Inside Wheeler’s Shocking Summer 2025 NHL Prospect Rankings: Who’s the True Future Star?

Welcome to the summer 2025 edition of my ranking of the NHL’s best prospects at The Athletic.

This two-part, twice-a-year project ranks the league’s top 100 drafted skaters and top 20 drafted goalies, which will be released tomorrow.

This edition of my top 100 drafted prospects ranking includes 24 players from the 2025 draft, 26 from 2024, 25 from 2023, 21 from 2022 and four from 2021. It’s made up of 67 forwards and 33 defensemen (of which 14 are lefties and 19 are righties).

To be considered a prospect, a skater must be under 23 and not fully established with his NHL club. The latter qualifier is arbitrary. There, I trust my judgment for whether a player should be considered fully graduated more than I trust any predetermined games-played cutoff. Preference for inclusion as an NHL prospect is more likely to be given to teenagers than 21- or 22-year-olds.

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