Back with another deep drive on past BRHL drafts. You can find previous history here.

2017 - https://brhl.bestrunsports.com/article/view/941
2018 - https://brhl.bestrunsports.com/article/view/1007
2019 - https://brhl.bestrunsports.com/article/view/1180
2020 - https://brhl.bestrunsports.com/article/view/1093 

This years draft class had a lot of depth. It was hard ranking these players as there was a clear cut #1 in my opinion, followed by 2 or 3 more guys who can easily slot in any order from #2 to #5, depending on which position you value more. After the top 5, there is another inter-changeable group from #6 to #10. This draft defined the NHL Ottawa Senators as they ended up drafting the two best players in the draft. I am a really big fan of what Tim Stutzle and Jake Sanderson bring to the table. Even more so when one is a Centermen and the other a Defensemen. Tim Stutzle leads this draft class with 409 NHL points, 80+ more then 2^nd place.

The BRHL Tampa Bay Lightning walked away with this drafts two best defensemen in Jake Sanderson and Brock Faber. This was also a turning point for the Bolts as it marked their turnaround from their rebuild. Brock Faber comes in at #6, but I could also potentially see him cracking the top 5 on some lists. Both of these guys log big minutes in all situations and are their NHL teams best defensemen.

The NHL 1^st overall pick Alexis Lafreniere has had an up and down career. If he was more consistent, we would be talking about him in a potential top 3 spot, but instead he comes in at #9. The group of Alexis Lafreniere, Quinton Byfield, J.J. Peterka and Dawson Mercer are so close for me that you can interchange them. Byfield started out slow, but has really put it together the last few seasons. NHL points wise, Lafreniere does lead this list with 250 career points, but he has also played a lot more games then Byfield, Mercer and Peterka. Based off points per game, Peterka would easily lead this list with 197 points in only 320 games. Byfield isn’t too far behind with 191 points in 339 games. Peterka doesn’t bring much else to the table besides scoring, so he comes in at #10 for me. Dawson Mercer is a great two way player, while his PPG is lower then Peterka and Byfield, he is arguably the best defensive player between the three and comes in at #8. Byfield is also a responsible defensive player, his scoring tips the scales in his favor and comes in at #7.

The next group is tight as well and I probably had the most trouble ranking it. Jack Quinn, Dylan Holloway, Cole Perfetti, Marco Rossi and Luke Evangelista are all great players with different strengths and weaknesses. Ultimately, I decided Dylan Holloway’s 63 point season in 2024-2025 was the difference between himself and Jack Quinn for the #11 spot. Neither player is a dog on defense, but both have played some PK time in their careers and have the trust of their coaches. At #13, I have Luke Evangelista over #14 ranked Cole Perfetti. Perfetti took a step back this season, otherwise he would be ranked higher. Lastly, Marco Rossi comes in at #15. Rossi’s 60 point season is nothing to take lightly, and could be a player I rank much higher next season when we see a full healthy season in Vancouver.

At #16 on the list we have our first goalie. Yaroslav Askarov has a lot of potential to be one of the leagues best goaltenders, but he hasn’t been able to put it all together yet. He showed glimpses of it in San Jose last year. We may not see the best Askarov yet until the Sharks shore up the blue line. I might have Askarov lower on this list then many others, but I need to see more before I can be confident and place him higher.

The next group of players all have something different going for them. I have Jake Neighbours ranked #17, an oft-injured Tyson Foerster at #18, followed by a resurgent Yegor Chinakov at #19 and finally Alex Laferriere at #20. Foerster is one of those guys who I feel can be in the #11 to #15 range but injuries have slowed him down. Regardless, Foerster has the 4^th highest goals per game in this draft class, just behind Stutzle, Jarvis and Raymond, so those are impressive numbers. Jake Neighbours is one of those players who you just love to have in your lineup. He can shoot, hit and score, but he needs to round out his game in other areas. Chinakov could be a guy higher on this list as he has found his form once again in Pittsburgh. Lastly, Laferriere is in the same mold as Neighbours, just not as polished.

The next group sees some defensemen. There was a big drop off after Sanderson and Faber. Kaiden Guhle comes in at #21, followed by some grinders in Will Cuylle and Ridly Greig. Another defensemen in Jamie Drysdale comes in at #24. Guhle has logged big minutes for Montreal, but its pretty evident where he stands offensively. He’s your typical shut down defensemen with some secondary scoring ability (30 pt range). Jamie Drysdale is a different type of defensemen, not great defensively, but his offense is really starting to come together. He tied his career high in points last season with 32, which he also hit as a 19 year old. Drysdale should be able to improve on that this year, but without a two way game, he probably won’t move much higher on this list.

Another defensemen who we haven’t seen a whole lot of is Alexander Nikishin. He ranked #26 on my list, but only because we have one years worth of NHL data to work with. Nikishin in his first year has already surpassed Drysdale’s career high of 32 points, but Drysdale was also 19 years old when he did it. I can see myself moving Nikishin up this list if he flirts with another 40 points this year.

The biggest risers from last year show up towards the bottom of my list. These guys would have been left out entirely if this list was done one year earlier. Emil Heineman had a great year with 31 points, while also throwing a ton of hits. Jakub Dobes nearly came out of nowhere and became a starting goaltender in the NHL seemingly overnight. He is probably too low on this list considering what he has accomplished so far in comparison to Askarov, but I am betting on potential here and I feel like Dobes could be one of those hot and cold goalies. Reminds me a lot of Jaroslav Halak. Rounding out the bottom of the list is a player who take a big step back last season. Connor Zary was once looking like a sure thing top 6 winger for the Flames, but was injury prone last season and never fully found his footing. If Zary cannot bounce back this season, he could be on the outside looking in.

A few honorable mentions who failed to make the top 32, but could surpass some of these guys next season are Justin Sourdif, Tyler Klevin, Marat Khusnutdinov, Leevi Merilainen, Nico Daws and Devon Levi.

As is tradition, we have to point out the picks that were made in the first round that never panned out. Alexander Holtz (12^th overall – Toby) has been in and out of the NHL. Holtz may very well turn out to be a decent complimentary player when its all said and done. Roby Jarventie (28^th overall – Toby) had injuries derail his career. Thomas Bordeleau (30^th overall – Jared) may have played his last NHL games. Helge Grans (31^st overall – Joe Bub) played only 6 NHL games up to this point and lastly Noel Gunler (32^nd overall – Eric F) has made a career as a solid AHL player but nothing more.


Full list is below.