Welcome to PHR’s Big Hype Prospects series. Like the MLB Trade Rumors series of the same name, we’re taking a look at the performances of top prospects from across the hockey world. We’ll look at drafted prospects who are rising, others who are struggling, and prospects for the upcoming draft who are notable.
Four Big Hype Prospects
Dean Letourneau, C, Boston Bruins (Boston College, NCAA)
14 GP 6G 8A 14pts
When the Bruins selected Letourneau with the 25th pick at the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, the pick was widely classified as a significant gamble. On one hand, Letourneau offered a rare combination of size and skill, a combination that’s even more rare – and coveted – in a natural center. Letourneau stands 6’7″, 220 pounds, and managed to score 152 points in 70 games for St. Andrew’s College, at the Canadian U18 prep school level. That’s impressive production, even if it didn’t come against the highest level of competition for a draft-eligible prospect.
But with those attractive qualities came some serious risks. David St-Louis, lead scout at Elite Prospects, called Letourneau “the ultimate development pick,” highlighting his positive traits as well as the long development road required to bring those positive qualities to the NHL. The Athletic’s Corey Pronman wrote that the Bruins’ pick of Letourneau was “a big swing,” and noted that his level of competition made it “hard to gauge” Letourneau’s hockey sense and compete level.
Those reactions to the Bruins’ pick are reflective of the risk most viewed as inherent in the Letourneau selection. Likely as a result of that risk, Letourneau was a divisive prospect in the public sphere. NHL Central Scouting ranked him No. 23 among North American skaters, and the public source highest on Letourneau appears to have been Pronman, who ranked him No. 28.
Other public-facing scouts were lower on Letourneau. He was ranked No. 69 by TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button, and Future Considerations, which has since shut down, ranked him No. 135. The Bruins ended up drafting Letourneau at a higher slot than he was ranked by any major public-facing scouting outlet, a clear show of faith by the organization both in Letourneau’s qualities as a player, and also the organization’s ability to properly oversee his development.
The early returns, unfortunately, were not positive for both the Bruins and Letourneau. San Jose Sharks prospect Will Smith’s departure from Boston College to sign an entry-level deal prompted Letourneau to start his NCAA career in the fall after he was drafted. Letourneau’s original plan was to spend the year in the USHL, but with Smith’s departure, he took the opportunity to begin his development in college.
Letourneau only scored three points across 36 games in his freshman season, and by the end of the year, Bruins management admitted to the media (including NHL.com’s Amalie Benjamin) that Letourneau’s choice to bypass the USHL for the NCAA may not have been the best choice for his development.
But 14 games into Letourneau’s sophomore season, many of those concerns appear to be fading away. Letourneau now ranks second on the Eagles in scoring with 14 points in 14 games, behind only fellow Bruins prospect James Hagens. Elite Prospects scout Whittaker Heart noted in an October game report that Letourneau “had a noticeable jump in his skating” and now is “starting to look like an NHLer.”
If Letourneau can continue to build on his apparent developmental leap over the course of the full season, it appears his projection as a future NHL scoring center would be significantly strengthened. Letourneau’s development is crucial for the Bruins, who don’t currently have any young centers on their roster who project as long-term top-six fixtures.
Hagens, Letourneau’s teammate, most readily projects as the Bruins’ future No. 1 center, but if Letourneau can continue his steep developmental climb, he could very well end up slotting in behind Hagens at the professional level, the same way he’s slotted in at Chestnut Hill.
Cayden Lindstrom, C, Columbus Blue Jackets (Michigan State, NCAA)
9 GP 1G 1A 2pts
In their entire history as a franchise in the NHL, the Blue Jackets have lacked one key asset: a high-scoring true number-one center. They’ve had some quality centers, but most Blue Jackets pivots have been more of the high-end middle-six variety. So when the club spent the No. 4 overall pick at the 2024 draft on Lindstrom, the selection made sense: Columbus was looking to acquire a center who offered a rare blend of size, strength and high-end offensive ability.
Players who fit that mold to the extent Lindstrom did are typically contenders to be selected No. 1 overall. But clouding Lindstrom’s projection, significantly, was a lingering back injury. The Blue Jackets felt confident enough in Lindstrom’s health to draft him at such a high position, but their investment instantly hit a roadblock as Lindstrom’s back injury cost him most of the 2024-25 season. He ended up playing in only four games – four playoff contests during the playoff run of the Moose Jaw Warriors.
Lindstrom entered 2025-26 with a cleaner bill of health, and the hope was that he’d enter one of the top programs in college hockey (Michigan State), get to center some high-end talent (perhaps 2025 No. 7 pick Porter Martone) and put his lost 2024-25 campaign behind him. So far, that hasn’t happened. Not only has Lindstrom missed time due to injury, his production and role have fallen below expectations for someone of his draft slot. He missed five games due to injury before returning for the team’s Nov. 28 game against Colgate, and slotted in as the Spartans’ third-line center, behind 2025 second-rounder Eric Nilson and 2023 first-rounder Charlie Stramel on the depth chart.
While there isn’t one simple explanation as to why, Lindstrom’s start, in terms of production, has been below the expectation of someone selected at his draft slot. While 2024 No. 3 pick Beckett Sennecke and No. 5 pick Ivan Demidov are battling for the rookie scoring lead in the NHL, Lindstrom is still searching for his third NCAA point. Lindstrom scored a goal and an assist in an Oct. 18 victory over Boston University, but hasn’t found his way onto the scoresheet at any other point.
For comparison, Sascha Boisvert, who is another 2024-drafted NCAA center (No. 18 overall to Chicago) has scored nine points through nine games. Of course, it isn’t exactly a fair comparison. Boisvert gets to play a steadier diet of minutes and centers higher-scoring linemates. And perhaps most importantly, Boisvert didn’t have to spend most of the past calendar year recovering from a back injury.
But while Lindstrom has certainly had circumstances out of his control working against him, the bottom-line production, through nine games, simply hasn’t been where most would expect from such a talented offensive creator and a top draft pick.
That’s not to say, of course, that the Blue Jackets erred in selecting Lindstrom fourth overall. It’s still far too early to pass final judgement on the pick. If Lindstrom puts his injuries behind him and becomes a dynamic top-six center to pair with Adam Fantilli, the Blue Jackets will likely look back on the pick more than happy taking Lindstrom over the other available options. But he has to get there first, and so far, Lindstrom’s developmental road has been a bumpy one.
Yegor Surin, C, Nashville Predators (Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, KHL)
34 GP 13G 12A 25pts
Other than the Columbus Blue Jackets, another NHL franchise that has long been searching for a true play-driving number-one center is the Nashville Predators. Historically speaking, the Predators have been able to develop defensemen and goaltenders at an impressive rate, but generating quality scoring centers has been more of a challenge.
Looking towards the future, the Predators do have a few prospects who could end up breaking that trend and becoming homegrown top-six centers in Nashville. The big name in the Predators’ system is undoubtedly 2025 No. 5 overall pick Brady Martin, but a name that likely isn’t receiving as much attention as it deserves is Surin, Nashville’s 2024 first-round pick.
While there are some who were likely disappointed that the Montreal Canadiens selected USHL standout Michael Hage with the pick directly before Surin, all Surin has done since he was drafted was continue to develop his game and impress coaches and scouts alike. He spent most of his draft campaign in the MHL (Russia’s top junior league), but broke into the KHL as a full-time player in 2024-25, at the age of 18.
The KHL is notorious for being an extremely difficult league for young players, especially teenagers, to find a way to contribute in. But despite those historical headwinds, Surin was able to stick with Lokomotiv for all of 2024-25, scoring 14 points in 41 regular-season games. He added on seven points in 19 playoff games, helping his club win the Gagarin Cup championship.
Surin’s standout competitiveness allowed him to stick in the KHL, and entering the season, most public-facing scouts were confident in his projection as a future NHLer, although most classified him as a potential future middle-six center rather than a top-six talent. The Athletic’s Corey Pronman wrote in August that Surin “has the traits to be an NHL third-line center,” while Scott Wheeler, also of The Athletic, wrote in February that Surin will “be a top-nine forward someday.” Elite Prospects Russia scout Dylan Griffing succinctly classified where Surin was in his development, writing before the season that Surin needed to “round out his offensive game to grow beyond a checking-line projection.”
So far, through 34 KHL games in 2025-26, Surin’s offensive production has taken a major step forward: his points-per-game scoring rate is up from 0.34 to 0.74. Surin is one of just two teenage players in the KHL with double-digit points production, and ranks second in scoring among all KHL players aged 22 and under, behind only Blackhawks prospect Roman Kantserov, who is 21.
Put simply: Surin’s offensive step forward, if sustained over the course of this KHL season, has the potential to materially alter his NHL projection in a positive direction. Most public-facing scouts saw a future NHL middle-sixer when watching Surin in the KHL last season. Watching how impressive he’s been this season, it’s likely that many of those same scouts now see a potential future NHL top-six talent.
Surin’s breakout also has the potential to alter how Nashville plans for its future. With 2021 first-rounder Fedor Svechkov already in the NHL and Martin on the way, Surin’s development gives the Predators three young potential NHL pivots to build around.
Development is not linear, and it’s no guarantee any player of the trio ends up reaching their potential. But in what has been a disappointing 2025-26 season for Nashville so far, Surin’s breakout is a much-needed positive development and one that could pay serious dividends for the organization at some point down the line. Surin’s KHL contract runs through the 2026-27 season.
Jesse Pulkkinen, LHD, New York Islanders (Bridgeport Islanders, AHL)
9 GP 0G 1A 1pt
Pulkkinen, a Finnish blueliner, has quite a few traits that scouts covet in defensive prospects. He’s big (6’6″, 215 pounds), he has high-level professional experience (29 games in the Finnish Liiga in his draft year) and he’s shown flashes of real value on both ends of the ice. But despite being an overage player when the Islanders selected him in the second round (No. 54 overall) at the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, he hasn’t yet looked like a real contender to make a push for an NHL call-up.
While his time in North America’s pro circuit has been relatively brief (comprised entirely of his late-season move to AHL Bridgeport at the end of 2024-25 and the start of 2025-26), his time on this side of the Atlantic has been a bit of a challenge.
On Oct. 30, Pulkkinen was reassigned to the Islanders’ ECHL affiliate, the Worcester Railers. That came after Pulkkinen played in just two games at the AHL level. Pulkkinen has been one of Bridgeport’s most sparingly deployed defensemen so far this season, with limited third-pairing usage and short-handed usage that ranks fifth among Bridgeport blueliners.
Given Pulkkinen’s experience in Finland, his draft pedigree, and his impressive set of traits, it’s somewhat surprising to see him struggle to earn the trust of his AHL coaches, and it was certainly surprising to see him sent down to the ECHL.
There have been some factors outside of his control that have complicated his development. He suffered a knee injury that cost him quite a bit of time, and also necessitated that he devote time he could have otherwise spent developing his game further on recovering from that injury. But while some things have been out of Pulkkinen’s control, the reality is he just hasn’t played up to the standard he set earlier in his career.
The Islanders have other promising defensive prospects in their system, so the organization is under no great pressure to fast-track Pulkkinen’s development. He was always seen as more of a long-term project, and his performances in North America only underline that fact. He’s still just 20 years old, and could have a bright future ahead. But as of right now, his start to his North American pro career has been an uphill battle.