Pronman recently released his U23 rankings on the Athletic. He has 169 players ranked in 8 different tiers. Not all the players will be ranked in here as there are a lot of 2023 drafted players that will probably end up with Rumpy in LA.

I'm not going to do anything crazy here with this ranking, it will soley be ranked by the sheer number of players ranked. Below you'll find the player position, player name, where they were ranked on Pronman's list, and the tier number. So let's stop dicking around and dive into the list:

 

1. SEATTLE KRAKEN - Ryan "Rex" Shuck - 11 players ranked:

C Jack Hughes - 2nd (Tier 2)

C/W Kent Johnson - 32nd (Tier 6)

RHD David Jiricek - 34th (Tier 6)

C/LW William Eklund - 60th (Tier 7)

C Juuso Parssinen - 83rd (Tier 8)

C Filip Bystedt - 97th (Tier 8)

LW Dylan Holloway - 120th (Tier 8)

C Owen Beck - 141st (Tier 8)

C Zack Ostapchuk - 144th (Tier 8)

C Nathan Gaucher - 151st (Tier 8)

G Dustin Wolf - 155th (Tier 8)

 

Rex has the top ranked BRHL player on the list in Jack Hughes, a nice young player going forward and a #1 center. Beyond the top of the list there are some decent youth coming along with two players in tier 6 and one in tier 7 with the rest in tier 8. Rex doesn't own a first round pick this year, but his cupboards look pretty full anyway.

 

2. VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS - Joe Bast - 9 players ranked:

C Matthew Beniers - 13 (Tier 4)

LHD Bowen Byram - 24 (Tier 5)

LHD Simon Edvinsson - 42 (Tier 6)

G Yaroslav Askarov - 57 (Tier 7)

C/RW Conor Geekie - 71 (Tier 7)

LHD Kaiden Guhle - 82 (Tier 8)

RHD Braden Schneider - 85 (Tier 8)

LW Brennan Othmann - 94 (Tier 8)

RHD Logan Mailloux - 148 (Tier 8)

 

Joe's in the midst of a rebuild but with all these nice young players coming up he might not be in rebuild mode long. He also owns two first rounders this year with his own likely ending up in the lotto. There are no players above tier 4, but we won't let that hold him back from the #2 spot here.

 

3. PITTSBURGH PENGUINS - Tyler "Toby" Cordell - 8 players ranked:

LHD Luke Hughes - 7 (Tier 3)

C/LW Quinton Byfield - 15 (Tier 4)

C/LW Cole Perfetti - 63 (Tier 7)

LW Rutger McGroarty - 76 (Tier 7)

RW Alexander Holtz - 121 (Tier 8)

RW Isak Rosen - 135 (Tier 8)

LHD Tyler Kleven - 152 (Tier 8)

RW Nikita Chibrikov - 157 (Tier 8)

 

Toby's tank hasn't gone as well as the teams in the Western Conference, but he's right there at the bottom with Steph's Sens in the East and should be in a good spot to win the lottery. Luke Hughes is the top prize in the pool and he's got some good youth turning a corner in the NHL in Byfield & Perfetti.

 

4. CALGARY FLAMES - Kevin Switzer - 8 players ranked:

C/RW Kirby Dach - 49 (Tier 7)

C/LW Jiri Kulich - 54 (Tier 7)

LW Ivan Miroshnichenko - 78 (Tier 7)

G Spencer Knight - 80 (Tier 7)

LHD Cam York - 84 (Tier 8)

C Noah Ostlund - 96 (Tier 8)

RHD Tristan Luneau - 133 (Tier 8)

LHD Stanislav Svozil - 145 (Tier 8)

 

Kulich looks like the guy here with the highest upside. Other than that, Kevin has some good depth listed here. It's lacking high end tiers which teams below will have, so I would understand if we were looking a little more objectively how he might drop down a bit. But with 8 players listed he's coming in at 4th.

 

5. FLORIDA PANTHERS - Tyler Bell - 7 players ranked:

C/RW Wyatt Johnston - 10 (Tier 4)

LW Cole Caufield - 25 (Tier 6)

RW Matthew Coronato - 55 (Tier 7)

LHD Shakir Mukhamadullin - 79 (Tier 7)

C/LW Lukas Reichel - 86 (Tier 8)

RHD Vincent Iorio - 126 (Tier 8)

RW Arseni Gritsyuk - 153 (Tier 8)

 

Tyler's Panthers have started turning a corner, emerging from a rebuilding team into a contender. You can hear the collective sigh's from Atlantic teams having to deal with another team on the up and up. Wyatt Johnston is the prize prospect on the list and is an impactful NHLer right now.

 

6. NEW JERSEY DEVILS - Ken Hogan - 6 players ranked:

C Tim Stutzle - 3 (Tier 2)

RW Dylan Guenther - 41 (Tier 6)

LHD Lane Hutson - 88 (Tier 8)

C Chaz Lucius - 107 (Tier 8)

LW Jake Neighbours - 138 (Tier 8)

RW Bobby Brink - 164 (Tier 8)

 

We've finally hit the other BRHL player ranked in tier 2 in Stutzle. I would rank the team higher than 6th personally, but I didn't want to get into personal rankings. I'm sure we all have different ideas of who should be in which tier. Neighbours has been having himself a good season and Hutson seems to be ranked all over the place by different people.

 

7. BUFFALO SABRES - Jared Mitchell - 6 players ranked:

C/W Dylan Cozens - 9 (Tier 4)

C/RW Dawson Mercer - 51 (Tier 7)

RW Joakim Kemell - 87 (Tier 8)

C/LW Ridly Greig - 98 (Tier 8)

LW Liam Ohgren - 129 (Tier 8)

C Thomas Bordeleau - 132 (Tier 8)

 

The Sabres are 2nd in a group of teams with 6 players listed. Cozen's ranking of 9th overall has the team ahead of the others except NJ Devils. With no picks in the next draft until the 6th round the Sabres will be falling from the top 10 finally after years of collecting young players.

 

8. VANCOUVER CANUCKS - Rob Botham - 6 players ranked:

W Matthew Boldy - 11 (Tier 4)

LHD Kevin Korchinski - 27 (Tier 6)

RW Jonathan Lekkerimaki - 66 (Tier 7)

W Vasily Podkolzin - 139 (Tier 8)

G Arturs Silovs - 162 (Tier 8)

LW Roby Jarventie - 167 (Tier 8)

 

3 players from the NHL Canucks is no surprise here. We all know Rob loves his Canucks players. Boldy leads the way as he is on pace to finish with another 30 goal season. 

 

9. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING - Eric Ferraro - 6 players ranked:

LHD Owen Power - 14 (Tier 4)

LHD Jake Sanderson - 18 (Tier 5)

W Alexis Lafreniere - 19 (Tier 5)

RHD Brock Faber - 30 (Tier 6)

LW Simon Holmstrom - 140 (Tier 8)

G Devon Levi - 156 (Tier 8)

 

Another team emerging from a rebuild, Eric is holding onto the 2nd wildcard spot currently and has a bright future ahead. I would personally rank Eric's U23 players ahead of the rest of the teams with 6 players, but Owen Power is ranked behind Cozens & Boldy, so the 8th spot is where he lands.

 

10. WINNIPEG JETS - Jordan "Doc" Hansford - 6 players ranked:

LHD Thomas Harley - 36 (Tier 6)

LHD Liam Bichsel - 74 (Tier 7)

RW Jimmy Snuggerud - 75 (Tier 7)

W Yegor Chinakhov - 92 (Tier 8)

LHD Philip Broberg - 114 (Tier 8)

RW Tyler Boucher - 163 (Tier 8)

 

Doc is rebuilding with a decent top line and already has some nice pieces in place going forward. I suspect this rebuild won't last very long. Snuggerud seems like he's ranked really low, but just a reminder that this is Pronman's rankings and not my own. 

 

11. COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS - Jesse Vansickle - 6 players ranked:

RW Kaapo Kakko - 64 (Tier 7)

RHD Justin Barron - 115 (Tier 8)

RW Tyson Foerster - 116 (Tier 8)

LW Reid Schaefer - 136 (Tier 8)

LW Sean Farrell - 165 (Tier 8)

C Marat Khusnutdinov - 169 (Tier 8)

 

Jesse's got more of a retool going on than a full on rebuild and that's likely due to the fact he doesn't own his first round pick this year. The newly acquired Kakko is at the top of the list though he didn't get a lot of love from Pronman. Beyond Kakko are some longer shot prospects, but you gotta start somewhere.

 

12. ARIZONA COYOTES - Joel Mierau - 5 players ranked:

C/W Mason McTavish - 12 (Tier 4)

C/W Logan Stankoven - 29 (Tier 6)

LHD Owen Pickering - 89 (Tier 8)

C Frank Nazar - 108 (Tier 8)

LW Peyton Krebs - 131 (Tier 8)

 

No surprises here as Joel has been in a rebuild for a bit now. Someone like Stankoven looks way too good for the AHL and probably makes the NHL next season. I can't see Dallas not making room for him. Nazar is another guy who is on the up and up after recovering from an injury last year.

 

13. BOSTON BRUINS - Greg Almeida - 5 players ranked:

W Lucas Raymond - 17 (Tier 5)

C Cole Sillinger - 93 (Tier 8)

C Matthew Savoie - 101 (Tier 8)

C Matthew Poitras - 113 (Tier 8)

C/LW Connor McMichael - 137 (Tier 8)

 

I was a bit surprised to see Greg up so high on this list, it's a good sign his re-tool has started well though. Raymond was a crafty snag from Dan's Wings and leads the way for the Bruins. Sillinger & McMichael were also picked up via trade and has helped the Bruins future outlook greatly.

 

14. NEW YORK RANGERS - P.J. Jennings - 5 players ranked:

W Juraj Slafkovsky - 20 (Tier 5)

G Jesper Wallstedt - 56 (Tier 7)

C Marco Rossi - 58 (Tier 7)

C Connor Zary - 81 (Tier 8)

C Mavrik Bourque - 110 (Tier 8)

 

Slafkovsky wasn't a great 1st overall pick in the NHL, but snagging the big Slovak 5th overall by PJ was a solid move and tops this list for the Rangers. The Rangers also have a slew of players who just missed the cut like Makar, Norris & Mittelstadt. The future is bright for PJ.

 

15. DETROIT RED WINGS - Dan Sanders - 4 players ranked:

C Logan Cooley - 21 (Tier 5)

W JJ Peterka - 40 (Tier 6)

RW Joshua Roy - 122 (Tier 8)

RHD Maveric Lamoureux - 127 (Tier 8)

 

The top team in the league falls just above the halfway mark when it comes to up and coming prospects. Cooley looks like the best option in a re-draft at first overall, and he tops Dan's list here. 

 

16. ANAHEIM DUCKS - Devon Cordell - 4 players ranked:

LHD Pavel Mintyukov - 28 (Tier 6)

RHD Simon Nemec - 39 (Tier 6)

LHD Olen Zellweger - 62 (Tier 7)

C Aatu Raty - 160 (Tier 8)

 

From one of the top rated teams in the BRHL to rebuilding in just one season. Devon's tank is going smoothly as he sits currently with the 2nd best odds at first overall. Having some top rated D prospects to start a rebuild looks great to go along with a young number one starter in Oettinger. It'll be interesting to see if he can land Bedard or any other impact players out of this coming draft.

 

17. NASHVILLE PREDATORS - Tyler Shedden - 4 players ranked:

C Anton Lundell - 33 (Tier 6)

RHD Brandt Clarke - 37 (Tier 6)

LW Colton Dach - 134 (Tier 8)

LHD William Wallinder - 149 (Tier 8)

 

Lundell hasn't really taken off offensively in the NHL, but he's the 3rd line center and expecting a PPG player there is unrealistic. Sheds also boasts a kid having one of the best offensive displays in the AHL for a young defenceman ever in Clarke, though his play has earned him a call-up to the NHL.

 

18. CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS - David Yee - 4 players ranked:

C Cutter Gauthier - 46 (Tier 6)

W Arthur Kaliyev - 65 (Tier 7)

W Philip Tomasino - 95 (Tier 8)

RW Luke Evangelista - 123 (Tier 8)

 

Dave just started to rebuild this season but has a some decent young players to build on. Gauthier is the only one not in the NHL currently and had a messy exit from Philly in the NHL. The three wingers behind him are all NHL regulars this season and are nice building blocks.

 

19. WASHINGTON CAPITALS - Larry Linke - 3 players ranked:

C/LW Trevor Zegras - 22 (Tier 5)

RW Seth Jarvis - 35 (Tier 6)

G Dennis Hildeby - 111 (Tier 8)

 

Larry hasn't been afraid to tinker with his lineup and add youth into the mix, one of the players was Seth Jarvis who makes this list. Zegras was off to a terrible start prior to the injury but is young enough to turn it around. 

 

20. ST. LOUIS BLUES - Eric Dolegowski - 3 players ranked:

W Jack Quinn - 26 (Tier 6)

LHD Denton Mateychuk - 99 (Tier 8)

C Caedan Bankier - 125 (Tier 8)

 

One thing Eric holds over the other teams with 3 listed prospects is a BRHL cup, but with an aging roster he'll need some of the lesser known players in his prospect pool to start stepping up or it may be a daunting task to stay relevant.

 

21. TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS - Garrett Hansford - 3 players ranked:

C Shane Wright - 38 (Tier 6)

LW Matthew Knies - 43 (Tier 6)

C/RW Brad Lambert - 117 (Tier 8)

 

I think Garrett was trying to re-tool on the fly after last season but has fallen behind in the Atlantic division. Owning his own first round pick is big for him but he'll need to lose a little more to be in a position to win the lottery this year.

 

22. OTTAWA SENATORS - Steph Villeneuve - 3 players ranked:

RHD Jamie Drysdale - 48 (Tier 7)

C Marco Kasper - 77 (Tier 7)

RW Jani Nyman - 102 (Tier 8)

 

The Sens under Kirk never seemed to rebuild due to some savy trades that kept them relevant. Steph kept the group together as long as he could but this year has gone full scorched earth. At least he owns his own first.

 

23. MINNESOTA WILD - Al Wehr - 2 players ranked:

C/RW Danila Yurov - 53 (Tier 7)

LHD Jackson LaCombe - 119 (Tier 8)

 

Al's got a good team right now but he'll be losing some key UFA's as well as having to pay up on Kaprizov when the RFA period gets under way.  With only the two players listed, he'll need some surprises to step up or make the most out of his later picks to stay in the playoff picture going forward.

 

24. NEW YORK ISLANDERS - Joe Bubanj - 2 players ranked:

LW Will Cuylle - 118 (Tier 8)

 

LW Isaac Howard - 166 (Tier 8)

 

Joe's got another one of those teams where people are waiting for a sharp decline due to aging players and inflated contracts. Joe's done a marvelous job manuvering around this so far though.

 

25. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS - Anthony Cepparulo - 1 player ranked:

RHD Moritz Seider - 8 (Tier 3)

 

Seider is ranked higher than a lot of prospects on teams ahead of Philly here, but he's the only U23 player on the list for Anthony and has him at the top of the teams with 1 player. It'll take some creative manuvering to stay in the mix going forward, but Seider will be a great player for him going forward.

 

26. CAROLINA HURRICANES - Richard Cordell - 1 player ranked:

LHD Alexander Nikishin - 23 (Tier 5)

 

Rich along with almost everyone else expected a playoff team this year. That was not the case, and now the original Vanecek trade with Kevin's Flames looks like he may have handed off a shot at Bedard. Opps. Despite those woes, Rich has one of the top Dmen not in the NHL in Nikishin.

 

27. COLORADO AVALANCHE - Pat Padula - 1 player ranked:

C/LW Alex Newhook - 91 (Tier 8)

 

Pat's done a good job at the helm of the Avs after Bryce stepped down. The big test will be at the draft where he'll need to be Bryce-like and come up with some late gems.

 

28. MONTREAL CANADIENS - Steve Vardy - 1 player ranked:

C Fraser Minten - 150 (Tier 8)

 

Steve's kept his Habs in the thick of things in a tough Atlantic division but constantly going for it does leave the prospect list a little thin.

 

29. LOS ANGELES KINGS - Tyler Rumpel - 0 player ranked:

30. SAN JOSE SHARKS - Sumit Purba - 0 players ranked:

31. EDMONTON OILERS - Leon Yu - 0 players ranked:

32. DALLAS STARS - Junya Kato - 0 players ranked:

At least Junya has cups and Leon has Matthews & McDavid...