At EP Rinkside, we‍ eagerly anticipate our⁢ favorite offseason activity: ranking⁣ the finest⁤ prospects and prospect pools in the NHL. Today marks the beginning of this process with our assessment of ⁢the top 100 affiliated skater prospects in the game.

In line with our previous rankings, any⁤ player eligible ⁣for the Calder Trophy, which is awarded to the NHL’s top rookie, qualifies for this list.

The ⁤ NHL establishes a prospect’s ‍Calder eligibility according to these guidelines:

To qualify for the Calder Memorial Trophy, ‌a player must not have participated in more than 25 ⁢games during any ‍single preceding season, nor in six or more ‍games across any two preceding seasons in any ⁤major professional league. Since 1990-91, a player must also ⁢not have turned 26 by September 15 of the season for which he is eligible.

We ​have‍ followed these players​ since their draft ‍days, diligently reviewing countless hours of game footage, ‌compiling over‍ 700 individual game reports (as of this moment), and engaging with industry ⁢experts.

For those unfamiliar with our approach, we utilize a linear 1-to-9 tool grading system to evaluate players on their skating, shooting, passing, puckhandling,⁤ hockey sense, and physicality. The table below illustrates how⁣ these grades correlate to their NHL projections.

Our‍ stringent Calder-eligibility criteria for defining a prospect means that numerous players from last year’s rankings, who would likely still be ⁢considered prospects by other standards, have moved on.

Here is the full list of players who ⁣have ⁤graduated from last year’s rankings:⁢ Connor Bedard (Chicago Blackhawks), Adam Fantilli ⁢ (Columbus Blue Jackets), Leo​ Carlsson (Anaheim Ducks), Logan Cooley (Utah), Zach Benson (Buffalo⁣ Sabres), David Jiříček (Blue Jackets), Luke Hughes (New Jersey Devils), Simon Edvinsson (Detroit Red Wings), Pavel Mintyukov (Ducks), Shane Wright (Seattle Kraken), ​ Olen Zellweger (Ducks), Simon Nemec (Devils), Marco Rossi ⁢(Minnesota Wild),⁤ Brandt Clarke ‌(Los Angeles‌ Kings), ‌ Matthew Knies (Toronto Maple Leafs), Kevin Korchinski (Blackhawks), Matt Coronato (Calgary Flames), Brock Faber (Wild), Tyson Foerster (Philadelphia Flyers), Ryker​ Evans (Kraken), Jackson LaCombe (Ducks), Connor⁤ Zary (Flames), Ridly Greig (Ottawa Senators), Luke Evangelista (Nashville Predators), Mason Lohrei (Boston Bruins), Wyatt Kaiser (Blackhawks)

Let’s return to the‌ task⁢ at hand, as we explore the top 100 affiliated skater ⁢prospects heading into the 2024-25 NHL ⁢season, along with⁢ tool grades, scouting reports for each player, and a concluding list of honorable mentions.