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Future Watch 2025
The Hockey News has been providing the most comprehensive coverage of the world of hockey since 1947. In each issue, you'll find news, features and opinions about the NHL and leagues across North America and the world.
MONTREAL CANADIENS
A-| RANK: 4TH JEFF GORTON HAD A lot on his plate when he took over as the Canadiens’ executive vice-president of hockey operations after the team fired former GM Marc Bergevin in November 2021. One of Gorton’s biggest jobs in the rebuilding project he was given by owner and president Geoff Molson was to improve drafting and development with the goal of building a team that could be a Stanley Cup contender for several seasons. Gorton and now-GM Kent Hughes have done a very impressive job in that respect, and there is now hope for the future in Montreal with several top prospects in the system. 1 IVAN DEMIDOV RW, 19, 6-1, 192 St. Petersburg (KHL) 56–19–29–48–18 2024 draft, 5th overall OVERALL 1 Demidov is the prospect the Habs are most excited about – and with good reason…
EDMONTON OILERS
C-| RANK: 31ST THE OILERS’ NHL ROSTER is heavy on veterans, with just two regulars born in the 2000s. And while the team’s quest for the Cup has led to several picks and prospects being sacrificed for immediate help, the club significantly revamped its prospect pool this summer. Boosted by a pair of off-season trades, the top of the list is now younger, and Edmonton’s seven picks in 2024 matched the number of acquisitions from the previous two years combined. More prospects in the pipeline mean more lottery tickets for assistant GM/Bakersfield GM Keith Gretzky and Co. Those could turn into valuable pieces down the road. 1 MATT SAVOIE C, 21, 5-9, 179 Bakersfield (AHL) 45–13–24–37–18 Trade (Buf), July 5, 2024 OVERALL 61 By swapping Ryan McLeod for local boy Savoie, the Oilers added a versatile, hyper-skilled forward.…
MULTI-YEAR A-LIST PROSPECTS
IT’S RARE FOR A prospect to reappear in the pages of Future Watch after he’s made it to the NHL, but that happened to three players this year. Simon Nemec, David Jiricek and Kevin Korchinski graduated to the NHL as 19-year-olds in 2023-24, only to hit speed bumps this season and find themselves marinating in the AHL. Not surprisingly, they’re all defensemen, who generally need more time to develop. They remain outstanding prospects and will surely be back in the NHL in short order. They join a large number of A-list prospects who have been part of the top 100 for multiple years. Here’s a list of youngsters who have been ranked within the Future Watch top 100 dating back three or more seasons. We asked a panel of scouts to forecast…
OTTAWA SENATORS
C+ | RANK: 22ND WHAT A DIFFERENCE A year makes. The Senators have graduated from underachieving-yet-undeniably-talented underdogs to playoff hopefuls under the watch of GM Steve Staios and coach Travis Green. The team’s prospect pipeline is not as hearty as it was at the dawn of the decade, as many of the Sens’ youngsters have graduated to become full-fledged NHLers. But the cupboard isn’t bare. A pair of young and gifted goalies, multi-talented forwards and a highly touted blueliner with a chip on his shoulder highlight the Senators’ developmental system. 1 CARTER YAKEMCHUK D, 19, 6-4, 207 Calgary (WHL) 41–15–27–42–59 2024 draft, 7th overall OVERALL 11 Yakemchuk shrugged off the disappointment of being returned to junior and being snubbed from Canada’s WJC squad by breaking the Hitmen’s all-time blueline goal-scoring record. The Sens, who took Yakemchuk ahead of…
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