With NHL rosters finalized and the season underway, we take a look at the top 10 players not currently playing in the NHL.
10. Rasmus Dahlin
Dahlin is the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NHL draft. The 6-foot-2 Swedish blue-liner is currently playing for Frolunda in the Swedish Hockey League, and already has a goal and assist in four games. Not bad for a 17-year-old playing with grown men.
He's fast, he's skilled, and he's nasty. Frolunda veteran Joel Lundqvist, the twin brother of Henrik, claims he's never played with a better prospect. And that's saying a lot considering he played with a young Erik Karlsson.
9. Jesse Puljujarvi
Puljujarvi wasn't good enough to make the Oilers out of camp, but he's good enough to be on this list. The 19-year-old is a rare blend of size (6-foot-4, 211 pounds) and speed. There's a lot of NHL rosters he would probably be on, but the Oilers decided that a little more seasoning can't hurt.
8. Kirill Kaprizov
Kaprizov, 20, was a fifth-round pick by the Wild back in 2015, and has already proved to be a steal, without stepping foot on an NHL rink. Last season in the KHL, he set a league record for most points in a season by a teenager with 42, surpassing Evgeny Kuznetsov. He was also the Forward of the Tournament at the 2017 World Juniors, leading the tournament with nine goals.
Kaprizov is proving that 2016-17 was no fluke, as he already has seven goals and five assists in 13 games this season.
7. Kasperi Kapanen
Kapanen simply got caught in a numbers game. Toronto's depth on the wings is second-to-none in the league. The Finn proved to be too good for the AHL a year ago, tallying 43 points in as many games as a 20-year-old. With his quickness and offensive skill, it's scary to think what he'll do this year.
6. Thomas Chabot
Chabot was the best defenseman in the CHL last year, and took home MVP honors at the 2017 World Juniors. He has the potential to be a true No. 1 defenseman, but Ottawa opted to send him to the minors to work on the finer details of his game. He's big, he can skate, and he's creative offensively. Don't anticipate him being in the minors long.
5. Pavel Datsyuk
Datsyuk may be 39 years old now, but he could certainly still play in the NHL if he wanted to. In his last season with Detroit, he still averaged 0.72 points per game in an injury-riddled campaign. He's off to a good start in the KHL this year, as he has already collected 22 points in 18 games.
Though his speed and explosiveness has obviously declined, his hands, smarts, and dominance in the faceoff circle that made him a perennial Selke candidate would still make him an effective player in the NHL today.
4. Eeli Tolvanen
It may be early, but Eeli Tolvanen is already looking like the steal of the 2017 NHL Draft. Chosen 30th overall by the Predators, Tolvanen already has 10 goals and eight assists in 14 games in the KHL, placing him ninth in points and sixth in goals in league scoring. Not bad for an 18-year-old.
3. Nikita Gusev
Gusev, a seventh-round pick by the Lightning in 2012, has become a star over in Russia. In 18 KHL games this year, he is leading the league in points with 27. This is no fluke, either, as he finished fourth in league scoring a year ago with 71 points.
Gusev's rights are now owned by the Vegas Golden Knights, and he would surely be a marquee player for them if he didn't just sign a two-year extension with SKA St. Petersburg.
2. Slava Voynov
Despite his terrible actions off the ice, Voynov is the best defenseman outside the NHL. Keep in mind, he was a 22-minute per night defenseman on a Stanley Cup-winning team in Los Angeles, and that was when he was 24 years old. Voynov is now 27 and in the prime of his career, as evidenced by his 37-point season a year ago.
1. Ilya Kovalchuk
Kovalchuk may be 34 years old now, but there's no doubting that he would still be able to make an impact in the NHL today. He's coming off a career-best 78-point season in the KHL, and is showing no signs of slowing down this year, as he already has 16 goals in 18 games. He still has a lethal shot, and that plays in any league.
(Photos courtesy: Action Images)
