#8: Chicago Blackhawks
#7: Seattle Kraken
#6: Montreal Canadiens
#5: Utah HC
#4: Anaheim Ducks
#3: Detroit Red Wings
#2: Calgary Flames
#1: San Jose Sharks

Brian Fogarty

Top Prospects: The Defensemen

Fall 2024

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The entire top five from the last top Hockey Prophets' top blueliner prospects list graduated last year:

David Jiricek
Simon Nemec
Luke Hughes
Pavel Mintyukov
Kevin Korchinski

In total, eighteen players from the list graduated as NHL players, twelve of whom where in the lists top 100 prospects, while another 85 reached 24 years of age and have been removed. The highest ranking of the players who aged out was Lassi Thompson (ranked 37th), who never made much of an impact in North America and has returned to Sweden for the upcoming 2024-2025 season. 

The new list is topped by the second-overall draft pick from the 2024 NHL draft, followed closely by Montreal's fifth-overall pick from the 2023 draft. Six of the new top ten defenders are 2024 draftees who will bring some tremendous scoring potential from the blue line.

Brian Fogarty

Hockey Prophets Top 32 Prospects For The 2023 NHL Draft

 

The 2023 NHL draft will always be known for Conor Bedard first and foremost, but it could also become one of the deepest group of high-scoring, NHL superstars of the last decade. Beyond the generational talents of Conor Bedard, there are two or three others--Fantilli, Carlsson, Michkov--who could easily be considered as first-overall talent in any other draft year, and another ten or so that could be top-five prospects. This is a great class that will likely be talked about for years to come.

 

1)

Conor Bedard

C

WHL

Regina

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Height: 5’10 (177 cm)

Weight: 179 (81 kg)

Age At Draft: 17.95

Points per Game (normalized): 2.51

A/P Score: -5.29 (2nd)

Key Strength: Tremendous scoring ability

Key Question: Can he prove his generational potential?

 

There is so little left to say about Connor Bedard that has not already been published in a hundred different articles everywhere on the web. However, one key point that will not be mentioned anywhere else is Bedard’s Age/Production Score©, which in his case puts him second all-time among forwards, behind only Sidney Crosby and—remarkably—ahead of Conor McDavid. What that means is that of the nearly three thousand forwards in the dataset, only Crosby has a better overall draft-year point production normalized by age. Better than McDavid, better than Patrick Kane, better than Aleksander Barkov, better than Auston Matthews.

Bedard's off-the-charts scoring drive and competitive nature are bested only by his actual scoring ability. His shot comes ripping off the blade of stick with such devastating speed and accuracy that many times goalies are just frozen, seemingly hoping that the puck will just hit them. He can slip through traffic with or without the puck, finds the empty gaps in coverage, and the punishes every small mistake that his opponents make.  

One aspect of Bedard’s game often overshadowed by his raw scoring ability is his physical play. Despite his size, Bedard can often be seen battling against much bigger players at both ends of the ice. He uses his elite balance and strength on his skates to leverage bigger players out of position, and his non-stop effort means that he can often outwork his opponents and again take advantage of the little spaces he creates.

Bedard is a complete hockey player with a generational-level skillset and work ethic, and no amount of description can adequately encompass just how good he is.

 

Brian’s Favorite In-Game Note: “Starts in his own end, hits the blue line with speed, dekes a defender, then snaps a shot from the circle that beats the goaltender over his glove for his first WHL goal.”

 

  1. 2022 NHL Draft Top 32 Prospect Evaluations
  2. Jordan Dumais Underappreciated

Subcategories

Hockey Foreseen

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