1. Conor Geekie, C<\/strong><\/p>\nMay 5, 2004 | 6-foot-4 | 207 pounds | Shoots left<\/p>\n
Drafted: No. 11 in 2022
Tier: Bubble top and middle of the lineup player<\/p>\n
Skating: Below NHL average
Puck skills: Above NHL average
Hockey sense: NHL average
Compete: NHL average
Shot: Above NHL average<\/p>\n
Analysis:<\/strong> Geekie was up and down in the NHL to start the season with Tampa Bay, but was very good when they sent him to the AHL. He\u2019s only 20 and very talented, so I\u2019m not too worried about some bumps as a rookie pro. Geekie is an exciting prospect because he\u2019s a big center with very good offensive skills. He has great in-tight hands, makes tough plays to his teammates and has a big one-timer that can score from a distance. Geekie doesn\u2019t shy from using his big body, either. I think his overall effort level can waver, though. His skating has also long been an issue, and the NHL pace will be a problem for him. He will need to bring his A-game more consistently, but I think he works hard enough and has shown progress in that area over the years to where he could be a top-six forward, and potentially a second-line center.<\/p>\n2. Ethan Czata, C<\/strong><\/p>\nMay 29, 2007 | 6-foot-1 |174 pounds | Shoots left<\/p>\n
Drafted: No. 56 in 2025
Tier: Projected to play NHL games<\/p>\n
Skating: NHL average
Puck skills: NHL average
Hockey sense: Below NHL average
Compete: High-end<\/p>\n
Analysis:<\/strong> Czata\u2019s game developed well this season, becoming an important part of Niagara\u2019s team. He isn\u2019t going to land on many highlight reels, but he does a lot of things NHL teams will covet as a good-sized center who skates well and plays very hard. Czata shows no hesitancy to engage in physical play. He lands a lot of hits and drives the net consistently to generate offense. He has some touch with the puck, but doesn\u2019t have much creativity or vision. He projects as a bottom-six forward who could be a fourth-line center.<\/p>\n3. Sam O\u2019Reilly, C<\/strong><\/p>\nMarch 30, 2006 | 6-foot-1 | 190 pounds | Shoots right<\/p>\n
Drafted: No. 32 in 2024
Tier: Projected to play NHL games<\/p>\n
Skating: NHL average
Puck skills: NHL average
Hockey sense: NHL average
Compete: Above NHL average<\/p>\n
Analysis:<\/strong> O\u2019Reilly was an important center for London, playing on both special teams. He competes hard, creates a lot of offense at the net front and has physicality. He\u2019s a solid skater who can transition pucks and can skate at the top level. O\u2019Reilly has quality skill and vision, and tries to create offense in a direct, translateable way. I wouldn\u2019t call his puck play a true standout part of his game, though. London was a deep offensive team this year, and O\u2019Reilly didn\u2019t get the prime power-play minutes, which he likely will next season and will thus have a better chance to showcase his skill. Currently, he projects as a bottom-six forward or a fourth-line center.<\/p>\n4. Klavs Veinbergs, C<\/strong><\/p>\nMarch 27, 2003 | 6-foot-3 | 198 pounds | Shoots left<\/p>\n
Drafted: No. 224 in 2022
Tier: Projected to play NHL games<\/p>\n
Skating: NHL average
Puck skills: NHL average
Hockey sense: Below NHL average
Compete: Above NHL average<\/p>\n
Analysis:<\/strong> Veinbergs hasn\u2019t posted major scoring numbers, but the tools he has are very interesting for the NHL. He\u2019s a big center who moves quite well and has a lot of physicality in his game. He can be quite overpowering at the college level and has clear NHL-level athleticism. The question about his game is his level of offense. In the past, I haven\u2019t bought that he has enough skill for the NHL, and it\u2019s still probably on the bubble, but this year he displayed enough touch and offensive IQ to make me think he could be a bottom-six forward.<\/p>\n5. Niko Huuhtanen, RW<\/strong><\/p>\nJune 26, 2003 | 6-foot-3 | 198 pounds | Shoots right<\/p>\n
Drafted: No. 224 in 2021
Tier: Projected to play NHL games<\/p>\n
Skating: Below NHL average
Puck skills: NHL average
Hockey sense: Below NHL average
Compete: High-end
Shot: Above NHL average<\/p>\n
Analysis:<\/strong> Huuhtanen was one of the top scorers in Liiga last season. He wasn\u2019t quite as effective in the AHL, but his toolkit is still interesting for the NHL level. He\u2019s a big winger with good hands and a great shot. He can finish plays and do so from range. Huuhtanen is also quite physical, and can get under opponents\u2019 skins. His skating is heavy for the NHL, though, and I don\u2019t think he\u2019s an amazing playmaker. He projects as a useful depth forward for an organization.<\/p>\nHas a chance to play*<\/p>\n
Ethan Gauthier is a hardworking winger with good hands, speed and vision. The offense he displayed in the QMJHL isn\u2019t as top-end as once envisioned, but he has enough skill to potentially be a bottom-six winger who kills penalties.<\/p>\n
Dylan Duke, LW<\/strong><\/p>\nMarch 4, 2003 | 5-foot-10 | 176 pounds | Shoots left | Drafted: No. 126 in 2021<\/p>\n
Ethan Gauthier, RW<\/strong><\/p>\nJanuary 26, 2005 | 6-feet | 183 pounds | Shoots right | Drafted: No. 37 in 2023<\/p>\n
Jan Golicic, D<\/strong><\/p>\nJune 30, 2006 | 6-foot-5 | 194 pounds | Shoots left | Drafted: No. 118 in 2024<\/p>\n
Roman Luttsev, C<\/strong><\/p>\nApril 1, 2006 | 6-feet| 174 pounds | Shoots left | Drafted: No. 206 in 2025<\/p>\n
Harrison Meneghin, G<\/strong><\/p>\nSeptember 13, 2004 | 6-foot-4 | 174 pounds | Catches left | Drafted: No. 206 in 2024<\/p>\n
Benjamin Rautiainen, C<\/strong><\/p>\nJune 12, 2005 | 6-feet | 174 pounds | Shoots left | Drafted: No. 108 in 2025<\/p>\n
* Listed in alphabetical order<\/p>\n
Player eligibility: All skaters who are 22 years old or younger as of Sept. 15, 2025, regardless of how many NHL games they\u2019ve played, are eligible. Player heights and weights are taken from the NHL.<\/p>\n
Tool grades: Tool grades are based on a scale with six separate levels, with an eye toward how this attribute would grade in the NHL (poor, below-average, average, above-average, high-end and elite). \u201cAverage\u201d on this scale means the tool projects as NHL average, which is meant as a positive, not a criticism. Skating, puck skills, hockey sense and compete for every projected NHL player are graded. Shot grades are only included if a shot is notably good or poor.<\/p>\n
Tier definitions: Tiers are meant to show roughly where in an average NHL lineup a player projects to slot in.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
(Illustration: Will Tullos \/ The Athletic. Photo: Mark LoMoglio\u00a0\/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tampa Bay\u2019s system is thin, but the Lightning have done a decent job outside the first round, picking…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":174965,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[293,62,3106,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-174964","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-nhl","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-tampa-bay-lightning","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115090792521515920","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=174964"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174964\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/174965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=174964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=174964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=174964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}