Our top 25 list continues with five players looking to make the jump into the NHL.
This week we reveal the middle five on our Top 25 Under 25 list, five players still looking to establish themselves in the NHL: three forwards, a defenseman, and a goalie. Let’s see who landed in the middle of the pack on our Top 25 list.
#15 – Chase Stillman – RW – Age: 21 – 2023-24 Team: Utica Comets (AHL) – 2023 Rank: 21 Elite Prospects Profile
After two years in the bottom five on our rankings, Chase Stillman rises to 15th on our list this year. This rise in the rankings may be more of a product of so many departures on our list than anything particular the winger did this past season. Stillman had a decent first year showing in the AHL, recording 14 goals and 24 points in 54 games and seemed to get stronger as the season went along. For a reference point, Stillman’s point totals in Utica put him 10th on the team, five behind defenseman Topias Vilen.
That said, the former first round pick’s path to the NHL will likely not come from gaudy goal-scoring numbers. In an interview this summer with Kristy Flannery of the Hockey News, Stillman explains that the Devils want him to be a Swiss army knife “who can skate up and down the ice and play physical.” Stillman’s game is high energy and built for the bottom of a NHL lineup. It is not much of a secret that Stillman will have to check his way into the NHL and carve out a niche role if he is ever to to become a full time player in the world’s highest league.
When Stillman is ready to make that jump is another question. The gritty winger will almost certainly start this upcoming season in the AHL. However, a strong run with the Comets could earn him a call-up as early as this year. Devils fans will be watching Stillman’s development closely.
#14 – Josh Filmon – RW – Age: 20 – 2023-24 Team: Swift Current Broncos (WHL) – 2023 Rank: 15 Elite Prospects Profile
Rising up one spot in our rankings after a big leap from 39th the previous year is lanky winger Josh Filmon. Two seasons ago, Filmon lit up the WHL for the Swift Current Broncos, scoring 47 goals and 75 points in 64 games. In his D+2 season last year in the WHL, Filmon saw a major regression in goal scoring, potting only 24 goals, but still tallying 67 points in 64 games due to a large increase in assists.
The drop in goal-scoring should not be a major concern for Devils fans. According to a recent interview with Amanda Stein, Filmon’s focus last season in Swift Current was developing his 200 foot defensive game and even learning to penalty kill. Filmon claims he made big strides applying his offensive skill into a more defensive-structured game later in the season, something his rising ppg totals throughout the year seems to confirm. Very few players who were drafted when Filmon was in the sixth round (166th overall) are able to make the jump to the NHL as pure goal-scorers lacking a complete game, so this past year has been essential for his long-term development.
Filmon had a brief stint with the Utica Comets in 2022-23, even scoring his first professional goal in four games. This season will see Filmon transition full time to the professional game. Expect Filmon to start the season in Utica for further development as the winger continues to add muscle to his frame.
#13 Jakub Malek – G – Age: 22 – 2023-24 Team: Ilves (Liiga) – 2023 Rank: 19 Elite Prospects Profile
Moving up six spots from last year’s list is goaltender Jakub Malek. The Czech netminder has put up impressive numbers every season since being drafted by the Devils in the 4th round (100th overall) in the 2021 NHL entry draft as a relative unknown. Enough so, that the Devils signed Malek to a two-year entry deal in May of this year.
It’s not hard to see why. Moving over to the Liiga after dominating the Czechia 2 season in his D+1 year with a 22-9-0 record, 1.95 GAA and .932 SV%, Malek has continued to impress. These past two seasons in the Liiga proved those flashy stats in the Czechia league were no fluke, putting up GAA’s of 2.15 and 2.32 and SV%’s of .903 and .915. Malek also sparkled with a 16-4-5 record this past season and while Malek’s record in the post-season was only 1-2 that was due to a lack of goal support, not his shining 1.87 GAA or .910 SV%.
With a crowded crease in Utica, the Devils loaned Malek back to Ilves to continue his development next season. Devils fans will have to wait for Malek to come over in 2025-26.
#12 – Santeri Hatakka – LHD – Age: 23 – 2023-24 Team: Utica Comets (AHL) – 2023 Rank: 30 Elite Prospects Profile
Leaping from the Outsiders to 12th on our list is defenseman Santeri Hatakka. The Finnish backender came over to the Devils two seasons ago during in the Timo Meier trade in what was largely regarded as a move to make the number of contracts work. Hatakka’s rankings last summer reflect that as injuries prevented Devils fans from really knowing what they had in Hatakka until training camp last year.
Hatakka made immediate impressions in camp and played steady defense for the Devils in 12 NHL games during a brief call-up in a year where “steady defense” was an almost non-existent concept for the team. It was enough for Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald to resign Hatakka to a one-year, two-way deal this summer.
Hatakka will be an interesting player to watch in pre-season. The Finnish defenseman enters camp as likely the 8th defender, closely behind recently acquired Jonathan Kovacevic. Barring an injury, it may come down to whether the Devils wish to carry seven or eight defenseman on whether Hatakka makes the team. Should he return to Utica to start the year, Hatakka will likely be the first call-up on defense during the season with others, most notably, Daniil Misyul knocking on the door behind him.
#11 – Nolan Foote – LW – Age: 23 – 2023-24 Team: New Jersey Devils (NHL) – 2023 Rank: 10 Elite Prospects Profile
Dropping one spot after an injury-riddled campaign is left winger Nolan Foote. Last season was supposed to be the year Nolan Foote broke into the NHL. The signs were there. The hype was there. A NHL roster spot seemed all but guaranteed until a lingering back disc injury put a stop to it.
Due to injury, Foote played a total of eight games last season. Four with the Comets. Four with the Devils. That’s it. Eight total games. Eight. Not good.
Although re-upping with the Devils this summer in a one-year, two-way deal, Foote will have a much tougher time cracking the NHL lineup this season. After a disappointing campaign, Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald brought in new faces to increase the team’s physicality, a decision which also increases Foote’s competition for a bottom 6 role. Assuming the Devils plan on carrying Kurtis MacDermid as the 13th forward that only leaves two extra spots, at least one of which, almost certainly will go to a defenseman. Barring any injuries, ultimately the decision may come down to do the Devils want to carry eight defensemen and Hatakka or fourteen forwards and Foote. Then, of course, there is always the wild card player like Adam Beckman, who could impress enough to force his way onto the roster. Either way, this camp is shaping up to be a pivotal one for Nolan Foote’s future with the Devils.
The Rankings
AATJ Writers and Community
Players ranked 11th-14th all received at least one vote for the Top 10, highlighting some disagreements in the ranks. The gap between Chase Stillman and #16 Topias Vilen was less than a half a point. That gap widened quite a lot between Chase Stillman and Josh Filmon (around 2.7 points) and was even wider between Santeri Hatakka and Nolan Foote (around 3.3 points), the largest in the Top 25. Conversely, the gap between Jakub Malek and Josh Filmon was one of the smallest in the Top 25 (around 0.14). Lastly, the gap between Nolan Foote and the 10th player in our rankings was around 0.85, so not particularly close.
Your Take
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