Juraj Slafkovsky Ranked Ahead of Leo Carlsson in the NHL’s U23 Division

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
Juraj Slafkovsky Ranked Ahead of Leo Carlsson in the NHL’s U23 Division
Credit: Matt Garies/NHLI via Getty Images

When has a ranking ever failed to get people talking?

Yesterday, Corey Pronman ranked the 32 NHL teams based on the quality of their under-23 players. The Canadiens came in third on the expert's list.

This takes established players into account, not just prospects.

What caught people's attention was the fact that the ranking of the Habs' players as a group had some flaws. For example, Jacob Fowler was the 13th player on the Canadiens' list.

Adam Engstrom is ranked 10th—he's knocking on the NHL's door and playing well in Laval.

But despite all that, he isn't in Pronman's top 156—Pronman ranked the top prospects from all 32 organizations in the Bettman league in his most recent article on prospects, which are ranked based on their long-term potential.

Vadim Moroz is on the list, but not Engstrom? That makes sense, I suppose.

In fact, the Canadiens have seven players among the 156 who were ranked. Notably, Juraj Slafkovsky is ranked fourth in the NHL, behind Macklin Celebrini, Connor Bedard, and Matthew Schaefer.

The Sharks player is the only one in the “elite” category, and Bedard, Schaefer, and Slaf are the only three in the “star” category of Pronman's rankings. I didn't expect to see the Canadiens winger ranked so high… or even ahead of Leo “hostile offer” Carlsson.

Ivan Demidov, meanwhile, is ranked eighth—the last spot in the “near-star and top-line player” category of the rankings. Leo Carlsson, Logan Cooley, and Beckett Sennecke are ahead of him in that category.

Lane Hutson, meanwhile, is ranked 11th, behind Adam Fantilli and Michael Misa. There are also four other Canadiens players on the list.

  • Alexander Zharovsky (55)
  • Gleb Pugachyov (56)
  • David Reinbacher (73)
  • Michael Hage (93)

We thought Hage was a bit underrated, so seeing him so far down the list might come as a surprise. I don't think he's guaranteed to become an NHL star, but…

But neither is David Reinbacher.


In a nutshell

– Check it out.

– Interesting.

– Worth a read.

– Is he still playing?

– Indeed.

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