Youth is always served in The Hockey News' Prospects Unlimited issue, and in the coming days, you will get a taste of what's to come in hockey.
Our annual list of the top 100 players 21-and-under is compiled by Ryan Kennedy, and while he uses our Future Watch rankings as a resource, this is a completely independent compilation.
Future Watch is based on a survey of NHL scouts, while the PU Top 100 is cobbled together by Kennedy based on his projections of what the players will be once they hit their primes.
Since players reach that apex at different times depending on their position, take that to mean we are projecting how good these forwards will be when they are 23 or 24 years old, the defensemen when they are 24 or 25 and the goalies when they are 25 or 26.
The birth year cutoff for this year’s list is 2004, so Edmonton’s Matt Savoie (born on Jan. 1, 2004) was eligible, but Minnesota’s Danila Yurov (Dec. 22, 2003) was not. Ages noted are as of Oct. 1.
There is no limit to how young a player can be for the list, but since it’s incredibly hard to project what the future holds for a 13-year-old, you won’t find any on this ranking. In fact, the youngest player on the list is Maddox Schultz of the Regina Pats, a 2010 birth year and the first overall pick in the 2025 WHL draft.
As we share the top 100 list on TheHockeyNews.com, you can see the full list with player bios and draft information for each of them right now by being a subscriber to The Hockey News and accessing the Archive or by opening the magazine if you've already received it in your mailbox.
Let's begin with the players ranked from 81st to 100th. Player bios were written by Kennedy and Jared Clinton.
100. Maddox Schultz, C, 15 years old, Regina (WHL)
NHL Draft: 2028
99. Konsta Helenius, C, 19, Buffalo Sabres
Rochester (AHL)
98. Daniil But, LW, 20, Utah Mammoth
Tucson (AHL)
97. David Reinbacher, D, 20, Montreal Canadiens
Laval (AHL)
96. Harrison Brunicke, D, 19, Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh (NHL)
95. Easton Cowan, RW, 20, Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto (AHL)
94. Mathis Preston, C, 17, Spokane (WHL)
NHL Draft: 2026
93. Will Horcoff, C, 18, Pittsburgh Penguins
Michigan (Big Ten)
92. Ben Kindel, C, 18, Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh (NHL)
91. Oliver Moore, C, 20, Chicago Blackhawks
Rockford (AHL)
90. Tanner Molendyk, D, 20, Nashville Predators
Milwaukee (AHL)
89. Semyon Frolov, G, 18, Carolina Hurricanes
Spartak Moscow Jr. (Rus.)
88. Charlie Cerrato, C, 20, Carolina Hurricanes
Penn State (Big Ten)
87. Emmitt Finnie, LW, 20, Detroit Red Wings
Detroit (NHL)
86. Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, RW, 19, Detroit Red Wings
Grand Rapids (AHL)
85. Liam Ohgren, LW, 21, Minnesota Wild
Iowa (AHL)
84. Simon Nemec, D, 21, New Jersey Devils
New Jersey (NHL)
83. Jonathan Lekkerimaki, RW, 21, Vancouver Canucks
Vancouver (NHL)
82. Dalibor Dvorksy, RW, 20, St. Louis Blues
Springfield (AHL)
81. Brock Cripps, D, 16, Prince Albert (WHL)
NHL Draft: 2027
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