Elite Prospects' 2026 top 100 under-23 NHL-affiliated skaters ranking

The Elite Prospects’ under-23 series is back! 

This year has been a particularly exciting one, as Matthew Schaefer, Beckett Sennecke, and others have shattered expectations, while plenty of movement in both the prospect spheres and among the older players in the ranking has occurred. 

Of course, every ranking needs a philosophy. Here’s what we did for this one: 

First, we looked at upside and the role we anticipated the player would occupy in their prime. That’s easier said than done, as upside comes in many different forms, from high-powered scoring to shutdown centres. 

Then, proximity to achieving that upside was considered. That makes the list very NHLer-dominant in the upper stretches, with the first prospect appearing at No. 25. But, later in the board, where roles are less certain for NHLers, and others may have more development runway, prospects appear more and more frequently. 

As always, we looked at other factors, too: Production, usage, advanced stats, organizational fit, trends, etc.

To keep things simple, the criteria are this: Born September 16th, 2002 or later, ensuring the entirety of the 2021 NHL Draft class is eligible. Re-entries picked in 2021 aren’t eligible.

For grades, we used our 1-9 scale, which is essentially 4-9 for this project, with 9 being arguably the very best in the NHL, 7 being top-six/top-four-calibre, and 5 being NHL-calibre. 

With the preamble out of the way, here’s our top-100 skaters. Be on the lookout for our top-25 goaltenders and team-by-team ranking!