Top Five NHL Prospect Groups

Following the 2025 NHL Draft, several organizations took huge leaps forward. There were some huge winners and losers, but with the dust settling there are some emerging truths. Which franchises have the best prospect groups following the latest entry draft?

1. San Jose Sharks

The rebuild is going according to plan in San Jose, and their stockpile of young talent expanded again at the most recent draft. With the second overall pick, they grabbed forward Michael Misa, who projects to be the latest top-six player to join their organization. He joins forwards like Joey Muldowney, Cole McKinney, QUinetin Musty, and Igor Chernyshov, as well as exciting defensive prospects like Sam Dickinson, Luca Cagnoni, and Eric Pohlkamp. They also used another first-round pick on Joshua Ravensbergen, one of the top goalies in the 2025 class. The future is so bright in San Jose.

2. Chicago Blackhawks

The Blackhawks are in the midst of their own rebuild, and they've done an excellent job of rebuilding their development system. The most recent addition was third-overall pick Anton Frondell, a player with very high upside and the chance to be the number two center behind Connor Bedard at the NHL level. Three defensemen highlight their group: Artyom Levshunov, Sam Rinzel, and Kevin Korchinski. On the offensive side of the puck, players like Nick Lardis, Aidan Thompson, Marek Vanacker, Vaclav Nestrasil, Ryan Greene, Oliver Moore and Sasha Boisvert. Throw in goalie Adam Gajan, and this is an imposing prospect group.

3. Seattle Kraken

Ron Francis and Jason Botterill have built a solid foundation for the Kraken. Jake O'Brien was the latest top-10 pick to join the group, but he steps into an already burgeoning crop of forwards like Berkly Catton, Carson Rehkopf, Clarke Caswell, Jani Nyman, Jagger Firkus and Eduard Sale.

The forwards receive the praise, but there's several promising defenders as well. Tyson Jugnauth and Lukas Dragicevic just finished point-per-game seasons in the CHL. Alexis Bernier, Caden Price, Blake Fiddler and Jakub Fibigr all project to be top-six defenders in the NHL as well.

4. Philadelphia Flyers

Adding Porter Martone at the 2025 draft was a huge move for the Flyers, giving them a new top forward prospect. Denver Barkey, Jack Murtagh, Jack Nesbitt, Max Westergard, Jett Luchanko and Alex Bump all hope to provide scoring and grit to the Philadelphia lineup in the next few years. They've also invested draft assets in defensemen like Oliver Bonk, Spencer Gill, and Carter Amico. Goaltender Carson Bjarnason gives them a bona fide puck-stopper in the pipeline as well. It's a huge jump for the Flyers, but they now have a top prospect pool in the NHL.

5. Utah Mammoth

The Mammoth are in an excellent position to challenge for a playoff spot next season, and the incredible thing is they haven't compromised their future to do so. This prospect group is stacked. Forwards like Tij Iginla, Daniil But, Cole Beaudoin, and Caleb Desnoyers highlight the list, while defenders like Dmitry Simashev, Tomas Lavoie, Ludvig Johnson and Maveric Lamoureux stand out as future NHL blue liners as well. University of Massachusetts goalie and second-round pick Michael Hrabal hopes to be the future starter in Utah. The Mammoth have done a nearly picture-perfect job of accelerating their return to contention.