Projecting NHL Arrival Dates for the Top 25 Prospects in Hockey

Though still eligible for the next Calder Trophy, whenever that will be doled out, New York Rangers forward Chris Kreider has, in essence, already arrived on his team. It is hard to deem it an accident when a prospect bolts college a year early, joins a first-place team’s playoff run on the fly and produces seven points in 18 games.

The same goes for Washington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby, who figures to be an NHL regular,  especially now that Tomas Vokoun has been dealt.

Naturally, though, both youngsters will be joined by an an abundance of fresher company whenever the next NHL season begins. If that next season should not arrive until 2013-14, the influx of new fixtures will only increase as those ready for this year and ready for next year would come in simultaneously.

Assuming they will have a chance to enter The Show in 2012-13, here is a glance at the not-too-distant future of the top players who have yet to see substantial NHL action.

Sven Baertschi

Coming off an otherworldly two-point-per-night rate in major junior last season, the 20-year-old Baertschi joins Roman Cervenka and Jiri Hudler as part of the Calgary Flames' offensive overhaul.

For the time being, he will be acclimating to a more mature age group by spending the lockout with the AHL’s Abbotsford Heat. So far, for what two games are worth, he is averaging a goal and an assist per night, which only strengthens the notion that he is an inevitable fixture once the NHL reopens.

Nathan Beaulieu

For the moment, the Montreal Canadiens have a quantitative logjam on the blue line with eight NHL-caliber defensemen. The constituents in question are Josh Gorges, P.K. Subban, Andrei Markov, Alexei Emelin, Tomas Kaberle, Francis Bouillon, Raphael Diaz and Yannick Weber.

That group is not likely to stay intact beyond the 2012-13 season, especially not if the injury-plagued Markov does not improve and if Weber or the aging Bouillon are not renewed.

For Beaulieu, the trajectory of the Habs' defensive composition certainly ought to mean that he will permanently settle in no later than 2014-15, but quite possibly in 2013-14.

Jonas Brodin

Now 16 months removed from being chosen 10th overall in the 2011 draft, Brodin is still hard to envision as a regular NHL defenseman with his relative lack of brawn. Depending on the source, his weight is somewhere between 166 and 180 pounds or perhaps a middle ground of 172.

With that said, he should start seeing action in Minnesota no later than 2013-14. How much he plays will depend especially on what becomes of Justin Falk, Steven Kampfer, Marco Scandella and Jared Spurgeon in the 2013 free-agency period.

If he is not ready to permanently graduate from the AHL by 2014-15, the final year of his entry-level contract, well, maybe there’s a problem. No need to think the worst, though. Two full or partial minor-league seasons ought to suffice in honing Brodin.

Matt Dumba

The coming season might be a little too soon for Dumba, just as it is with Brodin, his fellow Minnesota defensive draftee.

But the Wild’s top choice from this past summer is developing beyond his years and demonstrating a much more assertive flair that matches his position’s general job description.

Assuming he stays the course, it will be hard for internal competition to keep Dumba out of Minnesota’s lineup come 2013-14.

Emerson Etem

A worst-case scenario has Etem staying in Norfolk for the start of the season, but being in the very front of the line for prospective offensive call-ups. Naturally, a smattering of promotions is inevitable in any full or shortened NHL campaign.

With that said, do not rule out Etem immediately becoming a full-time Anaheim Duck once the team resumes normal business.

Filip Forsberg

Even two months before the lockout took effect, the Washington Capitals noted on their website that Forsberg was likely to remain in his native Sweden for another year. That plan applies regardless of whether anybody dons a Caps uniform within the next eight months.

Forsberg, who just turned 18 in August, is already having a breakout campaign for the top-level Leksand team. He went from an 8-9-17 scoring log in 43 games last season to 7-4-11 in 12 outings so far.

At that development rate, he ought to be one of, if not the most competitive newbie in the fight for an opening at Washington’s 2013 training camp.

Alex Galchenyuk

Because the Canadiens have enough NHL-seasoned forwards to fill five lines, the odds are against Galchenyuk muscling through that gridlock to crack the roster within the next year.

That is perhaps just as well for all parties concerned. It enables him to return to the Ontario League looking for a more fulfilling campaign after he missed all but eight regular-season and playoff games with an injury in 2011-12.

However, seeing as he is off to a 13-point start through 10 games this season, a little congestion clearance up front may be all Galchenyuk needs to debut in 2013-14.

Brandon Gormley

An offseason overhaul in Phoenix has paved a fairly smooth road of opportunity for Gormley, who can compete with David Rundblad and David Schlemko for a regular roster spot in 2012-13.

When and if he is not suiting up, he will at least be practicing and standing by to fill in as injuries and illnesses strike his peers. Going in, though, his skill set could give him an upper hand on his internal competitors.

Mikael Granlund

While finishing his teen years in Finland, Granlund swelled his year-to-year output in his second season after being drafted ninth overall by the Wild in 2010.

Minnesota virtually had a regular spot reserved for him to begin this fall, but he will fall back on a more gradual transition to North America with an indefinite AHL gig in Houston.

Mikhail Grigorenko

The sizable center and top draft choice by Buffalo last summer is second in Quebec League scoring with more than two points per game for the Quebec Remparts.

In that regard, Grigorenko has had enough time and done more than enough to make the case for a stand-in/bottom-six position with the Sabres when/if they get the OK to return.

Dougie Hamilton

Boston Bruins head coach Claude Julien foresees Hamilton cracking the roster with no further delay beyond the lockout.

Even if he does not suit up every single night, occasionally giving way to the more seasoned likes of Aaron Johnson or Garnet Exelby, Hamilton will be leaned on to bring effective shooting and playmaking to the point.

That holds especially true regarding the power play, for which he could be an effective specialist, even while he is acclimating to his day job on defense at the NHL level.

Jonathan Huberdeau

Huberdeau is leading the Saint John Sea Dogs with another production rate that easily exceeds a point per game. In turn, he is strengthening the notion that, at least in his specialty on offense, he can be sufficiently challenged at no level lower than the NHL.

The Panthers, who have finished among the league’s bottom four with less than 2.5 goals per night each of the last three seasons, have nothing to lose bringing Huberdeau on board without hesitation.

Evgeny Kuznetsov

In early June, almost two years after he was selected by the Capitals in the 2010 draft, Kuznetsov signed up for an additional two seasons in the KHL, citing a desire to remain in his native Russia until after it hosts the 2014 Winter Olympics.

The young forward’s output in arguably the sport’s best overseas circuit has done nothing to decelerate his progression into becoming an NHL player. It is safe to assume that he will finally relocate to North America at the start of the 2014-15 and have the ideal skill set and seasoning to contribute handsomely.

Given the time that remains until then, one thing that is not so certain is whether there will still be an opening for him in Washington or if he will provide his NHL services to another team.

Jacob Markstrom

For the immediate future, Markstrom figures to follow roughly the same regimen as he did in 2011-12, namely playing the bulk of his time in the AHL with maybe a few slivers of action with the Panthers.

Florida has Jose Theodore under contract for one more season and journeyman backup Scott Clemmensen through 2013-14. Depending on what kind of shape the 36-year-old Theodore is in at the conclusion of his contract and whether Florida is still in the running for Roberto Luongo, the Panthers could start giving Markstrom a hefty NHL workload next year.

If Theodore remains with the Panthers after the next free agency period, Clemmensen could be swapped out so as to let Markstrom bridge his way up with at least one full year as Florida’s backup. The towering youngster could face a similar scenario if Luongo is acquired in lieu of Theodore.

Ryan Murphy

By most accounts, there is sufficient blockage along the defensive portion of the Carolina Hurricanes depth chart for Murphy not to concern himself with cracking the roster this season.

Next year, judging primarily by the organization’s blue-line landscape, Murphy could find himself traveling through the Carolina-Charlotte pipeline. Whether that would prove enough to constitute his NHL arrival will be seen, but odds are he can be a regular no later than 2014-15.

Ryan Murray

With the addition of free agent Adrian Aucoin, the Columbus Blue Jackets now have a game-night quorum of six defensemen with at least one full season of NHL experience.

At the least, Murray, the team’s No. 2 overall pick last summer, could beat out fellow youngsters Tim Erixon and David Savard for the top spare slot and fill in as needed. Afterward, especially if the grizzled Aucoin is gone after his one-year contract expires, Murray ought to have a full-time role by 2013-14.

However, there is no reason to assume that Murray could not leapfrog the likes of John Moore and play the bulk of the 2012-13 NHL schedule.

Griffin Reinhart

Barring any additional free-agent or trade acquisitions, the Islanders are bound to have at least one inexperienced NHL defenseman on their bench for the majority, if not the entirety of the coming campaign.

The fourth overall pick in last summer’s draft, Reinhart could be in a position for at least a few spurts of baptismal fire in 2012-13. His likelihood of appearing on a regular basis should increase if the lockout stops just short of abolishing the season, but lasts long enough for him to make a sound post-draft impression in major junior.

But NHL season or no NHL season, Reinhart should indisputably arrive on Long Island no later than the autumn of 2013.

Morgan Rielly

Rielly constitutes the Maple Leafs’ highest draft pick since 2008, when they selected a somewhat similar player (size-wise, anyway) in Luke Schenn at the exact same No. 5 overall slot.

Schenn was promptly brought on board and the same could hold true for Rielly if he continues to impress in major junior while the lockout drags on.

But even if the NHL season (or non-season) passes without Rielly debuting in Toronto, he should at least be expected to settle in with the big club by 2013-14.

Mark Scheifele

This Monday will mark one full year since Scheifele played his seventh game with the Winnipeg Jets, who subsequently returned him to his major junior club in Barrie.

That Winnipeg has added Olli Jokinen and Alexei Ponikarovsky on top of 12 other NHL-caliber forwards suggests that the club is not planning to have Scheifele plunge in right away. On the other hand, his start to the current campaign with the Barrie Colts suggests he cannot realistically be expected to be playing at lower levels much longer.

Another reasonably sized stint with the Jets in 2012-13 is not out of the question and can be a wise way to phase in Scheifele full time, effective at this time next year.

Justin Schultz

A lockout lasting several months could be a boon for Schultz as he dips into the professional ranks and begins with the Oilers’ AHL club in Oklahoma City. If a minor-league assignment is a less-than-desired arrangement, as it is generally viewed, then this ought to be a case of prevention trumping remedy.

Depending on Shultz;s performance and when Edmonton revives normal business, an AHL stint now could mean averting the need for any reassignments in the future. Schultz’s full-fledged NHL arrival should be no later than the conclusion of the 2013-14 campaign.

Jakob Silfverberg

Silfverberg is leaned upon to such a degree that he along with Mika Zibanejad could constitute two rookies among the top nine Ottawa Senators forwards in the next NHL season.

Ryan Strome

Strome will be old enough for the AHL by the start of 2013-14, but may not need much, if any more development time. If there is a 2012-13 NHL season, he might even jump late in the campaign―a la Kreider with the rival Rangers―if the Islanders are playing after the Niagara Ice Dogs have closed up shop for the summer.

Vladimir Tarasenko

Tarasenko’s story in St. Louis all but mirrors that of Baertschi in Calgary and Granlund in Minnesota.

The only difference is that the other two are passing the time in the AHL while Tarasenko has extended his KHL career. The common thread is that all three are waiting to promptly plug a gaping hole reserved for them on their respective NHL depth charts.

Nail Yakupov

If his consensus evaluation as the top forward in the 2012 draft pool and subsequent No. 1 overall selection did not cement Yakupov as a shoo-in for the next NHL season, his point-per-game start to his KHL interlude should.

Mika Zibanejad

Like his countryman Silfverberg, Zibanejad is slated to remain with the AHL’s Binghamton Senators for as long as the NHL is at a labor standstill. Once that is resolved, the sizable Swede can expect anywhere from semi-regular to regular action in Ottawa as the next NHL season marks the genuine launch of his career.