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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.
WINNING PERSPECTIVE
THE WORLD JUNIOR Championship was “a real kick in the nuts” for Chris Catton’s son. We know this, well, because we watched it and that’s exactly how he described it. So after the debacle came to an end, Chris Catton’s kid went home to Saskatoon for a few days and immediately headed to the place where he has always found refuge. After the tournament, one of the first places Berkly Catton went was the Dr. John G. Egnatoff School Rink on Kenderdine Road, where he could be alone with his stick and puck and watch his breath fade into the prairie sky. “It was therapeutic,” Berkly Catton said. “Instead of 20,000 people screaming, it was not a sound, except for the puck hitting the boards. It felt like it reset…
2025 PROJECTED TOP 10
1 MATTHEW SCHAEFER D, 6-2, 183 Erie (OHL) It’s no coincidence that Canada fell apart at the World Junior Championship after he broke his collarbone, despite the fact he was the youngest defenseman on the squad. Schaefer has everything a team would want in a blueliner: size, skating, smarts and two-way skills. At the risk of being hyperbolic, he could be the next Cale Makar. SCOUT SAYS: “He just controls the game. He plays in all situations, and he can do it all. He’s a terrific player. He has hockey sense, skill, skating, he can defend, and he can run the power play. He’s a very well-rounded player.” 2 PORTER MARTONE RW, 6-3, 208 Brampton (OHL) What sets Martone apart from other top-end forwards in his class is the size and snarl he brings to each game; it’s…
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…
A TIGERS TALE
THERE’S NO POINT ASKING Duante’ Abercrombie what he’s doing nowadays. You’ll save time by just asking what he isn’t doing. The first hockey coach at Tennessee State, Abercrombie is constantly watching video, travelling, scheduling games, fundraising and recruiting for a Tigers program that plans to hit the ice next season with a top-tier team. That’s right, there has never even been club hockey at TSU – but they’re going straight to Div. I. If that sounds daunting, add to that the fact the school itself is currently going through financial problems, so the hockey team has to be privately funded by donations for at least its first season. So, as their coach was putting together the first TSU roster, he wasn’t just looking at player statistics. “If you haven’t gone through some type…
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