Top 200 NHL Prospects: Mid-Season Review

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Published on February 28, 2025

The 4 Nations Faceoff has come and gone. The trade deadline is approaching. It's time to update the Top 200 prospects list in addition to highlighting a handful of players that have seen their respective stocks rise and fall thus far this season. 26 players have graduated, resulting in several new names appearing.

RISING PROSPECTS TO WATCH

Ivan Demidov (RW-MON): There's no better place to start than with the league's new No. 1 prospect. Demidov has had a fabulous year in the KHL. With 19 goals and 47 points in 58 games for SKA, he's authoring one of the best U20 seasons in the history of that league, the second-best league in the world. Demidov, the No. 5 overall pick by Montreal in 2024, is the most gifted individual offensive prospect in the game. His puck handling skills are exceptional, as is his ability to make plays at top speed. There's a long way to go between now and then, but his ceiling is that of one of the most prolific scorers in the NHL. Demidov has a great chance to open the 2025-26 season as the top prospect in the game, something that is virtually unheard of given there is an entire new draft class to contend with when it comes to the fall rankings.

Cole Hutson (D-WSH): It's just eight months since he was drafted No. 43 overall by Washington, but Hutson already looks like a massive steal in that spot. He's averaging north of a point-per-game (33 points in 31 games) at Boston University and there's a case to be made he was the best player -- not just defenseman but player -- at the World Juniors. He finished with the tournament with three goals and 11 points in seven games in helping Team USA win the gold medal. Cole is stronger and plays a grittier style than his younger brother Lane. The offensive abilities are obviously the calling card here, but I think he's a safer long-term projection than his brother at this stage of their respective careers.

Luca Cagnoni (D-SJ): Cagnoni was always a tough eval because while his speed and offensive gifts are immense, he's really small (5-foot-9, 180 pounds) and for every defender that size that makes it in the NHL countless dozens don't. That's why it's been nice to see Cagnoni carry over his massive WHL production to his first AHL campaign. He has 13 goals and 38 points in 49 games for San Jose's top affiliate. You know he's going to get the most out of his abilities because he thinks the game at such a high level. I'm optimistic he'll be able to help an NHL power-play at some point in the not-too-distant future.

Ilya Protas (LW-WSH): The Capitals killed it in the 2024 draft, grabbing Hutson in Round 2 and Protas in Round 4. Like his older brother Aliaksei -- who has come out of nowhere to post 50 points in 57 games for Washington this season -- Ilya is massive (6-foot-5, 200 pounds) and has below-average speed. He has excellent hands and knows how to use his big body to his advantage. He's terrorized the OHL to the tune of nearly two points per game (41 goals, 98 points in 52 games) in his first year in the league. This is the ideal developmental timeline you are looking for from a mid-round pick.

Kieron Walton (C-WPG): I freely admit I knew next to nothing about Walton's game heading into the season. He was a sixth-round pick (No. 187 overall) of Winnipeg in 2024. Several months later, Walton has caused everyone to take notice. Playing for OHL Sudbury, Walton has 33 goals and 80 points in 54 games. He's also 6-foot-6 and looks like he'll be able to stick in the middle. This could simply be a case of a talented kid starting to grow into his body and thus taking advantage of his massive physical gifts. It's anyone's guess if it will stick, but the early returns are immensely positive.

FALLING PROSPECTS TO FADE

Easton Cowan (RW-TOR): Because of all the graduations, Cowan has actually risen in the overall rankings. He had a 65-game OHL point streak that ended in early February. He's a good player. Yet his World Juniors performance left me with a few concerns. I'll start off by saying that making any long-term evaluations as the result of a five-game sample size is a mistake. The entire Canadian team played terrible, not just Cowan. He constantly tried to force the issue instead of looking to use his teammates. He made multiple blind passes, which resulted in turnovers. The most likely scenario is that he was simply trying to do too much in hopes of getting his struggling team going, but this is something I'll now monitor moving forward.

Dean Letourneau (C-BOS): I'll preface this by saying Letourneau wasn't even supposed to be playing NCAA hockey this season. He was supposed to be in the USHL. He reclassified when a spot opened up and elected to join Boston College a year early. He's been getting extremely limited minutes most nights and has no goals and three assists in his first 30 collegiate games. Letourneau, a 6-foot-7 unicorn, was always viewed as a massive long-term project. He spent last season playing prep hockey in Canada. He's simply not ready for this level from a physical standpoint. His long-term ceiling likely doesn't change much, but it's still a disappointing start for the 2024 No. 25 overall selection.

Top 200 Prospects

Ivan Demidov (RW-MTL)
Zayne Parekh (D-CGY)
Alexander Nikishin (D-CAR)
Zeev Buium (D-MIN)
Ryan Leonard (RW-WSH)
Artyom Levshunov (D-CHI)
Anton Silayev (D-NJ)
Gabe Perreault (RW-NYR)
Dalibor Dvorsky (C-STL)
Danila Yurov (RW-MIN)
Sam Dickinson (D-SJ)
Berkly Catton (C-SEA)
Cayden Lindstrom (C-CBJ)
Carter Yakemchuk (D-OTT)
Tij Iginla (C-UTA)
Beckett Sennecke (RW-ANA)
Axel Sandin Pellikka (D-DET)
Denton Mateychuk (D-CBJ)
Cole Hutson (D-WSH)
Konsta Helenius (C-BUF)
Cole Eiserman (LW-NYI)
Jimmy Snuggerud (RW-STL)
Calum Ritchie (C-COL)
Michael Hage (C-MTL)
Quentin Musty (LW-SJ)
Jesper Wallstedt (G-MIN)
Yaroslav Askarov (G-SJ)
Jonathan Lekkerimaki (RW-VAN)
Liam Greentree (RW-LAK)
Trevor Connelly (LW-VGK)
Igor Chernyshov (LW-SJ)
Michael Brandsegg-Nygard (C-DET)
Rutger McGroarty (RW-PIT)
Jacob Fowler (G-MTL)
Oliver Bonk (D-PHI)
David Reinbacher (D-MTL)
Matthew Savoie (C-EDM)
Tanner Molendyk (D-NSH)
Tom Willander (D-VAN)
Andrew Cristall (LW-WSH)
Adam Jiricek (D-STL)
Nate Danielson (C-DET)
Jett Luchanko (C-PHI)
Easton Cowan (RW-TOR)
Matvei Gridin (C-CGY)
Brayden Yager (C-WPG)
Bradly Nadeau (RW-CAR)
Carson Rehkopf (LW-SEA)
Oliver Moore (C-CHI)
Colby Barlow (LW-WPG)
Liam Ohgren (LW-MIN)
Daniil But (LW-UTA)
Brennan Othmann (LW-NYR)
Joakim Kemell (LW-NSH)
Gavin Brindley (RW-CBJ)
Dmitry Simashev (D-UTA)
Chaz Lucius (C-WPG)
Noah Ostlund (C-BUF)
Matthew Wood (RW-NSH)
Maveric Lamoureux (D-UTA)
Sacha Boisvert (C-CHI)
Jordan Dumais (RW-CBJ)
Eduard Sale (LW-SEA)
Trey Augustine (G-DET)
Mikhail Gulyayev (D-COL)
Seamus Casey (D-NJ)
Brad Lambert (C-WPG)
Terik Parascak (RW-WSH)
Stian Solberg (D-ANA)
Scott Morrow (D-CAR)
Sebastian Cossa (G-DET)
Logan Mailloux (D-MTL)
Sam Rinzel (D-CHI)
Tristan Luneau (D-ANA)
David Edstrom (C-NSH)
Luca Cagnoni (D-SJ)
Isaac Howard (LW-TB)
Harrison Brunicke (D-PIT)
Felix Unger Sorum (RW-CAR)
Michael Hrabal (G-UTA)
Yegor Surin (C-NSH)
Otto Stenberg (C-STL)
Theo Lindstein (D-STL)
Riley Heidt (C-MIN)
Anton Wahlberg (C-BUF)
Filip Bystedt (C-SJ)
Ilya Protas (LW-WSH)
Shakir Mukhamadullin (D-SJ)
Lian Bichsel (D-DAL)
Jagger Firkus (RW-SEA)
Nikita Artamonov (LW-CAR)
Yegor Zavragin (G-PHI)
Marek Vanacker (LW-CHI)
Samuel Honzek (LW-CGY)
Luca Del Bel Belluz (C-CBJ)
Elias Salomonsson (D-WPG)
Teddy Stiga (LW-NSH)
Mikhail Yegorov (G-NJ)
Leo Sahlin Wallenius (D-SJ)
Sam O'Reilly (C-EDM)
Nick Lardis (LW-CHI)
Cole Beaudoin (C-UTA)
Kasper Halttunen (RW-SJ)
Aron Kiviharju (D-MIN)
Mathieu Cataford (RW-VGK)
Henry Mews (D-CGY)
Danny Nelson (C-NYI)
Isak Rosen (LW-BUF)
Fraser Minten (C-TOR)
Lenni Hameenaho (RW-NJ)
Owen Beck (C-MTL)
Fabian Lysell (RW-BOS)
Emil Hemming (RW-DAL)
Jani Nyman (RW-SEA)
Jesse Pulkkinen (D-NYI)
Dean Letourneau (C-BOS)
Kieron Walton (C-WPG)
Denver Barkey (C-PHI)
Lucas Pettersson (C-ANA)
Etienne Morin (D-CGY)
EJ Emery (D-NYR)
Aydar Suniev (LW-CGY)
Dmitri Buchelnikov (LW-DET)
Oscar Fisker Molgaard (C-SEA)
Drew Commesso (G-CHI)
Elias Pettersson (D-VAN)
Matyas Sapovaliv (C-VGK)
Beau Akey (D-EDM)
Luke Misa (C-CGY)
Ryder Ritchie (RW-MIN)
Nikita Chibrikov (RW-WPG)
Will Zellers (LW-COL)
Eriks Mateiko (LW-WSH)
Carter George (D-LA)
Charlie Stramel (C-MIN)
Gleb Trikozov (LW-CAR)
Caedan Bankier (C-MIN)
Ben Danford (D-TOR)
Ethan Gauthier (RW-TB)
Marcus Gidlof (G-NYI)
Charlie Elick (D-CBJ)
Alexander Rykov (RW-CAR)
Eemil Vinni (G-EDM)
Hunter Brzustewicz (D-CGY)
Roman Kantserov (RW-CHI)
Artyom Duda (D-UTA)
Adam Kleber (D-BUF)
Lukas Cormier (D-VGK)
Jacob Battaglia (RW-CGY)
John Mustard (LW-CHI)
David Goyette (C-SEA)
Hampton Slukynsky (G-LAK)
Erik Portillo (G-LAK)
Simon Zether (C-FLA)
Adam Engstrom (D-MTL)
Adam Gajan (G-CHI)
Sean Behrens (D-COL)
Linus Eriksson (C-FLA)
Sergei Ivanov (G-CBJ)
Dylan Garand (G-NYR)
Brett Berard (LW-NYR)
Quinn Finley (LW-NYI)
Maxim Strbak (D-BUF)
Nathan Gaucher (C-ANA)
Sean Farrell (LW-MTL)
Vincent Iorio (D-WSH)
Ryan Ufko (D-NSH)
Colton Dach (C-CHI)
Dominik Badinka (D-CAR)
Ethan Del Mastro (D-CHI)
Adam Jecho (RW-STL)
Cameron Lund (C-SJ)
Carey Terrance (C-ANA)
Colin Ralph (D-STL)
Luca Marrelli (D-CBJ)
Carter Mazur (LW-DET)
Ryan Chesley (D-WSH)
Leon Muggli (D-WSH)
Clarke Caswell (LW-SEA)
Kirill Dolzhenkov (RW-CBJ)
Lukas Fischer (D-STL)
Julius Miettinen (C-SEA)
Matvei Shuravin (D-FLA)
Calle Odelius (D-NYI)
Brodie Ziemer (RW-BUF)
Will Skahan (D-UTA)
Dmitri Gamzin (G-NYI)
Veeti Vaisanen (D-UTA)
Maxim Masse (RW-ANA)
Juraj Pekarcik (LW-STL)
Alfons Freij (D-WPG)
Christian Kyrou (D-DAL)
Noel Fransen (D-CAR)
Shane Lachance (LW-EDM)
Carson Bjarnason (G-PHI)
Tanner Howe (LW-PIT)
Ty Nelson (D-SEA)
Andrew Basha (RW-CGY)
Oskar Olausson (LW-COL)
Jaroslav Chmelar (RW-NYR)

GRADUATED
- Macklin Celebrini (C-SJ)
- Matvei Michkov (RW-PHI)
- Will Smith (C-SJ)
- Cutter Gauthier (C-ANA)
- Logan Stankoven (C-DAL)
- Shane Wright (C-SEA)
- Lane Hutson (D-MTL)
- Jiri Kulich (C-BUF)
- Marco Kasper (C-DET)
- Frank Nazar (C-CHI)
- Conor Geekie (C-TB)
- Mavrik Bourque (C-DAL)
- Dustin Wolf (G-CGY)
- Ivan Miroshnichenko (LW-WSH)
- Joshua Roy (C-MTL)
- Jackson Blake (RW-CAR)
- Marat Khusnutdinov (C-MIN)
- Owen Pickering (D-PIT)
- Mackie Samoskevich (LW-FLA)
- Zack Ostapchuk (C-OTT)
- Aatu Raty (C-VAN)
- Josh Doan (RW-ARI)
- Nikolai Kovalenko (RW-SJ)
- Zachary L'Heureux (C-NSH)
- Fedor Svechkov (C-NSH)
- Nolan Allan (D-CHI)