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Big Hype Prospects: DuPont, Verhoeff, Vanhatalo, Rogowski

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The 2025-26 season will kickoff on Monday for hockey’s scouting world, as many of the top U18 prospects from around the world join in Brno, Czechia and Trenčín, Slovakia for the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. The tournament is one of the top non-IIHF sanctioned events of the hockey season, and features talents from eight different countries — this year from USA, Canada, Czechia, Slovakia, Sweden, Finland, Germany, and Switzerland. It’s often the first chance for top draft picks to show their strength among an increasingly competitive group of peers. That makes now the perfect time to again borrow from MLB Trade Rumors’ Big Hype Prospect series to break down some of the top names to watch when pucks drop this week.

Four Big Hype Prospects

Landon DuPont, RD, Team Canada (Everett Silvertips, WHL)
2024-25 Season: 64 GP, 17 G, 43 A, 60 TP, 26 PIM, +31

There is little question about who the top prospect at this year’s Hlinka tournament will be – and, ironically, it’s not a player eligible for the draft in 2026. Instead it’s 16-year-old Landon DuPont, a true star talent coming off the highest-scoring season from a U16 defender in CHL history — by more than 20 points. DuPont is cut from a different cloth in many ways. He’s fantastically smooth on the puck and uses clean, long, and quick strides to cut through all three zones and create layup scoring chances. His vision is sharp and he’s firm on every decision, creating a player truly capable of taking over games on his own. DuPont has a special drive to succeed that should be put on full display as he gets his first opportunity to represent his country overseas. It would be no surprise to see DuPont – the son of European hockey veteran Micki DuPont – race towards the top of the Hlinka leaderboards and soon the top of the 2027 NHL Draft class.

Keaton Verhoeff, RD, Team Canada (University of North Dakota, NCHC)
2024-25 Season (Victoria, WHL): 63 GP, 21 G, 24 A, 45 TP, 14 PIM, +23

It is a rare and lucky moment when a head coach gets to call Keaton Verhoeff their second defender. He brings every bit of the star-power that Canada has become known for at this tournament. Verhoeff is a towering, beefy defender standing at 6-foot-4 and 212-pounds — and yet, he’s another incredibly smooth puck-handler, with a special instinct for how and when to dip into the offensive zone. He plays a game that thrives on gut calls, but lives on fundamentals – and shows as much talent in defending the rush or blocking out the slot as he does in making flashy, high-speed cuts to the offensive net. Team Canada has already named Verhoeff their captain for this tournament – and among the top questions for the week ahead will be how they wield his physical upside next to DuPont’s snappy creativity. Verhoeff is entering the season as a top-two name in the 2026 draft class. He’ll get his first chance to fortify that standing at this tournament, before heading to the NCAA alongside Victoria teammate and Calgary Flames prospect Cole Reschny for the 2025-26 season.

Vilho Vanhatalo, RW, Team Finland (Tappara, Finland U20)
2024-25 Season (Tappara, Finland U18): 41 GP, 37 G, 21 A, 58 TP, 38 PIM

Prospect chatter surrounding Finland has quieted in recent years, but their 2008 birth year seems well equipped to pull the country back into the spotlight. They’re a heavy-hitting group that features players like Oscar Hemming, Eelis Uronen, adn Anttoni Uronen – all the younger brothers of NHL prospects (Emil Hemming, Dallas; Tomas Uronen, Vegas). But the group is headlined by beefy goal-scorer Vilho Vanhatalo, a ground-and-pound shooter with multiple ways to best his opponents. Vanhatalo is strong with a huge frame – 6-foot-4 and 200-pounds – and an athletic stance. He’s also quick to make decisions and jump to the next play – making him hard to contain in the offensive end. He squares up to passes quickly, and has a true heft behind his shot. That’s helped Vanhatalo reach fantastic goal-scoring heights already, including leading Finland’s top U18 in the stat last season. He also scored a team-leading three points in four games for Finland at the World U-17 Hockey Championship, and continued to lead the country’s U17 squad with 14 points in 17 games in other international tournaments. Where goals need scored, Vanhatalo finds his way – making him an interesting second-tier name for this tournament and the 2026 draft.

Brooks Rogowski, C/RW, Team USA (Oshawa Generals, OHL)
2024-25 Season: 66 GP, 11 G, 12 A, 23 TP, 9 PIM, -3

Brooks Rogowski may not be the true top name on Team USA’s lineup, but he’ll certainly be the hardest to miss. Literally. The 17-year-old stands at 6-foot-6 and 227-pounds, and seems well positioned to take on top-six minutes for an American squad looking for players to step up. Rogowski was relatively unrefined through much of his rookie OHL season last year, but has earned the close attention of scouts – and even a commitment to Michigan State University – since the season has come to a close. That’s largely thanks to a training regiment focused in on making him smoother and quicker driving down the ice, and consequentially strong performances at the USA U17-Selects tournament and Hlinka Gretzky Cup invite camp. Rogowski will play second-string to USA’s stars – like hard-nosed center and 2027 draft prospect Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll and flashy speedster and 2026 prospect Jack Hextall. But when it comes to playing a physically-imposing game geared towards driving the net, head coach Bob Motzko will find all he needs in Rogowski. This tournament will mark the giant’s first chance to rocket up his draft stock.

Kraken’s Ollie Josephson Commits To North Dakota

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Seattle Kraken center prospect Ollie Josephson has committed to the University of North Dakota for the 2025-26 season. He will move to the United States after spending the last three seasons with the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels. Seattle drafted Josephson in the fourth-round of the 2024 draft.

Josephson lived up to his claim as a top juniors prosect by carving out a high-impact role in Red Deer. He was originally drafted fifth-overall in the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft, and joined the Rebels full-time ahead of the 2022-23 season, at the age of 17. He scored a measly 19 points in 63 games that year, while filling out a depth role, but returned with momentum on his side for his age-18 season. Now a sophomore in the league, Josephson took on an assistant captain role with the Rebels and scored a much stouter 47 points in 68 games. He also added three assists in seven games with Team Canada at the World U18 Championship.

Josephson returned to take on Red Deer’s captaincy last season. He again appeared to take a full stride forward from his prior season, and looked comfortable and confident serving as the Rebels’ top-line center. He scored 35 points in 48 games – good for second on Red Deer in scoring behind Matthew Gard’s 36 points in 66 games. It was a strong, confident performance on a team that’d finish in the league’s bottom-five – and enough to earn Josephson a draft spot despite injuries taking out much of his January and ending his season in March.

In landing Josephson this summer, both Seattle and North Dakota land a prominent, playmaking centerman capable of controlling movement through the middle lane. He’s been oft knocked by a lack of physicality and flashy setups, but finds a way to stay on top of play with smooth skating and a persistent drive. Time in what’s sure to be a gridlocked NCHC conference should help Josephson learn to better wield his drive into play in the corners and along the boards. He could be a candidate for a multi-year stay, as well, as Seattle looks to mold him into a pro-ready player.

The Fighting Hawks will fill out their final forward position with this recruitment. The team, led by first-year general manager Bryn Chyzyk, have found strong talent throughout the CHL. Josephson will join Calgary Flames prospect Cole Reschny, as well as top 2026 draft prospect Keaton Verhoeff, in making the leap from the WHL.

Snapshots: Kochetkov, Juntorp, Jobst, Behm

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Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov is coming off a bit of a quieter year after his save percentage went down from .911 in 2023-24 to just .897 last season.  It appears there might be a reason for that as the netminder recently told Sports.ru’s Dmitry Shevchenko that he started playing through some injuries in November with some lingering throughout the season; the only time he missed was due to a concussion.  Kochetkov is set to partner up with Frederik Andersen as the tandem in Carolina once again next season and the Hurricanes will likely be counting on him to play at least 40 games for the third straight year.  They’ll be hoping that a healthier Kochetkov will be a better one between the pipes.

More from around the hockey world:

  • Still with the Hurricanes, prospect Nils Juntorp has signed with Boras HC in Sweden’s HockeyEttan, per a team announcement. The 21-year-old was a sixth-round pick by Chicago in 2022 and his rights were moved to Carolina in the Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall trade back in January.  Juntorp had 20 points in 33 games with HC Dalen last season while also getting into three games at the second-tier Allsvenskan level.
  • After spending the last four seasons in Buffalo’s system (including 2024-25 on an NHL contract), free agent forward Mason Jobst won’t be returning for a fifth, relays Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald. The 31-year-old was the captain with AHL Rochester last season and had 37 points in 70 games after putting up 50 points in 64 outings in 2023-24.  Jobst has 295 career AHL games under his belt, giving him veteran status which certainly is playing a role in limiting his marketability so far.
  • Blackhawks prospect Nathan Behm announced on his Instagram page that he has committed to Arizona State University for the 2026-27 season. The winger was a third-round pick back in June, going 66th overall after a solid season with WHL Kamloops that saw him record 31 goals and 35 assists in 59 games.  He’ll return to the Blazers for the upcoming season and then kick off his college career the following year.

Senators’ Carter Yakemchuk Working To Make Opening Night Roster

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Right-defense was a sore spot for the Ottawa Senators throughout the entire 2024-25 season. They iced five different players on the right-side, and even parted with Jacob Bernard-Docker at the Trade Deadline. For top Senators prospect Carter Yakemchuk, that lineup weakness stands as a golden opportunity. Now in his first year of NHL/AHL eligibility, Yakemchuk told Julian McKenzie of The Athletic that he’s fully geared towards making the NHL roster out of camp.

Yakemchuk shared that he has returned to working with Calgary-based CRASH Conditioning this summer, after joining the program following his draft selection last year. In that regiment, his summer training is overseen by Seattle Kraken assistant coach Dave Lowry – as well as former pro-turned-coach Dan Bakala and David Liffiton, who will move to an assistant coach role with the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers next season. Yakemchuk emphasizes that the coaching staff has him on the right path, telling McKenzie:

I’m looking forward to [training camp]. My goal is to make the opening roster… And I’m looking forward to putting in the work that it takes to make that.

Building out his defensive game has been a key focus of Yakemchuk’s development. Lowry pointed out to McKenzie that Yakemchuk’s offense is already, clearly, at a top level – and it’s the hard-nosed play away from the puck that he’ll need to earn an NHL role. Luckily, that’s the exact point that other coaches praised when reflecting on Yakemchuk’s summer. Liffiton – who coached Yakemchuk at the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen last season – emphasized that Yakemchuk’s defensive game has taken major strides forward, which helps explain his drastic decrease in scoring this season. After netting 30 goals and 71 points in 66 games last year, the former seventh-overall pick scored just 17 goals and 49 points in 56 games this year.

But as pointed out by the CRASH coaches, that decrease was all by design. Even through the spot scoring, Yakemchuk prevailed as one of the best puck-moving defensemen in his age group. He continued to dominate possession and flash exciting stickhandling for a defender of his size – but showed the patience to make smart passes to his forwards, like 2025 11th-overall pick Benjamin Kindel. All the while, Yakemchuk continued to grow in his ability to dominate the corners and low-slot with his heavy frame. Strong skating helped him get chippy with opponents in front, and it was rare that an opposing body-check knocked him off balance.

In the name of growing defense, Yakemchuk’s breakout goal-scoring from 2023-24 can afford to subside a bit. He’s a burly 6-foot-4, 200-pound defender who throws hits just as hard as he shoots – evidenced by his 202 penalty minutes in 122 WHL games over the last two seasons. Those will be the attributes that earn him a full-time role on a Senators’ blue-line already housing the fearless Artem Zub and Nick Jensen on the right-side.

If Yakemchuk’s growing physicality sticks, he could find incredible opportunity in Ottawa’s lineup. Neither Zub nor Jensen offer much scoring upside at all, which seems to limit the ground that star left-defenders Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot can gain. Bringing in another burly defender capable of driving the puck all the way down the ice, and creating strong scoring chances, could go a long way towards clearing up more space for Ottawa’s best defenders.

Yakemchuk is no stranger to a tough role. He seemed to be on the ice for every one of the Hitmen’s biggest moments over the last two seasons, and averaged 18 minutes of even-strength ice-time alone in both years. That conditioning could come in handy as he joins a team that’s no stranger to awarding their top defenders with 23 or 24 minutes a night. The lucrative lineup role ahead, and determined focus on making the roster, will make Yakemchuk a pivotal player to watch as training camps roll around.

Sabres Sign Radim Mrtka To Entry-Level Contract

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The Buffalo Sabres have signed towering defenseman Radim Mrtka to a three-year, entry-level contract. The team recently selected Mrtka with the ninth overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. He hails from Czechia, but spent the better half of last season with the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL.  PuckPedia reports that the deal will carry a cap hit of $975K while Mrtka will be eligible for $1MM in Class A performance bonuses per season, making the AAV $1.975MM.

Mrtka is, in a lot of ways, a truly rare defender. He was among the tallest in his draft class – third tallest at the NHL combine – but skates with a fluidity and confidence on the puck that’s simply second-to-none. Mrtka has no issue in transitioning from defense to offense, plus the awareness and stickhandling to drive play confidently through all three zones. He was often the flashy perimeter playmaker making passes to Vancouver Canucks first-round pick Braeden Cootes in the slot. That duo helped Mrtka reach 32 assists and 35 points in 43 WHL games this season, after beginning the year with four assists in 10 games of Czechia’s U20 league.

Mrtka was a perfectionist in Czechia’s junior leagues prior to moving to Canada. He scored 11 points in 19 U20 games last season, and earned the first three games of his pro hockey career in Czechia’s Extraliga. He also attended eight games of the World U-17 Hockey Challenge, scoring four points, and five games of the World U18 Championships, with no scoring. He returned to the latter tournament this season, and managed four points in five games.

With news of his entry-level contract, Mrtka will firmly set himself up for a return to the WHL’s Seattle, unless he can make the Sabres roster out of training camp. He’ll use a full year in juniors to continue honing his stocky, puck-moving talent into something that can jump to the NHL in the years to come. It’s rare for defenders with this mix of size and skill to not pan out – and Mrtka seems well on the way to walking in the path of 6-foot-8 defenseman Tyler Myers.

Like Mrtka, Myers returned to the WHL for one season after his draft selection, before breaking into the NHL with 11 goals and 48 points in the 2009-10 season – enough to win out the 2010 Calder Trophy for ’Rookie of the Year’. Myers has since scored 395 points in 1,066 career games. Mrtka even wore Myers’ #53 when he took the ice for Buffalo’s post-draft development camp, despite spending the season wearing #21 in Seattle.

West Notes: Rossi, Gushchin, Skinner, McQueen

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One of the more prominent remaining restricted free agents is Wild center Marco Rossi.  He has long been in trade speculation given what’s believed to be a significant gap to bridge between the two sides but with a little more than $10MM in cap space per PuckPedia, they have ample room to sign him or match any potential offer sheet.  Without the ability to file for arbitration, Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune suggests that Minnesota still holds the hammer in negotiations, especially since they’ve positioned themselves to be able to match an offer sheet, something Edmonton didn’t do last summer when they lost a pair of players to St. Louis.  At this point, a trade looks less and less likely so it feels like a situation where the two sides are going to have to hammer out a contract.  While the team has presented short-term and long-term offers, a shorter-term pact would seemingly make the most sense for Rossi if his camp feels that Minnesota’s offers are too low for a long-term agreement.

More from out West:

  • Sharks RFA winger Daniil Gushchin told Sport24’s Dmitry Yerkalov that he hasn’t decided yet if he’ll re-sign with San Jose or play in Russia next season. The 23-year-old was quite productive in the minors with the Barracuda, tallying 28 goals and 23 assists in 56 games but that performance didn’t give him much of an opportunity with the Sharks as he played in just a dozen games where he had only one assist.  Gushchin stated that he is hoping to make a decision about his playing future by the beginning of August.
  • Still with the Sharks, new winger Jeff Skinner received some trade protection in his contract according to PuckPedia (Twitter link). The 33-year-old has a full no-trade clause through January 30th at which time, the protection drops to just a six-team no-trade clause for the remainder of the season.  Accordingly, while this deal won’t stop Skinner from being a speculative in-season trade candidate, any move is likely to come closer to the trade deadline.  Skinner had 16 goals and 13 assists in 72 games with Edmonton last season.
  • If Roger McQueen doesn’t make the Ducks’ roster in training camp, he told Global News’ Scott Roblin (Twitter link) that he will return to WHL Brandon instead of pursuing NCAA options. McQueen was the tenth pick last month, sliding in the draft after being limited to just 17 regular season games last season due to back troubles but he was quite productive in those outings, picking up 10 goals and 10 assists.  Given that he missed most of the year, it’s not overly surprising that he’d elect to return to junior to get more game action in to try to make up for some lost time.

Wild Re-Sign Michael Milne

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The Minnesota Wild have signed forward Michael Milne to a one-year, two-way contract. Milne was a restricted-free agent. He will now play through the 2025-26 season on a deal that pays out $775K at the NHL level, and $100K at the AHL level.

Milne just wrapped up his third professional season, and his third in a daily role with the AHL’s Iowa Wild. He’s improved each year, ultimately working up to a career-high 15 goals and 26 points in 60 games this season. Those marks were high enough to land Milne fifth on Iowa’s roster in goals, though his minus-15 marks a new career-low, and his overall scoring pace dwindled from the 21 points he scored in 40 games last year. Even despite those fluctuations, Milne showed through enough to earn his NHL debut in November. He appeared in six minutes of action and managed no scoring in his sole game with the Minnesota roster.

Milne is still finding his footing at the pro flight. He was originally a third-round selection in the 2022 NHL Draft, after being passed over in the 2021 class. He earned that draft spot after netting 51 goals, 100 points, and a plus-74 in 83 games with the WHL’s Winnipeg Ice through the 2021-22 season. The Minnesota Wild opted to turn Milne pro immediately following that campaign, though his early showings have left a bit more to be desired. A low-stakes, one-year deal will give Milne a chance to show he has what it takes to lock in a top role on the Iowa roster, after briefly flirting with top-six minutes through points last season. He could even stand to earn more NHL attention with a hot season, after stepping in as an injury fill-in last season.

Canucks Sign Braeden Cootes To Entry-Level Contract

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The Vancouver Canucks have signed centerman Braeden Cootes to a three-year, $2.93MM entry-level contract. Cootes was recently selected 15th-overall in the 2025 NHL Draft. He will have the ability to earn $500K in bonuses in each year of the contract, per Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK News. In comparing to Vancouver’s last two first-round picks, Dhaliwal points out that Cootes’ bonus is above winger Jonathan Lekkerimaki ($475K) but lesser than Tom Willander ($800K) on a per-season basis.

Cootes becomes the fourth player from his draft class to sign, after standing tall at Vancouver’s development camp. He’s a true middle-lane center, who showed a strong ability to work with his linemates to push pucks down the ice and generate scoring chances. While serving as the team’s captain, Cootes led the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds in scoring with 63 points in 60 games. He was a great couple with top Thunderbirds defenseman – and Buffalo Sabres ninth-overall draft pick – Radim Mrtka, who scored 35 points in 43 games.

Cootes rounded out a strong draft year with a stellar performance at the World U18 Championship. He led Team Canada with 12 points, split evenly, in just seven games played – while also wearing the ’C’ for his country. That scoring was more than fifth-overall pick Brady Martin, who finished second on the team with 11 points.

That precedent of strong scoring will now push Cootes onto his first pro contract. He will forgo NCAA eligibility with this deal, meaning the Vancouver roster or a return to the WHL will be his only options for next season. Given Cootes’ room to add more dynamic playmaking, and explosivity, into his game – a return to juniors seems more likely.

Penguins Sign Benjamin Kindel To Entry-Level Contract

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed 2025 first-round selection Benjamin Kindel to a three-year, entry-level contract.

Just a few weeks after drafting Kindel at 11th-overall, Pittsburgh will restate their confidence in the Coquitlam-native by making him just the third player from this draft to sign his first NHL contract. Kindel has been a true star in the WHL since joining the Calgary Hitmen in 2023. He scored 15 goals and 60 points in 68 games of his age-17 season, then exploded to a fantastic 35 goals and 99 points in 65 games this year.

Kindel managed that scoring outbreak on the back of very flashy and controlled stickhandling. He was among the best in his age group at creating chances off of the boards – using either a snappy wrist-shot or quick deke to beat defenders at the tops of the circles. He wielded play well all year long, though got the benefit of playing alongside the all-out-feist style of Oliver Tulk. That helped Kindel avoid physical situations along the boards that he may be forced into more at the next level. But even in the face of stronger opponents, Kindel should manage to develop his flashy skillset and 5-foot-10 frame into a high end talent.

That was clearly the impression he left with the Penguins brass after the team’s development camp ended on Monday. Kindel will notably forgo his NCAA eligibility by signing this contract, restricting his options for next season to either the Penguins roster or a return to Calgary. If he does return, he’ll be looking to shatter the century-mark in scoring, after being narrowly beaten out for the Hitmen’s lead in scoring by Tulk’s 100 points.

Capitals Sign Lynden Lakovic To Entry-Level Contract

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The Capitals have wasted little time getting their top pick under contract.  The team announced that they’ve signed winger Lynden Lakovic to a three-year, entry-level deal.  The agreement will pay Lakovic $975K in the NHL and $85K in the AHL per season.  PuckPedia adds (Twitter link) that the contract contains $250K in Class A bonuses in years two and three, pushing the AAV of the deal to $1.14MM.

The 18-year-old was the 27th pick in last month’s draft, slipping that far after being rated in the top 20 by many scouting agencies.

In his first full season at the WHL level in 2023-24, Lakovic didn’t light up the scoresheet but still managed a solid 18 goals and 21 assists in 68 games with Moose Jaw before adding eight points in 20 playoff contests in the Warriors’ run to the Memorial Cup.

Armed with a bigger role last season after several top players moved on, Lakovic led Moose Jaw in scoring despite missing 21 games due to injury.  However, the Warriors struggled mightily, finishing at the bottom of the league standings with just 15 wins.  Still, Lakovic, who took over as team captain late in the season, had 27 goals and 31 assists in 47 games along with just four penalty minutes despite his 6’4 stature.

In Washington’s team release, it noted that the expectation is that Lakovic will return to Moose Jaw for the upcoming season.  Assuming that happens, his contract will ultimately slide and still have three years left on it heading into the 2026-27 campaign.

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