VHL News & Stories

A team-by-team look at how all 32 NHL teams fared at the 2026 NHL Draft.

Cam Robinson returns with his final mock draft of the 2026 NHL Draft.

Why the 6-foot-3 forward will be a coveted target at this year's NHL draft.

The penultimate Elite Prospects 2026 NHL Draft ranking here, and there have been significant changes since our last ranking back in January.

Dylan Griffing hits the film room to break down one of the more exciting Russian prospects for this year's draft.

As teams continue to push for the playoffs, a St. Louis Blues prospect and couple of 2026 NHL Draft eligibles are taking steps forward.

The New York Islanders prospect and a couple of 2027 NHL Draft-eligibles lead this month's Eastern Europe Stock Watch.

Our scouts have convened for the third time this season, and there's a new No. 1 for the 2026 NHL Draft.

Dylan Griffing takes a look at the risers and fallers in the MHL, VHL, and KHL and from November.

The race for No. 1 opens, defencemen dominating, and major risers highlight our second ranking of the 2026 NHL Draft class.

Dylan Griffing breaks down the notable performers in Eastern Europe over the last month.

Jacob Titus breaks down the world of goaltending in our latest stock watch.

Dylan Griffing breaks down the early season in Eastern Europe.

Our scouts take a deeper look at the Carolina Hurricanes prospect pool.

Dylan Griffing looks at how players have been trending in Russia, led by the Chicago Blackhawks second-round pick.

Our scouts have convened for the second time this season and produced a December top-50 prospects for the 2025 Draft.

Dmitri Buchelnikov emerges as a top KHL scorer, while Magomed Sharakanov and Alexander Zharovsky are building strong cases for the NHL Draft.

With prospects taking over in Russia, Dylan Griffing highlights four standout performers, headlined by Ivan Demidov and Daniil But.

The Elite Prospects 2024 NHL Draft Guide is now available for download with an Elite Prospects Premium subscription!

The Elite Prospects scouting team has ranked the top 96 players in the 2024 NHL Draft ahead of the U18 World Hockey Championship in Helsinki, Finland.

March's Russia Stock Watch looks at the play of Dmitri Buchelnikov, Ilya Nabokov, Sergei Ivanov, Ilya Ivantsov, and Nikita Ishimnikov.

The December Russia Stock Watch zeroes in on the play of Daniil But, Pavel Moysevich, Matvei Shuravin, and Prokhor Poltapov.

The November Russia Stock Watch zeroes in on the play of Mikhail Ye. Ilyin, Timur Mukhanov, Ilya Fedotov, Yegor Graf, Matvei Babenko, Alexander Shen, Maxim Velikov, and Arsen Taimazov.

This week's Scout's Notebook zeroes in on Yegor Surin, Artyom Shchuchinov, Igor Chernyshov, and Matvei Shuravin.

Once a contender for second best league in the world, KHL has fallen in prospect development. Chace McCallum looks at the decline of hockey in Russia as evidenced by the KHL, VHL, and MHL.

Dylan Griffing kicks off Stock Watch with our first update from the 2023-24 hockey season, looking at whose stock is rising, steady, and falling in Russia.

Lassi Alanen goes into the film to examine the Russian defender who could be one of the better picks on the blue line in this draft.

Dylan Griffing takes you into the Film Room™️ to look at 2023 NHL Draft prospect and Russian defenceman Dmitri Simashev's game.

Lassi Alanen takes you into the Film Room™️ to look at 2023 NHL Draft prospect Matvei Michkov's game and why he's worth the wait.

The Russia Stock Watch gives you an update on Ivan Demidov, Marat Khusnutdinov, Maxim Fedotov, Nikita Chibrikov, Alexander Nikishin, Danila Yurov, and Mikhail Gulyayev.

The Elite Prospects scouting team has put together a new draft ranking for the 2023 NHL Draft ahead of the U18s, placing 80 prospects on their latest board.

March's Russia Stock watch zeroes in on Matvei Michkov, Dmitri Simashev, Dmitri Vlasenko, Dmitri Buchelnikov, and Artyom Duda.

The projected top-3 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft has thrive despite playing on a bad team.

The Russia Stock Watch highlights the play of Ivan Demidov, Alexander Nikishin, Bogdan Trineyev, German Tochilkin, Viktor Neuchev, and Nikolai Makarov.

The Elite Prospects scouting team has ranked the 64 best prospects for the 2023 NHL Entry Draft.

The Russian prospect Stock Watch returns with a look at Ivan Miroshnichenko, Alexander Suvorov, Nikita Grebyonkin, Gleb Trikozov, Vlad Lukashevich, and more!

The Elite Prospects scouting team has put together their first draft ranking of the season for the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, with scouting reports on their top 32 players.

EP Rinkside's Director of European Scouting take a dive into the numbers and the game on four draft-eligible prospects.

The Russian regional stock watch is highlighted by Dmitri Simashev's charge to be the best defenceman out of the region in this year's draft.

Mitch Brown and Lassi Alanen team up to look at the six prospects with the most to prove in the 2022-23 season.

The EP Rinkside Prospect Pool Rankings series continues with a look at the Carolina Hurricanes and their 14th-ranked system.

The EP Rinkside Prospect Pool Ranking Series continues with the 20th-ranked Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Elite Prospects team has ranked 64 players for the 2022 NHL Entry Draft with their second board of the season.

The Game is Global series looks at the 32 highest-ranked hockey nations in the world and provides an update on where hockey stands within their borders in the lead-up to the Olympics. In Part 5, we look at France, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Norway.

Elite Prospects Russian regional scout Dylan Griffing offers a player-by-player breakdown of the roster that Russia is likely to bring with them as they look to avenge last year's pitiful performance at the World Juniors with a gold medal showing this time around.

J.D. Burke and his team of scouts have come together to produce their first draft ranking of the year for the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, a board that's 32 players long.

Dmitri Rashevsky went undrafted in 2019 and 2020 before the Jets selected him in the fifth round. Mere months later, he's near the top of the KHL scoring ladder.

Seemingly overnight, the Minnesota Wild have become one of the NHL’s most exciting teams. So many of their players register high on the fun-to-watch meter, and their team has plenty...

The Buffalo Sabres boast the NHL's 12th-best prospect pool according to our scouts. They're the subject of today's writeup in the EP Rinkside prospect pool rankings countdown.

The Edmonton Oilers boast the NHL's 25th-ranked prospect pool, and they're the subject of today's writeup in the EP Rinkside prospect pool rankings countdown.

We've ranked the top 100 skater prospects this week, and now we're following that up with Elite Prospects goalie expert Catherine Silverman's look at the top goalie prospects in the sport.

Elite Prospects team of scouts have convened to rank the 100 best prospects outside of the NHL. They start today with a look at the players they ranked between 100-51.

J.D. Burke and his team of scouts have convened to put together their latest draft ranking for the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, a list that's 64 players long, crafted after the U18 in Frisco and Plano, Texas.

Most prospects improve, but they don't usually improve as much as Rodion Amirov did this season. Mitch Brown takes you into the Film Room™️ to look at just how far Amirov's game has come.

Skill without the puck is often overlooked. Here's how the best in the world and a handful of prospects create offence without the puck.

David St-Louis takes you into the Film Room™️ with today's article, a look at Fyodor Svechkov and why he just might challenge Matthew Beniers for the distinction as the 2021 draft's premier defensive forward.

J.D. Burke and his team of scouts came together to create their first board for the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. They've got the first-round covered in this 32-player ranking.

The NHL’s decision to push the 2020 draft to October 6th was bound to boost the stock of several European prospects, and you can count Dmitri Zlodeyev among them. By...

The New York Rangers drafted Vitali Kravtsov ninth-overall in the 2018 NHL Draft to perform one task, and to perform it exceptionally well — produce offence. He looked the part...

EliteProspects ranked 129 players for the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, and 20 of them passed through the draft unclaimed. That’s pretty much par for the course. The average team ranks...

The Columbus Blue Jackets had a choice. They could draft Yegor Chinakhov with their first pick, 21st overall, and steel themselves for the questions that would follow. Alternatively, they could...

No two draft picks are created equal. That’s as apparent in the immediate aftermath of any draft as it is five-plus years down the road, even if the true yield...

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. More than a year spent tracking the progress of hundreds of players, consulting with industry insiders, running the numbers, and it all...

Many players build their game around exceptional skill and figure out the rest along the way. When they make the jump to the professional ranks, they find their speed and...

One might think that two new rankings among a group of five public outlets might not result in a tectonic shift in the landscape of the NHL Draft, but that...

The appetite for NHL Draft coverage expands with every year. Where the main course centred on the first round alone once sufficed, our audience now demands a seven-plate meal with...

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft is going to… be determined at a later date. When that will happen, and for whom, we cannot say....

We’re little over a week away from the NHL Draft Lottery, scheduled for Friday, June 26th, at 8 PM Eastern. So what better time to update our ranking of the...

If you’re in this space, then there’s a good chance you’re an avid follower of the NHL Entry Draft. It’s the best place to be for those sorts of people....

Under normal circumstances, I’d have just returned from the U18 World Hockey Championships in Plymouth, Michigan, fresh impressions of many of the 2020 NHL Draft’s best prospects foremost in my...

The Russian delegation at the World Junior Hockey Championships hasn’t reached the Finals in three straight years. The United States won over the Russians in back-to-back events, stopping them in...

I’m so proud to finally share the hard work of our scouts in the form of this year’s first NHL Entry Draft ranking for the EliteProspects Rinkside audience. So much...

It’s rare in the modern NHL for goaltenders to draw high enough praise for teams to consider spending a top ten pick in the NHL Entry Draft to land one....

Some are ready for Henrik “The King” Lundqvist to retire. He’s built a Hockey Hall of Fame resume already, but some hold the lack of a Stanley Cup ring against...

Mikhail Maltsev is done feeling like a broken record. “A lot of people ask me why I didn’t stay in the KHL and why I wanted to play in the...

I’m sure the excitement of most New York Rangers fans at seeing their team’s top spot in the EP Rinkside Prospect Pool Rankings is met with equal parts bewilderment. We’re...

Season 15 of The Pipeline Show is now officially underway and by tradition, that means the in-depth season previews for all 22 Western Hockey League franchises are also beginning. But...

The Carolina Hurricanes seem to get almost everything right these days. From a miraculous second-half of the NHL season that vaulted them to the Playoffs, and the Conference Finals run...