How the top prospects dealt at the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline are doing now

Credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images

With less than two months until the March 7 NHL Trade Deadline, we’re delivering at least one deadline-focused story every day at Daily Faceoff.

Today, we look back at the key prospects dealt last year to check on their progression.

2024 NHL Trade Deadline Countdown: 55 days

It’s been close to a year since we saw close to 15 prospects move ahead of the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline.

Mostly, we’re talking about young players who are still far away from the NHL. A few have seen big-game activity, but nothing too meaningful just yet. Still, prospects can be nice sweeteners in deals because you’ve got time to be patient with them – and if you strike gold, you look like a genius.

All but two prospects moved last year are still on NHL deals. Riley Damiani, whom the Dallas Stars moved to Calgary in exchange for Mathias Emilio Pettersen, is currently playing with the Augsburger Panthers in the German DEL. Graham Sward never signed an NHL deal after getting traded by Nashville to Winnipeg but is on an AHL deal with the Manitoba Moose. So far, he has primarily played in the ECHL.

But what about the rest – how have they looked? From future impact NHLers to potential flops, here’s a look at how 12 players moved ahead of the deadline last year have performed since then:

Artem Grushnikov, D (Calgary Flames)

Trade: Calgary acquired Artem Grushnikov, 2024 second-round pick and a 2026 conditional third-round pick from Dallas for Chris Tanev

The Flames clearly thought highly of Grushnikov, a defensive defenseman like Tanev. Grushnikov is a strong, shutdown-oriented defender who doesn’t do a lot on the scoresheet but will smother your best opponents night after night. He’s a good skater for his size and has always been a solid physical player, too. He has three points for the Calgary Wranglers this year and still hasn’t seen any NHL time, but there is some third-pair potential based on how well he defends.

Hunter Brzustewicz, D (Calgary Flames)

Trade: Calgary acquired Hunter Brzustewicz, Andrei Kuzmenko, Joni Jurmo, 2024 first-round pick (Matvei Gridin) and a 2024 conditional fourth-round pick (traded) from Vancouver for Elias Lindholm

While Grushnikov was more of the stay-at-home option, Brzustewicz is a much more gifted offensive defenseman. He had 79 assists and 92 points with the Kitchener Rangers last season, making him one of the most productive defenders in the CHL. He has had a decent first year in the AHL, putting up modest numbers. But scouts have noted that the more comfortable he gets, the better he has become in both zones. For right now, there’s still a lot to like about the 20-year-old, who is still another year or two away from being a real NHL threat. The first-rounder became Matvei Gridin, the USHL’s top point producer last year – so that was a nice pickup, given Kuzmenko hasn’t been.

Mathias Emilio Pettersen, LW (Dallas Stars)

Trade: Dallas acquired Mathias Emilio Pettersen from Calgary for Riley Damiani

MEP was once seen as the future of Norwegian hockey, having put up great numbers at a young age with the junior national team before heading off to the University of Denver. He played two great years there and was named to the NCHC’s academic all-conference team in both seasons. But since turning pro in 2021, Pettersen has struggled to see real improvement in his game, even after the trade to the Stars organization. He’s currently ninth in scoring for Texas and doesn’t seem to be on the inside track to NHL playing time in the near future. At 24, and set to be a Group 6 UFA, we might never see his NHL dreams come true.

Jan Mysak, C (Anaheim Ducks)

Trade: Montreal acquired Jacob Perreault from Anaheim for Jan Mysak

Mysak is having a career year in the AHL, currently sitting at 15 points. He’s on track for 20 goals and 35 points in his fourth season in the second-tier league, playing a decent middle-six role with the San Diego Gulls. He was drafted 48th overall by Montreal in 2020 and his development was all over the place during the 2020-21 COVID-affected season, when he spent the majority of the campaign with the Laval Rocket. He found himself back in the OHL the following year but struggled to blow the doors off offensively. At this point, he looks like a decent AHLer at best.

Jacob Perreault, RW (Previously to Montreal Canadiens, now with Edmonton Oilers)

Trade: Montreal acquired Jacob Perreault from Anaheim for Jan Mysak

Perreault was a first-round pick in 2020, but he never really came close to cracking the Ducks. He finished the season with the AHL’s Laval Rocket but only had two points and 19 penalty minutes in 13 regular season games. He split the start of the 2024-25 season between Laval and the ECHL’s Trois-Rivieres Lions before he was sent to the Oilers in early December. Perreault is playing some of his best hockey with the Bakersfield Condors, registering seven points in 10 games. It’s good to see the 22-year-old finally producing after a difficult few years of pro hockey, but it doesn’t seem like the NHL will be in the cards for him anytime soon.

Jeremy Hanzel, D (Nashville Predators)

Trade: Colorado acquired Yakov Trenin and Graham Sward from Nashville for Jeremy Hanzel, 2025 third-round pick

Hanzel signed his NHL entry-level contract with the Avalanche shortly before he was moved in a minor swap. He finished the 2023-24 season with two assists in five games with the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals before embarking on his first full pro hockey campaign this year. Hanzel has spent nearly the entire season with the ECHL’s Atlanta Gladiators, where offense has been hard to come by. He put up some decent numbers with the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds, but his poor skating hasn’t allowed him to take a step further in his game.

Vasili Ponomaryov, C (Pittsburgh Penguins)

Trade: Carolina acquired Jake Guentzel from Pittsburgh for Michael Bunting, Vasili Ponomarev, Ville Koivunen, Cruz Lucius, conditional first-round pick in 2024 (became a second-rounder, Harrison Brunicke) and a conditional fifth-round pick in 2024 (conditions not met)

Of all the prospects the Hurricanes traded in the Guentzel deal, Ponomaryov was – and still is – the most NHL-ready of the bunch. The 22-year-old Russian had two points in two NHL games with Carolina last year and has gotten into three NHL games with the Penguins this season, too. For the most part, he’s been buzzing with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, which recently included one of his best career games with a three-assist night against the Toronto Marlies. Ponomaryov’s motor and work ethic should give him a shot at becoming a middle-six contributor with the Penguins over the next few years.

Ville Koivunen, LW (Pittsburgh Penguins)

Koivunen had a fantastic season with Karpat in Finland last year, helping to set up his first full season in the AHL. He’s been good, playing at a pace of around 65 points. He’s a skilled forward who loves having the puck on his stick, and he’s quite smart, too. The issue dating back to his draft year, though, was his lackluster skating, and that’s still an issue if he’s going to make it into a top-six role – and there’s not much reason to think he’d excel deeper in the lineup. At 21, Koivunen still has plenty of development runway to go – and he still can be the most valuable piece Pittsburgh got in the Guentzel trade.

Cruz Lucius, RW (Pittsburgh Penguins)

Injuries have unfortunately plagued Lucius’ career, and that’s exactly what we’re seeing right now. After two 34-point seasons with the University of Wisconsin, Lucius left to join Arizona State University for 2024-25. Lucius was injured ahead of the season and hasn’t played yet, but he is expected to get back into full-game action for the first time this year. The skilled offensive contributor has produced at every level, and hopefully, that won’t change in his junior season, but he’ll be making up for lost time – again.

David Edstrom, C (Previously San Jose Sharks, now Nashville Predators

Traded: Vegas acquired Tomas Hertl, 2025 and 2027 third-round picks from San Jose for David Edstrom and 2025 first-round pick

After he was a key piece of the Hertl trade, the Sharks shipped Edstrom off to the Predators in a deal that sent top goaltending prospect Yaroslav Askarov the other way. It’s not that nobody wants him, either – he’s a legit prospect who brings a ton of value. Edstrom is coming off an excellent showing at the World Juniors, where he was named one of Sweden’s top three players. Edstrom is known for being an excellent skater with good hockey IQ. At 6-foot-3, he has great size for a power forward, and he’s a good dual-threat as a shooter and a passer.

Jack Thompson, D (San Jose Sharks)

Trade: San Jose acquired Jack Thompson and a 2024 third-round pick (traded) for Anthony Duclair and a 2025 seventh-round pick

Thompson is the only one on this list with more than five games of NHL experience since the trade deadline. He played in two games with the Sharks last year before getting a more extended 14-game look this season. Thompson has some solid numbers, too, with two goals and five points in 14 games, and another six assists in 11 AHL outings with the Barracuda. Offensively, he’s looking good – defensively, not as much. His mobility is a bit of an issue and while he can perform decently in spurts, Thompson might not have enough to be an everyday NHLer at this point.

Cade Webber, D (Toronto Maple Leafs)

Trade: Toronto acquired Cade Webber from Carolina for 2026 sixth-round pick

It’s never a bad thing to have a big defensive defender in the stable, and this trade was as low risk as it gets. The 6-foot-7 defender has put up modest numbers with the Toronto Marlies, where he has typically served as a third-pairing option. While an NHL future seems far away, some scouts have liked how well he has handled the pro game this year. And at the cost of a sixth-rounder in 2026, why not make the move to get some immediate defensive depth?

SPONSORED BY bet365