You’ve heard of a top-100 prospects list. But who needs those? At Sound Of Hockey we set out on a much more reckless endeavor: Let’s rank every skater prospect (both drafted and signed players) that meet two criteria entering the 2023-24 season: (1) younger than 25 years old, and (2) fewer than 50 NHL games played.

While we likely missed a few along the way, our research turned up 1027 skaters meeting these criteria–and we ranked them all. Our ranking is built on Thibaud Chatel’s NHL equivalency research and uses only quantifiable measures: prospect points per game, strength of the player’s current league, prospect age, and prospect height, with a minor adjustment for positional value. 

The approach we used was similar to our approach in making a data-based ranking of 2023 NHL Draft and 2024 NHL Draft prospects. If you want the full gory details on method, check out this post describing the process from earlier this offseason.

For current purposes, it is likely sufficient to reiterate that this is a true “data-only” ranking with no adjustments for subjective preferences or the “eye test.” For example, Connor Bedard would be my No. 1 prospect if I were assembling a personal list, but the NHL equivalency-based approach I used here puts him fourth. 

This “data-only” exercise is meant to compliment traditional scouting assessments. Are there players that the scouting lists have overlooked? If so, we can dig in and try to figure out if the player is simply under-appreciated or if there is a flaw in the player’s game that could hold the player back. The data is helpful in honing in on these outlier cases that may be worthy of a second look (for good or bad).

Without further ado, you can find the full ranking, with a lot of data on each prospect HERE.

Important note on using the NHL affiliate prospect ranking: If you want to filter the data by various categories, highlight row 3, then select “Data,” “Filter Views,” and “Create New Temporary Filter View.” This will allow you to manipulate the data in a way visible only to you.

Which prospects have the most impressive data profiles?

Based on prospect scoring, strength of league, age, height, and position only, here is your “data-only” top-100 prospects.

Prospect Ranking	Full Name	Team	Position	Height (ft in)	Age	Draft Year	Draft Pick	Chatel NHLe (unadjusted)
1	Adam Fantilli	CBJ	C	6′ 2″	18	2023	3	38.59
2	Alexander Nikishin	CAR	D	6′ 3″	22	2020	69	45.41
3	Matvei Michkov	PHI	RW	5′ 10″	18	2023	7	39.01
4	Connor Bedard	CHI	C	5′ 10″	18	2023	1	35.55
5	David Jiricek	CBJ	D	6′ 4″	19	2022	6	29.99
6	Brandt Clarke	LAK	D	6′ 2″	20	2021	8	33.58
7	Joakim Kemell	NSH	RW	5′ 11″	19	2022	17	35.64
8	Jiri Kulich	BUF	C	5′ 11″	19	2022	28	33.46
9	Logan Cooley	ARI	C	5′ 10″	19	2022	3	32.83
10	Kaiden Guhle	MON	D	6′ 2″	21	2020	16	33.55
11	Luke Hughes	NJD	D	6′ 2″	20	2021	4	26.22
12	Leo Carlsson	ANA	C/RW	6′ 3″	18	2023	2	26.57
13	Lukas Reichel	CHI	LW/RW	6′ 0″	21	2020	17	37.81
14	Lane Hutson	MON	D	5′ 9″	19	2022	62	26.22
15	Jakob Pelletier	CGY	LW/C	5′ 9″	22	2019	26	46.50
16	Quentin Musty	SJS	LW	6′ 2″	18	2023	26	24.80
17	William Smith	SJS	C	6′ 0″	18	2023	4	26.08
18	Luke Evangelista	NSH	RW	6′ 0″	21	2020	42	37.38
19	Marco Rossi	MIN	C	5′ 9″	22	2020	9	41.72
20	Gabriel Perreault	NYR	RW	5′ 11″	18	2023	23	25.83
21	Marat Khusnutdinov	MIN	C/LW	5′ 11″	21	2020	37	35.51
22	Simon Nemec	NJD	D	6′ 1″	19	2022	2	23.47
23	Jimmy Snuggerud	STL	RW	6′ 1″	19	2022	23	26.65
24	Ryker Evans	SEA	D	5′ 11″	21	2021	35	31.29
25	Roby Jarventie	OTT	LW	6′ 2″	21	2020	33	32.60
26	William Eklund	SJS	C/LW	5′ 11″	20	2021	7	33.03
27	Nikita Grebyonkin	TOR	LW/RW	6′ 2″	20	2022	135	29.11
28	David Reinbacher	MON	D	6′ 2″	18	2023	5	20.49
29	Juuso Parssinen	NSH	C/LW	6′ 3″	22	2019	210	39.11
30	Jeremie Poirier	CGY	D	6′ 1″	21	2020	72	27.38
31	Jean-Luc Foudy	COL	C	5′ 11″	21	2020	75	33.90
32	Alexander Holtz	NJD	RW	6′ 0″	21	2020	7	34.77
33	Ridly Greig	OTT	C/LW	6′ 0″	21	2020	28	32.16
34	Nikolai Kovalenko	COL	RW/LW	5′ 10″	23	2018	171	53.56
35	Jordan Spence	LAK	D	5′ 10″	22	2019	95	34.33
36	Simon Edvinsson	DET	D	6′ 6″	20	2021	6	22.60
37	Ville Heinola	WPG	D	6′ 1″	22	2019	20	31.73
38	Justin Barron	MON	D	6′ 2″	21	2020	25	27.81
39	Graeme Clarke	NJD	RW	6′ 0″	22	2019	80	37.38
40	Jordan Dumais	CBJ	RW	5′ 8″	19	2022	96	26.76
41	Tyson Foerster	PHI	RW	6′ 2″	21	2020	23	32.16
42	Cutter Gauthier	PHI	LW/C	6′ 2″	19	2022	5	24.73
43	Nikita Alexandrov	STL	C	6′ 1″	23	2019	62	40.42
44	Fabian Lysell	BOS	RW	5′ 11″	20	2021	21	29.12
45	Matthew Poitras	BOS	C	5′ 11″	19	2022	54	25.14
46	Colby Barlow	WPG	LW	6′ 0″	18	2023	18	22.39
47	Andrew Cristall	WSH	LW	5′ 10″	18	2023	40	23.14
48	Matthew Wood	NSH	LW/C	6′ 5″	18	2023	15	20.68
49	Sasha Pastujov	ANA	RW/LW	6′ 0″	20	2021	66	26.52
50	Pavel Mintyukov	ANA	D	6′ 1″	19	2022	10	20.84
51	Bogdan Konyushkov	MON	D	5′ 11″	20	2023	110	23.87
52	Connor Zary	CGY	C	6′ 0″	22	2020	24	33.46
53	Daniil Pylenkov	TBL	D	6′ 1″	23	2021	196	32.02
54	William Dufour	NYI	RW	6′ 2″	21	2020	152	30.42
55	David Goyette	SEA	C	5′ 10″	19	2022	61	24.62
56	Olen Zellweger	ANA	D	5′ 9″	20	2021	34	22.03
57	Dalibor Dvorsky	STL	C/RW	6′ 1″	18	2023	10	20.47
58	Niko Huuhtanen	TBL	RW	6′ 2″	20	2021	224	24.80
59	Vasili Ponomaryov	CAR	C	5′ 10″	21	2020	53	31.29
60	Shane Wright	SEA	C	6′ 0″	19	2022	4	24.00
61	Sean Farrell	MON	C/LW	5′ 9″	21	2020	124	33.26
62	Matthew Maggio	NYI	RW	5′ 11″	20	2022	142	27.72
63	Logan Stankoven	DAL	C/RW	5′ 7″	20	2021	47	28.58
64	Logan Morrison	SEA	C	6′ 0″	21	N/A	N/A	28.24
65	Zach Benson	BUF	LW	5′ 9″	18	2023	13	21.33
66	Ty Nelson	SEA	D	5′ 9″	19	2022	68	19.98
67	Shakir Mukhamadullin	SJS	D	6′ 4″	21	2020	20	23.59
68	Francesco Pinelli	LAK	C	6′ 0″	20	2021	42	25.31
69	William Wallinder	DET	D	6′ 4″	21	2020	32	21.70
70	Aatu Jamsen	LAK	RW/LW	6′ 1″	21	2020	190	27.16
71	Amadeus Lombardi	DET	C	5′ 10″	20	2022	113	25.31
72	Evan Vierling	PIT	C	6′ 0″	21	2020	127	27.72
73	Ty Voit	TOR	W/C	5′ 10″	20	2021	153	25.14
74	Samuel Bolduc	NYI	D	6′ 4″	22	2019	57	27.38
75	Ryan Leonard	WSH	C	6′ 0″	18	2023	8	20.30
76	Yegor Sokolov	OTT	LW/RW	6′ 3″	23	2020	61	36.51
77	Juraj Slafkovsky	MON	LW	6′ 3″	19	2022	1	21.03
78	Lukas Cormier	VGK	D	5′ 10″	21	2020	68	24.34
79	Gage Goncalves	TBL	C	6′ 0″	22	2020	62	33.90
80	Vladislav Firstov	MIN	LW	6′ 1″	22	2019	42	30.86
81	Joshua Roy	MON	W/C	6′ 0″	20	2021	150	23.35
82	Arseni Gritsyuk	NJD	RW/LW	5′ 11″	22	2019	129	33.19
83	Topi Niemela	TOR	D	5′ 11″	21	2020	64	23.47
84	Will Cuylle	NYR	LW	6′ 3″	21	2020	60	26.95
85	Trey Fix-Wolansky	CBJ	RW	5′ 7″	24	2018	204	50.41
86	Elliot Desnoyers	PHI	LW	5′ 11″	21	2020	135	28.68
87	Cruz Lucius	CAR	RW	6′ 0″	19	2022	124	21.32
88	Rutger McGroarty	WPG	C/LW	6′ 0″	19	2022	14	21.32
89	Michael Buchinger	STL	D	5′ 11″	19	2022	88	17.91
90	Nolan Burke	NSH	C	6′ 3″	20	N/A	N/A	23.76
91	Matvei Petrov	EDM	RW/LW	6′ 2″	20	2021	180	23.25
92	Isak Rosen	BUF	W/C	5′ 11″	20	2021	14	24.34
93	Adam Engstrom	MON	D	6′ 2″	19	2022	92	17.71
94	Semyon Chistyakov	NSH	D	5′ 10″	22	2019	117	25.62
95	Maxim Beryozkin	EDM	RW/LW	6′ 2″	21	2020	138	27.95
96	Jan Jenik	ARI	RW/C	6′ 1″	23	2018	65	33.90
97	Declan Chisholm	WPG	D	6′ 2″	23	2018	150	31.73
98	Rodwin Dionicio	ANA	D	6′ 2″	19	2023	129	16.88
99	Stanislav Svozil	CBJ	D	6′ 0″	20	2021	69	20.07
100	Sam Lipkin	ARI	LW/C	6′ 2″	20	2021	223	23.45

Digging into this data on the top-100 prospects a bit, I looked at just how much a player needs to score to be considered among this top tier of future NHL players. Depending on age and position, a major junior player needs to be scoring between one and two points per game to reach this upper echelon prospect status. An AHL or top European pro league player needs to produce between .4 and 1 points per game, while a KHL player can check in on the lower end of that range and still rank highly.

On the demographics side, Canada still leads the way in the hockey world, with 41 of the top 100 prospects hailing from the Great White North.

Of the top 100, 60 percent were first- or second-round draft picks. This underscores that NHL teams are efficient in identifying amateurs most likely to turn into productive professionals. It also supports the work of other draft analysts indicating that first- and second-round draft picks are by far the most valuable in generating future NHLers.

Of the top-100 prospects, only one was not drafted (reflected by the “null” in the chart above). Any guesses on who that might be? Keep reading for the answer.

Finally, let’s take an initial look at how these top-100 prospects are distributed across the NHL.

How do Seattle’s prospects stack up?

Since this website primarily covers the Seattle Kraken, many may be wondering where Seattle’s prospects stack up. The answer is: Quite well. Of course, the Kraken value data in their amateur scouting process, so this is not terribly surprising. Still, it is a notable success that Seattle has one of the deepest prospect pools of high-scoring, young talent despite participating in only three drafts (and having only three first-round picks to date). Two undrafted free agent signings stand out as important future pieces as well.

Prospect Ranking	Full Name	Team	Position	Height (ft in)	Age	Country	Draft Year	Draft Pick	Chatel NHLe (unadjusted)
24	Ryker Evans	SEA	D	5′ 11″	21	CAN	2021	35	31.29
55	David Goyette	SEA	C/LW	5′ 10″	19	CAN	2022	61	24.62
60	Shane Wright	SEA	C	6′ 0″	19	CAN	2022	4	24.00
64	Logan Morrison	SEA	C	6′ 0″	21	CAN	N/A	N/A	28.24
66	Ty Nelson	SEA	D	5′ 9″	19	CAN	2022	68	19.98
101	Tye Kartye	SEA	C/LW	5′ 11″	22	CAN	N/A	N/A	31.29
118	Lukas Dragicevic	SEA	D	6′ 1″	18	CAN	2023	57	14.92
137	Ryan Winterton	SEA	C/RW	6′ 2″	20	CAN	2021	67	20.32
141	Jagger Firkus	SEA	RW	5′ 10″	19	CAN	2022	35	19.93
155	Tucker Robertson	SEA	C	5′ 11″	20	CAN	2022	123	21.18
192	Jani Nyman	SEA	RW	6′ 2″	19	FIN	2022	49	16.92
194	Jacob Melanson	SEA	RW	5′ 11″	20	CAN	2021	131	20.47
214	Kyle Jackson	SEA	LW/C	6′ 2″	20	CAN	2022	196	19.98
242	Kole Lind	SEA	RW	6′ 1″	24	CAN	2017	33	41.29
253	Carson Rehkopf	SEA	C/LW	6′ 2″	18	CAN	2023	50	14.46
366	Andrei Loshko	SEA	C/RW	6′ 1″	19	BLR	2023	116	12.99
425	Eduard Sale	SEA	C/RW	6′ 2″	18	CZE	2023	20	11.41
445	Marian Studenic	SEA	LW/RW	6′ 1″	24	SVK	2017	143	31.29
452	Ville Ottavainen	SEA	D	6′ 5″	21	FIN	2021	99	11.81
498	Caden Price	SEA	D	6′ 1″	18	CAN	2023	84	8.50
504	Tyson Jugnauth	SEA	D	5′ 11″	19	CAN	2022	100	10.02
518	Barrett Hall	SEA	C	6′ 1″	19	USA	2022	164	11.81
529	Zaccharya Wisdom	SEA	RW	6′ 0″	19	CAN	2023	212	11.37
619	Oscar Fisker Molgaard	SEA	C	6′ 0″	18	DNK	2023	52	8.84
670	Ville Petman	SEA	C/LW	5′ 10″	23	FIN	N/A	N/A	17.38
712	Zeb Forsfjall	SEA	C	5′ 9″	18	SWE	2023	180	5.65
748	Ben MacDonald	SEA	C	5′ 11″	19	USA	2022	91	8.12
777	Justin Janicke	SEA	LW/C	5′ 11″	20	USA	2021	195	8.31
828	Kaden Hammell	SEA	D	6′ 1″	18	CAN	2023	148	5.02
871	Luke Henman	SEA	C	6′ 0″	23	CAN	2018	96	10.87
888	Peetro Seppala	SEA	D	6’2″	23	FIN	N/A	N/A	7.39

By this point you have likely noticed the answer to our little trivia question–Seattle Kraken prospect Logan Morrison is the one undrafted prospect in the top-100. Who is the second-highest ranked undrafted prospect? Seattle Kraken F Tye Kartye, who checks in just outside the top-100 at No. 101 overall.

Next up: Ranking the prospect pools

How does the Kraken prospect pool stack up against the rest of the league? I’ll dig into that question a little further next time. In the meantime, here, again, is the link to the full ranking of NHL affiliated prospects.