NFL News NFL News, Reports and Updates
Rachel Doerrie, ESPNOct 16, 2024, 07:00 AM ET
CloseRachel Doerrie is a professional data consultant specializing in data communication and modelling. She’s worked in the NHL and consulted for professional teams across North American and Europe. She hosts the Staff & Graph Podcast and discusses sports from a data-driven perspective.
The 2024-25 NHL season has begun, which means it’s time for another set of rankings of all 32 teams’ prospect pipelines — and how the business of the offseason changed those rankings compared to April’s edition.
In several cases, prospects are getting a nine-game look at the NHL level before their team must decide whether to send them back to the Canadian junior leagues. The rest have already begun their seasons there or in the NCAA or other leagues worldwide. To qualify as a prospect for this list, the player must be under 23 years old and have his rights owned by an NHL team.
Players expected to be on the NHL roster for most of the NHL season are not considered in the pipeline. Notable players fitting that description include Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, Matvei Michkov, Cutter Gauthier, Shane Wright, Logan Stankoven, Brandt Clarke and Rutger McGroarty.
The Bruins find themselves at the bottom of the rankings, specifically after Matthew Poitras and Mason Lohrei graduated last season. The Bruins were able to add Dean Letourneau in the draft, and he joins Fabian Lysell as the only two forwards projected to play in more than 200 games in a meaningful capacity.
Outside of that, the Bruins lack prospects who are expected to reach the 200-game threshold in the NHL, a consequence of sustained success over two decades.
The Lightning haven’t drafted much in the past five seasons, and it shows. The acquisition of Conor Geekie in the offseason via the Mikhail Sergachev trade gives Tampa Bay a prospect expected to play a middle-six scoring role in the NHL. Meanwhile, Isaac Howard and Ethan Gauthier are expected to become NHL regulars, with Howard…
Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/insider/story/_/id/41791604/nhl-ranking-prospects-teams-2025-top-players-future-sharks
Author : Rachel Doerrie
Publish date : 2024-10-16 11:36:29
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
