Who Are The NHL Bound Players?

Written by Bob Turow and The Dan K Show Staff

When the NCAA ruled to allow CHL players to be eligible to play NCAA D1 hockey, I immediately made 3 predictions:

1) The vast majority of North America’s best 16- and 17-year-olds would play in the CHL,

2) For NCAA D1 to remain relevant to the NHL, D1 would have to take these elite players from the CHL when they were 18 and 19-year-olds,

3) If NCAA D1 doesn’t secure these elite players, NCAA D1 will turn into U-Sport and in 3-5 years and produce almost no NHL players.

With the help of the 2024 NHL Draft and the 2025 NHL Central Scouting mid-term rankings, we have identified who these North American elite players are and will track where they play over the next 2 seasons. Why? To see whether the CHL will host these players before they advance to the NHL/AHL or whether D1 Hockey advances these elite players to the NHL.

The NHL identified the group of 2006 birth years (and some later birth 2007-September 15th to December 31st) at the 2024 NHL draft. This is who the NHL believes have the best chance to be NHL players. As of February 14, 2025:

1) 68 of these players have signed NHL Entry Level Contracts (ELC) which makes them NCAA Ineligible.

2) 35 of the 68 players are in the CHL and will advance to pro from the CHL.

3) 31 are playing in Europe and more than likely will advance to the NHL/AHL from European leagues.

4) 2 NCAA players have signed ELC’s, including the 1st overall pick Macklin Celebrini.

5) The remaining 124 North American skating NHL draft choices from 2025 who have not signed an ELC can play either NCAA D1 or CHL in 2025-2026. We will track this progress to see where they play and when they sign.

NHL Central Scouting has identified the best players in the world for 2025 NHL Draft with their Central Scouting mid-term rankings. Of the Top 100 North American Skaters and Top 5 North American Goaltenders, here is where they are currently playing:

1) 68 of these players are in the CHL

2) 25 are in the USHL

3) 8 are in NCAA D1

4) 4 are playing high school

The Recruiting Battlefield - 229 players

1) All 124 North American unsigned 2024 NHL Draft choices,

2) The 105 best North American players listed by NHL Central Scouting for the 2026 NHL Draft.

Forget where these players are playing now because everyone of them can switch leagues for 2025-2026.

Here is the current list of 229 and you can follow updates when players sign ELC’s and where they commit to playing in 2025-2026 with Hockey101 at The Dan K Show.