Welcome to these prospect ramblings. I just wanted to do a quick touch base on one for the most important times in keeper leagues: the World Junior Championship. Why is this important, you may ask, well this is the best time to get a prospect with a low chance to make the NHL hyped enough to upgrade your roster. This was a theme from (I believe) old Dobber Hockey writer Jeff Angus and it works great to either improve your roster to win this season. There is also a possibility to improve your roster if you are rebuilding, where you trade for a young struggling player to take a chance on for less than you normally would.

The key is to look for drafted players outside of round one, as those players usually are already hyped up, and look for them in prominent roles on international teams with minimal stars. Another thing to look for are late drafted players on more stacked teams, picked later, that may be playing quite close to a potential star (i.e., if some late pick is on a line with a Connor Bedard, a third wheel on a top line, or a defenseman in a top four role). One more spot I thought of recently, was players drafted more as a bottom-six forward or defenseman that will likely be in the shutdown role in the NHL.

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These are just my best guesses of course. Here we go:

Aatos Koivu – 2024 Round 3, 70^th overall, Montreal Canadiens

Koivu is a fine player and a fine prospect, but he is highly unlikely to be an impactful fantasy NHLer. If he puts up good scoring numbers with Finland, he should be someone you can add to trades and not just on name value or your homer GM Habs fan

Julius Miettinen – 2024 Round 2, 40^th overall, Seattle Kraken

Miettinen is producing quite well in his third WHL season for the Everett Silvertips, and maybe I am more biased towards the current structure of the Kraken where every player just seems like a 45–55-point player only, but he does not seem more than the usual type of Kraken player. Miettinen should be used in a scoring role for Finland

Adam Benák – 2025 Round 4, 102^nd overall, Minnesota Wild

Benák should be a top producer for the Czechs, despite his small stature. There is a high probability he will not make the NHL based on his draft placement and size. Benák is a good player to flip for a roster upgrade.

Vaclav Nestrasil – 2025 Round 1, 25^th overall, Chicago Blackhawks

This is more of a personal preference, so if I am wrong down the line I apologize, but I just do not see that high of an upside here. If he makes the NHL, Nestrasil seems like he would be a solid middle-six player that maxes out at ~50 points. Feel free to ignore this one if you are high on Nestrasil

The starting Canadian goalie: Carter George (2024, round 2, 57^th overall, Los Angeles Kings), Jack Ivankovic (2025, round 2, 58^th overall, Nashville Predators), and Joshua Ravensbergen (2025, round 1, 30^th overall, San Jose Sharks)

Canada’s goaltending again seems shaky, but if one of these players can grab the starting role and run with it then they would be a solid flip. All three are recent picks and could take upwards of five years to even get a back up role in the NHL. If you want to win now, then trade them.

This also goes for any drafted goalie prospect in the tournament I am highlighting Canada here because goaltending is usually the teams Achilles heel (minus the 2025 WJC when it was the coaching and roster constructions more than anything)

Cole Beaudoin – 2024, round 1, 24^th overall, Utah Mammoth

Many view Beaudoin as more of a two-way forward than a big scorer. If Beaudoin can carve out a high point total, I would recommend flipping him for an upgrade

EJ Emery (2024, Round 1, 30^th overall, New York Rangers) and Ben Danford (2024, Round 1, 31^st overall, Toronto Maple Leafs)

Both of these players are seen as more of good two-way shut down defensemen than high scoring ones. You’re late pick in a prospect draft can be flipped if they put up a good number of points and praise

Teddy Stiga – 2024 Round 2, 55^th overall, Nashville Predators

Stiga always appears to raise his game for big moments, however, that does not translate well to overall fantasy hockey. That does lean towards a great flip if he can put on a show for Team USA at the WJC

Linus Eriksson – 2024, Round 2, 58^th overall, Florida Panthers

Eriksson is being given a top six role with Sweden, and that will have him line up with some high upside players. That could mean some easy points for Eriksson, which could also mean a flip down the line, especially if you can convince your rival GM that the Panthers will need skilled young players eventually

Jack Berglund – 2024, Round 2, 51^st overall, New York Rangers

Berglund will be wearing the C for Sweden at the WJC and should be relied upon all over the ice. He was drafted as a big two-way player and not so much for his offense, and if there is quite a bit of offense there then flip him for help. He may still be available in many leagues

Maxim Schäfer – 2025, round 3, 96^th overall, Washington Capitals

Germany will need some scoring forwards and Schäfer is one that was drafted to an NHL team with experience in the tournament. He is a long shot to make the NHL, so if he has a big tournament then: sell, sell, sell

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Thanks for reading. I will do another one of these at the end of the tournament for high point producers that could be smart to flip.

Follow me on Twitter (X is such a dumb name) @FHPQuinn

Pat Quinn