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Prospects Unlimited 2021-22
Our annual Prospects Unlimited issue returns, with full listings of every NHL team’s system, grades, and a profile on an intriguing youngster. Also, we count down the top 100 21-and-under players in the world.
PROSPECTS: 63-70
63. DYLAN COZENS POS: C | AGE: 20 Buffalo Sabres (NHL) | Draft: 7th, 2019 (BUF) Jack Eichel likely never plays another game as a Sabre, meaning the No. 1 center job is available. Will Cozens seize the gig? He has a toolsy profile befitting a prototypical top-line pivot: he’s big, he’s fast, he can set up teammates, he plays a strong two-way game and he has a goal-scorer’s release. 64. RASMUS SANDIN POS: D | AGE: 21 Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL) | Draft: 29th, 2018 (TOR) The Leafs must see what they have this season in left-shooting Sandin. With No. 1 blueliner Morgan Rielly a pending UFA who will command major coin, Sandin could be his long-term replacement. Sandin is confident, responsible and limits mistakes. He needs an extended sample size to establish himself as a…
THE WAIT OF ‘CRITICAL MASS’
THE LOS ANGELES KINGS were ready. That’s what the moves signified. In signing center Phillip Danault and defenseman Alexander Edler and trading for winger Viktor Arvidsson this summer, the franchise indicated it had reached a critical mass of prospect capital and was ready to add veterans, shifting from rebuild mode to contender mode. The 2021 off-season was Rob Blake’s busiest since he took over as GM in 2017. The Ilya Kovalchuk signing of 2018 was a whiff, but, in the 2019 and 2020 off-seasons, Blake was so conservative that his phone battery didn’t need recharging. He avoided any significant trades or UFA signings and loaded up on draft picks by auctioning off veteran holdovers from L.A.’s 2012 and 2014 championship teams. From 2018-19 to present day, a run in which the…
DALLAS STARS
YOU BETTER HAVE WHEELS yourself when you’re named after a legendary racing driver, and Ayrton Martino certainly qualifies. The Clarkson freshman left winger – named after Ayrton Senna – has already made noise in his young career and his penchant for breakaways has made him a valued part of several teams. Martino, 19, first came to prominence as the leading scorer on a Canada East team that made a surprising run to the gold-medal game of the 2019 World Jr. A Challenge before losing to Russia. Expectations weren’t high for that particular Canada East team, but that didn’t stop them. “It was the character on the team,” Martino said. “We all understood what our team was and we were a hardworking group. We showed that throughout the tournament. We had great…
PROSPECTS: 45-54
45. JURAJ SLAFKOVSKY POS: LW | AGE: 17 TPS Turku (Fin.) | Draft: 2022 The Slovakian national has been developing his game in Finland and is now in the top league over there. The 2022 draft prospect was huge for Slovakia at the U-18 Hlinka-Gretzky summer tournament, leading to a surprise silver medal. Slafkovsky is a burgeoning power forward with talent, mobility and a nasty streak. 46. SHANE PINTO POS: C | AGE: 21 Ottawa Senators (NHL) | Draft: 32nd, 2019 (OTT) After an impressive college career, Pinto brought his cerebral game to the NHL and looked like he belonged. Colin White’s serious injury opened a spot to make the team for 2021-22. Pinto projects as more of a No. 2 center than an offensive dominator because of his strong shutdown skills and faceoff prowess. 47. ALEX NEWHOOK POS:…
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