The NHL is always just one quick phone call away. Get the call, pack a bag, hop in the car, or catch a flight.
That call-up may be just for a day. Or it may be for the next 10 to 15 years. Top prospects just need one spot to open on the NHL parent club’s roster. If they can claim it, they may be NHLers for good. In the meantime, however, they have one mandate – go to the AHL, fine-tune any remaining problem areas in one’s game, and dominate the AHL. Make a case.
Here are top prospects who may be full-time NHLers before too long:
Filip Bystedt – San Jose Barracuda (San Jose Sharks)
NHL jobs will be open, especially if this season gets away from the Sharks quickly, players are moved out, and management wants to test top prospects like Bystedt.
In the meantime, Bystedt, 20, is with the Barracuda to begin his first full North American season. But he does so having already played 108 SHL games and establishing the responsible two-way game so characteristic of that circuit. The 2022 first-rounder is with what should be a much more competitive Barracuda club, a team that he certainly provided a jolt as a late-season addition in going 4-3-7 in eight games.
Zach L’Heureux – Milwaukee Admirals (Nashville Predators)
When L’Heureux is at his best, he plays right on that line between abrasive, aggressive forward versus penalty-prone player who can be pulled into trouble by wily opponents.
Admirals head coach Karl Taylor has made it very clear that he and the Nashville organization are okay with that trade-off. L’Heureux will take penalties – 197 of them last season as a rookie, in fact. But his feisty, unrelenting style will also pay off. The 21-year-old provided a solid 19-29-48 regular season before becoming a dominant playoff performer in providing 10 goals in 15 games as the Admirals reached the Western Conference Finals.
Nashville made L’Heureux a first-round pick in 2021, and that choice could pay off soon.
Logan Mailloux – Laval Rocket (Montreal Canadiens)
Rare is the defenseman who can tame the AHL and control play as a rookie, but Mailloux managed to do that last season with Laval.
The Rocket endured a rough first half before making a strong postseason push that ultimately lasted until the final weekend of the regular season. As a 20-year-old first-round pick, Mailloux’s work contributed heavily to that late-season surge. He finished 14-33-47 in playing all 72 games for the Rocket, winning himself a spot on the AHL All-Rookie Team in the process. He stuck around deep into training camp with the Canadiens this fall. While he is with the Rocket, he can be a number-one defenseman. And the Bell Centre, well, it’s only 20 minutes away if and when the Canadiens do decide to recall him.
Brennan Othmann – Hartford Wolf Pack (New York Rangers)
Othmann is a 21-year-old forward who can irritate opponents.
He also can produce offensively, and he did just that with the Wolf Pack (21-28-49 last season) as a rookie. The Rangers are fully in a win-now push for a Stanley Cup, however, and it did not make sense to keep Othmann around in New York unless he could be a line-up regular. He’s not, at least not yet, so he will be in Hartford, where he can play top-line minutes for new head coach Grant Potulny.
When Does The AHL Season Start in 2024?
The season begins on Oct. 11, 2024 with the Milwaukee Admirals traveling to the Grand Rapids Griffins at 7 p.m. EDT and the Syracuse Crunch traveling to the Utica Comets at the same time.
There are a total of 29 games over the opening weekend.
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