Revisiting our Top 20 prospect rankings at mid-season

Every August, here at FlamesNation we put together our Top 20 prospects rankings. Now that we’re well into the 2019-20 hockey calendar, at every level, let’s take a look at how the players in our Top 20 are faring so far this season

Age: 21

Acquired: first round selection in the 2017 NHL Draft

Valimaki had a bad break this summer, with his off-season knee injury occurring at roughly the same time he was anointed the top prospect via our staff vote. It’s still unclear if he’ll play at all this season. That said, it’s unlikely that any other player has done enough (yet) to topple him from the top of this list.

Age: 21

Acquired: second round selection in the 2016 NHL Draft

It’s hard not to be impressed by Dube’s progression since his draft year. He’s steadily improved from being a solid WHL prospect, into a really good WHL player, into a decent AHLer, into a really good AHLer. Over a full 82-game season he projects as a 30-point NHL player (and that’s presuming he doesn’t keep improving).

Dube’s played enough NHL games now that he won’t be eligible for the 2020 prospect rankings in the summer. He’s definitely earned his graduation.

Age: 18

Acquired: first round selection in the 2019 NHL Draft

Pelletier’s scoring has slowed down a bit since his return from his concussion, but he’s one of the top offensive producers in the QMJHL and on a stacked team that seems poised to go deep in the playoffs. Pelletier has another year in the Q left and will probably push for a World Junior gig next Christmas. He’s not quite as exciting as Valimaki in terms of his overall ceiling, but he’s a strong prospect who can help a team in a lot of different ways.

Age: 21

Acquired: sixth round selection in the 2016 NHL Draft

Much like Dube, Phillips is a guy that keeps progressing. He found another gear this season in the AHL prior to his kneecap fracture. Hopefully he’s able to get back before the playoffs, because he could be useful for either Stockton or Calgary in the spring. He arguably doesn’t have the dynamic qualities or offensive ceiling that other prospects on the list have, but he’s translated his game to the pros very quickly.

Age: 19

Acquired: sixth round selection in the 2018 NHL Draft

Once a curiosity to scouts due to his status as a YouTube sensation, Pettersen has grown into a legit NHL prospect. He’s not huge, but he’s found ways to score and develop. There’s already buzz that the Flames might try to sign him and get him to Stockton next season in an effort to help him translate his game; he’s already succeeded quite well as one of the youngest players in the NCAA.

Age: 20

Acquired: seventh round selection in the 2017 NHL Draft

Sveningsson’s progress hit a bit of a snag this season, as Oskarshamn has been on the receiving end of a few one-sided games in the SHL this season. It’ll be curious if he moves on to North America next season, especially if his team is relegated back to the second division. (He feels a bit too high on this list.)

Age: 19

Acquired: seventh round selection in the 2018 NHL Draft

Zavgorodniy took a step after being drafted, then took a big step this past season – in part due to being on a line with Cedric Pare and some guy named Alexis Lafreniere. He had tons of momentum before suffering a collarbone injury and it’ll be interesting to see if he can keep it going.

He should probably have been a bit higher on our list, and probably will take a leap this August.

Age: 20

Acquired: fourth round selection at the 2017 NHL Draft

Ruzicka was a very consistent 200-foot junior and it’s always curious to see how that type of player translates to the pros. So far, he’s having a quietly consistent season. He hasn’t blown the doors off, but he hasn’t struggled and seems to be adjusting.

Age: 23

Acquired: signed as free agent

As you can see, Yelesin has never been a high-end offensive player… at just about any level of hockey. But he managed to carve out a niche for himself in the KHL and so far he seems to be getting off to a decent start doing so at the AHL level.

Age: 20

Acquired: fourth round selection in the 2018 NHL Draft

It’s hard to judge Pospisil’s transition to the pros because he got clobbered by Colby Cave earlier this season and has been limited to just 10 games so far. But hey, he got a point at least since returning from that concussion and he seems to be rounding into form.

Age: 18

Acquired: fourth round selection in the 2019 NHL Draft

Nikolayev’s offense hasn’t taken a great leap forward yet, but he’s a rock-solid two-way player in Russia’s U20 league and his offense has had a very small uptick.

Age: 22

Acquired: second round selection in the 2016 NHL Draft

It’s really hard to place Parsons. He’s young. He has potential. But he’s spent two-thirds of his entry-level deal in the ECHL. But he’s progressed in the ECHL, albeit with some inconsistency still in his game. Until he’s played a full season and stayed healthy, it’s tough to completely buy into him or write him off.

Age: 21

Acquired: sixth round selection in the 2016 NHL Draft

Tuulola’s jumped around a bit over the past few seasons, but like Ruzicka he’s off to a solid if unspectacular start to his pro career in North America.

Age: 18

Acquired: seventh round selection in the 2019 NHL Draft

A .936 save percentage two seasons in a row? Eh, he’s okay.

Age: 19

Acquired: fourth round selection in the 2018 NHL Draft

The Sun Devils aren’t quite as good as they were last season, so everyone’s numbers have taken a bit of a dip. Koumontzis is still super young, but for now he’s settled into a secondary role with Arizona State.

Age: 24

Acquired: signed as a free agent

How old is Zagidulin? Well, he’s from the same draft class as Sean Monahan. He’s found a bit of consistency over the past few seasons, and now is adjusting to the peculiarities of the AHL game.

Age: 22

Acquired: signed as a free agent

Lerby is a model of consistency. He’s produced pretty consistently over the past three seasons for Malmo. He’ll be coming to play for Stockton next season.

Age: 22

Acquired: fourth round selection in the 2016 NHL Draft

Lindstrom was a bit of a project pick when the Flames nabbed him in 2016. But he’s actually progressed, going from being a fringe SHL player as a teenager and become a pretty useful one in his early 20s. It feels like he’s too low here. We’ll see what happens if he comes over next season, as his SHL contract expires this spring.

Age: 18

Acquired: fifth round selection in the 2019 NHL Draft

Nodler was a good USHL player and has played second and third line center on a decent college team. His offense hasn’t jumped off the page, but he seems to be making the transition to playing against men fairly well.

Age: 18

Acquired: fourth round selection in the 2019 NHL Draft

Feuk has played a good amount of pro hockey as an 18-year-old. He also moved from Sodertalje to AIK, and his offensive numbers have had a bit of an uptick. He’s playing a secondary role because of his age – and unless you’re an incredible player, that’s what tends to happen in Sweden – but he’s contributing and seems to be developing.

If you’ve been following our prospect reports lately, you’ve probably noticed that Glenn Gawdin and Luke Philp are killing it offensively for Stockton. Neither hit the Top 20 in August.

Yeah, that’s our bad.

We’ll get into their journeys later this week.

With the benefit of hindsight – and half a season – which players did we rank too high or too low? Where would you have placed Gawdin and Philp? Sound off in the comments!