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Prospects Unlimited 2023
In this year's edition of our annual Prospects Unlimited issue, we count down the top 100 21-and-under players in the world and focus in on each NHL team's youth with profiles, grades and a full listing of every player in the organization.
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
USA HOCKEY’S National Team Development Program features a crushing concentration of elite talent on two teams, and not everybody can be the top scorer in their draft year. But in center Danny Nelson, the Islanders have an intriguing athlete who has already pushed himself out of his comfort zone during his nascent career. During his final season of high-school hockey with Maple Grove in Minnesota, Nelson played defense for the Crimson, who were in need of help on the back end. “It gave me a great perspective,” Nelson said. “You see both sides of the ice and see the game in a different way. It helped me playing center in the ‘D’ zone and knowing areas in the ‘O’ zone where I can get open.” Once he got to the NTDP, Nelson…
TOP 100 21 AND UNDER: 19-24
>19. COLE PERFETTI POS: C | AGE: 21 WINNIPEG JETS (NHL) | DRAFT: 10TH, 2020 (WPG) Perfetti has suffered through consecutive campaigns marred by season-ending ailments, giving rise to concern about his injury susceptibility. His vision and playmaking sparkle – when he’s healthy. The Jets’ roster makeover puts Perfetti in the catbird seat for top-six and PP minutes, but it will also bring added pressure. >20. CUTTER GAUTHIER POS: LW | AGE: 19 BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES (HE) | DRAFT: 5TH, 2022 (PHI) Coming off a scintillating freshman season with the Eagles, Gauthier has all the makings of a No. 1 NHL center: he has size, skill and mobility. His shot is good enough to beat goalies clean, and he’s dangerous in all situations. This will all but assuredly be his final year at the NCAA level. >21. WILL…
TOP 100 21 AND UNDER: 12. SIMON NEMEC
>12. SIMON NEMEC POS: D | AGE: 19 UTICA COMETS (AHL) | DRAFT: 2ND, 2022 (NJ) NOT ONLY ARE THE New Jersey Devils one of the NHL’s best teams right now, but they also still have top-end talent in their pipeline. While Luke Hughes made his New Jersey debut last year, fellow defenseman Simon Nemec spent the entire campaign in the AHL with Utica, playing out his first stateside season seeing big-time pro minutes as a teenager. That allowed the second-overall pick from the 2022 draft to get a good sense of the North American game after growing up on the bigger ice in Europe. “The physical game is harder than in other leagues,” Nemec said. “I need to improve that part of my game. You can’t play in North America if you…
VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS
IT’S TOUGH to progress through the hockey world under ordinary circumstances. To do so without the opportunity to actually play makes it much more difficult. Like many players who share his birth year, Mathieu Cataford did not progress in hockey conventionally. “You have to remember, the crew that came in that year (just experienced) the COVID year,” said Halifax Mooseheads GM Cam Russell. “He didn’t play his draft year. To scout the kids in Quebec, we were going on reports of him as (a U-15) player and watching him skate with small groups of players. That was a challenge in itself.” For Cataford, it was “challenge accepted.” The center from Chateaugay, Que., quickly became a valuable piece in the Mooseheads’ lineup. “He fit in well, worked his way into the lineup and…
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