Last year, TSN placed Chicago Blackhawks rookie Connor Bedard first in its ranking of the 50 best players and prospects aged 23 or under affiliated with an NHL club.
The face of the New Jersey Devils, Jack Hughes, was second.
A year later, TSN reverses the roles: Hughes, who is 23 years old, is number 1 and Bedard, 19 years old, number 2, in the 2024-2025 rankings.
“Have we been too hasty with Bedard? I don’t think so,” analyzes TSN scouting director Craig Button. “Expectations and projections were high. He remains a bright long-term hope, but based on this year’s data, we need to make a change. »
TSN reminds us that this list has always been focused on the future, not the present. And that’s still the case.
But after a rookie season that he capped off by winning the Calder Trophy, it’s worth considering that Bedard, the supernova talent widely heralded as the NHL’s next great sniper, scored just three goals in 19 matches.
Now, a little context is necessary, TSN nuance: Chicago is the team in the league that scores the fewest goals. Translation: Bedard is not surrounded by talented teammates.
Regardless, Hughes deserves top honors, TSN judge. It moved from third place in 2022 to second in 2023, then to first in 2024.
“We try to find a balance between the potential of a player and what he is,” explains Button. “We know Jack Hughes is a superstar. He demonstrated it unequivocally.”
Bedard therefore finds himself second on the list compiled by Button and Chris Peters, senior NHL draft and prospects analyst at FloSports.
Button and Peters evaluated each NHL team’s pool of prospects aged 23 or younger (at the start of the season), combining assessments of current development with projections of future development to assign grades.
Players are labeled AAA (superstar), AA (elite), A (#1 goalie, top-pairing defenseman, top-line forward) or B (tandem goalie, top-4 defenseman, top-6 forward) or C (backup goalie, depth defender, 3rd or 4th line forward).
No. 3 on this year’s list is 18-year-old San Jose Sharks rookie forward Macklin Celebrini, who finds himself in a similar position to Bedard last year.
Celebrini is unranked based on his four goals and five points in his first eight NHL games. It’s a reflection of him entering the league with expectations only slightly lower than Bedard’s last season.
“Macklin has a great confidence in his game,” observes Button. It’s like he’s saying, “I’m here to make a difference.” And it is. »
Hughes, Bedard and Celebrini are the only players to earn a AAA rating.
Next come center Tim Stützle (22) (4th) of the Ottawa Senators, left-handed defenseman Owen Power (21) (5th) of the Buffalo Sabres, right-handed defenseman Brock Faber (22) (6th) of the Wild from Minnesota and right winger Matvei Michkov (19), rookie from the Philadelphia Flyers (7th).
The Montreal Canadiens have two representatives in the top-10: left winger Cole Caufield (23 years old) and right winger Ivan Demidov from SKA Saint Petersburg (18 years old).
Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider (23) ranks 9th.
The Canadiens have six players among the top 50 in the league, which largely explains why Montreal holds first place in the rankings for the best core of players under the age of 24 according to another TSN ranking.
The others are left winger Juraj Slafkovsky (25th), left-handed defenseman Lane Hutson (27th), Boston College goaltender Jacob Fowler (40th) and left-handed defenseman Kaiden Guhle (46th).
Among the members of this top-50, we find Ottawa left-handed defenseman Jake Sanderson (11th), New York Rangers left winger Alexis Lafrenière (23rd) and Calgary Flames goalie Dustin Wolf (24th), the highest-ranked doorman on the list.
Lafrenière, the first overall pick in the 2020 draft, has gone from a C to a B to an A in the player rankings over the past three years.
For his part, Anaheim Ducks left winger Trevor Zegras went from AA to A then to C during the same period.
TSN’s Top 50
1. Jack Hughes (Devils)
2. Connor Bedard (Blackhawks)
3. Macklin Celebrini (Sharks)
4. Tim Stützle (Senators)
5. Owen Power (Sabres)
6. Brock Faber (Wild)
7. Matvei Michkov (Flyers)
8. Cole Caufield (Canadian)
9. Moritz Seider (Red Wings)
10. Ivan Demidov (Canadian)
11. Jake Sanderson (Senators)
12. Alexander Nikishin (Hurricanes)
13. Wyatt Johnston (Stars)
14. Leo Carlsson (Ducks)
15. Luke Hughes (Devils)
16. Will Smith (Sharks)
17. Ryan Leonard (Capitals)
18. Artyom Levshunov (Blackhawks)
19. Zeev Buium (Wild)
20. Matt Boldy (Wild)
21. Lucas Raymond (Red Wings)
22. Adam Fantilli (Blue Jackets)
23. Alexis Lafrenière (Rangers)
24. Dustin Wolf (Flames)
25. Juraj Slafkovsky (Canadian)
26. Seth Jarvis (Hurricanes)
27. Lane Hutson (Canadian)
28. Cutter Gauthier (Ducks)
29. Logan Stankoven (Stars)
30. Sam Dickinson (Sharks)
31. Thomas Harley (Stars)
32. Zayne Parekh (Flames)
33. Yaroslav Askarov (Sharks)
34. Brandt Clarke (Kings)
35. Logan Cooley (Utah)
36. Matthew Knies (Maple Leafs)
37. Dylan Guenther (Utah)
38. Mason MacTavish (Ducks)
39. Trey Augustine (Red Wings)
40. Jacob Fowler (Canadian)
41. Bennett Sennecke (Ducks)
42. Cayden Lindstrom (Blue Jackets)
43. Denton Mateychuk (Blue Jackets)
44. Easton Cowan (Maple Leafs)
45. Tij Iginla (Utah)
46. Kaiden Guhle (Canadien)
47. Pavel Mintyukov (Ducks)
48. Tom Willander (Canucks)
49. Berkly Catton (Kraken)
50. Connor McMichael (Capitals)
