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Prospects Unlimited 2024-25
In the 2024-25 edition of our annual Prospects Unlimited issue, we count down the top 100 21-and-under players in the world (with features on Bedard, Celebrini, Demidov, McGroarty and Benson) and profile the Washingon Capitals development system. In addition, we have NHL team pages with features, grades and full rosters for each organization.
WASHINGTON CAPITALS
> WHEN ANDREW Cristall fell to the second round of the 2023 NHL draft, it was confirmation for some that he was too slight and his skating too odd to be considered a blue-chipper. But others felt Washington got the steal of the draft. The following season, Cristall put up 111 points for the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets, and early this year, he was averaging more than two points per game after making a good impression at the Capitals’ training camp. Cristall, who’s in the mix for a role on Canada’s WJC team, knows he needs to be more than just an offensive player and has worked to expand his horizons. “I’m trying to help score and produce,” Cristall said. “But then again, I want to be more reliable. Play hard on the…
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
> CHICAGO CLEARLY HAS its No. 1 center for at least the next decade in Connor Bedard, but a team cannot thrive on one pivot alone. To that end, the Hawks have several options in the pipeline, including Sacha Boisvert. Chicago used the second of its three 2024 first-round picks – the 18th overall selection – to take Boisvert. (They took D-man Artyom Levshunov second overall.) Born and raised in Quebec, Boisvert headed to the United States in 2020 to play for Mount St. Charles Academy, the Rhode Island prep school that now competes in the Prep Hockey Conference with Shattuck-St. Mary’s and others. From there, he played for USHL Muskegon and put up superb offensive numbers for the Lumberjacks in his draft year, including 36 goals in 61 games. Now, Boisvert…
SEATTLE KRAKEN
> CHALK IT UP to a bit of youthful exuberance and a touch of chutzpah that Nathan Villeneuve got a tattoo of the Sudbury Wolves’ logo on his left shoulder before he’d even played a shift in the OHL. Granted, he was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2022 OHL draft, but what if the Wolves had ever decided to trade him? “I don’t know,” Villeneuve said. “I think (Wolves GM) Rob (Papineau) loves me enough that he would never trade me.” Many people love what Villeneuve brings to the rink, which is a combination of tenacity and swagger with more than a modicum of offensive skill. In a pre-season game with the Seattle Kraken, who drafted him 63rd overall in 2024, Villeneuve scored a goal, then on the way…
FLORIDA PANTHERS
> THE STANLEY CUP-WINNING Panthers have high expectations for Latvian winger Sandis Vilmanis as potential glue for their middle-six forward group and secondary power-play unit. The 6-foot-1, 192-pounder signed a three-year, entry-level deal in March and is now in the infancy of his pro career with AHL Charlotte. Panthers GM Bill Zito described the 20-year-old, who was a fifth-round pick in 2022, as “a strong skater and skilled forward” with “high character.” Vilmanis had 112 points across 122 OHL games with the Sarnia Sting and North Bay Battalion, including an impressive 28 goals in 30 games with North Bay last year. During training camp, Vilmanis earned praise from Cats coach Paul Maurice while occupying the right side on a line with Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen. “Playing with those guys on one line…
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