2026 T25U25: Honorable Mentions

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With so few unranked players, there is a longer list of honourable mentions, and this will be our first look at how the votes were handed out. In our tabulation system an unranked player gets a weighted ranking of 26, and usually the person who lands in the 25th spot has a weighted ranking much higher than 25. This year that person is at 23.18. In between are the honourable mentions.

William Belle

Belle, unranked last year in the top 25 after being drafted at 137th overall, got one vote at 25. You can't get much closer to unranked than that, and his weighted average was 25.91. He is a very large forward with an unusual history – he began learning hockey in China – but the most recent development camp revealed his lack of basic hockey skills. He has a long road to ever be taken very seriously as a prospect.

Alexander Plesovskikh

Ranked 23rd last year, he hit 25.82 this year on the strength of only one vote at 24th. He is very unlike Belle, in that he has the classic Russian training in skating and skills, but he just has no real offensive game, which as a winger seems like a need, not an option.

Timofei Obvintsev

Unranked on the list last year, Obvintsev has signed an AHL deal to tend goal for the Marlies or the Cyclones this year. But his ranking this year of 25.64 shows that didn't impress the voters. He was ranked by two voters with a 23rd place and a 25th. Goalies, who knows?

Nicholas Moldenhauer

Ranked 22nd last year, this time out Moldenhauer hit 25.55 with thow votes, one 24th and one 23rd. He showed some verve at development camp, but it didn't make a dent in opinions set by his not very good NCAA play. Forwards really have to generate something offensively to get noticed.

Hayes Hundley

Tied with Moldenhauer at 25.55, Hundley is new to the T25 and is a free agent defender who has one year of NCAA play behind him. He got one vote at 21st.

Sam McCue

McCue played with Plesovskikh and Malinoski at development camp, and joins them in not making the T25. He was placed at 20 last year and hit 25.45 with one 25th and one 21st vote. He is one of those physical players who gets some net-front goals, but not at a level that has impressed anyone yet.

Brandon Buhr

Tied with McCue at 25.45, and with one 21st and one 25th vote, Buhr is just young enough by seven days that he'll make the eligibility list next year. He is a free agent winger out of the NCAA.

Blake Smith

Still in the depths of the ranking list, Smith hit 24.55 on the strength of one ranking at 25th and one at 11th! Smith, unranked last year, was a free agent signing from Flilnt in the OHL. He played in 62 Marlies games, had 110 PIM and featured in only one game in the playoffs, despite scoring a goal. John Gruden isn't convinced by Smith either.

Juuso Ainasto

The first player to get four rankings is new goalie Juuso Ainasto. I confess to throwing him in on the bottom of my list on the strength of Finland inviting him to the WJSS. He received a vote at 22nd and three at 20th and his 24 in weighted average, making him the lowest ranked player that's at least close to making the cut.

Brody Pepoy

Newly drafted Brody Pepoy received five votes and got to 23.91 with one 18th, one 19th, a 22nd and two at 24th, so a lot of people considered him in their lowest tier. He had a good development camp, and got some notice for it.

Borya Valis

Ranked 14th last year, Valis has fallen all the way to almost making it this year. He's now 22, so that's the age where something exciting needs to have happened to keep the dreams alive. He hit 23.45, with five votes, one at 16th, one at 19th, a 20th, 23dr and 24th. He also went from junior hockey and 80 points in 66 games to the AHL and 25 points in 60 games. He's a capable AHLer, but no one is betting he's rising much higher than that anymore.

The difference between Valis and the person ranked 25th is very interesting. Mr. 25 got votes from 17 - 21, but only four of them. It will take until Mr. 24 before we we start seeing players ranked by more voters. There seems to be an actual line between 24th and everyone else this year, whereas that bump usually comes a little higher up.

The full list of Community Vote results below 25 will be out this weekend, and it is very different.

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