Every season, a handful of prospects take the leap. Their development takes off, leapfrogging prospects drafted ahead of them.

Sometimes, the leap comes with unexpected growth, like the addition of a new dimension or overhauling their game. Others, it’s the culmination of several tweaks, like getting a bit stronger, a bit faster, and a bit more confident. Then, there’s a player’s game translating to a higher level better than anticipated.

I cheated a bit in last season’s exercise, picking Mattias Norlinder and Albert Johansson, two players who were probably already top-50 prospects in the sport. That’s not happening this year, as I limited my five picks to just one player inside Elite Prospects’ top-100 prospects and zero inside their team’s top-5 list, per our prospect pool rankings.

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