Top 50 players 23 and under in the BLHL
1. S. Steel 91 23 4.5y EDM C
2. D. Strome 90 23 4.5y ANA C
3. J. Chychrun 89 22 4.5y EDM D
4. T. Strbak 83 20 4.5 y EDM RW
5. Y. Sarault 84 21 4.5y EDM LW
6. R. Perrault 87 23 4.5y LAK RW
7. L. Brown 88 22 4.5y SJS C
8. C. Gervais 85 22 4.5y LAK LW
9. S. Ritchie 79 20 4.5 y PIT C
10. D. Amonte 79 20 4.5 y VAN LW
11. D. Pronger 79 20 4.5y WSH C
12. D. Dixon 84 22 4.5y ANA LW
13. G. Gawdin 87 23 3.5g BUF C
14. L. Kirwan 87 23 3.5g SJS LW
15. B. Howden 85 22 4g NYR C
16. T. Benson 85 22 4g MIN LW
17. P. Wotherspoon 86 23 3.5g SJS D
18. J. Lauzon 86 23 3.5g FLA D
19. D. O’Marra 87 23 4.5y OTT G
20. L. Zubrus 77 21 4.5y NYR D
21. D. Rymsha 86 22 4y MIN C
22. J. Kryski 85 22 4g BOS C
23. N. Juulsen 86 23 4y DAL D
24. M. Vaananen 77 21 4.5y EDM G
25. R. Pirnes 87 23 4y CHI G
26. B. Paddock 84 20 4.5y NYR RW
27. D. Foster 81 19 4.5y STL RW
28. E. Ellington 80 20 4.5y MIN RW
29. G. Nickles 85 22 3.5g PHI D
30. T. Felhaber 85 22 4y OTT C
31. D. Yan 85 23 3.5g COL LW
32. P. Zacha 85 23 4g BOS LW
33. D. Sprong 85 23 4g NYR RW
34. T. Gettinger 84 22 3.5g NYR LW
35. J. Petrovic 84 23 4g PIT C
36. J. Bean 84 22 4g LAK D
37. M. Lajoie 85 23 4g VAN D
38. L. Crouse 84 23 4g OTT LW
39. S. Ponikarovsky 85 23 4y COL LW
40. M. Barzal 85 23 4.5r FLA C
41. Y. Taratukhin 85 23 3.5y WPG D
42. T. Saarinen 82 21 4.5y NYR RW
43. P. Dubois 82 22 4.5y CBJ C
44. S. Day 84 23 4g PHI D
45. M. Markstrom 75 20 4g FLA G
46. T. Parsons 86 23 4y WSH G
47. J. Erskine 71 19 4.5y NYR RW
48. L. Green 83 23 4.5y TOR D
49. N. Karppinen 83 23 4.5y LAK D
50. G. Pickard 80 22 4.5y FLA LW
Sam Steel is an easy pick for the best of this group. The guy is arguably the best in the game, depending on how highly you value his offensive stats, speed, and youth. Dylan Strome is also a very clear pick for number 2. The center position and solid faceoffs increase his value. His shot is unreal but the big guy’s kind of slow so he might not be a top pick on every team. Chychrun has good enough stats to play the wing but can also serve as a top dman, of course. He’s the only one in the top 3 that can still grow so he may pass Strome, if he has crazy growth in the offseason.
Strbak is the first real prospect in the ranking and is also an easy choice. His pace far exceeds his competition and so although it isn’t guaranteed, he has the best shot at developing into a legit superstar. Sarault is placed next because of his clearly better pace when compared with the other 4.5 yellow players, similar to Strbak, but not to the same degree. Logan Brown is stuck at 88 but having a player ready at 88 should be valued ahead of those on pace for around 88 in a couple seasons at the same age, if not older.
The next 6 players, Perrault (6), Gervais (8), Ritchie (9), Amonte (10), Pronger (11), and Dixon (12) round off the high trade value 4.5 yellow youths. You can really take your pick from among them, depending on whether you prioritize specific stats, players that can jump into your lineup right away, or likelihood of reaching their ceiling. I used a simple combo of all 3 and didn’t give it all that much thought. We can revisit them in a few seasons and see where they stand.
At 13 and 14, we find Gawdin and Kirwan, 3.5 green star potential players at 87 overall. Once again, you could certainly argue them ahead of the 4.5 yellows like Brown and they may clearly pass them if they grow again, but the likelihood of that happening just isn’t high enough so they sit here. Their stats could also sway your opinion. Any team would love to have these guys, whether you’re looking to make a push this season, or you’re rebuilding.
Howden and Benson are the best 4 greens under 24. They can both grow and their stats are unreal. If you placed them in the top 10, I wouldn’t blame you. The fact that both can stall at 85 makes it so I can’t really justify that though.
Lauzon and Wotherspoon place just below, partly because they’re defensemen, partly because they’re a year older, and partly because they have half a star less potential. These positions could easily change if they end up growing again but Howden and Benson are better picks at this stage, even though they’re an overall less.
O’Marra is in for a huge progress period this offseason. We could have a 90 overall goalie on our hands and maybe even better than that. He places at 19th only because of his status as a goalie. While we’re at it, Vaananen takes 24th and Pirnes sits at 25. Vaananen has a higher potential, similar to O’Marra, but finds himself at a weaker pace for now. He’s virtually guaranteed to be an 87 like Pirnes though, so he has to place ahead of the Chicago goalie. Pirnes can still grow and would be a remarkable story in the league if he does. It’s unlikely but he earns his position as one of the better assets around. The only other goaltenders to make the top 50 are Markstrom at 45 and Parsons at 46. Parsons has had a rocky go of things but an 86 at this age can’t be left off the list. Markstrom has the potential to outperform Parsons and a higher ceiling is important among goalies. 86 is fine but 87+ is what you’re really hoping for. Anything less is just filling the position.
At 20th, we have the worst high trade value 4.5 yellow skater and the only one that’s a defenseman. For those unaware, a high trade value among 4.5 yellow players is important and indicates a much higher floor and ceiling. Zubrus is among these players so you can expect a very good defenseman here, but being 77 overall at 21 years old suggests he may have less of a shot at hitting that high ceiling, placing him below O’Marra and the green star players with crazy stats and more certainty behind them. Rymsha is a success story similar to Pirnes. He’s unlikely to grow but having the possibility there along with being an 86 overall at 22 makes him a good pick for this spot. Kryski’s odd stat spread places him far below Howden and Benson, but he can still grow, so there’s certainly an argument to have him higher on this list. He also leads the league in points but this is a video game so there’s that. Juulsen is an 86 for life. Once yellow stars miss a year of growth, they’re done, and Juulsen is among these victims.
26 through 28 are 4.5 yellow players with worse trade value. As I said earlier, these guys are much more prone to stalling early and never hitting the glory assured among their peers. Paddock places on top because of his absurd pace, coming out of the draft an 84 overall at 20 years old. Guy can stall as soon as this offseason though so he’s a huge wild card. Due to the high ceiling, you could certainly value him higher, but you have to be careful with these guys.
Nickles (29), Yan (31), and Gettinger (34) are the remaining 3.5 greens on the list, with varying ages, overalls, and postions that carve distance between them. Yan can also be seen as more valuable due to his faceoff stat. Each still has the potential to grow and fly up the list, as is the case with many.
Felhaber (30) and Ponikarovsky (39) are both good 4 yellows with a chance of growing but Felhaber’s age gives him a large edge in a ranking with so little difference in value between the remaining players.
Zacha (32), Sprong (33), Petrovic (35) Bean (36), Lajoie (37), Crouse (38), and Day (44) are the remaining 4 green players on the list. Overall, age, and position factor into these placings. Bean and Petrovic are the only ones yet to stall, if I’m not mistaken. This is not necessarily damning for green star players but it certainly helps their chances of growing if they didn’t stall the previous season. Day is the weakest in each category and so he places much lower.
Barzal (40) and Taratukhin (41) are among the few players on this list with absolutely no chance at growing, but they are young 85s with solid stats so here they are.
The last players in the top 50 are Saarinen (42), Dubois (43), Erskine (47), Green (48), Karppinen (49), and Pickard (50) who are all low 4.5 yellows. They are on weak paces and may not even reach 85. They all have the potential to pass 85 though, so they are still quality prospects. They are once again organized by age, overall, and position. Saarinen is 82 at 21 while Dubois is 82 at 22 for example.
Expect to see a major shakeup in these rankings as guys like Kirwan, Felhaber, and Rymsha wouldn’t have made the list if I did this last offseason. This is the information we have now though, and so although there’s no guarantee one guy will be better than the other in 4 years, this list tells you who the best bets are right now.
