An intro to all 17 prospects who moved at the NHL trade deadline
At the 2024 NHL trade deadline, the Golden Knights traded their top prospect, the Hurricanes used their pool of intriguing young talent to land the best player available, and several teams completed one-for-one swaps.
Here's an intro to all 17 prospects dealt over the past week.
David Edstrom, C, 19, Golden Knights ➡️ Sharks
Teams don't often trade their top prospect at the deadline, but that's exactly what the Golden Knights did this year.
Edstrom adds to the Sharks' growing core of Swedish prospects, joining William Eklund, Filip Bystedt, Mattias Havelid, and Magnus Chrona.
A 6-foot-3 center with impressive results in the Swedish men's league, it's easy to see what the Sharks like in Edstrom.
The 32nd overall pick in last summer's draft, Edstrom's tallied 19 points in 42 games with Frolunda. Most impressively, he leads the team in goal differential and has outscored the opposition 15-5 in his even-strength minutes.
Edstrom's a two-way pivot who projects to play a top-nine role in the NHL. He'll need to show more offensive upside to become a top-six player and will have a chance to showcase that at the 2025 world juniors.
Ville Koivunen, LW, 20, Hurricanes ➡️ Penguins
It's understandable if you were underwhelmed by the package the Penguins received for Jake Guentzel. General manager Kyle Dubas opted for quantity over quality, welcoming four good - but not great - assets to Pittsburgh.
Each piece has top-nine upside, with the best of the bunch being Koivunen.
Koivunen's 55 points in 58 games are the most by an under-21 player in the Finnish league since Saku Koivu in 1995. Additionally, he leads his team with a 55.7 Corsi For rating.
It's fair to have some reservations considering Koivunen didn't do much in his AHL stint at the end of last season and barely scored in two world juniors. That said, he's having a legitimately great season in Finland as a 20-year-old.
As a highly intelligent, dual-threat winger, the Penguins likely hope Koivunen can help the NHL club sooner than later after his breakout campaign.
Jack Thompson, RHD, 21, Lightning ➡️ Sharks
It was impressive work from GM Mike Greir to snag Thompson in the Anthony Duclair trade.
Thompson is a 6-foot-1 right-shot defenseman who's been a captain in the OHL, featured on Team Canada's blue line at the world juniors, and has been productive in two AHL seasons.
He ranks top five among AHL defenders with 17 power-play points this season after featuring on the Syracuse Crunch's top unit. Thompson's not afraid to let it fly, as his 250 shots on goal are top 10 among the same group since he turned pro in 2022-23.
The San Jose Barracuda are already playing him on their top pairing with Shakir Mukhamadullin, a duo we could see with the Sharks before long.
Right-shot blue-liners are always in demand, so getting a prospect with No. 4-5 upside is quality business from San Jose, especially considering the minuscule cost to acquire Duclair in the summer.
Quick hits
Jan Mysak, RW, 21, Canadiens ➡️ Ducks
The Czech forward struggled significantly in his first two AHL seasons, tallying just 11 points in 62 games. A hard forechecker, he has 13 goals in 48 contests this season and will look to build on that positive momentum in San Diego.
Riley Damiani, C, 23, Stars ➡️ Flames
After winning AHL Rookie of the Year in 2021 with 36 points in as many games, Damiani's production has slipped each season since. He gets a fresh start in Calgary, where there will be a much better chance to get into the NHL lineup.
Artem Grushnikov, LHD, 20, Stars ➡️ Flames
A very good skater and strong defender, Grushnikov adds a different element to Calgary's system. The significant lack of offense is a concern, but his intriguing defensive tools make him a better prospect than his numbers let on. The hope is he can become a top-four, shutdown defender - though he's more likely to top out as a No. 6 or depth option.
Ty Smith, LHD, 23, Penguins ➡️ Hurricanes
A member of the NHL's 2021 All-Rookie team, Smith has fallen off the past two seasons since being traded to the Penguins. He's been predictably productive in the AHL but hasn't shown much defensive growth. Smith will remain with the Penguins' affiliate through the end of the season, but a new start at Carolina's training camp in the fall can give him a needed boost to make it back to the NHL.
Zakhar Bardakov, C, 23, Devils ➡️ Avalanche
A good defensive center playing on an elite KHL team in SKA St. Petersburg. He plays a physical game, and though he's unlikely to be anything more than an NHL fourth-liner, Bardakov is still a moderately interesting addition to a thin Avalanche prospect pool.
Graham Sward, LHD, 20, Predators ➡️ Avalanche
The 6-foot-3 defender is a hilarious plus-85 since being traded to the WHL's Winnipeg Ice (now Wenatchee Wild) last season. He's taken a big step offensively in his final year of junior hockey to lead WHL defenders in scoring. The Avalanche will need to sign him by June or he'll become a free agent.
Emilio Pettersen, LW, 23, Flames ➡️ Stars
The Norwegian has been a consistent AHL scorer since turning pro in 2020, but as an undersized winger who has yet to become a dominant offensive player at that level, he's unlikely to ever feature for Dallas.
Dmitry Ovchinnikov, LW, 21, Maple Leafs ➡️ Wild
A speedy winger who has struggled to find his groove in the professional ranks, Ovchinnikov will reportedly stay with the Toronto Marlies rather than join the Wild's affiliate. He'll likely return to Russia this summer and should remain on Minnesota's reserve list in case he ever breaks out in the KHL.
Luke Toporowski, LW, 22, Bruins ➡️ Wild
Signed as an undrafted free agent by the Bruins after an impressive AHL rookie season, Toporowski has taken a step back as a sophomore. He'll be fine organizational depth playing with the Iowa Wild, which is a cool story considering he was born in the state.
Jacob Perreault, RW, 21, Ducks ➡️ Canadiens
The son of former NHLer Yanic Perreault, Jacob's development was interrupted due to COVID. The first-rounder jumped to the AHL two seasons before he typically would as a result and was solid but has since hit a plateau. It's easy to wonder how his career would look if he had those two extra years in the juniors. An offensive project with a lethal shot, he's an upside swing by the Canadiens.
Jeremy Hanzel, LHD, 21, Avalanche ➡️ Predators
A combined plus-96 rating across the WHL regular season and playoffs got Hanzel drafted last summer. Though his Seattle Thunderbirds aren't the juggernaut they were a season ago, the 6-foot-1 blue-liner has still done well to lead his team in scoring.
Cruz Lucius, RW, 19, Hurricanes ➡️ Penguins
Average size and mediocre skating make Lucius' projection to the next level tricky. At the very least, he's shown that his skill and smarts make for a high-end player in the NCAA, with back-to-back point-per-game campaigns as Wisconsin's top scorer.
Vasili Ponomaryov, C, 21, Hurricanes ➡️ Penguins
The Russian pivot can step into the Penguins' lineup sooner than later - after all, he's already got two points in two NHL contests. Ponomaryov's unrelenting motor and consistent scoring at the AHL level make him the most NHL-ready prospect in the Guentzel trade.
Cade Webber, LHD, 23, Hurricanes ➡️ Maple Leafs
He's 6-foot-7 and 216 pounds, so that's really all you need to know. Webber's a zero offensively, but he broke the NCAA record for blocks in a season, so Toronto believes in his defensive game. The Maple Leafs will need to sign him by Aug. 15 or he'll become an unrestricted free agent.