Steven Ellis of the Daily Faceoff provided his ranking of the top 10 Vegas Golden Knights prospects and provided strengths and weaknesses of the Golden Knights’ prospect depth chart.
The Vegas Golden Knights have continued to prioritize the now, and not the future, so their prospect pool is one of the worst in the NHL.
But as long as they’re competitive, that’s all they need to care about.
For @DailyFaceoff: https://t.co/cvG1oYwhl7
— Steven Ellis (@SEllisHockey) August 16, 2024
The Golden Knights have become notoriously known for trading away their first-round draft picks for proven players to help them win a Stanley Cup. Due to that, they have just two of the franchise’s eight first-round picks in their system.
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Because of the numerous trades, their depth and star potential from their prospect pool are significantly lower. They’ve had to attempt to find possible stars and future role players in the later rounds which is incredibly difficult, forcing Ellis’ biggest strength about the Golden Knights’ prospect pool to be vague.
“The Golden Knights have some decent (at best) wing depth, with Connelly leading the way. He’s a future top-six forward, giving this group a huge boost with how skilled and determined he is with the puck. But it goes a bit deeper, with Brendan Brisson and Mathieu Cataford both showing signs that they could still be something, while Ben Hemmerling and Jakub Brabenec have some bottom-line potential. With a bit of everything, it’s a good spot to be in.”
Related: Trevor Connelly Is The Most Skilled Golden Knights Prospect
Ellis’ weakness about the Golden Knights’ prospect pool revolves around the lack of possible star power beyond Trevor Connelly. Brisson and Cataford could be middle-six players but likely won’t move the needle anywhere near the way Connelly could.
“There just isn’t much to get excited about here. Beyond Connelly, we’re talking about mostly depth players at most positions. The Golden Knights have traded so many impact players to get players they need in the moment, and it paid off in 2023. But I truly feel confident about just one player in this pipeline being able to play more than 200 games in the NHL, with others (like Brisson and Cataford) being more long-shot options to become full-time players.”
Related: Golden Knights Prospect Mathieu Cataford Participates in Canada’s 2024 World Junior Summer Showcase
Ellis’ top 10 Golden Knights prospects came as many would expect with Connelly, Brisson, Matyas Sapovaliv and Cataford leading the way.
1. Trevor Connelly
2. Brendan Brisson
3. Matyas Sapovaliv
4. Mathieu Cataford
5. Lukas Cormier
6. Carl Lindbom
7. Pavel Moysevich
8. Arttu Karki
9. Ben Hemmerling
10. Jakub Brabenec
It was expected that the Golden Knights would have one of the weaker prospect pools in the NHL due to their philosophy. With their current financial state, the Golden Knights may be more inclined to keep and develop many of their prospects but GM Kelly McCrimmon has never been afraid to break the mould and shock the hockey world.
Make sure you bookmark THN’s Vegas Golden Knights site for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.
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