NHL Young Prospects: A Look at the Future of Hockey
The NHLPA’s annual rookie event offers a clear perspective on the youth of these prospects, especially in the context of hockey history.
Schaefer remembers visiting the offices of Upper Deck, the collectibles company that co-organized the event, and seeing images of his new coach’s previous life as a generational goalie. Roy is entering his third season as Islanders coach and his sixth season overall as an NHL coach. Schaefer has enjoyed their conversations in the offseason, but is ready to see the training camp side of his new coach. “I think he’ll be on the ice doing a lot of drills and pushing us. So, I can’t wait to be pushed,” he said. Schaefer was selected by the Islanders in the first overall position after 73 games with the Erie Otters of the OHL in the last two seasons, where he proved to be an elite passer and puck carrier. He signed his NHL entry-level contract in August. The Islanders haven’t hesitated to use Schaefer in their marketing, including a ticket sale offer that incorporated his number 48. However, he doesn’t take anything for granted, whether it’s being part of the team or playing on a lower line in his rookie season.“Yes, I heard he loves to win,” Schaefer said of Roy, who won four Stanley Cups, three playoff MVP awards and 551 games, which puts him third in history. “I heard he was very good in his time. Everyone loves to talk about him.”
Matthew Schaefer
If he makes the team, Schaefer would easily be the youngest player on an Islanders roster that features more than a dozen players over the age of 30. But Schaefer is comfortable with that age disparity. He has an older brother who is nine years older than him, which, he says, helps with communication. But he also won’t hesitate to seek guidance from his older teammates.“You don’t get things by default, do you? You have to earn it. You have to earn your place. I still have to earn my place on the team and that’s what I’m going to do in camp,” he said.
Matthew Schaefer
That being said, he knows there are certain expectations for a player of his age from his older teammates.“I think it’s good for me to have a bigger group where they can help me along the way,” he said. “A lot of guys have been in the league for so long that any advice they give me, I’ll take it right away.”
Matthew Schaefer
“Maybe I’ll have to take care of [their children] or something like that,” he said with a smile. “I mean, I wouldn’t mind.”
Matthew Schaefer
NCAA Rule Change: A Turning Point
Karsen Dorwart admits to feeling a little envious. The Philadelphia Flyers prospect was signed as an NCAA free agent after playing three years at Michigan State. He grew up in Oregon and was a big fan of the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League.For decades, that opportunity wasn’t available to young players like Dorwart. The NCAA considered anyone who played in the Canadian Hockey League ineligible for college hockey, because those junior leagues have players who have signed professional contracts with NHL teams and because CHL players earned a monthly stipend. Everything changed last November, when the NCAA Division I council voted to make CHL players eligible for NCAA Division I hockey starting this season. The council ruled that players can compete in the CHL, which comprises the WHL, the Ontario Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, without jeopardizing their eligibility for NCAA Division I hockey, as long as they are not “paid more than actual and necessary expenses as part of that participation”. Players like Dorwart no longer had the binary choice of Canadian junior hockey or NCAA hockey. That has already led to a moment that changed the landscape of college hockey, as Gavin McKenna, the consensus choice for the first overall pick in the 2026 NHL draft, left the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers after three seasons to sign with Penn State University in a NIL deal “in the range” of $700,000, according to a source.“I always wanted to play in Portland. Growing up, watching those guys. It just decided that it wasn’t the right path for me,” he said. “But if I could do both, I’m sure I would have.”
Karsen Dorwart
Gavin McKenna announces his engagement to PSU
Minnesota Wild defenseman Zeev Buium, who played at the University of Denver, commented on the impact of this new rule. “I think everyone gets better. You’re getting guys from everywhere and now you can get anyone you want. I just think it makes all of college hockey better.” Ben Danford, a defensive prospect for the Toronto Maple Leafs, said the NCAA’s eligibility decision “changed the game for sure” for both college hockey and the CHL, where he played for the Oshawa Generals. “We’ll have to see what happens. I feel like maybe the OHL will get a little younger,” he said. In general, NHL prospects were more intrigued by the migration of players from Canadian junior leagues to the NCAA.Dorwart believes the eligibility rule change is excellent for NCAA hockey, even if for him it could have meant more time as a Winterhawk in Portland than as a Spartan at Michigan State.“I think the NCAA is a tough league. It’s a physical league. So I’m really excited to see how those guys can adapt to it,” said Jimmy Snuggerud, a forward for the St. Louis Blues, who attended the University of Minnesota.
Jimmy Snuggerud
“Now you’re getting the best players from the university. I had to meet some of the new CHL guys at Michigan State, and they’re super excited and it’s just going to be great for everyone’s development,” he said. “But it’s something I’m envious of. I think it would have been fun to play in my hometown growing up.”
Karsen Dorwart
“19-year-old” Rule in the AHL
Another significant change in player development is on the horizon, if the NHL and the CHL can come to an agreement. In the new NHL and NHLPA collective bargaining agreement, there is a provision for teams to loan a 19-year-old player to their AHL farm team without the need to first offer that player back to his Canadian junior team. The current rules state that a player drafted from the CHL must be at least 20 years old or have played at least four full seasons in the CHL to be eligible for the AHL. The new CBA will come into effect next September. While other rule changes were fast-tracked for this season, the earliest date the “19-year-old” rule would be implemented is the 2026-27 season, according to an NHL source. Again, that is pending the NHL and CHL agreeing to amend the “mandatory return rule” for players.Zayne Parekh of the Calgary Flames is glad the AHL rule didn’t get fast-tracked for this season. Parekh, 19, is considered the Flames’ top prospect and one of the best offensive defensemen on the rise in the NHL. He made his NHL debut at the end of last season, scoring a goal in his only game. According to his point of view, having the “mandatory return rule” puts pressure on Calgary to add him to the roster this season.“Honestly, I’ve been very curious about that rule,” said Berkly Catton, a 19-year-old center prospect for the Seattle Kraken who played for the Spokane Chiefs of the WHL. “Honestly, as of right now, all I can really do is go to camp, have a good camp, and somehow force their hand. But that AHL rule would be really cool.”
Berkly Catton
Parekh is exactly the type of prospect the NHL is thinking of when looking to change the “mandatory return rule.” He had 107 points in 61 games with the Saginaw Spirit last season, recording consecutive 33-goal campaigns. Even if the Flames believe he isn’t ready for a regular role in the NHL, having him dominate another season in the minor leagues wouldn’t benefit him as much as playing against professional talent in the AHL.“I think it’s good not to have it because I’m really going to get a good chance to get on the NHL team,” he said. “Maybe it will benefit me, maybe not, but it all depends on my camp. The opportunity is there. It’s about taking advantage of it.”
Zayne Parekh
Seattle’s prospect was reminded of the significant jump in competition when he attended the Kraken’s training camp last season, which was one of the reasons he focused on strength training in the offseason. “These guys are men. It’s not a 16-year-old kid going into a battle for the puck. It’s a guy with kids and stuff like that, but you have to come out with the puck somehow,” Catton said.“Sometimes you’ve done what you’re supposed to do in the minor leagues. That kind of in-between ground could be nice if you need to develop a little more,” Catton said.
Berkly Catton
NHL Uniform Analysis
Each year, the NHLPA rookie event offers a first look at the NHL uniform redesigns for the upcoming season.(Well, it’s the Blues). Meanwhile, Tij Iginla donned the new home uniform of the Utah Mammoth, sporting the team’s official colors: Rock Black, Mountain Blue, and Salt White. Iginla said he likes the new logo of the former Utah Hockey Club, which combines a local mountain range, a mammoth head, and U-shaped tusks.“They are very blue,” said Snuggerud.
Jimmy Snuggerud
Iginla followed the drama of the brand for his team during the past year, even when everyone in the NHL believed the team would be called Utah Yeti.“I really like it. I think it’s a super fierce logo. One of the coolest in the league,” said Iginla, who was drafted sixth overall in 2024. “So super, super cool to wear it for the first time.”
Tij Iginla
“I thought Yeti would have been cool, but I like both. I don’t think they could have gone wrong,” he said. “I’m happy with the Mammoth.”
Tij Iginla
Beckett Sennecke’s Design
Beckett Sennecke, 19, was drafted third overall by the Anaheim Ducks in 2024. The winger played last season for the Oshawa Generals of the OHL, accumulating 86 points in 56 games. He’s on his way to becoming an NHL player. Perhaps then it will be him who is recognized at the airport instead of his mother. Sennecke is Candice Olson’s son. In 1994, after playing for the Canadian national volleyball team, Olson started her own interior design company in Toronto. Seven years later, she joined the home improvement television boom with her show “Divine Design”, which aired on W Network in Canada and HGTV in the United States. She would then host other shows and serve as a judge on the HGTV reality competition show “Design Star” until 2011.Her fame as an HGTV star preceded Sennecke’s formative years. Therefore, her friends weren’t really aware that she had a famous mother.“She had a TV show back in the day called ‘Candice Tells All’ or something like that. She would go in and redo the interiors of houses and then make a TV show about it. I guess it was pretty popular back in its day,” Sennecke said.
Beckett Sennecke
Sennecke said he couldn’t help but have an aesthetically pleasing home while growing up: his father is an architect.“No, it was an older program. It was more like people at the airport coming up to her and saying, ‘Oh, it’s Candice!’ She gets that probably once or twice a year now,” he said.
Beckett Sennecke
So, along with the pressure of making it to the NHL someday, there’s the added pressure of eventually buying his first house as the son of an architect and a former “Design Star” judge.“It’s like a double curse. If I don’t have a nice house… I don’t know,” he said. “But yes, they did a good job for sure.”
Beckett Sennecke
“I’m sure my mother will be inside and in those things,” he said. “Especially the lighting. That’s her biggest concern. Whenever there’s bad lighting, she always dislikes it.”
Beckett Sennecke
