Welcome to PHR’s Big Hype Prospects series. Like the MLB Trade Rumors series of the same name, we’re taking a look at the performances of top prospects from across the hockey world. We’ll look at drafted prospects who are rising, others who are struggling, and prospects for the upcoming draft who are notable.
Five Big Hype Prospects
Arshdeep Bains, LW, Vancouver Canucks (Abbotsford Canucks, AHL)
17GP 3G 18A 21pts
With 21 points in just 17 games this season, the 22-year-old Bains is shaping up to be a developmental success story for the Canucks. As trades and poor drafting has dried the team’s pipeline of young talent, the organization has relied on signings of high-scoring WHL products. Tristen Nielsen, who scored 41 points for Abbotsford last season, is also an example of this but the true gem signing thusfar has been Bains.
A five-year WHLer with the Red Deer Rebels, Bains only truly broke out in his overage season in the WHL. Before that point, his career-high was 18 goals and 51 points in 63 games. Then in 2021-22 he put together a stunning season with 43 goals and 112 points in 68 games.
That campaign earned Bains an entry-level contract with the Canucks, who put him in their middle-six in the AHL for the following season. He had a solid rookie year but not a dominant one, scoring 13 goals and 38 points.
So far this season, Bains has been one of the best scorers in the entire AHL, and he’s currently on pace to score 86 points over the course of a full season. Of course, he could very well end up in the NHL before he gets the chance to put together a potentially MVP-winning AHL season.
Many high-scoring overagers from the CHL struggle to translate their offense to a more demanding pro-environment. That hasn’t been a problem for Bains thus far this year.
Jacob Fowler, G, Montreal Canadiens (Boston College, NCAA)
12-3-1 2.04 GAA .929 sv%
Despite posting an 8-1 record and .952 save percentage in the USHL playoffs en route to a Clark Cup Championship, Fowler did not hear his name called until the third round of the 2023 NHL draft, after several goalies had already been selected.
Concerns over Fowler’s fitness from scouts led to many teams opting for more athletic prospects such as Adam Gajan or Michael Hrabal, but so far this season Fowler has arguably performed the best out of any of 2023’s goalies.
Playing for a Boston College program that could very well compete for a national championship, Fowler has started 16 games and gone 12-3-1. Almost every one of his starts has been a quality one, and he currently has a .929 save percentage and just a 2.04 goals-against-average.
Perhaps more importantly, Fowler has addressed concerns regarding his fitness. According to Radio Canada’s Marc-Antoine Godin, Fowler has cut his weight down from 220 pounds at the time of the draft to 200 pounds now, crediting both time in the gym as well as a “serious change in his nutrition.”
Not only has Fowler had no issue carrying over his USHL brilliance to the college level, he now seems to have seriously addressed one of the most significant question marks surrounding his NHL projection.
Although the Canadiens drafted three goalies in 2023, the early portion of this season has indicated that it’s Fowler who is most likely to end up the Canadiens “goalie of the future.”
Moving forward, all eyes will be on whether Fowler is able to unseat Michigan State starter Trey Augustine as the expected number-one goalie for Team USA at the upcoming World Junior Championships.
Axel Sandin-Pellikka, RHD, Detroit Red Wings (Skellefteå AIK, SHL)
23GP 8G 4A 12pts
One of the most talented offensive defensemen in the 2023 draft class, the early returns on Sandin-Pellikka have been strong. The right-shot blueliner has firmly established himself as an SHL-caliber player after playing in just 22 league games last season, and he has excelled in multiple areas.
Not only is he playing a heavy dose of minutes (he gets legitimate top-four ice time) but he’s also scoring goals at a far higher rate than is typically expected of a defenseman, let alone an 18-year-old one. Sandin-Pellikka is on pace to score 18 goals in a 52-game season, assuming he can keep this pace up.
The Red Wings selected Sandin-Pellkka 17th overall at the 2023 draft in large part due to confidence that his tantalizing offensive tools would translate into meaningful production at higher levels of hockey.
Although it’s still early, the Red Wings have to be encouraged by how well his dynamic, pace-pushing game has adjusted to one of the top leagues in the world.
Vasili Atanasov, C, Free Agent (Nizhny Novgorod Torpedo, KHL)
35GP 17G 15A 32pts
One of the most challenging things any prospect faces is making the adjustment from playing against one’s peers in a junior league to playing against men in a professional environment. Many players fail in that environment, unable to translate what made them so successful at lower levels to a heightened level of competition.
For Atanasov, a 21-year-old undrafted forward, that adjustment has finally come in 2023-24. A former top scorer at Russia’s junior level, Atanasov has taken the reins of head coach Igor Larianov’s Torpedo squad and is now on pace to score 32 goals and 60 points.
Atanasov possesses a similar physical profile to Canucks star Andrei Kuzmenko, who did not become a point-per-game KHL scorer until his mid-twenties. Atanasov could very well be at that point at 21 years old, which would bode well for his NHL projection should he have any interest in crossing the Atlantic.
Seeing as Kuzmenko turned a 53-point KHL campaign into a 39-goal, 74-point NHL rookie season the following year, if Atanasov can keep up his scoring pace he’ll likely be a highly in-demand free agent the moment he offers his services to NHL clubs.
Zeev Buium, LHD, 2024 Draft Prospect (University of Denver, NCAA)
16GP 5G 16A 21pts
With Russian “unicorn”Anton Silayev soaking up early-season headlines with his breakout rookie KHL season, other defensemen in the 2024 draft class have gotten less attention than they might otherwise have received. One of those blueliners deserving of more hype is Buium, a leading freshman for the Denver Pioneers.
A U.S. National Team Development Program product, Buium is the brother of one of the Red Wings’ best defensive prospects, Shai Buium. The younger Buium has more of an offensive touch than his older brother, and has a similar physical profile, listed now as six-foot-two on Denver’s team website.
Despite the fact that he is a draft-eligible prospect, Buium has firmly placed himself in the conversation for the upcoming World Junior Championships. He’s scored 21 points in his first 16 NCAA games, and could very well end the campaign with one of the best pre-draft college hockey seasons by any defenseman in recent memory.
A well-rounded player with strong skating and a good mind for the game, Buium has already risen sharply on NHL draft boards, and at this point it would be a surprise if he did not hear his name called in the draft’s first round.