The Athletic Hockey Show Prospect Series
Episode: Who has the NHL’s best prospect pool?
Release Date: April 10, 2026
Hosts: Max Boltman & Scott Wheeler

Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into The Athletic’s annual NHL prospect pool rankings, as curated by Scott Wheeler. With most teams’ playoff fates settled and fans looking to the future, the discussion explores how organizations are building for tomorrow, who boasts the brightest pipelines, and key prospects making waves. Max Boltman and Scott Wheeler break down the methodology, major risers and fallers, and analyze standout prospects and systems across the league—all with a focus on real organizational impact and critical insight for fanbases primed for new hope.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Methodology and Ranking Philosophy

• Timing Adjustment: This year’s rankings were released post-trade deadline, instead of the usual post-World Juniors cadence, to capture the final form of each team’s prospect pool after all major transactions ([02:38]).
  • Scott Wheeler: "This way, this is the final picture of the pool immediately after the deadline. Nothing is going to change. And I've really enjoyed that part of it because it feels a little firmer in terms of, the, the pool rankings." ([02:51])
• Graduation Criteria: Decisions about who qualifies as a “prospect” (e.g., Artie Levshunov vs. Sam Dickinson) involve subjective cutoffs based on age, games played, and organizational context ([26:53], [27:32]).
• Top-Heavy vs. Depth Debate: Some pools have elite prospects at the top, while others stand out for deep tiers of solid NHL contributors ([04:52]).

2. Top Prospect Pools: Chicago vs. San Jose

Chicago Blackhawks (#1)

• DEEP Talent Well: Chicago edges out San Jose on the strength of a vast, deep pool—even their 7th-10th best prospects project as future NHLers ([04:52]).
  • Scott Wheeler: "There's just such this mass of players... way down their list. So there's that piece of it." ([08:58])
• Highlighted Prospects: Anton Frondell, Roman Cancerov (KHL scoring leader), Sam Rinzel, Nick Lardis (70+ OHL goals last year, 30+ pro goals this year), Oliver Moore, Kevin Korchinski, Marek Vaneker, Sasha Boqvist, AJ Spellisy, Drew Canneso, Mason West ([05:22]–[09:53]).
• Recent Debuts: Frondell’s outstanding NHL start (6 pts in 8 games as a teenage rookie, 18+ min TOI) further affirms Chicago’s ranking ([10:56]).
  • Scott Wheeler: "He seems to have found some immediate chemistry with Connor Bedard and Ryan Green on that line." ([10:56])

San Jose Sharks (#2)

• High-End Star Power: San Jose claims arguably the best player at each position among prospects—Michael Misa (F), Sam Dickinson (D), Joshua Ravensburgen (G), with Igor Chernyshov as an impactful AHL/CHL riser ([05:11]).

• Supporting Cast: Eric Polkamp (Hobey Baker hat trick finalist), Quinton Musty, Philip Beastet, Luca Cagnoni ([05:56]).

• Weakness: Depth beyond their top names presents more “question marks” than Chicago’s system ([07:16]).

• Scott Wheeler: "If you're just looking at those top four, I think there's a very compelling case for the San Jose Sharks... But you start to compare those players... and that's where the divisions started to happen at the top." ([07:14])

Rounding Out the Top 10

• Tier 2 (Interchangeable 3–9): Calgary (#3, due to Zane Parek & Cole Reschni), Utah Mammoth, Nashville, Detroit, Seattle, Philadelphia, Montreal ([13:29]–[19:50]).
• Calgary Flames: Leaped into the top 3 with difference-makers (Parek, Reschni, Matt Vey Gridden, Wittenbach), impactful trades (Abram Wieb, Jonathan Castagna), and more high picks upcoming ([13:29]–[16:18]).
  • "There's suddenly something there... now suddenly if you can get that star forward prospect to slot alongside Zane Parek, now suddenly you have something to build from in Calgary." – Scott Wheeler ([15:39])

3. Notable Prospect Spotlights

• Alexander Jurovsky (Montreal Canadiens): Major riser, historic KHL U19 campaign, now seen as a steal (2nd round pick, top-10/15 redraft value) ahead of David Reinbacher in Montreal’s own rankings ([20:53]).

  • Scott Wheeler: "With Zarovsky, you've got this highly, highly skilled player in a 6’2 frame and the statistical track record after a huge, huge year in the KHL—suddenly it's like, oh boy, this kid looks like a top 10, top 15 talent." ([21:45])

• Igor Chernyshov (San Jose): Found-money AHL breakout after injuries, now a potential top-six forward ([05:49], [24:37]).

• Roman Cancerov (Chicago): Led KHL in scoring, key cog in Chicago’s depth advantage ([08:29]).

• Anton Frondell (Chicago): Immediate NHL impact (6 pts in 8 as a teenager), allays speed/pace concerns, next focus is positional future (center or wing) ([10:56]–[12:58]).

4. Biggest Risers and Fallers

Risers

• Calgary Flames: See above.
• New York Islanders: Added Kishan Aitchison and Victor Eklund (via Noah Dobson trade) and Callum Ritchie to revitalize a previously thin pool ([39:20]).
• Pittsburgh Penguins: Deep group now at #16 (formerly among the weakest), with a quality-quantity approach—though still lacking a clear future star ([39:48]).
  • "Not only do they now have five or six guys that you think might play... But you've also just got depth." – Scott Wheeler ([40:03])
• Philadelphia Flyers: Jump to #8 driven by star freshman Porter Martone (immediate NHL impact), solid supporting picks, but missing a true future 1C ([47:12]–[50:36]).
• Boston Bruins: From league-backmarker to #19, powered by James Hagens and breakouts from Dean Letourneau and others; own and (potentially) Toronto’s 2026 first-rounders ([52:08]).

Fallers

• Minnesota Wild: From #2 last year to #23 now, due to aggressive “win now” trades for Quinn Hughes, loss of top prospects (Ogren, Bouilliam, Yurov, Rossi, Youracek), developmental struggles, and thinned future pipeline ([28:22]–[33:04]).
  • “You have not— not abandoned, but pretty close to abandoned the future foundation... which they had built. They were number two in this project just a year ago.” – Scott Wheeler ([28:22])
• Columbus Blue Jackets: Now at #17, hurt by Caden Lindstrom’s stalled development (4th overall pick, missed expectations), lack of high-end ceiling, compared unfavorably with peers ([33:57]–[37:42]).
  • "That's a tough pick at fourth overall and you watch Ivan Demidov and what he's doing in Montreal this year..." – Scott Wheeler ([36:18])
• Toronto Maple Leafs & Senators: Low pool rankings with little impactful depth, posing long-term strategic concerns ([33:04]).

5. Goalie Prospects: Perception vs. Reality

• Sergey Maroshov (Pittsburgh): Exceptional AHL numbers, but lacks ideal size and high-end upside; compares to Kosa (Detroit) who ranks higher thanks to physical assets ([42:52]–[46:24]).
  • "I've always felt about Maroshov like this is a tandem goalie...but I've never quite got there to where I am on, on Fowler and, and even not just Cosa, but I think potentially Augustine." – Scott Wheeler ([43:36])
• Russian Goalie Factory: Russian-trained goalies continue to outperform at NHL level (e.g. Shesterkin, Vasilevskiy, Sorokin), but scouting them is challenging due to limited international exposure ([46:24]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On San Jose vs. Chicago:
  • "There were only two teams in the conversation for number one, and there was sort of a clear top two in this year's countdown. And that was... the San Jose Sharks and the Chicago Blackhawks... The interesting conversation... is that they look very different." – Scott Wheeler ([05:01])
• On Second-Round "Steals":
  • "It's much harder than you think to actually find a real contributor, much less like a top-six piece at the, at the turn of the, of the first and second round." – Max Boltman ([25:06])
• On the importance of development, not just drafting:
  • "...Iowa has just been kind of a place where those D prospects go to sit and not take that next step... They’ve had a really tough time developing some of their young defensemen." – Scott Wheeler (on Minnesota, [29:03])
• On Pittsburgh’s approach:
  • "That pairing of Wes Clark and Kyle Dubas have always been a sort of quality-quantity [guys]... they have focused on moving back and acquiring bullets and making a lot of picks.” ([39:48])

Timestamped Highlights

• [02:38]: Scott explains the change to a post-trade deadline ranking methodology.
• [04:52]–[10:09]: Deep dive into Chicago and San Jose’s systems; pros and cons at each tier.
• [13:29]: Calgary’s emergence as a top-three system.
• [20:53]–[24:37]: Montreal Canadiens prospect Alexander Jurovsky, found-money example.
• [28:22]: Minnesota Wild post-contendership pipeline collapse.
• [33:57]: Columbus Blue Jackets’ worrying slide.
• [39:48]: Pittsburgh’s methodology and goaltending debate.
• [47:12]: Philadelphia Flyers and Porter Martone's hot start.
• [52:08]: Boston’s revival: Hagens, Letourneau, and a critical crop of up-and-comers.

Final Thoughts

Scott and Max provide a comprehensive and nuanced overview—the lists and prospect nuggets are just the start. Their discussion puts rankings into real, practical team-building perspective while highlighting how development, trades, and good fortune can rewrite an organization’s path to contention.

For more detail on any team’s rankings or prospect profiles, consult Scott Wheeler’s full writeups at The Athletic.

End of summary. For timestamps on specific prospect discussions or teams not mentioned here, refer to the detailed segments above.