AHL Prospects to Watch in 2026-27: The Fantasy Call-Up Queue

The call-up, measured. Of 3,773 AHL seasons played by drafted prospects aged 24 or under who were not yet NHL regulars (fewer than 25 NHL games before the season), 37% included an NHL call-up that season and 21% were followed by 20 or more NHL games the next season. It tracks scoring:

Tonight is opening night in the AHL and NCAA. The lines below are last season's. A call-up is a fantasy add only if he plays in the top six or on a power-play unit, so watch the first weeks of AHL scoring and the NHL injury report together.

Draft slot against the numbers

Every other AHL prospect list is ordered by draft pedigree and scouting reputation. This one is ordered by what happened to past prospects with the same position, age and minor-league scoring, and the two disagree: David Reinbacher (#5 overall) grades Solid, Justin Carbonneau (#19 overall) grades Solid, Cole Eiserman (#20 overall) grades Longshot, Bill Zonnon (#22 overall) grades Longshot, Oliver Bonk (#22 overall) grades Longshot, while Aiden Fink (#218 overall) grades Strong, Eric Pohlkamp (#132 overall) grades Strong, Mikhail Ilyin (#142 overall) grades Strong.

The disagreement is not all on the scouts' side. The base rates do not know draft slot, and draft slot still carries information: among past prospects placed in the same age-and-scoring cell, first-round picks reached 200 NHL games 67% of the time where the cell predicted 39% (290 players), and picks from the fourth round on 13% where it predicted 20% (1326 players). So a high pick's low grade is a warning about his scoring, not a verdict, and a late pick's high grade is a reason to watch him rather than a promise.

Reading the tables. "Similar players" is how many drafted players had a minor-league season like his at his age while still a prospect; the next columns are what became of them. Players are grouped into tiers (Strong, Solid, Longshot) by thirds on the share who played 200 or more NHL games, alphabetical inside a tier, because a few points' difference sits inside the margin printed beside it. Everyone here was among the better scorers in his league, so every comparison group beats the population rate (51% went on to play in the NHL): that is what being on the list means, not evidence about any one player.

Injuries as of October 2: prospects whose NHL team has players out at their position

A snapshot, not a standing fact: injuries change daily, and the injury report has today's.

Top forward prospects in the AHL

• Aiden Fink (Nashville Predators, 2023 #218 overall): 48 points in 36 games in the NCAA + AHL last season, a playmaker. Of 67 drafted players with a similar season at his age, 81% went on to play in the NHL and 52% played 200 or more games; the median was 259 NHL games.
• Charlie Cerrato (Carolina Hurricanes, 2025 #49 overall): 27 points in 23 games in the NCAA last season, a playmaker. Of 64 drafted players with a similar season at his age, 80% went on to play in the NHL and 52% played 200 or more games; the median was 255.5 NHL games.
• Charlie Stramel (Minnesota Wild, 2023 #21 overall): 44 points in 37 games in the NCAA last season, a playmaker. Of 64 drafted players with a similar season at his age, 78% went on to play in the NHL and 52% played 200 or more games; the median was 240.5 NHL games.
• Mikhail Ilyin (Pittsburgh Penguins, 2023 #142 overall): 44 points in 68 games in the KHL last season, a playmaker. Of 51 drafted players with a similar season at his age, 84% went on to play in the NHL and 59% played 200 or more games; the median was 337 NHL games.
• Tij Iginla (Utah Mammoth, 2024 #6 overall): 90 points in 48 games in the WHL last season, a playmaker. Of 70 drafted players with a similar season at his age, 89% went on to play in the NHL and 69% played 200 or more games; the median was 538.5 NHL games.
• Cole Beaudoin (New York Rangers, 2024 #24 overall): 88 points in 54 games in the OHL last season, a playmaker. Of 131 drafted players with a similar season at his age, 82% went on to play in the NHL and 47% played 200 or more games; the median was 173 NHL games.
• Emil Hemming (Dallas Stars, 2024 #29 overall): 63 points in 46 games in the OHL last season, a playmaker. Of 303 drafted players with a similar season at his age, 75% went on to play in the NHL and 41% played 200 or more games; the median was 92 NHL games.
• Felix Nilsson (Nashville Predators, 2023 #43 overall): 40 points in 52 games in the SHL last season, a playmaker. Of 99 drafted players with a similar season at his age, 83% went on to play in the NHL and 47% played 200 or more games; the median was 170 NHL games.
• Justin Carbonneau (St. Louis Blues, 2025 #19 overall): 80 points in 60 games in the QMJHL last season, a goal scorer. Of 294 drafted players with a similar season at his age, 75% went on to play in the NHL and 41% played 200 or more games; the median was 95.5 NHL games.
• Liam Greentree (New York Rangers, 2024 #26 overall): 74 points in 52 games in the OHL last season, a goal scorer. Of 222 drafted players with a similar season at his age, 76% went on to play in the NHL and 45% played 200 or more games; the median was 132.5 NHL games.
• Bill Zonnon (Pittsburgh Penguins, 2025 #22 overall): 46 points in 35 games in the QMJHL last season, a playmaker. Of 347 drafted players with a similar season at his age, 71% went on to play in the NHL and 38% played 200 or more games; the median was 82 NHL games.
• Cole Eiserman (New York Islanders, 2024 #20 overall): 28 points in 32 games in the NCAA last season, a goal scorer. Of 362 drafted players with a similar season at his age, 71% went on to play in the NHL and 38% played 200 or more games; the median was 74.5 NHL games.
• Lynden Lakovic (Washington Capitals, 2025 #27 overall): 29 points in 22 games in the WHL last season, a goal scorer. Of 305 drafted players with a similar season at his age, 72% went on to play in the NHL and 41% played 200 or more games; the median was 94 NHL games.
• Marek Vanacker (Chicago Blackhawks, 2024 #27 overall): 82 points in 60 games in the OHL last season, a goal scorer. Of 284 drafted players with a similar season at his age, 73% went on to play in the NHL and 39% played 200 or more games; the median was 89.5 NHL games.
• Oiva Keskinen (Columbus Blue Jackets, 2023 #194 overall): 37 points in 49 games in the Liiga last season, a goal scorer. Of 113 drafted players with a similar season at his age, 72% went on to play in the NHL and 39% played 200 or more games; the median was 92 NHL games.

Top defence prospects in the AHL

Matched only against defencemen.

• Eric Pohlkamp (San Jose Sharks, 2023 #132 overall): 39 points in 43 games in the NCAA last season. Of 54 drafted players with a similar season at his age, 74% went on to play in the NHL and 44% played 200 or more games; the median was 129.5 NHL games.
• Kashawn Aitcheson (New York Islanders, 2025 #17 overall): 70 points in 56 games in the OHL last season. Of 53 drafted players with a similar season at his age, 85% went on to play in the NHL and 57% played 200 or more games; the median was 385 NHL games.
• Radim Mrtka (Buffalo Sabres, 2025 #9 overall): 35 points in 51 games in the AHL + WHL last season. Of 245 drafted players with a similar season at his age, 64% went on to play in the NHL and 32% played 200 or more games; the median was 44 NHL games.
• Abram Wiebe (Calgary Flames, 2022 #209 overall): 29 points in 40 games in the NCAA last season. Of 52 drafted players with a similar season at his age, 60% went on to play in the NHL and 29% played 200 or more games; the median was 6 NHL games.
• David Reinbacher (Montreal Canadiens, 2023 #5 overall): 24 points in 57 games in the AHL last season. Of 272 drafted players with a similar season at his age, 53% went on to play in the NHL and 23% played 200 or more games; the median was 4 NHL games.
• Jake Livanavage (Pittsburgh Penguins, undrafted): 25 points in 39 games in the NCAA last season. Undrafted, so he is being compared with drafted players, the only history the pool holds; read his base rate as a rougher guide than the others'. Of 91 drafted players with a similar season at his age, 60% went on to play in the NHL and 26% played 200 or more games; the median was 42 NHL games.
• Jorian Donovan (Ottawa Senators, 2022 #136 overall): 21 points in 61 games in the AHL last season. Of 272 drafted players with a similar season at his age, 51% went on to play in the NHL and 21% played 200 or more games; the median was 3 NHL games.
• Oliver Bonk (Philadelphia Flyers, 2023 #22 overall): 19 points in 46 games in the AHL last season. Of 274 drafted players with a similar season at his age, 51% went on to play in the NHL and 20% played 200 or more games; the median was 1 NHL game.

How this list was built

Who is on it. Every player is under an NHL contract, is not on his NHL team's roster, is eligible for the AHL (a player signed out of junior goes back there until he is 20; one signed out of college does not), is 24 or younger, is not playing in Europe, junior or college this season, and has fewer than 25 NHL games, the same line the comparison pool draws (Hunter Brzustewicz, Otto Stenberg are past it and left off). Tonight is opening night in the AHL and NCAA, so the numbers are last season's, and a prospect loaned elsewhere who has not played there yet can slip onto the list until he does.

The rate. Last season's points per game times the translation factor for each league he played in, weighted by games, so the column is the rate if he makes the NHL. The factors in use on this page:

Our tests of the AHL and college factors found the same thing: the long-standing figures hold for the players who made the NHL, and run high for everyone else (the full test). The other leagues' factors are the values our model carries; published estimates for them differ from source to source and we have not tested them, so treat those rows with more caution. None of the factors knows about linemates or ice time.

The base rates. The comparison groups come from every player drafted from 2005 to 2015 with a prospect season of 15 or more games below the NHL (2,325 players, the ones who never played in the NHL included). A season is matched on its non-NHL games only, and only while the player was still a prospect: fewer than 25 NHL games before it and fewer than 25 within it, so a player already in the NHL that year cannot stand in for a prospect. "Played NHL games later" counts NHL games after that season. Of the pool, 51% went on to play in the NHL and 26% played 200 or more games. The window stops at 2015 so every career has had eleven or more seasons to reach 200 games, at the cost of its oldest seasons coming from leagues nearly two decades removed from today's. Groups are matched on position (defencemen only against defencemen), age and NHL-equivalent rate, with at least 50 players each; the ± beside a percentage is its 95% margin. The pool holds drafted players only, so an undrafted player's base rate is a rougher guide.

How to use this

• Redraft leagues: a call-up is an add only if he plays in the top six or on a power-play unit. Check the projected lines and the morning skate before claiming.
• Keeper and dynasty leagues: a strong first AHL season is the usual step before a full NHL job; the rate and the base rate above are the numbers to track, with draft slot as the tiebreaker the numbers above say it is.
• Every player's page has his trajectory: https://hockey.kodoanalytics.com/player/<id>.