Byron Bader
@ByronMBader
Creator of Hockey Prospecting Featured on Sportsnet, TSN & The Athletic [email protected] Insta: http://www.instagram.com/thehockeyprospecting
NHL TEAM PROSPECT POOL STRENGTH RANKINGS (JULY 2025)
Writing was on the wall the moment this pick was made in 2020. As soon as the Flames made the pick I thought there's little chance this guy plays at all in the NHL. Henrik Tallinder type impact is basically best case scenario with these guys. And those are the exceptions. Most…
In "things that only Ryan really cares about," hey look, Jake Boltmann is no longer listed on the #Flames reserve list on the media portal. Drafted in 2020, did five years of college (including a grad year), was not signed by Flames.
70% of all forwards drafted outside the 1st round that share this exact same progression and Spring/Summer birthdate have made the NHL (drafted since 1990). I like Lardis' chances.
Nick Lardis “My goal is to make the Chicago Blackhawks” This is a must watch for #Blackhawks fans! Nick Lardis talks dev camp, scoring 70+ goals, expectations for the upcoming year. Shoutout to @HotTakeHockey Great interview
Vilardi signs for 6 x $7.5M. Feels like a good bargain for Vilardi who is on the cusp of turning into a star. I'm sure the injury history played a factor in the contract value. Vilardi has never made it through an 82 game season. So you're probably getting 55-60 games out of…
Gabe Vilardi 6 x $7.5M Avoids arbitration with Jets
Team prospect strength rankings have been updated with the Howard/O'Reilly trade. As well, Jiricek was added to St. Louis' top 5 and Artamonov (somehow) was missing from Carolina's top 5. Adding Artamonov to Carolina's top 5 alone brought them up to a top 5 pool. Adding…
This is a bit of a wild one
TRADE: We’ve acquired defenceman Henry Thrun from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for forward Ryan Reaves
Tonight at 10pm ET, creator of Hockey Prospecting @ByronMBader joins @TonyMarinaro! #thesickpodcast
The model isn't great at determining defensive dmen. But some of the best shutdown dmen in the NHL at least look like reasonable NHL bets in the model after their D+3 (i.e., they outproduce their peers in their 18 to 21 yo development). They're rarely the ones with a 10% chance…
Delicious. This time around send the Flames the small skilled forward with tons of upside rather than the defensive dman who's a lonnnnngshot. And a 1st rounder. Cool? Cool.
Making room for Rasmus Andersson?
Zayne Parekh's track so far featured an equivalency of 12+ in his pre-draft year, an equivalency of 24+ in his draft year and 30+ in his post-draft year. Every one who has done this, drafted from ~1980 to ~2022, has turned into a star/superstar dman. Lane Hutson is the latest…
2nd year in a row the Oilers have made a trade for a substantial prospect that is going to have an influence on the overall team prospect rankings... days after I released team prospect rankings.
Isaac Howard for Sam O'Reilly straight up. Model thinks Edmonton did very well and Tampa didn't do as well.
We have acquired forward Sam O’Reilly from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for forward Isaac Howard. 📝: tbl.co/7-8oreilly
Good. Get those dollars.
Gavin McKenna Making $700K To Play At Penn State Is Going To Change Hockey Forever buff.ly/P7fZcQI
This is interesting... My faux Buffalo draft, which I've been running since 2020, would have these prospects: Graduated: Rossi, Clarke, Benson Top 5: L. Hutson, C. Hutson, Mateychuk, Helenius and Cristall Top Goalie Prospects: Khazheyev and Motorygin Other Notable Prospects:…
Right psyched up to see what type of interesting things happen with the model with players moving from the CHL to the NCAA. Good or bad. Havoc or calm. I look forward to the learnings.