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Predators Could Test Young Prospects, Trust Andrew Brunette Amid Struggles

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The Nashville Predators are far from where they want to be after spending a heap to sign Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei this summer. The team sits at the bottom of the Central Division with a 4-7-1 record – one less win than the notably-rebuilding Chicago Blackhawks. That led general manager Barry Trotz to hint that a complete teardown would follow continued failure, saying in an interview on Nashville’s 102.5 The Game on Tuesday, “I’m trying to do some things right now. We will be limited a little because of the contracts that we have… but if we don’t get it going, then I’m going to start our rebuild plan.”

Trotz went on to clarify the comments to Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean earlier today, emphasizing that the team won’t, “burn it down to the studs”. Instead, any “rebuild” would be focused around finding space for the team’s young core. Trotz said, “if it doesn’t work, I’ve still got to buy the time for those young players.”

He went on to name roughly 10 players that he identifies as the team’s next-up. Per Daugherty, that list includes forwards Teddy Stiga, Reid Schaefer, Joakim Kemell, and Matthew Wood; and defenders Tanner Molendyk and Andrew Gibson. Trotz pointed out that the team is walking a fine line between trying to be competitive and trying to properly develop their youngsters, and pointed out that they could take out veterans down the depth chart to give prospects more of a chance. Most notably, Nashville is searching for a productive second-line center – a role that could one day be filled by Schaefer, Kemell, or Zachary L’Heureux.

The dozen players that Trotz mentioned are certainly a strong core to build around. The grouping – save for Wood, Molendyk, and Gibson – are currently driving the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals to clear success. The team is 8-1-0 through their first nine games, spurred by Kemell’s eight points in nine games, L’Heureux’s five points in four games, and Fedor Svechkov’s five points in five games. It’s a trio that’s found success time-and-time-again in Milwaukee, though L’Heureux’s seven appearances this year stand as the only NHL time among them all. The oft-undisciplined winger managed two assists and one penalty in those appearances – just low enough to fall out of Nashville’s lineup, despite being one of only 12 Predators with multiple points this season.

While they all still need to develop NHL-ready traits, Nashville’s prospect pool offers a large array of takeover ability. Molendyk’s ability to create pace and tempo through hard passes in the neutral zone made him a standout at this year’s training camp; while each of Kemell, Wood, and Schaefer have thrived on the back of hard shooting and gritty play along the boards. They’re translatable talents that Nashville should be reaping soon. At least, that’s Trotz’s full intention – as he emphasized to Daugherty that the last thing he wants to do is drag Predators fans through a long-term rebuild.

Trotz also pointed out that the head coach Andrew Brunette isn’t on the hot seat. Brunette led Nashville to a 47-30-5 record and first-round playoff exit last season, and has made his frustrations with the lack of cohesivity in the lineup known to the GM. Speaking on his head coach, Trotz said, “He’s saying ’I’ve got no one going right now.’… Nothing’s really working. You’re trying hard to find the magic potion and you get a little frustrated.”

Nashville’s new additions are struggling in their new setting. The trio of Stamkos, Skjei, and Marchessault are sitting at five, six, and seven points through 12 games respectively – far too little for the prices they were paid this summer. The depth isn’t fairing much better, with Philip Tomasino and Jeremy Lauzon (no scoring) being outscored by starting goaltender Juuse Saros (one assist). That’s led the team to a dismal record, and led Trotz to start turning his attention towards the young bloods. The team likely still sits a few steps away from fully leaning into their promising prospects, but continued struggles will force a hard decision sooner rather than later, and getting a chance to play alongside future Hall-of-Famers in Stamkos and Josi could be a cheeky way to accelerate their development.

East Notes: Mateychuk, Labanc, Meneghin

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In their lone roster cut of the morning, the Columbus Blue Jackets have loaned top prospect Denton Mateychuk to the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters. Their camp roster now sits at 28 players. Mateychuk has been a standout of Columbus’ training camp, standing as the final defenseman on the roster with no NHL experience until this cut. He led the Moose Jaw Warriors to a WHL Championship last year, totaling 105 points across just 72 games. Eight defenders remain on Columbus’ roster, including top youngster David Jiricek and recent trade acquisition Jordan Harris.

Mateychuk has been a top prospect since he was young, making the jump to juniors at just 16. He earned a full-time WHL role in 2021-22 and scored 64 points in 65 games as a rookie. That point-per-game scoring carried through, ultimately earning Mateychuk 215 points in 203 career games in Moose Jaw. He showed prowess in all three zones, even serving as the team’s captain in his final two years. While his professional career will start in the minors, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Mateychuk receive an NHL look soon.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets recently signed preseason-star Kevin Labanc off of his professional try-out with the New Jersey Devils, though that wasn’t because of any lack of effort on New Jersey’s part. The Devils reportedly offered Labanc the same contract he signed in Columbus, but would have needed to assign him to the AHL before guaranteeing him an everyday role, shares James Nichols of NJ Hockey Now. Labanc opted for the open role in Columbus, and will now join one of the league’s youngest rosters. He scored a six goals and seven points in four preseason games, leading the league in the former stat.
  • Tampa Bay Lightning goalie prospect Harrison Meneghin has been traded in the WHL, moving from the Lethbridge Hurricanes to the Medicine Hat Tigers. Medicine Hat has been searching for a starting goaltender since the start of the season, and now settle on Meneghin, who managed a .919 save percentage in 53 games with Lethbridge last season. That was enough to earn a seventh-round selection in the 2024 NHL Draft. Meneghin will now look to continue his strong play into a new setting, now backing up top prospects like Gavin McKenna, Cayden Lindstrom, Andrew Basha, and Veeti Vaisanen.

Liam Ohgren, Jesper Wallstedt Expected To Make Wild Roster

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Minnesota is expected to maintain top prospects Liam Ohgren and Jesper Wallstedt on their opening night roster, per Michael Russo of The Athletic. Minnesota’s brass has named both players as favorites to make the team since the start of training camp.

The Wild are showing no hesitation in placing perhaps the league’s best goalie prospect – Wallstedt – into a three-man rotation with Marc-Andre Fleury and Filip Gustavsson. All three goaltenders made two appearances in the preseason, with Wallstedt leading the trio in save percentage with a .930 to Fleury’s .925 and Gustavsson’s .898.

Fleury and Gustavsson split starts last year, making 40 and 45 appearances respectively. Neither were particularly productive, each posting save percentages below .900 – a feat Fleury hadn’t managed since his rookie season of 2005-06. Those muddling performances leave plenty of room for excitement in Minnesota’s goaltending room – something Wallstedt may be able to bring quickly. The former first-round pick has posted two strong seasons as an AHL starter, collectively posting 40 wins and a .909 save percentage in 83 appearances.

Ohgren should have a much clearer path to an NHL role, having spent five preseason games on the team’s third-line. He certainly seemed comfortable in the role, posting one goal and one assist – the same statline he managed in his first four NHL games at the end of last season. An upper-body injury delayed the start of Ohgren’s 2023-24 to late November, but he played well immediately upon returning, ultimately recording 19 points in 27 games in Sweden’s SHL –  the highest scoring pace of any U20 SHL player last season. Wild general manager Bill Guerin has previously praised Ohgren’s ability to produce from any spot in the lineup, which could mean he’ll have to work his way up to a high-usage role – though a fully healthy season could make quick work of that challenge.

Both Ohgren and Wallstedt seem poised to bring big impacts to the Minnesota lineup – a welcome relief to the team that ranked in the bottom 15 of both goals scored and goals allowed last season. They’ll each be names to watch closely, as Ohgren fights for healthy footing and Wallstedt looks to claw above two proven NHL starters.

Snapshots: Leafs, Kinkaid, Cristall, Brunicke

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The Toronto Maple Leafs welcomed both John Tavares and Calle Jarnkrok back to the practice rink today shares David Alter of The Hockey News. Both players have been bearing through day-to-day lower-body injuries. Tavares notably suffered his on a hit from Montreal’s Michael Pezzetta in Toronto’s Thursday night preseason action. Both he and Jarnkrok will now have two preseason games remaining before the Leafs kick off their season against Montreal on October 9th.

Both Tavares and Jarnkrok could both be headed for Toronto’s third-line amid William Nylander’s move to center and the growing presence of young prospects Matthew Knies and Nicholas Robertson. The diminishing role lines up with Tavares’ decreasing scoring, with 65 points last season falling 15 short of his 2022-23 totals. He’s finally been knocked off his streak of routine point-per-game scoring, even as his ice time saw a small uptick last year. Meanwhile, Jarnkrok has proven a utility tool in Toronto’s bottom six, recording 21 points and 65 faceoff wins in 52 games last season. Both players are pulling into their 30s and will work to bring gut-punch offense down the depth of Toronto’s lineup this year.

Alter adds that the Leafs were also joined by Jani Hakanpaa at today’s skate – the defender’s first appearance in a Maple Leaf after prolonged contract discussions this summer.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Veteran goaltender Keith Kinkaid will play in his 14th pro season this year, as he’s signed a one-year contract with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. Kinkaid spent last season as the backup for the independent Chicago Wolves, recording eight wings and a .880 save percentage in 24 appearances. He’s been a depth option for the last three seasons, spending them split between the Rangers, Bruins, and Avalanche organizations. Kinkaid, 35, has managed 250 career AHL games and 169 career NHL games. He’s totaled a 70-58-21 record and .905 save percentage at the top flight, though he hasn’t played in multiple NHL games since the 2020-21 campaign.
  • The Washington Capitals are open to starting top prospect Andrew Cristall in the NHL, head coach Spencer Carbery told Sammi Silber of The Hockey News. Cristall has been perhaps the top standout in Washington’s camp, and will be eligible to play in nine NHL games before he burns the first year of his entry-level contract. He’s been among the hottest scorers across the CHL for years now, totaling a dazzling 280 points across 191 career WHL games. That scoring has translated into the preseason, with Cristall boasting two goals and three points in three games so far – tied for the team-lead in Washington.
  • Not to be outdone by their rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins are also considering promoting a rookie – with head coach Mike Sullivan telling Kelsey Surmacz of The Hockey News that defender Harrison Brunicke could also receive a nine-game trial. Brunicke has been among the best defenders in Pittsburgh this preseason, forming strong connections with the team’s star scorers in the early going. It’s a blazing return-to-form for the WHL defender, who had his 2023-24 season ended by an upper-body injury in February.

Snapshots: CHL/NTDP, Brind’Amour, Bruins

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The Canadian Hockey League’s top draft-eligible players will take on the U.S. National Development Team’s U-18 tier for the first time this November, the junior league announced Tuesday (via TSN). The pair of contests, which will take place in London and Oshawa, Ontario, on Nov. 26 and Nov. 27, will be the first installment in an annual “CHL-USA Prospects Challenge.”

It’ll run for at least three years, with sites rotating between OHL, QMJHL, and WHL hosts. The CHL and NTDP will have the opportunity to re-up the initial deal securing the event in 2027.

It will serve the purpose of an early-season showcase for draft-eligible talent, so don’t expect to see CHL superstars coming back for their post-draft seasons or beyond. The NHL’s Central Scouting Bureau will select most of the CHL’s roster for the series, Darren Dreger of TSN reports.

Thus, this year’s event will be headlined by 2025 draft-eligible talent. The rosters will likely include forwards Porter Martone, Michael Misa, and Roger McQueen as the CHL’s most notable names, and center William Moore and defensemen Logan Hensler and Charlie Trethewey should highlight the U.S. squad.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Forward Skyler Brind’Amour is reportedly planning to terminate his AHL contract with the Charlotte Checkers and sign a deal with the Carolina Hurricanes. The move – which is not yet official – was first reported by AHL.com’s Tony Androckitis and seconded by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Brind’Amour played in his rookie AHL season with the Checkers last year, netting eight points in 54 games. He took the step to the pros after four years with Quinnipiac University, where he supported the school’s 2023 National Championship win. He ended his collegiate career with 76 points in 145 games. He’ll look to rediscover that production in the Hurricanes organization, likely set on a role with the Chicago Wolves – who Carolina announced an affiliation agreement with in May.
  • The Boston Bruins have scheduled a press conference for 12 P.M ET tomorrow, where both head coach Jim Montgomery and general manager Don Sweeney will speak with media. They’ll most likely be speaking on the team’s first day of training camp, though Ty Anderson of Boston radio outlet 98.5 The Sports Hub reports that contract talks are picking up with RFA goaltender Jeremy Swayman. Swayman was left off of Boston’s initial training camp roster as he continues a contract standoff. He’ll be in for a major role when he does sign, with Boston dealing Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators earlier this summer.

Atlantic Notes: Kulich, Komarov, Danielson

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Buffalo Sabres’ prospect Jiri Kulich has played himself into a decent situation heading into training camp after dominating the Buffalo Prospect Showcase. Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff argued earlier today that Buffalo must get Kulich to the NHL as soon as possible for him and the team to flourish.

Kulich was drafted by the Sabres organization with the 28th pick of the 2022 NHL Draft and has transitioned well in the AHL with 51 goals and 91 points through his first 119 regular season contests. Buffalo had a genuine logjam of forward prospects looking to make their way to the NHL level but the team’s trade of prospect Matthew Savoie this summer paved the way for Kulich to make the opening night lineup.

He can play at all three forward positions and has elevated his play away from the puck with one scout saying, “But now you’re seeing the intensity away from the puck, too. It’s a work in progress but he has come a long way in making himself more rounded“. It’s difficult to see where exactly Kulich fits into the opening night roster for the Sabres Still, a strong showing at camp could allow Kulich to wrestle away ice time from anyone currently pencilled in the team’s bottom six.

Other Atlantic notes:

  • If you ask Scott Wheeler and Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic, the Sabres got the steal of the draft in 2022 (Subscription Article). Defenseman Vsevolod Komarov was a relatively unknown commodity after scoring two goals and 19 points in 60 games with the QMJHL’s Québec Remparts during his draft year. He helped the Remparts to a Memorial Cup championship in 2023 but became another player entirely after being traded to the Drummondville Voltigeurs last year. Komarov exploded for 11 goals and 50 points in 38 games for the Voltigeurs while adding another five goals and 15 points in 19 postseason contests. The 2023-24 QMJHL Defenseman of the Year and Playoff MVP is expected to join the AHL’s Rochester Americans this season with plenty of excitement around him.
  • The Detroit Red Wings are eager to see how the ninth overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft, Nate Danielson, responds to more pressure at this year’s training camp says Max Bultman of The Athletic (Subscription Article). Danielson played well in training camp last year but was assuredly headed back to the junior level no matter how well he played. Bultman asked assistant director of player development, Daniel Cleary, where he thought Danielson would end up this year to which he responded, “I have inner thoughts that I don’t want to say out loud. But not a lot would surprise me, for Nate“. He’s showing more offensive talent than previously expected finishing last year’s WHL playoffs with seven goals and 24 points in only 18 games.

Rookie Notes: Clarke, Cristall, Barkey, Tuomaala

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The start of NHL rookie camps is bringing a boost of motivation out of the league’s next-up, felt most by top Los Angeles Kings prospect Brandt Clarke, who shared with Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period that he’s pushing for more than an NHL spot. Clarke told Bernstein, “[My own] expectations are higher than anyone could put on me. I expect the best of myself…..I want to be great. I want to be a key contributor on the team….. I told my dad this year, my goal isn’t just to make the NHL, it’s to excel in the NHL.”

Those are proud words from one of the top defensive prospects across the NHL. Clarke played through his first pro season last year, recording 46 points in 50 AHL appearances, and adding six points in his first 16 NHL games. He posted the highest production from a rookie AHL defender since Kings teammate Jordan Spence posted 42 points in 46 games in 2021. But Clarke’s ability to command the #1-lineup role in the midst of that scoring is what’s made him stand out. He should get a chance to work into a top-line and special-teams with L.A. this season, and seems ready to take the chance in stride.

Other notes from the prospect world:

  • Top Washington Capitals prospect Andrew Cristall has his eyes similarly set on the NHL roster, telling Sammi Silber of The Hockey News that his goal is, “obviously to make the team… I’m checking the boxes pretty well.” Cristall played through his final year of juniors hockey last year, finally breaking the century-scoring mark (111 points in 62 games, to be exact) after years of chasing it. He finishes his four-year WHL career with 280 points in 191 games, though many have criticized his chances of translating that scoring to the pro flight. He’ll stand a chance to prove his doubters wrong by earning a spot on the opening day lineup.
  • Philadelphia Flyers winger Denver Barkey is sitting out of camp activities to start this week, with Jordan Hall of NBCS Philly sharing the prospect is dealing with illness. Barkey – whose position was swapped from LW to RW this camp – skated through the early part of rookie camp, and isn’t expected to miss a large chunk of time. He’s coming off a premier year in the OHL, recording 35 goals and 102 points in 64 games with the OHL-champions London Knights. Barkey is a high-energy, undersized winger who’s shown the drive to jump to the next level. He’ll continue fighting to take that step when he’s healthy again, though Barkey does have one more year of OHL eligibility available.
  • Fellow Flyers wing prospect Samu Tuomaala is also out of action, described as “just a little banged up” by Jordan Hall. He’s also been an early standout of rookie camp, playing in both games so far and scoring the OT-winner in Philadelphia’s Saturday matchup. Hall adds that Tuomaala seemed fine in postgame interviews, suggesting that Philadelphia could be taking an abundance of caution with their up-and-comers. Tuomaala played through an impactful AHL rookie season last year, netting 43 points in 69 games. That should position him as one of the top minor-league options headed into the new year.

Prospect Notes: Heidt, Dumais, Dach, Frondell

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Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin didn’t rule out the chances of top prospect Riley Heidt making the opening night roster in an interview with The Athletic’s Joe Smith. Guerin said, “We have guys that still don’t need waivers… If Riley plays so well that he pushes himself on the team, then great. That’s what it’s about. It’s about competition.” Smith went on to acknowledge the hefty jump Heidt would need to leapfrog other prospects like Liam Ohgren and Marat Khusnutdinov – with Guerin acknowledging the former as someone Minnesota expects to make the NHL roster.

Heidt is coming off a dazzling season with the WHL’s Prince George Cougars, ranking third in league scoring with 117 points in 66 games. He also ranked eighth with 711 faceoff wins, winning at an effective 51.8 percent. Heidt set career highs across the board but still seems a step behind the NHL lineup. He’d otherwise be bound for a fourth WHL season, though Minnesota could award him up to nine regular-season games to help inform their decision.

Other notes from across the prospect world:

  • Top Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Jordan Dumais won’t be taking part in this weekend’s NHL Prospects Challenge, per The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline, who shares the winger has been designated with a lower-body injury. Dumais isn’t expected to participate in the start of training camp, either. It isn’t clear if this is related to the lower abdominal surgery Dumais underwent in January, which held him out of the entire second half of the season. He’s been as productive as they come in the QMJHL, recording 325 points across 193 games and four seasons with the Halifax Mooseheads. He’ll get a chance to translate that scoring to the pro level this season – that is, when he’s healed from that’s delaying his pre-season start.
  • Chicago Blackhawks prospect Colton Dach shared that he has his sights set on earning an NHL roster spot, telling The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus that he feels he could’ve earned one by now had he not been injured. Dach notably missed extended time with a concussion this season, after a sucker punch from Milwaukee’s Zachary L’Heureux. Small absences cut into Dach’s first pro season, though he still impressed with 27 points in 48 AHL games. Dach has now been heavily limited by injuries in the last two seasons, making a spot on the Opening Day roster a longshot – though Dach could earn his way into an NHL call-up later this year if he continues to stand strong in the minors.
  • Top 2025 NHL Draft prospect Anton Frondell is set to undergo knee surgery, shares Djugardens IF insider Robin Fredriksson. No timeline for a return has been revealed. It’s Frondell’s second major lower-body injury in as many years, after a separate injury limited his 2023-24 campaign to just 42 league games. Frondell impressed when he did play, notably scoring 39 points in 29 U20 games, and adding seven points in seven games at the World U17 Hockey Challenge. His name has appeared near the very top of early 2025 Draft rankings, though another significant injury could make him an early faller.

Big Hype Prospects: Benak, Demidov, Barlow, Eliasson

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The hockey world has one final hurdle to get through before the hustle-and-bustle of the regular season – presently shrouded by the start of the college football and NFL seasons. To cut through that cloud, we’ll once again borrow the Big Hype Prospects series from MLB Trade Rumors and break down some of the prospects getting attention heading into the 2024-25 season.

Four Big Hype Prospects

F Adam Benak, Youngstown Phantoms (USHL)
2024 USHL Preseason: 6 GP, 1 G, 5 A, 6 TP

The USHL Pre-Season was bound to be headlined by Youngstown Phantoms tender Adam Benak – a starring Czech prospect and client of prolific NHL agent Allan Walsh. He brings a wealth of experience, most notably scoring eight points in eight games at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge and 24 points in 26 games with the Czech U18 team through friendlies and tourney play.  But even knowing that precedent, his start in the USHL has been shocking. Benak got the primary assist on the first goal of Youngstown’s pre-season – and while it was his only point of game one, he managed five points (1 G, 4 A) in Youngstown’s second pre-season game. Granted it was against a Green Bay lineup clearly not at full strength, but Benak nonetheless played at a step above everyone else, showing power in his strides and confidence on the puck. He worked best with winger Jack Hextall – Youngstown’s starring tender from the 2008 birth year. Hextall is still adjusting to junior-level physicality, but thrived in the tempo and space that Benak was able to create. His next game will be Youngstown’s season opener on September 18th, but Benak’s ability to control possession shined through in his pre-season action. There’s no telling how high on 2025 Draft boards the undersized, but highly-skilled centerman could climb if he carries that momentum into the regular season.

F Ivan Demidov, SKA (KHL)
2024 KHL Regular Season: 2 GP, 0 G, 1 A, 1 TP

The start of the KHL season has brought the first look at Ivan Demidov, now the Montreal Canadiens’ newest top prospect. He’s served that title well, making SKA’s KHL roster with dominant pre-season performances, and – perhaps more impressively – admirably filling a third-line role through the year’s first two games. SKA has gained notoriety for how they’ve deploy their star teenagers over the last few years, though it seems Demidov is playing above that ire through the early going. There’s no denying Demidov’s prowess. He’s dominant on the puck, showing control at top speeds and using his body to defend possession while driving the net. He’ll be near the top of the shortlist when it comes to exciting prospects to follow this season – especially if he continues earning routine ice time in SKA’s lineup.

F Colby Barlow, OHL
2023 OHL Regular Season (Owen Sound): 50 GP, 40 G, 18 A, 58 TP

Early year speculation has Colby Barlow as near-certainly bound for a trade away from the Owen Sound Attack. Where he’s headed hasn’t yet come clear, but it seems the Winnipeg Jets first-round pick will have a chance to join a stronger roster after scoring six fewer goals and 15 fewer assists last season, compared to the 2022-23 season. He still managed a 40-goal season, speaking to his assured scoring and offering intriguing upside for the winners of Barlow’s trade sweepstakes. Pre-season trades led other top NHL prospects like Matthew Savoie and Conor Geekie to bountiful seasons last year, with both players turning pro this summer. Now, it could be the precedent to a big year for Barlow, hopefully providing momentum into his transition into Winnipeg’s pro flanks.

D Gabriel Eliasson, OHL
2023 J20 Nationell Regular Season: 36 GP, 1 G, 5 A, 6 TP

Gabriel Eliasson is hard to ignore. Literally – he’s 6-foot-7, 216-pounds. But he caught scouts attention for more than just his size – also flashing impressively fluid skating, strong puck control, and – above all else – an old-school style of headhunting. Eliasson seemed to study at the Jacob Trouba school of hitting-defensemen, earning a total of 200 penalty minutes through 65 total games last season, split between league and international play. He’s a high upside bet – with the size and control to play high levels, but lacking poise. Still, the Ottawa Senators were willing to gamble on Eliasson early, taking him 39th-overall in the 2024 NHL Draft. Now, reports claim that Eliasson is headed to the OHL, rather than making his expected move to the USHL’s Cedar Rapids RoughRiders and the Big Ten’s University of Michigan. Eliasson was selected by the Niagara IceDogs in the most recent CHL Import Draft, though additional info suggests he could be traded when Import trades open on September 25th. Fans will have to wait in anticipation for that move, though the thought of Eliasson in the OHL is certainly an interesting one. His reckless abandon would have been well-matched in Cedar Rapids, while the OHL could better encourage the fluid play-driving that makes his skillset so unique. While Eliasson may not be a star at the heights of his peers on this list, his unique frame and heavy hitting will make him an exciting name to follow – whether it be in the OHL or USHL.

Blues In Rare Position To Promote Multiple Prospects

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The St. Louis Blues are in a bit of a funk. They’ve missed each of the last two postseasons – only the fourth time in the team’s 57-year history that they’ve missed consecutive playoffs – but are still being elevated by the next-level talent of players like Pavel Buchnevich, Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, and Jordan Binnington. That’s kept the team from falling completely into the NHL’s basement, but their core is still aging rapidly. It seems the clock is ticking in St. Louis – as the Blues find themselves in urgent need of a surge in young talent to keep the lineup from falling into a rebuild.

Unfortunately, promoting young players hasn’t been much of a hallmark of recent Blues hockey. Only two teenagers – Thomas and Robby Fabbri – have played meaningful minutes in St. Louis since 2010, and still, both players faced third-line roles and plenty of scrutiny over their ice time. But they each found ways to produce, scoring 33 and 37 points in their rookie seasons respectively, and both eventually working onto St. Louis’ top line. That was short-lived for Fabbri, but the duo’s success nonetheless showed the payoff of giving top prospects NHL minutes.

The Blues have more recently seen those same patterns with 21-year-old Jake Neighbours, who worked up to an impressive 27 goals and 38 points in 77 games this season. It was Neighbours’ first full year in the NHL – though he entered with 52 games of prior experience – and he walked out the tail end of it with a firm grasp on a second-line role. Joel Hofer, 24, made a similar climb to prominence this year, appearing in 30 games and matching the .913 of starter Binnington – having graduated from two proud seasons as the AHL starter.

It’s continued evidence of young players finding success in NHL minutes – spelling tons of excitement for a Blues team preparing to host Dalibor Dvorsky, Zachary Bolduc, and Zach Dean at training camp. The latter two each received their NHL debuts last Spring, with Bolduc even formalizing his rookie season with 25 games played. But Bolduc managed just nine points, while Dean went scoreless in nine games. Their quiet scoring prevailed in the minors leagues as well, but both Bolduc and Dean took big strides in improving their ability to match pro pace. Meanwhile, Dvorsky was tearing up the OHL, recording 45 goals and 88 points in just 52 games. He looked like a pro among amateurs, likely thanks to the 38 games he played in Sweden’s HockeyAllsvenskan in 2022-23.

All three forwards are capable of a jump to the top flight, with the sturdy frames of Bolduc and Dvorsky looking especially mature. That’s great news, as St. Louis sits with, perhaps, their most uncertain bottom-six since the early-2000s. It’s a hodge-podge group, where Alexey Toropchenko stands as the only confident inclusion. Joining him will be a mix of quiet Blues veterans – like Oskar Sundqvist, Nathan Walker, and Kasperi Kapanen – and new acquisitions – like Radek Faksa, Mathieu Joseph, and Alexandre Texier. That’s plenty of manpower to round out a bottom-six, but none of those options would stand as particularly daunting against a young prospect who impresses out of camp.

Making things more exciting is St. Louis’ win of the sweepstakes for Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg. They shelled out $6.87MM in offer sheets to bring in the duo, but now add two more exciting young players into their mix of potential breakout names. Holloway is the more experienced of the two, having played in 89 games across the last two seasons. He’s only scored 18 points, split evenly, in those appearances, but looked to have a bit more momentum when he put up nine points in 25 games during the most recent postseason. Holloway has shown he’s capable of being productive with a pro role, scoring 26 points in 30 career AHL games, and should get a chance to quickly earn a prominent role on St. Louis’ lineup. Broberg’s story is largely the same – low-scoring through roughly a season’s worth of NHL appearances (13 points in 81 games) but encouraging minor-league production (65 points in 87 games) and a chance to quickly earn a major role.

That gives St. Louis the rare mix of multiple U23 prospects vying for NHL ice time, and the lineup spots to truly accommodate multiple rookies. It’s been six seasons since the Blues iced carried multiple U23 players on their everyday roster (2017-18, Robert Thomas and Vince Dunn) – but the stars are aligning, making now a better time than ever for St. Louis to fully embrace their burgeoning top prospects. If and how the quintet of Dvorsky, Bolduc, Dean, Holloway, and Broberg are able to earn out NHL roles will stand as the most prophetic question as the Blues look to finally return to the postseason.

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