This article is part of our Darryl's Dispatch series.
The goal of this list is to place a raw ranking or value on a given young player's ability to adapt and mature his game during those crucial first few seasons after he is drafted or signed by an NHL team.
Prospect Criteria: Players under 24 years of age who have appeared in less than 40 NHL games are considered prospects. A player's current ranking combines two grades; the first is his current state of NHL preparedness (60%) and the second measures his long-term potential (40%).
| RANK | PLAYER/DRAFT YEAR | POS | NHL TEAM | 2012-13 CLUB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonathan Huberdeau '11 | C | Florida | Florida (NHL) |
| 2 | Evgeny Kuznetsov '10 | C | Washington | Chelyabinsk (KHL) |
| 3 | Vladimir Tarasenko '10 | RW | St. Louis | St. Louis (NHL) |
| 4 | Alex Galchenyuk '12 | C | Montreal | Montreal (NHL) |
| 5 | Nail Yakupov '12 | RW | Edmonton | Edmonton (NHL) |
| 6 | Mikael Granlund '10 | C | Minnesota | Minnesota (NHL) |
| 7 | Chris Kreider '09 | LW | NY Rangers | Connecticut (AHL) |
| 8 | Ryan Strome '11 | C | NY Islanders | Niagara (OHL) |
| 9 | Charlie Coyle '10 | RW | Minnesota | Minnesota (NHL) |
| 10 | Jakob Silfverberg '09 | RW | Ottawa | Ottawa (NHL) |
| 11 | Mika Zibanejad '11 | C | Ottawa | Ottawa (NHL) |
| 12 | Mark Scheifele '11 | C | Winnipeg | Barrie (OHL) |
| 13 | Gustav Nyquist '08 | C | Detroit | Grand Rapids (AHL) |
| 14 | Filip Forsberg '12 | LW | Washington | Leksands (SEL-2) |
| 15 | Mikhail Grigorenko '12 | C | Buffalo | Buffalo (NHL) |
| 16 | Tyler Toffoli '10 | RW | Los Angeles | Manchester (AHL) |
| 17 | Sven Baertschi '11 | LW | Calgary | Calgary (NHL) |
| 18 | Jaden Schwartz '10 | C | St. Louis | St. Louis (NHL) |
| 19 | Boone Jenner '11 |
The goal of this list is to place a raw ranking or value on a given young player's ability to adapt and mature his game during those crucial first few seasons after he is drafted or signed by an NHL team.
Prospect Criteria: Players under 24 years of age who have appeared in less than 40 NHL games are considered prospects. A player's current ranking combines two grades; the first is his current state of NHL preparedness (60%) and the second measures his long-term potential (40%).
| RANK | PLAYER/DRAFT YEAR | POS | NHL TEAM | 2012-13 CLUB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonathan Huberdeau '11 | C | Florida | Florida (NHL) |
| 2 | Evgeny Kuznetsov '10 | C | Washington | Chelyabinsk (KHL) |
| 3 | Vladimir Tarasenko '10 | RW | St. Louis | St. Louis (NHL) |
| 4 | Alex Galchenyuk '12 | C | Montreal | Montreal (NHL) |
| 5 | Nail Yakupov '12 | RW | Edmonton | Edmonton (NHL) |
| 6 | Mikael Granlund '10 | C | Minnesota | Minnesota (NHL) |
| 7 | Chris Kreider '09 | LW | NY Rangers | Connecticut (AHL) |
| 8 | Ryan Strome '11 | C | NY Islanders | Niagara (OHL) |
| 9 | Charlie Coyle '10 | RW | Minnesota | Minnesota (NHL) |
| 10 | Jakob Silfverberg '09 | RW | Ottawa | Ottawa (NHL) |
| 11 | Mika Zibanejad '11 | C | Ottawa | Ottawa (NHL) |
| 12 | Mark Scheifele '11 | C | Winnipeg | Barrie (OHL) |
| 13 | Gustav Nyquist '08 | C | Detroit | Grand Rapids (AHL) |
| 14 | Filip Forsberg '12 | LW | Washington | Leksands (SEL-2) |
| 15 | Mikhail Grigorenko '12 | C | Buffalo | Buffalo (NHL) |
| 16 | Tyler Toffoli '10 | RW | Los Angeles | Manchester (AHL) |
| 17 | Sven Baertschi '11 | LW | Calgary | Calgary (NHL) |
| 18 | Jaden Schwartz '10 | C | St. Louis | St. Louis (NHL) |
| 19 | Boone Jenner '11 | C | Columbus | Oshawa (OHL) |
| 20 | Calle Jarnkrok '10 | RW | Detroit | Brynas (SEL) |
| 21 | Teuvo Teravainen '12 | RW | Chicago | Jokerit (SM-LIIGA) |
| 22 | Brandon Saad '11 | LW | Chicago | Chicago (AHL) |
| 23 | Emerson Etem '10 | C | Anaheim | Anaheim (NHL) |
| 24 | Mark Stone '10 | RW | Ottawa | Ottawa (NHL) |
| 25 | Cory Conacher (UD) | LW | Tampa Bay | Tampa Bay (NHL) |
| 26 | J.T. Miller '11 | LW | NY Rangers | NY Rangers (NHL) |
| 27 | Scott Laughton '12 | C | Philadelphia | Oshawa (OHL) |
| 28 | Joel Armia '11 | RW | Buffalo | Assat Pori (SM-LIIGA) |
| 29 | Tomas Hertl '12 | C | San Jose | Slavia Praha (CZE) |
| 30 | Nick Bjugstad '10 | C | Florida | Minnesota (WCHA) |
| 31 | Drew Shore '09 | C | Florida | Florida (NHL) |
| 32 | Rickard Rakell '11 | RW | Anaheim | Plymouth (OHL) |
| 33 | John Gaudreau '11 | RW | Calgary | Boston College (HE) |
| 34 | Marcus Foligno '09 | LW | Buffalo | Buffalo (NHL) |
| 35 | Brett Ritchie '11 NEW | RW | Dallas | Niagara (OHL) |
| 36 | Zemgus Girgensons '12 | C | Buffalo | Rochester (AHL) |
| 37 | Ty Rattie '11 | RW | St. Louis | Portland (WHL) |
| 38 | Beau Bennett '10 | RW | Pittsburgh | Wilkes-Barre (AHL) |
| 39 | Austin Watson '10 | RW | Nashville | Milwaukee (AHL) |
| 40 | Radek Faksa '12 | C | Dallas | Kitchener (OHL) |
| 41 | Jason Zucker '10 | LW | Minnesota | Minnesota (NHL) |
| 42 | Cody Eakin '09 | C | Dallas | Dallas (NHL) |
| 43 | Stefan Matteau '12 | LW | New Jersey | New Jersey (NHL) |
| 44 | Nikita Kucherov '11 | RW | Tampa Bay | Rouyn-Noranda (QMJHL) |
| 45 | Stefan Noesen '11 | RW | Ottawa | Plymouth (OHL) |
| 46 | Sebastian Collberg '12 | RW | Montreal | Frolunda (SEL) |
| 47 | Henrik Samuelsson '12 | RW | Phoenix | Edmonton (WHL) |
| 48 | Michael Bournival '10 | C | Montreal | Hamilton (AHL) |
| 49 | Dmitrij Jaskin '11 | RW | St. Louis | Moncton (QMJHL) |
| 50 | Ryan Spooner '10 | C | Boston | Providence (AHL) |
| 51 | Brock Nelson '10 | C | NY Islanders | Bridgeport (AHL) |
| 52 | Joe Colborne '08 | LW | Toronto | Toronto (AHL) |
| 53 | Johan Larsson '10 | LW | Minnesota | Houston (AHL) |
| 54 | Tomas Tatar '09 | LW | Detroit | Detroit (NHL) |
| 55 | Kirill Kabanov '10 | LW | NY Islanders | Bridgeport (AHL) |
| 56 | Zac Dalpe '08 | C | Carolina | Charlotte (AHL) |
| 57 | Jordan Schroeder '09 | C | Vancouver | Vancouver (NHL) |
| 58 | Teemu Pulkkinen '10 | LW | Detroit | Jokerit (SM-LIIGA) |
| 59 | Zack Phillips '11 | C | Minnesota | Saint John (QMJHL) |
| 60 | Greg McKegg '10 | C | Toronto | Toronto (AHL) |
| 61 | Alexander Khokhlachev '11 | C | Boston | Windsor (OHL) |
| 62 | Tomas Jurco '11 | RW | Detroit | Grand Rapids (AHL) |
| 63 | Carter Ashton '09 | LW | Toronto | Toronto (AHL) |
| 64 | Jeremy Morin '09 | RW | Chicago | Rockford (AHL) |
| 65 | Brendan Gallagher '10 | RW | Montreal | Montreal (NHL) |
| 66 | Peter Holland '09 | C | Anaheim | Norfolk (AHL) |
| 67 | Shane Prince '11 | LW | Ottawa | Binghamton (AHL) |
| 68 | Brandon Pirri '09 | C | Chicago | Rockford (AHL) |
| 69 | Christian Thomas '10 | RW | NY Rangers | Connecticut (AHL) |
| 70 | Evgeny Grachev '08 | C | St. Louis | Peoria (AHL) |
| 71 | Alex Chiasson '09 | RW | Dallas | Texas (AHL} |
| 72 | Max Reinhart '10 | C | Calgary | Abbotsford (AHL) |
| 73 | Kirill Petrov '08 | RW | NY Islanders | Kazan (KHL) |
| 74 | Taylor Beck '09 | LW | Nashville | Milwaukee (AHL) |
| 75 | Vladislav Namestnikov '11 | C | Tampa Bay | Syracuse (AHL) |
| 76 | Kyle Beach '08 | LW | Chicago | Rockford (AHL) |
| 77 | Mark McNeill '11 | C | Chicago | Prince Albert (WHL) |
| 78 | Tom Wilson '12 | RW | Washington | Plymouth (OHL) |
| 79 | Phillip Danault '11 | C | Chicago | Victoriaville (QMJHL) |
| 80 | Reilly Smith '09 | RW | Dallas | Dallas (NHL) |
| 81 | Brendan Gaunce '12 | C | Vancouver | Belleville (OHL) |
| 82 | Jared Knight '10 | RW | Boston | Providence (AHL) |
| 83 | Pontus Aberg '12 | LW | Nashville | Djurgarden (SEL) |
| 84 | Mark Jankowski '12 | C | Calgary | Providence College (HE) |
| 85 | Tanner Pearson '12 | LW | Los Angeles | Manchester (AHL) |
| 86 | Martin Frk '12 | RW | Detroit | Halifax (QMJHL) |
| 87 | Teemu Hartikainen '08 | LW | Edmonton | Edmonton (NHL) |
| 88 | Alex Killorn '07 | LW | Tampa Bay | Tampa Bay (NHL) |
| 89 | Matt Puempel '11 | LW | Ottawa | Kitchener (OHL) |
| 90 | Phil Di Giuseppe '12 | LW | Carolina | Michigan (CCHA) |
| 91 | Chandler Stephenson '12 | C | Washington | Regina (WHL) |
| 91 | Rocco Grimaldi '11 | C | Florida | North Dakota (WCHA) |
| 92 | Joey Hishon '10 | C | Colorado | Lake Erie (AHL) |
| 93 | Stanislav Galiev '10 | LW | Washington | Reading (ECHL) |
| 94 | Tyler Biggs '11 | RW | Toronto | Oshawa (OHL) |
| 95 | Nicklas Jensen '11 | LW | Vancouver | AIK (SEL) |
| 96 | Colton Sissons '12 | C | Nashville | Kelowna (WHL) |
| 97 | Lukas Sutter '12 | C | Winnipeg | Saskatoon (WHL) |
| 98 | Ivan Telegin '10 | C | Winnipeg | St. John's (AHL) |
| 99 | Linden Vey '09 | RW | Los Angeles | Manchester (AHL) |
| 100 | Danny Kristo '08 | RW | Montreal | North Dakota (WCHA) |
| 101 | Richard Panik '09 | RW | Tampa Bay | Syracuse (AHL) |
| 102 | Tobias Rieder '11 | C | Edmonton | Kitchener (OHL) |
| 103 | Maxime Sauve '08 | C | Boston | Providence (AHL) |
| 104 | Michael St. Croix '11 | C | NY Rangers | Edmonton (WHL) |
| 105 | Vincent Trocheck '11 | C | Florida | Plymouth (OHL) |
| 106 | Matt Nieto '11 | LW | San Jose | Boston University (HE) |
| 107 | Stephane Da Costa (UD) | C | Ottawa | Binghamton (AHL) |
| 108 | Carl Klingberg '09 | RW | Winnipeg | St. John's (AHL) |
| 109 | Jerry D'Amigo '09 | RW | Toronto | Toronto (AHL) |
| 110 | Greg Nemisz '08 | C | Calgary | Abbotsford (AHL) |
| 111 | Andre Petersson '08 | RW | Ottawa | Binghamton (AHL) |
| 112 | Quinton Howden '10 | LW | Florida | San Antonio (AHL) |
| 113 | Daniil Zharkov '12 NEW | LW | Edmonton | Belleville (OHL) |
| 114 | Max Friberg '11 | LW | Anaheim | Timra (SEL) |
| 115 | Tom Kuhnhackl '10 | RW | Pittsburgh | Wilkes-Barre (AHL) |
| 116 | Landon Ferraro '09 | C | Detroit | Grand Rapids (AHL) |
| 117 | Cam Atkinson '08 | RW | Columbus | Columbus (NHL) |
| 118 | Nicolas Kerdiles '12 | LW | Anaheim | Wisconsin (WCHA) |
| 119 | Theodor Blueger '12 | C | Pittsburgh | Minnesota State (WCHA) |
| 120 | Anton Rodin '09 | RW | Vancouver | Chicago (AHL) |
| 121 | Andy Miele (UD) | C | Phoenix | Portland (AHL) |
| 122 | Corban Knight '09 | C | Florida | North Dakota (WCHA) |
| 123 | Jori Lehtera '08 | C | St. Louis | Sibir (KHL) |
| 124 | Michael Sgarbossa (UD) NEW | LW | Colorado | Colorado (NHL) |
| 125 | Reid Boucher '11 NEW | LW | New Jersey | Sarnia (OHL) |
| 126 | Jordan Weal '10 | C | Los Angeles | Manchester (AHL) |
| 127 | Matej Stransky '11 NEW | RW | Dallas | Saskatoon (WHL) |
| 128 | William Karlsson '11 | C | Anaheim | HV 71 (SEL) |
| 129 | Tim Bozon '12 | LW | Montreal | Kamloops (WHL) |
| 130 | Victor Rask '11 | C | Carolina | Calgary (WHL) |
| 131 | Jimmy Vesey '12 NEW | LW | Nashville | Harvard (ECAC) |
| 132 | Freddie Hamilton '10 | C | San Jose | Worcester (AHL) |
| 133 | Kevin Hayes '10 | C | Chicago | Boston College (HE) |
| 134 | Riley Sheahan '10 | C | Detroit | Grand Rapids (AHL) |
| 135 | Cristoval Nieves '12 | C | NY Rangers | Michigan (CCHA) |
| 136 | Connor Brickley '10 | LW | Florida | Vermont (HE) |
| 137 | Ryan Martindale '10 | C | Edmonton | Oklahoma (AHL) |
| 138 | Jimmy Hayes '08 | RW | Chicago | Rockford (AHL) |
| 139 | Lucas Lessio '11 | LW | Phoenix | Oshawa (OHL) |
| 140 | Anthony Camara '11 NEW | LW | Boston | Barrie (OHL) |
| 141 | Markus Granlund '11 | C | Calgary | HIFK (SM-LIIGA) |
| 142 | Mikka Salomaki '11 NEW | RW | Nashville | Karpat (SM-LIIGA) |
| 143 | Daniel Catenacci '11 NEW | C | Buffalo | Owen Sound (OHL) |
| 144 | Charles Hudon '12 NEW | LW | Montreal | Chicoutimi (QMJHL) |
| 145 | Nick Cousins '11 NEW | C | Philadelphia | Sault Ste. Marie (OHL) |
| 146 | Brett Bulmer '10 | RW | Minnesota | Houston (AHL) |
| 147 | Kevin Sundher '10 | C | Buffalo | Rochester (AHL) |
| 148 | Tomas Kubalik '08 | RW | Columbus | Springfield (AHL) |
| 149 | Kyle Rau '11 | C | Florida | Minnesota (WCHA) |
| 150 | Joshua Leivo '11 NEW | LW | Toronto | Kitchener (OHL) |
