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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: 81-88
81. LUKAS REICHEL POS: LW | AGE: 19 Rockford IceHogs (AHL) | Draft: 17th, 2020 (CHI) Now in his first North American season, Reichel comes over after a nice career in his native Germany, and he will surely be counted on to be an impact player for the world-junior team this year. Reichel’s hockey IQ serves him well on the ice, and that has led to opportunities at center. 82. CONNOR ZARY POS: C | AGE: 20 Stockton Heat (AHL) | Draft: 24th, 2020 (CGY) He started the season on the shelf with an ankle injury, but Zary is very close to NHL duty. A smart pivot with great anticipation, Zary got in some early AHL experience last season with the Heat while also dominating in his final WHL campaign in Kamloops. He racked up 24 points…
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
DREW O’CONNOR GOT A taste of life in the NHL last season. Entering 2021-22 with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the 23-year-old left winger now wants a bit more. After signing a two-year entry-level contract as an undrafted free agent in March 2020, O’Connor debuted with an assist for the Penguins in a 3-2 overtime loss to Boston on Jan. 26 last season. He played nine more games with the Pens and went without a point in that time. The experience, however, was invaluable for a prospect looking to earn a more permanent role in Pittsburgh. “Last year was a good learning experience,” O’Connor said. “I got to know the level, what it takes at this level. It’s a big jump from college, but I feel like I learned how I can make an…
1-2. SHANE WRIGHT AND CONNOR BEDARD
1. SHANE WRIGHT POS: C | AGE: 16 Regina Pats (WHL) | Draft: 2023 THE FUTURE OF HOCKEY arrived like a freight train in Frisco, Texas, last May. The world under-18s were the stage, and Canada had bulldozed the competition en route to a gold-medal showdown against archrival Russia. The Canadians had scored an incredible 46 goals in their first six games, hanging a total of 20 on the eventual bronze medallists from Sweden between the round-robin and the semifinal. While Canada’s entry at the tournament is usually made up of the players whose CHL teams either missed the playoffs entirely or bowed out early (thereby making for a small pool of choices), this squad had every OHL and WHL player at its disposal. Two of those players were Shane Wright and Connor Bedard,…
MINNESOTA WILD
WHEN IT COMES TO potential, defenseman Jack Peart has some scary-good attributes. The best part? He’s still raw in many ways. The 2021 second-rounder is an in-state pick for Minnesota, having cut his teeth in the high school ranks with the Grand Rapids Thunderhawks, and even though Peart was killing it in the USHL last season with Fargo, he still chose to return to his high-school team in the middle of the campaign in order to chase that vaunted state championship. Peart was a buzzsaw from the back end in Grand Rapids, leading the team with 35 points in 18 games – but the season ended in disappointment when the Thunderhawks were upset by Andover in the regional final. The star defenseman didn’t regret his return. “Those are my high-school buddies,” Peart…
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