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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.
TOP 100 21 AND UNDER: 1. CONNOR BEDARD
POS: C | AGE: 19 CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS (NHL) DRAFT: 1ST, 2023 (CHI) IT WAS DURING A sit-down interview before the season began when Connor Bedard was asked how he hoped to avoid the dreaded sophomore jinx that has sabotaged many young players over the years. The 19-year-old laughed. You mean, things could actually get worse? In case you forgot, it’s not like the hockey gods were smiling down on Bedard in his rookie year. The No. 1 overall pick in 2023 had his jaw broken, lost a linemate to a season-ending injury and had his name dragged into an off-ice scandal involving another teammate. And that was just in the first three months. While juggling the media demands of a presidential candidate, Bedard spent the rest of the season taking his nightly lumps on a…
TOP 100 21 AND UNDER: 77-82
>77. MARCO KASPER POS: C | AGE: 20 GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS (AHL) DRAFT: 8TH, 2022 (DET) > Kasper kicked off his season in the AHL with Grand Rapids and had two points in two games before getting called up to the Red Wings, who desperately needed wins. Coincidence or not, they won their first two games with Kasper in the lineup. The Austrian national has a tantalizing blend of skill and competitiveness. >78. GAVIN BRINDLEY POS: C | AGE: 20 CLEVELAND MONSTERS (AHL) DRAFT: 34TH, 2023 (CLB) > A broken finger delayed the start of Brindley’s season, but once he’s back, you can expect him to showcase his usual combination of grit, versatility and skill. Undersized but never outworked, Brindley could easily find himself in Columbus’ lineup again, or he can continue honing his game with AHL…
WINNIPEG JETS
> KEVIN HE IS a typical Toronto high-end hockey kid – coming up with North York Rangers before being drafted by the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs in 2022 – but with one small exception: his birthplace. When Winnipeg drafted He in the fourth round (109th overall) this summer, the Beijing native became the highest-drafted Chinese-born pick in NHL history. Kevin’s father, Jason, caught the hockey bug while attending university in New Brunswick. After returning to China, Jason put Kevin and younger brother Eric on rollerblades, took them to ice rinks in shopping malls and fed them endless YouTube highlights of his favorite player, Pavel Bure. When Kevin was five, the family moved to Montreal. He quickly discovered that his speed and explosiveness were more than enough to keep pace. Six years later, the He…
NEW JERSEY DEVILS
> IF THERE are two main tenets to the art of goaltending, they are arguably the abilities to read and react. It might not be a coincidence that those skills intersect with one of Mikhail Yegorov’s favorite pastimes. Over the past few years, Yegorov – who was drafted last June by New Jersey in the second round at 49th overall – has been enraptured by chess, part of the game’s boom following the release of the Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit. And he’s turned into quite the player. At last summer’s draft combine, the Russian netminder told reporters he’d reached a 1500 rating, good enough to be a Class C player by U.S. Chess Federation standards. But the 18-year-old doesn’t just like to play chess. He likes to play fast. “I switched…
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