Joshua Roy has proven just about everyone wrong ever since he was drafted 150th overall in the 2021 Draft. He became one of the best goalscorers in the entire CHL in his final seasons there and was excellent for Team Canada at the World Juniors, winning two Gold medals. Roy is incredibly competitive, responsible defensively, and protects the puck extremely well. He has shown that he only gets better when the games get important, which is an invaluable attribute to have as someone who projects as a top-nine winger in the NHL. There was a time when Joakim Kemell was seen as the second-best prospect in the 2022 Draft.

Nate Danielson, C, Detroit Red Wings

There’s been plenty of discourse surrounding the Maple Leafs’ «Core Four.» Over the last two seasons, including playoffs, you can certainly argue Nylander has been the most consistent out of the quartet. He enters this season with one year left on his contract with the Leafs, and it could be Nylander’s final season in Toronto. The defenseman has been a steady member of the Dallas blue line for years, but it wasn’t until last season that Heiskanen significantly produced on the score sheet. The two-way sensation is among the league’s best defenders at 24 years old, he’s only getting better. Matthews regressed a tad last season, going from 60 goals to 40 and 106 points to 85. But the Maple Leafs superstar still has the best release in the league, making him dangerous at all angles in the offensive zone.

‘He’s a special player’: Can Erik Karlsson deliver another Stanley Cup to the Penguins?357dGreg Wyshynski

McDavid can take over games and has fared well against even the toughest defensive matchups through the first three rounds. The Panthers will throw the kitchen sink at him, but McDavid is just operating on another level right now. Draisaitl could be the No. 1 guy on many teams around the NHL, but in Edmonton he has Connor McDavid as a teammate. Draisaitl gives the Oilers a truly elite finisher, both at five-on-five and on the power play. After notching 41 goals in the regular season, he has 10 goals this postseason, which is second in the NHL and would be first on the Panthers. What makes Draisaitl so key in this series is that, although he’s earned a reputation as a prolific goal-scorer, he’s no pushover in the physicality department.

The Philadelphia Eagles Have a Jalen Hurts Problem

I’m very excited to see this team on the ice, not necessarily because I think they’ll be better than recent years but because I do think they’ll be more interesting. After several years of having a gigantic talent advantage (especially at F) against nearly anyone they played, this Michigan team doesn’t have quite the same level of firepower. I am not sure we’ll have a 20-goal scorer on this team, as this one is less about the blue chip scoring talent and more about being able to build multiple scoring lines with a veteran defense behind them. Different than the mold we’re used to, which is why it should be a barometer of how adaptable this coaching staff is. The number one pick of the 2024 NHL entry draft, Macklin Celebrini, is already looking to be a huge favorite for the Calder trophy at the season’s end.

• Mateychuk’s production and confidence have only grown since his draft year and he’s been absolutely torching the WHL since then, and should find himself in the NHL next season with the Blue Jackets.
• With a 60-goal season under his belt, he has shown that he can be among the best in the league.
• On a middle-of-the-pack team like the Blues, Thomas has been one of, if not the single brightest spot on the team and general manager Doug Armstrong is going to build around him on the forward group for a long time.
• He is a force on offense but don’t let that fool you, he is a hard-working defender who makes a lot of stops despite his 5-foot-11 frame.
• Dickinson skates well for his size which bodes well for his NHL projection, though he will need to put in some work for his offensive game to be worthy of power play minutes in the NHL someday.
• Only Hunter Hady or Will Felicio could be in the lineup as a skater as an undrafted freshman.
• He has the size, skating, and strength to be a meaningful NHL defender, and his offensive skills are quite good, as showcased by his impressive point total in the AHL last season.

Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, RW, Detroit Red Wings

If he can, he will likely jump back up this list, but he has fallen a bit over these last two years. This remains one of the least talented rosters in the conference and it’s also not a very old one either, skewing heavily towards freshmen/sophomores like PSU. A recent Ontario kids’ hockey game between seven and eight-year-olds was halted after parents and at least one coach started brawling in the stands. The violence broke out at the season-opening tournament for the Klevr League, which attracts some of Ontario’s best young players.

Matthew Tkachuk I LW I Florida Panthers

• Axel Sandin Pellikka is a right-handed offensive defenseman who has been an offensive leader in the SHL as a teenager.
• While the effort isn’t as prominent on the defensive side of the game, there are not many players with Kucherov’s offensive capabilities.
• Before we get into the top 100 prospect ranking update, here are a few notes on the criteria and content of this list.
• Perreault was one of the most creative and intelligent players in the 2023 Draft and he is great at weaving his way out of trouble when defenders collapse around him, either with a pass or his lightning-quick hands.
• Previously he worked for NBC Sports on their national news desk reporting on breaking news for the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL, in addition to covering the 2020 and 2022 Olympic Games.
• He has shown that he only gets better when the games get important, which is an invaluable attribute to have as someone who projects as a top-nine winger in the NHL.
• Greentree does most things well, fighting hard in puck battles, making smart passes, and handling defensive responsibilities well.

Over the last two seasons, Martin Necas has emerged as a goal-scoring and point-scoring winger. He had hopes of playing at center, but it doesn’t look like he will be making that transition. He is still very effective and plays a versatile enough game that he can fit in with any center and make offense happen. Drew Doughty fought back after a downward trend in his career, and over the last few seasons, has proven he still has lots left in the tank. He is a physical, smart, and strong defensive defenseman who can chip in with good offensive numbers.

Logan Stankoven, C, Dallas Stars

As great as the Oilers are on offense, they do need to play some defense to win the Stanley Cup. Since joining Edmonton ahead of the 2023 trade deadline, Ekholm has provided some much needed stability on defense, and he has elevated his game in these playoffs. In his 321 minutes of ice time at five-on-five, the Oilers have controlled 57.2% of the expected goals and outscored opponents 19-11, per Natural Stat Trick. Those numbers are even more eye-popping when you consider Ekholm is tasked with slowing down the opposition’s top forwards. It’s probably safe to assume that Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe will get a heavy dose of Ekholm in this series. Artyom Levshunov has an incredibly exciting toolkit as a big, right-handed defender who skates incredibly well.

Oil Kings’ Alex Worthington Playing Well After Taking Over Starting Spot

As the team pushed closer to making the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons, Larkin was injured and the team fell apart in his absence. Larkin has scored at a point-per-game pace over the last three seasons and has been a very strong defensive presence for the Red Wings over that span as well. On top of being offensively strong, Kempe had excellent possession numbers and played very well defensively. Dustin Wolf has officially taken the reins as the starting goaltender for the Calgary Flames after Jacob Markstrom left this past off-season. He may be an undersized goalie, but his athleticism and positioning make him the best rookie goalie in the National Hockey League. He’s going to face a lot of shots and a lot of adversity, especially on a poor Calgary team.

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• He performed incredibly well athletically at the NHL Draft combine, earning quite a bit of attention in the weeks leading up to his draft.
• In the half-decade since, he’s collected the second-most points in the league from the blue line, Roman Josi earning a pair more, albeit in far more games.
• Catton was phenomenal for Team Canada at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup a year ago as well where he scored 10 points in just five games while captaining Canada to the gold medal.
• He provides strong offense, and set a new career-high in goals last season, but took a bit of a step back in point production after some nagging injuries throughout the season.
• Drew Doughty fought back after a downward trend in his career, and over the last few seasons, has proven he still has lots left in the tank.
• Here, in the twilight of his career, he’s still doing it, altering his game to keep up with a league that seems to be running a hundred miles-per-hour faster than it did when he was in his prime.
• However, last season, the Devils captain proved he can get it done at both ends of the ice, hitting 31 goals and 80 points.

Hyman has turned himself into a net-front menace, and that hasn’t changed in the playoffs, no matter how hard other teams have tried to neutralize him. Hyman leads all playoff performers with 14 goals, and the Panthers better have an answer for him in the low slot, especially when Edmonton is on the man advantage. Sergei Bobrovsky really thrived throughout the Panthers’ series win against the Rangers. Bobrosvsky yielded two or fewer goals in five of his six starts in that series and compiled a 2.00 goals-against-average even after surrendering five goals in Game 3 against New York. According to Money Puck, Bobrovsky has registered a .960 save percentage when facing unblocked shots throughout the postseason.

Youth Olympic Games provides perfect springboard for Paris 2024 gold medallists

Experience will be something this team can lean on, as only two of the projected twelve forwards are freshmen and there’s also lots of experience on defense. Tim Lovell, Jacob Truscott, Ethan Edwards, and Tyler Duke are all juniors, seniors, or 5th year players. Luca Fantilli, who may suit up as the 7th D or could be on the third pair, is also a junior.

But as a result, they still don’t have a very rich senior class and they didn’t pursue the portal to accent this group. Thus it still feels like they’re a year away, especially in adding another huge freshman class, one that doesn’t have a lot of drafted players nor obvious top tier USHL stars. PSU should still be decent and competitive in a tough B1G but seems more like an ongoing retool while they grow and develop the 14 freshmen and sophomores on the roster.

• From RIT they snagged the likely goalie for this season (Tommy Scarfone) and 1st Team All-AHA forward Cody Laskosky.
• He was on Hart, Selke and Lady Byng ballots this year, and has earned votes for them in previous years, except for the Hart.
• He is consistently scoring 40+ goals, and on a relatively weak offensive group on the Wild, all of the offense runs through him.
• Over the next four to seven games, key players on both sides of this matchup will make big plays to determine the NHL’s next champion.
• He had the captaincy moved from him to Auston Matthews, but he is still a very strong leader in the locker room and that will continue to be one of his biggest assets as well.
• What I’ve seen from him this year is a natural progression of him getting bigger and stronger, allowing him to dominate the WHL.
• Tough injury luck for the kid but I still see a ton of potential in his game and wouldn’t be shocked if he cracked the Jets’ opening night lineup next season.

Brandt Clarke boasts some of the best offensive smarts and decision-making with the puck as a defenseman in the world. Selected eighth overall in 2021, Clarke can take control of a shift or lead a rush chance whenever he’s on the ice with his skating and speed. He’s great at identifying the open lanes and attacking with force to take advantage of an opportunity.

No, for Pastrnak, it was never a question of how high he might reach — it was simply whether his success was a product of his environment or whether that environment was a product of him. In one sense, it’s no surprise Sidney Crosby remains among the game’s best, even after all these years. In another, it is a signature achievement, one more in an absurdly long line of them, that the Pittsburgh Penguins captain has managed to stay at this level for this long. No. 87 has made a habit of authoring resurgent campaigns just when the hockey world begins to write him off. It’s what he did when injuries threatened to derail him early in his big-league tenure, Crosby eventually returning with a century season that earned him his second Art Ross.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton Oilers

The best NHL players in 2024 are not only dominating the ice with their extraordinary performances, but they are also redefining what it means to be elite in the sport of hockey. These athletes continue to amaze with their speed, agility, and strategic play, cementing their status as fan favorites and role models for aspiring hockey stars. With a 60-goal season under his belt, he has shown that he can be among the best in the league. There isn’t as much offense on the Bruins forward group as the other teams higher on the list, and Pastrnak is the one that all of the offense runs through. Since joining the Panthers, Carter Verhaeghe has taken huge steps in his game and has become not only a great goal-scorer but one of the most clutch players in the NHL. He has five overtime goals in the playoffs, which ranks third in NHL history, and in just five years in the league, he has won two Stanley Cups and has 55 points in 69 playoff games.

25 Boston College Men’s Hockey Player Profile: Brady Berard

Edstrom didn’t have the strongest showing at last year’s World Juniors but he’s eligible to return next year where I expect him to be one of the better players in the whole tourney. After being sent to Nasvhille in the Yaroslav Askarov trade, I think Edstrom can realistically project into the Pred’s third-line center slot in due time. Gabe Perrault looks like someone who could be a power play specialist at the next level with great skill and smarts in the offensive zone.

Throw him on the left wing, or the right, or down the middle — regardless, Rantanen’s proven able to get to his game and inflict his offensive will . And yet, plying his trade in the shadow of two superstars in Colorado, you could argue he’s flown under the radar relative to what he’s done in this league. Players like these two don’t come around often, and where Brady thrives is in the physicality department. He provides strong offense, and set a new career-high in goals last season, but took a bit of a step back in point production after some nagging injuries throughout the season.

The roots of the game stretch back to antiquity, as records show an early form of the sport practised 4,000 years ago in Egypt, with variations played in what is now Ethiopia (1000 BC) and Iran (2000 BC). Smith had a phenomenal season in the NCAA last year, and is set to join a San Jose Sharks team in great need of high end talent. The young trio of Macklin Celebrini, William Eklund, and Smith will give Sharks fans a really great view at the bright future the team is building, especially at forward. With Celebrini looking like the team’s future 1C, Smith will get the chance to feast on easier competition on the second line which I think will benefit him greatly. Next, select your favourite teams and leagues and we’ll show you their latest news and scores in the My Favourites section of the home page.

Florida will no doubt try to lay the lumber on Edmonton’s stars, but Draisaitl has a unique knack for getting the puck in the net one way or another. Demidov isn’t quite at the same level as top 2023 Draft prospect Matvei Michkov, but he is a legit top-end talent https://gambibet.org/ who has clear top-line potential in the NHL. One thing he and Michkov have in common is a difficulty earning minutes in the KHL as a draft eligible player. Demidov sat out many games to start the year and played full time in the MHL for the rest of the season.

Previously he worked for NBC Sports on their national news desk reporting on breaking news for the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL, in addition to covering the 2020 and 2022 Olympic Games. A graduate of Quinnipiac University, he spent time in college as a beat reporter covering the men’s ice hockey team. Part of the reason the Stars have materialized into legitimate Stanley Cup contenders in the Western Conference is due to Oettinger. The Dallas goaltender wasted no time adjusting to the NHL level when he made the jump from the NCAA in 2020. The 24-year-old is one of the most promising young goaltenders, coming off a season where he posted a 2.42 GAA and a .916 SV%. McDavid picked up all 20 first-place votes last season despite having finished second in Hart Trophy voting to Auston Matthews just a few months earlier.

Östlund is also a skilled puck handler with the speed and agility to make plays happen both on and off the puck. He works hard in all phases of the game and could become a great middle-six center if all goes well in his development. After being selected 10th overall in the 2022 CHL Import Draft by the Vancouver Giants, Samuel Honzek has done nothing but impress in his two seasons in North America.

The top of the Oilers’ lineup, headlined by Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, is as loaded as they come. Edmonton has no problem lighting up the scoreboard with so much high-end skill on the ice, but players like Mattias Ekholm give the lineup some balance on the back end too. Bobrovsky was a large reason why the Panthers made its Stanley Cup Final run last season, but, like the team, he ran out of gas against the Golden Knights. The Panthers have limited opponents to 24.4 shots per game, but the Oilers average 28.8. The Panthers are known for their structured systems that make scoring a pain, but at the end of the day, you need an elite goaltender as the last line of defense. Florida’s netminder is 12-5 this postseason with a 2.20 goals-against average, a .908 save percentage, and one shutout.

Perhaps the one disappointment about last season was the flop of Liam Souliere in net, but that’s Minnesota’s problem now. To replace their longtime goalie, PSU may have upgraded in snagging Arseni Sergeev from UConn. Sergeev was a 7th round pick of Calgary a few years back and had identical .913 SV% clips the last two years playing roughly half the games for the Huskies, and was a .918 in the USHL before that.

He can receive a contract extension on July 1, 2025, and he can become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2026. Either way, the three-time MVP will reap the benefits of being the NHL’s best player since he was drafted No. 1 overall in 2015. Florida claimed the defenseman off waivers in 2021 from Carolina, and he has since flourished into a legitimate top-pair defender. He quickly rose to the top of the Panthers’ blue line and is now one of the most underrated defensemen in the league. The Panthers captain trails only Tkachuk on the team in playoff points with 17 in as many games. His 164 faceoff wins rank third out of all skaters, and he’s winning 53.4 percent of his draws.

The Cougars have been loaded with talent for the past two seasons so it’ll be very interesting to see how Heidt looks once he makes the jump to pro level in another year. Marat Khusnutdinov is an undersized center who is known for his excellent vision and hockey sense as well as his refined defensive game. He never gives up on a play and works incredibly hard on both the forecheck and the backcheck, often re-gaining possession for his team entirely on his own. Khusnutdinov finally broke through in the KHL two seasons ago, earning a large enough role to demonstrate his talents, and he rewarded his coaches by scoring 41 points in 63 games.