How Early-Season "Risers" Are Boosting Their NHL Draft Stock

Both the Canadian Junior and NCAA seasons are well underway at this point. While it's still a little early to highlight players that are struggling cause the sample size is so small, there's definitely a handful of guys that have raised their stock early on. This update will focus primarily on "risers" to this point in the season, while next month should feature some more "fallers."

Don't forget to check out Part 1 and Part 2 Top-150 breakdown, as well as our latest College Hockey-focused prospect piece. 

Early Season Rising NHL Draft Prospects in NCAA and CHL

Dean Letourneau (F-BOS): It's easy to say now, but it's quite clear Letourneau shouldn't have been playing college hockey last season. That wasn't the original plan, as he decided to enroll at Boston College a year earlier than originally expected. He may be 6-foot-7, but he wasn't ready from either a strength or experience standpoint. It showed up statistically, as Letourneau managed just three assists in 36 games. This season is a different story entirely. He looks bigger, stronger and far better equipped to handle the rigors of Hockey East. In his first nine games, he has three goals and three assists. There's never been a first-round NHL draft pick without talent, and Letourneau (No. 25 overall in 2024) is no exception. I'm not saying he's Tage Thompson, but there were times in Thompson's development curve when he appeared to be bordering on non-prospect status. Don't give up on Letourneau just yet.

Adam Benak (F-MIN): I had Benak ranked No. 31 on my big board heading into this past summer's draft, and I wanted to go a tad higher than that. He ended up going in Round 4 (102nd overall) to Minnesota, and that looks like a complete steal early on. In 17 games with Brantford, Benak has nine goals and 31 points. He's second in OHL scoring at the time of this writing to Bulldogs teammates and 2025 Seattle first-round Jake O'Brien. Benak is undersized (5-foot-8, 165 pounds) but extremely creative. I'm willing to bet on the talent all day long. His junior career is off to a brilliant start.

Kashawn Aitcheson (D-NYI): Aitcheson was the No. 17 overall pick by the Islanders in June and expected to go a handful of picks higher than that. He's a top prospect and was viewed as one in the draft, but few could have seen this early-season offensive explosion coming. In 19 games with OHL Barrie, Aitcheson has 15 goals and 24 points. He had a first-period hat trick in a game against Sudbury earlier this month, scoring three times in a span of just over five minutes. Aitcheson is a physical, in-your-face defenseman. He plays hard and loves to throw the body around. If these offensive traits stick even somewhat, the Islanders have a two-way force on their hands. The lone negative regarding Aitcheson's campaign to date is that he was recently suspended for two games for dumping a water bottle on an opposing fan. 

Max Plante (F-DET): Plante joined Minnesota-Duluth last season after a couple of underrated years at the US NTDP. The former No. 47 overall pick in 2024, Plante had nine goals and 28 points in 23 games his freshman year. I liked him heading into the draft, but viewed him as more of a depth guy, likely a third-liner, capable of chipping in maybe a dozen goals per year while helping out on the penalty killing. It's early, but Plante is currently on an all-time heater, leading the nation in scoring with 10 goals and 22 points in a dozen games. Honestly, I didn't think offensive production like this was within his potential range of outcomes, even for a short period of time. I'll be fascinated to see what his numbers look like when the season comes to a close. 

Prospect Struggles for Brennan Othmann and Roger McQueen

Brennan Othmann (F-NYR): I've talked about Othmann in the past, and unless something changes, this will probably be the last time you hear him mentioned for quite a while. He seemingly had a shot to win a spot on the NHL roster out of training camp, but ended up as an early cut. Othmann was eventually recalled anyway, appearing in one game in which he struggled mightily at both ends of the rink before being banished to the press box and eventually back to AHL Hartford, where, as of this writing, he has zero goals and two assists in six games. Othmann has never figured out what type of player he needs to become to succeed at the NHL level. The scoring ability he showed in juniors hasn't carried over to the professional ranks, and he's never projected as a shutdown guy. The Rangers would probably trade him in a second if they got any reasonable offer, but he doesn't seem to be highly regarded around the league, either. If I updated the top 150 right now, I don't think he'd be on it.

Roger McQueen (F-ANA): My long-term concern regarding McQueen remains minimal. He just hasn't been as effective as I thought he would be early in his first season at Providence College. He has five assists and 25 penalty minutes in nine games. The supporting cast is middling and the transition from the CHL to NCAA isn't an easy one, so there's no reason to overreact. That said, there's zero doubt that Providence's best player in the early going has been 2024 Chicago third-rounder John Mustard, who struggled himself in his freshman season for the Friars but is seemingly now in the running for one of the final few spots on the Canadian World Junior team this upcoming holiday season.