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yesterday, John Fischer reveals the outsider In our 2024 Top 25 Under 25 rankings. Today, we take a look at the top five that made it into the rankings. With so much roster turnover this year, it’s no surprise that we have some new faces and promotions into the top 25, but there are also two players who fell off last summer in the top five that were revealed. Let’s take a look.
#25 – Samu Salminen – C/F – Age: 21 – 2023-24 Team: University of Connecticut (NCAA) – 2023 Rank: 18 Elite Prospect Profiles
Samu Salminen briefly rose into the top 20 last year before falling back to a familiar 25th place this year. Despite the departures from the rookie talent pool, Salminen’s slight decline makes sense as the forward only scored 17 points in 35 games last season for the goal-starved Huskies. All in all, it was a disappointing season, but not fatal to the power forward’s development.
But it’s not all bleak. Salminen is set to join University of Denver next season. The big-bodied winger has a lot of the tools to be a productive player. Hopefully, a move to a more offensive-minded team will help Salminen score more often, much like another former Husky and recent Devils prospect Artem Schlain.
Salminen has taken a strange path since being drafted by the Devils in the third round (68th overall) of the 2021 NHL Draft. As an NCAA aspirant, the Finnish forward had to stay with the lower U20 Jokerit team to remain eligible. Then, Salminen’s first NCAA season was postponed. Visa Issuesso it would be easy to view his 17 points in 27 rookie games as a correction year after a late start. Last season dispelled that analysis. However, Salminen should not be viewed as a potential rookie just yet.
The Huskies’ lack of team scoring ability should not be underestimated. Last season, Denver University scored 202 Compared to University of Connecticut 90Salminen accounted for about 19% of all Huskies’ goals last season, a percentage that would rank him fifth among Pioneers and, considering Denver’s second-highest scorer is defensive phenom Zev Buim, could put him firmly in the top two. In other words, if Salminen accounts for the same percentage of his new team’s goals as he did with the Huskies, he would average more than a point per game with his new team. We look forward to seeing how Salminen performs with his new team in the upcoming season.
#24 – Kasper Pikkarainen – W – Age: 18 – 2023-24 Team: TPS (Liiga) – 2023 Rank: N/A Elite Prospect Profiles
Piakalainen is a dynamic winger selected by the Devils in the third round (85th overall) of this year’s NHL Draft and he had a strong debut, benefiting from being a fresh face in a reduced draft pool. Since Piakalainen’s career hasn’t changed much since the draft, you should read John’s excellent pre-draft review of the winger hereFor those who don’t want to click on the link, a brief overview of Piakalainen’s path to an NHL future is below.
Piakalainen grew up in Finland’s TPS system and really peaked last season, scoring 56 points in 38 U16 games in the 2021-22 season before moving from D-1 to U18 the following year, scoring 24 points in 39 games. Piakalainen played primarily in the U20s last season, scoring a respectable 28 points in 34 games, and got a taste of the pros with a five-game call-up to the TPS Liiga club.
Pikkalainen next season Signed with Red Deer Rebels Western Hockey League. Playing in North America should help the winger fine-tune his game and work towards earning an ELC spot, which could happen as early as next summer. Next season is sure to be a big year in the development of the big winger. We wish him the best of luck.
#23 – Daniel Orlov – D – Age: 20 – 2023-24 Team: Spartak Moscow (KHL) – 2023 Rank: 29 Elite Prospect Profiles
Russian defenseman Daniil Orlov has been slowly rising up the rankings over the past few years, and this year he enters the top 25 for the first time at No. 23. Orlov became a full-time KHL player on Spartak’s blue line last season, appearing in 60 games and recording seven points, so this promotion is well deserved. While the point totals are not amazing, such results are rare for young Russian defensemen, and although Orlov played strongly in transition, he has always been a more defensive-oriented defenseman.
When Orlov was drafted, his weakness was his ball handling skills. Austin Kelly Dobber Prospects UpdatesOlof has been more confident with the puck this season, which is a big plus for his development. This is probably why the transition to the KHL has been so smooth for the young defenseman.
Olof is an interesting case because the solid guard tends to get overlooked for more well-known, higher draft picks in the Devils’ system, so it’s nice to see him get some recognition this year. Olof has two more seasons left on his contract with Spartak. After that, the hard-hitting guard will be free to sign with the Devils. If Olof’s trajectory continues on its current path, one would think the Devils would want to sign the young guard at that time, assuming he’s not being used as a trade chip as the Devils are already loaded with young guards. Time will tell. For now, we wish Olof the best with Spartak.
#22 – Mikhail Yegorov – G – Age: 18 – 2023-24 Team: Omaha Lancers (USHL) – 2023 Rank: N/A Elite Prospect Profiles
Yegorov is the first goalie to be selected in the top 25 on this year’s list, and his inclusion is mainly due to his recent draft experience. He was selected in the second round (49th overall) when the draft pick was Acquired in the John Marino trade In last year’s NHL draft, Yegorov was also ranked as the best goalie in North America by the Central Scouting Bureau.
After a successful U17 campaign with CSKA Moscow in the 2022-23 season, the skilled Russian goalie made the jump to North America to play for a very bad Omaha Lancers team. Due to the Lancers’ porous defense, Yegorov was eliminated in the USHL, finishing with a record of 8-25-3, a 3.87 goals-against average, and a save percentage of .892%. However, the talent is still there, as shown by Yegorov’s ranking and the fact that Boston University recruited the Russian goalie for next season. Hopefully, Yegorov can find a spot for Boston University.
#21 – Ethan Edwards – D – Age: 22 – 2023-24 Team: University of Michigan (NCAA) – 2023 Rank: 20 Elite Prospect Profiles
Left-handed defenseman Ethan Edwards slipped one spot from last year’s list due to injuries. He missed the first half of last season. Recovery after shoulder surgeryEdwards performed well in the games he played, totaling 10 points in 21 games, which is respectable for a guard known for his skills in transition and on the defensive end.
It’s worth noting that while Edwards technically dropped one spot in this year’s rankings, the defender actually tied for the No. 20 spot on this year’s list. As always, the community broke the tie, and Edwards ended up in the bottom five of the top 25. We’ll find out next week who beat Edwards in the tiebreaker to take the No. 20 spot.
As an undersized defensive player, even with a high skill level, Edwards’ path to the NHL is difficult, but not impossible. Since Edwards will be a senior at the University of Michigan this season, and there is no news of Edwards signing with the ELC, he may end up with another organization. The Devils’ lack of defensive potential talent is well known, and Edwards may very well look for better opportunities elsewhere. Whatever happens, Edwards is healthy this year and ready to get the ELC somewhere. We wish him the best of luck.
Ranking
Here’s how you rank these players:
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One thing that stands out in the data is that no one had all five of these players in their individual top 25. As for the rankings themselves, Kaspar Pikkarainen and Samu Salminen were the closest on this list, separated by just 0.14 points. Salminen edged out defenseman and rookie Daniil Karpovich by about 0.7 points to grab the final spot in the top 25. As mentioned earlier, the community tiebreaker placed Edwards at #21. Next week we’ll find out which player was chosen by the community to be #20. Finally, the biggest gap between the five is between Mikhail Yegurov and his compatriot Daniil Orlov, with a difference of just over 2.5 points.
Your opinion
Now it’s time to tell us what you think. How do you rank these players? How does your list compare to the stats? Leave your meaningful comments below.
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