Defensemen
Topi Niemelä
Very reliable and smart two-way defenseman who will join the rush and get involved offensively. Reliable defensively already at young age which bodes well for his NHL future.
Maxime Lajoie
Middle-pair defenseman with some offensive upside. Likely an AHL, depth call-up at this stage of his career.
Hunter Brzustewicz
A mobile and intelligent defender who moves the puck efficiently. He excels at transitioning the puck and finding open teammates for long passes. However, consistency is a concern.
Marshall Rifai
Smooth-skating, physical blueliner who could become a depth piece at the NHL level.
Daniil Ustinkov
Smooth-skating two-way defenseman who excels on the breakout. Adding more aggressive offensive tendencies could solidify his middle-pair potential.
Veeti Väisänen
A mobile, reliable defensive defenseman that plays an effective, simple game.
Hugo Gabrielson
An offensive-minded defender who can run a powerplay in the future.
Declan Chisholm
A left-shot defenseman with great offensive instincts. An intelligent decision-maker who skates well with the puck and consistently starts a rush with exceptional outlet passes—projects as a third-pairing defenseman with a middle-pairing upside that will contribute offensively and produce on a powerplay unit.
Jeremy Langlois
A smart, puck-moving defenseman who has an excellent shot.
Mikhail Gulyayev
Undersized but dynamic puck moving defenseman who defends well despite his physical limitations. Could grow into a serviceable top-four defender with the ability to drive offense and quarterback a powerplay at the NHL level.