Hello, everyone; I hope you are having a good day! Today, I will highlight prospects off to great starts production-wise across the CHL, NCAA, and AHL leagues specifically, as well as what their future ceiling and outlook could look like for fantasy purposes.
Liam Greentree
Drafted 26th overall in the 2024 NHL Draft, Liam Greentree is quickly showing that the Los Angeles Kings may have found a steal in the back half of the 1st round. In 11 OHL games, Greentree has an eye-popping 7 goals and 19 assists for 26 points as the captain of the Windsor Spitfires. What makes Greentree attractive for fantasy purposes and translation into a potential impact top-six winger is how high-end his skills are across the board.
He is a great shooter, playmaker, and puck-handler, with last year especially highlighting how much of a driver he is as a player. Windsor was, quite frankly, terrible the previous year, and Greentree was the sole focus of every opponent Windsor faced, yet he still managed to score 90 points in 54 games. The biggest reason he fell so far is the question mark of his skating, as it is an aspect that needs to be improved on some scale to make his high-end skills shine and scale up further to the NHL level.
Coincidentally, Quentin Musty, who was also taken 26th overall in the 2023 NHL draft, profiles similarly to Greentree. Both are potent wingers with high-end offensive skills and traits but a below-average skating perception. I would advise, especially if you are a rebuilding team, to see if you can pick up a Greentree share in some of your leagues, as it could pay off tremendously and land you a future top-six winger who can drive play and be able to play on the power play long-term in Los Angeles.
Andrew Cristall
Drafted 40th overall in the 2023 NHL Draft by the Washington Capitals, Andrew Cristall’s production has always been noteworthy. In just 6 WHL games, Cristall has 5 goals and 11 assists for 16 points on the Kelowna Rockets. Similarly to Greentree, there is zero doubt about his offensive skill and ceiling being incredibly high. While Cristall is more of a pure playmaker, he combines that with elite puckhandling and hockey IQ in the offensive zone, which is why he and Tij Iginla were so dominant together last season and to start this season, with Iginla had 9 goals and 15 points in 9 games so far himself.
While Cristall also has questions about his skating, the big difference between him and Greentree is their frame. Cristall is listed at 5’10” and 183 pounds, contrasting Greentree’s 6’2″ and 214-pound frame. The deficiencies of Cristall’s skating and pace are much more amplified when he is a more diminutive winger, which explains why he fell to the early 2nd round for the Capitals.
Regardless of this concern, I believe Cristall will be a worthwhile player to trade for in some of your long-term leagues, as he has only continued to impress production-wise and had a strong camp, almost making the NHL roster as a 19-year-old. He could take a little longer to solidify himself as an NHLer. Still, his ceiling is a power play conductor, a top-six winger who will use his high-end playmaking and hockey sense to produce plenty of points for your fantasy rosters and the Washington Capitals.
Brad Lambert
Brad Lambert’s stock has steadily increased since sliding to 30th overall to the Winnipeg Jets in the 2022 NHL draft. After his breakout season in the AHL, he produced 21 goals and 34 assists for 55 points in 64 games last season. He has also started well in 6 AHL games this season, generating 6 points. There was an opportunity, in theory, to take over the 2nd-line center role in Winnipeg, centring Cole Perfetti and Nikolaj Ehlers. Still, the Jets are notorious for slow-playing their prospects and over-marinating them in the AHL. The first thing that is evident with Lambert is how elite he is as a skater and how he leverages the high pace of play he can play with to create dynamic offensive opportunities for his teammates.
A huge perceived knock on him that’s persisted throughout the past couple of years is how he is lackadaisical on defence and sometimes tends to be out of control with his speed and decision-making with the puck. From my viewing, however, there has been considerable growth in both aspects, with Lambert striking a much better balance between being able to use his skating as an advantage as a transition weapon as a puck carrier and knowing better when to slow things down in the offensive zone to find gaps in the defence for golden scoring chances for his team.
The buy window on Lambert may be closing soon. I do not see Vladislav Namestnikov continuing to be the 2nd line center for anything past this season, as he is better as a utility forward all around the top nine for the Jets. Lambert’s ceiling is a dynamic top-six forward, likely at center, who can produce plenty of points and be a key forward for the Jets’ next era with Cole Perfetti, Kyle Connor, and Gabriel Vilardi. He is a points-only guy, so do not expect many peripherals from Lambert. I still believe he is a worthwhile player to at least inquire about in your long-term leagues, as his impact will be sooner than Greentree and Cristall.
Sam Dickinson
Sam Dickinson was taken 11th overall in the 2024 NHL Draft by the San Jose Sharks as one of the defencemen who could realistically turn into your team’s number one defenceman in all three zones. For the London Knights in the OHL, Dickinson has gotten off to an impressive start, with 7 goals and 8 assists for 15 points in 10 games. The two most significant things that stand out with Dickinson instantly are how elite his skating is and his large frame, standing at 6’3″, 203 pounds. Physically, he is close to a prototypical franchise defenceman, so he is highly sought-after.
A drawback that I and other scouts have had on Dickinson is his defensive inconsistencies and hockey sense, which can waver sometimes in all three zones. While the defensive inconsistencies have still been a noticeable part of his game this year, there has been a massive step in Dickinson’s willingness and ability to be a prominent part of the offence and transition play. So far this year, Dickinson has racked up 55 shots on goal over the 10 games, averaging 5.5 shots per game. This is encouraging for fantasy purposes, as Dickinson could turn into more of an offensively-leaning defenceman who can produce solid peripherals.
The key for Dickinson to unlock his true #1 potential is to clean up his defensive inconsistencies, as even though fantasy managers may not see defence as applicable to their fantasy rosters, that is a large part of defencemen being able to get all that deployment and time on ice, helping prospects like Dickinson rack up stats for fantasy. While I would be remiss to ignore Luca Cagnoni, who is a dynamic offensive defenceman off to a great start in the AHL, I do believe that if Dickinson continues to show this heightened offensive ability and willingness, he likely does get the top power play quarterback gig eventually, with plenty of deployment on the penalty kill and at even strength to boot. If you’re looking for an elite defenceman prospect to anchor your long-term future, I would see what the price is for Dickinson to acquire in trade. I can fully foresee some managers worried about Cagnoni being the PP1 guy long-term. While it’s not an unfounded concern, I would still see Dickinson as a valuable guy no matter what, and his ceiling truly is tantalizing; someone who can fill up fantasy contributions across the board, and those types of defencemen are worth their weight in gold.
Nikita Artamonov
Drafted 50th Overall in the 2024 NHL Draft, Nikita Artamonov is quickly showing how his stock falling that far is turning out to be a massive value for the Carolina Hurricanes. In 21 KHL games for Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, Artamonov has 11 goals and 8 assists for 19 points. What sticks out with him is how high of a motor he has, which is unrelenting, and he will constantly attempt to get the puck going in the right direction for his team. Initially, I did see Artamonov as a likely middle-six contributor, as while it was noteworthy that he stuck in the KHL for 54 games last season, scoring 23 points, the skills didn’t seem as high-end enough to project a solidified top-six ceiling.
The most noteworthy improvement is how he seems to have taken a step as a goal-scorer, becoming more deceptive in getting his release off in various ways and locations in the offensive zone, helping create more dangerous chances for his shooting abilities. While I would say that he is still likely to be a strong middle-six winger who can potentially play on the penalty kill and power play, Carolina has had a solid drafting and development history. I would not rule out Artamonov continuing to progress further, and I would be happy for you to acquire him for the right price in your Keeper and Dynasty leagues. Also, a worthwhile aspect to cover is that Artamonov is under a KHL contract until the end of the 2026 season, which will add to the wait time.
Bonus: Ryan Leonard
Ryan Leonard, full disclosure, is my favourite prospect in the hockey sphere, and I had to save some room at the end to write about him! Leonard was taken 8th overall in the 2023 NHL Draft by the Washington Capitals, and he’s done nothing but increase his value for fantasy and real-life purposes. Last year for Boston College, Leonard scored 31 goals and 29 assists for a whopping 60 points in 41 NCAA games as a true freshman. He is the complete package as a relentless player in all three zones and has a natural knack for scoring goals. The most significant progression in Leonard’s game that has raised his ceiling to a true top-line power forward is his playmaking habits, which have become more complex and frequent now regularly. Instead of those flashes of high-end skill, it is a consistent part of his game, and the rewards are plentiful.
In Leonard’s last game against Western Michigan, he scored 2 goals, 11 shots, and 14 shot attempts, which shows how dominant he has become at the college level. In his freshman season, he is an incredibly high-volume shooter in his NCAA tenure, providing good peripherals with above a hit per game. I genuinely believe that after just one season, Leonard could have stepped into a top-six spot on the wing for Washington and thrived instantly. Still, he decided to return for his Sophomore season at Boston College, which will only over-prepare him for the NHL level for 2025-2026 full-time.
While Leonard is by far the most valuable player in fantasy circles, if you were interested in acquiring him, I put him here to show just how high I am on his potential ceiling and instant impact. His game is very translatable to future NHL success, and with some of the younger pieces Washington has drafted and acquired recently, I see him as the centrepiece of it all. If there is a chance you can get him in at least one of your leagues, I would be all over it, as he is a lot of fun to watch, and he is primed to become a fantasy gold mine. An elite goalscorer who shoots and hits a lot as a winger already puts him in an archetype that is sought after in any format you may play in.
I hope you enjoyed the content, as always! Thank you for your support and time. If you want more of this content, please check out my website, Continuous Forecheck, where we cover keeper and dynasty league content year-round!
Spread Kindness to the people around you,
Kenny
Apples and Ginos 