The online countdown of the top 100 hockey players aged 21-and-under comes to an end with the top 20.
The Hockey News' Prospects Unlimited issue's annual ranking of hockey's youngest talent 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 different positions have different prime years, 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. Ages noted are as of Oct. 1.
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.
Catch up on the players ranked 21st to 40th, 41st to 60th, 61st to 80th and 81st to 100th.
20. Keaton Verhoeff, D, 17 years old, North Dakota Fighting Saints
NHL Draft: 2026
19. Porter Martone, RW, 18, Philadelphia Flyers
Michigan State (Big Ten)
18. Tij Iginla, C, 19, Utah Mammoth
Kelowna (WHL)
17. Juraj Slafkovsky, LW, 21, Montreal Canadiens
Montreal (NHL)
16. Zayne Parekh, D, 19, Calgary Flames
Calgary (NHL)
15. Artyom Levshunov, D, 19, Chicago Blackhawks
Chicago (NHL)
14. Landon DuPont, D, 16, Everett Silvertips (WHL)
NHL Draft: 2027
13. Anton Frondell, C, 18, Chicago Blackhawks
Djurgarden (Swe.)
12. Michael Misa, C, 18, San Jose Sharks
San Jose
11. Zeev Buium, D, 19, Minnesota Wild
Minnesota (NHL)
The super-skilled blueliner may have only just finished his college career, but he's already seen some big-game NHL action. Go to the full feature on Buium by clicking here.
10. Beckett Sennecke, RW, 19, Anaheim Ducks
Anaheim (NHL)
9. Matthew Schaefer, D, 18, New York Islanders
NY Islanders (NHL)
8. Matvei Michkov, RW, 20, Philadelphia Flyers
Philadelphia (NHL)
7. Ivan Demidov, RW, 19, Montreal Canadiens
Montreal (NHL)
6. Leo Carlsson, C, 20, Anaheim Ducks
Anaheim (NHL)
5. Lane Hutson, D, 21, Montreal Canadiens
Montreal (NHL)
4. Gavin McKenna, LW, 17, Penn State Nittany Lions (Big Ten)
NHL Draft: 2026
3. Adam Fantilli, C, 21, Columbus Blue Jackets
Columbus (NHL)
2. Connor Bedard, C, 20, Chicago Blackhawks
Chicago (NHL)
Although the Blackhawks have struggled the past two years, they have one of the game's premier young stars in Connor Bedard. If they can continue to get better and add help, other teams better watch out. Go to the full feature on Bedard by clicking here.
1. Macklin Celebrini, C, 19, San Jose Sharks
San Jose
There's no denying the fact it's been a tough cruise for the Sharks the past few years. But with Macklin Celebrini leading the way, San Jose is posed to get back on track. Go to the full feature on Celebrini by clicking here.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.