Breaking Down The Athletic's Rankings of the Top U23 NHL Players

The Athletic is the best publication in hockey right now, offering A+ insight on all matters NHL and beyond. Prospect analyst Corey Pronman recently published his official ranking of the best NHL players/prospects under 23 years of age. The only criteria is that the player must be 22 years or younger as of September 15, 2022. Important distinction as well, Pronman asserts that the ranking is conducted by gauging who will have the best career, not the best players right this second.

For the most part, I think Pronman's analysis is solid. He was thorough enough and offered adequate reasoning for his rankings, but that does not mean I agree 100%. I am going to do a side-by-side ranking contrasting Corey's ranking with my own -- the only difference between me and Corey is that he is a professional hockey analyst, and I am a simple blogger with a strong acumen for player assessment. Pronman rated the top 170 players, which is bold, admirable and impressive, but we are just going to focus on the top 50 U23 players. Nevertheless, let's get started.

Best Players Under 23

The Athletic /// Jon

1. Jack Hughes /// 1. Jack Hughes
2. Moritz Seider /// 2. Moritz Seider
3. Trevor Zegras /// 3. Quinn Hughes
4. Quinn Hughes /// 4. Trevor Zegras
5. Brady Tkachuk ///5. Andrei Svechnikov
6. Andrei Svechnikov /// 6. Lucas Raymond
7. Rasmus Dahlin /// 7. Brady Tkachuk
8. Tim Stützle /// 8. Mason McTavish
9. Lucas Raymond /// 9. Tim Stützle
10. Alexis Lafreniere /// 10. Luke Hughes
11. Luke Hughes /// 11. Seth Jarvis
12. Seth Jarvis /// 12. Matty Beniers
13. Dylan Cozens /// 13. Rasmus Dahlin
14. Matty Beniers /// 14. Alexis Lafreniere
15. Juraj Slafkovsky /// 15. Bowen Byram
16. Shane Wright /// 16. Dylan Cozens
17. Logan Cooley /// 17. Cole Caufield
18. Bowen Byram /// 18. Shane Wright
19. Evan Bouchard /// 19. Matt Boldy
20. Owen Power /// 20. Bowen Byram
21. Matt Boldy /// 21. Owen Power
22. Quinton Byfield /// 22. Simon Nemec
23. David Jiricek /// 23. Juraj Slafkovsky
24. Mason McTavish /// 24. Evan Bouchard
25. Dylan Guenther /// 25. Logan Cooley
26. Simon Nemec /// 26. Kent Johnson
27. Jake Sanderson /// 27. Noah Dobson
28. Lukas Reichel /// 28. Jake Sanderson
29. Anton Lundell /// 29. Jamie Drysdale
30. Cole Caufield /// 30. Lukas Reichel
31. Noah Dobson /// 31. Quinton Byfield
32. Simon Edvinsson /// 32. David Jiricek
33. Arthur Kaliyev /// 33. Dylan Guenther
34. Jamie Drysdale /// 34. Anton Lundell
35. Kent Johnson /// 35. Simon Edvinsson
36. Martin Fehervary /// 36. Martin Ferhervary
37. Joel Farabee /// 37. Arthur Kaliyev
38. Cole Perfetti /// 38. K'Andre Miller
39. Jack Quinn /// 39. Dawson Mercer
40. Spencer Knight /// 40. Spencer Knight
41. Kirby Dach /// 41. Cole Sillinger
42. Peyton Krebs /// 42. Jack Quinn
43. K'Andre Miller /// 43. Joel Farabee
44. Barrett Hayton /// 44. Peyton Krebs
45. Philip Tomasino /// 45. Logan Stankoven (63rd)
46. Dawson Mercer /// 46. Jesper Wallstedt (52nd)
47. Cole Sillinger /// 47. Cole Perfetti
48. Kaapo Kakko /// 48. J.J. Peterka (68th)
49. Jesperi Kotkaniemi /// 49. Philip Tomasino
50. William Eklund /// 50. Olen Zellweger (51st)

The largest individual jump in my rankings versus Corey's was Mason McTavish, who jumped from 24th to 8th. I simply don't see how anyone who watched the World Junior tournament could have McTavish ranked below Czech D David Jiricek and several others on this list. McTavish nearly set the all-time points record for a Canadian at the World Juniors, so he is a clear-cut top-ten U23 player.

Other notable differences include Cole Caufield -- who was criminally underrated in Pronman's rankings -- and Quinton Byfield, who fell 9 spots in my rankings. Byfield is still young, so I may eat my words yet, but he did not display the dominant playmaking abilities for which he was drafted, and it looks like his size is not offering the advantage it may have in junior.

I am also bearish on guys like Barrett Hayton, Kirby Dach, and Jesperi Kotkaniemi, whereas I am more bullish than Pronman on players such as K'Andre Miller, Dawson Mercer, and Kent Johnson. Players like Logan Stankoven, Jesper Wallstedt, Wyatt Johnston, J.J. Peterka and Olen Zellweger all belong in the top 50, and players like Eklund, Kakko, Hayton and Kotkaniemi have not shown the necessary tools to warrant top-50 consideration.

Aside from those larger differences, some minor adjustments were made purely based on gut-feeling rather than any sort of quantitative deduction. Most of the time, it is intuition that guides us through life, so I went with mine on this list. Ultimately, I would be happy for feedback in the comments, to hear who perhaps I am sleeping on or on whom I am too bullish.

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