Happy weekend.
Today, we are coming to you with the first five who made it in our Top 25 Under 25, as we started with the Outsiders last weekend. There were four guys who came very close (each with a pure average vote placement between 25 and 27) to a Top 25 finish in Xavier Parent, Josh Filmon, Charlie Leddy, and Kasper Pikkarainen, but we will reveal today who beat them out.
25. Mason Moe (C) — Last Rank: N/A — Age: 18 — 2024-25 Team: Madison Capitols, US U18
Mason Moe was taken by the New Jersey
Devils 90th overall in the 2025 NHL Draft after a strong season in the USHL, where he had 43 points in 51 games for the Madison Capitols along with six points in as many playoff games. Moe also had three goals in six games for the the United States National U18 Team. Being his first full season after leaving high school hockey behind, Moe had an impressive season that had him rated rather highly as a two-way center by Mitch Brown’s USHL tracking data, where he ranked in the 80th percentile in defensive tracking.
Moe will look to further his career at the University of Minnesota this season. Already 6’2” and 192 pounds, Moe projects to fit in well with NCAA hockey, where he will be able to work on his details and bulk up for the more physical style of play in the AHL and NHL. Since Moe only played one full season of junior hockey (putting up a solid year in the process) I am interested to see how well he makes another adjustment with the pace of play of the college game.
24. Nathan Legare (RW) — Last Rank: 37 — Age: 24 — 2024-25 Team: Utica Comets (69 games), New Jersey Devils (3 games)
In his final year of eligibility, Nathan Legare made a huge jump up the board. With a 17-goal, 25-point season for Utica in which he had over 100 penalty minutes, Legare made himself something of an emergency bottom six option for the New Jersey Devils. Legare is still a long-shot to make the NHL and stick around for more than a handful of games at a time, but if he can provide something in terms of chipping in some netfront goals while being a physical fourth-line presence, there could be a path for him yet. It helps to be a tough guy who has good enough hands to score.
The question is whether he can still do what he does in the AHL in the NHL. Per Natural Stat Trick, Legare only had a 32.61 CF% in his three games, but his expected goals percentage was above 50%, in large part thanks to his 0.37 individual expected goals (accounting for over half of the Devils’ chances in his ice time). In his debut against the Rangers, Legare also helped draw a penalty when Zac Jones sailed the puck over the glass to end an onslaught brought on by a chance for Legare in front. And, doing something I have never seen before, Legare was credited for 12 hits in his three games while not being tagged for a single hit taken by Natural Stat Trick. Even in small samples, players who throw hits tend to take hits back at some points, so that was a bit surprising. I would have Legare on my dark horse list for the 2025-26 roster due to his intensity, though it would probably take an injury or two to get him a real shot, even if he has a good camp.
23. Cole Brown (LW/RW) — Last Rank: 39 — Age: 20 — 2024-25 Team: Brantford Bulldogs
After a mediocre D+1 season had him near the bottom of last year’s rankings, a 33-goal, 70-point season for Brantford in 2024-25 has shot Cole Brown into the Top 25 for the first time since he was drafted in the sixth round of the 2023 NHL Draft. Brown, a 6’3” winger, is committed to the University of Notre Dame for the 2025-26 season. Like in Mason Moe’s case, playing NCAA hockey should ready Brown for the combination of speed, physicality, and skill in the AHL and NHL. In Amanda Stein’s interview with him during Development Camp, Brown said:
I think for me and my development, that extra strength, the extra practices, less games I think I’ll get a better chance at really focusing on my craft and focusing on what I want to do. That along with the school, as well, it’s a perfect spot for me.
If Brown can keep up his goal scoring ways while putting on about 15 or 20 pounds over the next two years at Notre Dame, he would set himself up really well to make the Devils roster sometime between 2027 and 2029. The team can always use big goal scoring forwards, and it’s going to be hard to move Brown out of the netfront area if he does exactly what he’s setting out to do in college.
22. Samu Salminen (C/LW) — Last Rank: 25 — Age: 22 — 2024-25 Team: University of Denver
Samu Salminen was once looked at by Devils fans as a potential draft steal after he was taken in the third round in 2021, as he had solid seasons in the Finnish U20 SM-Sarja junior league. However, Salminen seemed to slow in his development in his second season at the University of Connecticut, when he only matched his freshman year’s total production in eight more games played (despite his Michigan-style goal). After transferring to the University of Denver for the 2024-25 season, Salminen improved from 17 to 28 points in 44 games played. They are not spectacular numbers, but they gave fans enough hope to believe he may still be a bottom six goal scoring option in the future.
In his senior year with Denver, Salminen needs to have a big showing. He is now, obviously, on the older end for his league. If he does not show the ability to get up to a point-per game, or at least scoring 15 or 20 goals, I might be concerned about his ability to create offense at the professional level. He needs to show more of his ability to chip in pucks around the net, as he is still yet to match the goals-per-game mark that he set as a freshman in Connecticut. He made a little progress in 2024-25, but most of his rise in production came from setting his teammates up.
21. Daniil Orlov (D) — Last Rank: 23 — Age: 21 — 2024-25 Team: Spartak Moskva
In his second full season with Spartak Mosvka in the KHL, Daniil Orlov doubled his point production in eight fewer games played with five goals and 10 assists in 52 games. Per Spartak’s website, Orlov is averaging 18:38 a game on the second pairing through three games this season, while he played 17:33 per night last season and 19:19 in 12 playoff games, where he had four points and a +4 rating. It’s a far cry from when he was playing less than 10 minutes a night as a KHL rookie, and it is also a good sign that his club has trusted him to play a lot more at his age, and he has rewarded them with responsible defense and respectable offensive production.
Orlov might never be a flashy top pairing defenseman in the NHL, but he is already thriving in second-pairing minutes in the KHL. While it was a long-shot hope to see him sign a deal with the Devils after his original KHL contract was set to run out in 2026 (he has an extension through 2028), I would not mind seeing him turn into a top-pairing defenseman in the KHL before trying his hand in North America. The Devils have plenty of term on their blueline, so Orlov taking his time to develop in his home country seems like it should be in both parties’ best interests. Some may be worried about the blueline pipeline being too clogged, but having too many good players is never a problem in my book, and some of that depth may work its way away from the team by spring 2028.
The Rankings
This is how everyone ranked the players here:
As is to be expected, there was still a fair amount of variance in where each of these players were ranked by writers and the community alike. James, however, came pretty close to the ultimate combined placement of the prospects, even having them in the correct order of appearance, just slightly off from each of their total combined rankings. Also, this part of the rankings was much closer than last year’s first five, as the difference in average placement between Orlov and Moe was less than two in the combined vote, whereas the gap between the 23rd (Orlov) and 22nd prospect (Yegorov) last year was an average vote of 2.5.
As an update to last week’s Outsiders post, two players ranked there have had some positive developments. Kasper Pikkarainen, ranked 29th after a tough injured season, has reportedly been playing on the top line for TPS in the Liiga. Daniil Karpovich, ranked 30th, was called up to the KHL after a great first game in the VHL, and it would be nice for both players to keep up that sort of trust and playing time. If the players in this section, in addition to Orlov, continue to earn more playing time at higher levels, it would be a boon to the Devils’ middle-range of prospects.
Your Thoughts
What do you think of the five players ranked here? Where did you have them? Any surprises? What are you expecting from them this season? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and thanks for reading.
