NHL Prospects

When Can Newly-Drafted Prospects Break Through Into The NHL?

When do or can prospects make the jump to the NHL/AHL level? Most NHL prospects take 3-5 years post-draft to reach the NHL, with less than a third of first-rounders making an NHL team. Factors like skill development and individual progression dictate the timeline. Additionally, a strict NHL-CHL agreement impacts where prospects can play, depending on age. Any player under the age of 20 is ineligible to play in the AHL. NHL Entry Draft intricacies, entry-level contracts, Russian political issues and AHL stints shape a prospect’s journey.

NHL Prospect Tournaments Begin This Week: Full Schedule

If you’re like me and itching for the return of hockey, I have good news. Most NHL teams send their prospects to play in one of the many rookie/prospect tournaments that take place around the league before full training camps begin. Those tournaments all begin this week. These games are a great opportunity for young […]

Where Does Blackhawks Farm System Rank in Latest Ranking from The Athletic?

The Chicago Blackhawks are entering the post-Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane era. While the franchise struck gold by winning the NHL Draft Lottery and then drafting Connor Bedard, what’s next in the pipeline in this rebuild? Ahead of the 2023–24 NHL season, The Athletic’s Corey Pronman compiled a ranking of every franchise’s farm system. The Blackhawks saw […]

Arizona Coyotes Top 10 Prospects

1. Logan Cooley Cooley was the third overall pick of the 2022 NHL draft. The 5’10”, 181-pound center man played this past season for the Minnesota Golden Gophers, where he put up a stat line of 22 goals and 38 assists. The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, native plays an exciting, high-tempo offensive game with several tools he […]

Carolina Hurricanes Top 10 Prospects 2023-24

One of the most difficult parts of being a good NHL team is trying to balance the present with the future. A contending team’s salary cap room slowly dissolves as they add free agents or extend their core pieces. Their draft capital can dwindle if the General Manager isn’t wary about sacrificing too many of […]

The Housecleaning Continues: Philadelphia Flyers Won’t Sign 2018 First-Round Pick Jay O’Brien

Sometimes life comes at you fast, and with the 19th pick in the 2018 National Hockey League Entry Draft, the Philadelphia Flyers and General Manager Ron Hextall selected center Jay O’Brien. Fast forward to 2023, Hextall is the current GM of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and O’Brien is set to become a free agent after finishing […]