This week we are going to look at some players in the West who might have been drafted with aspirations of being 30-story towers with two-story penthouses but might only be two-story walk ups.

I'm going to focus on players aged from 23 to 25 who were 1st or early 2nd round draft picks, as these players are on the bubble of moving past prospect status and could still carry some value in fantasy leagues.

This isn't to say that some of these players won't break out and reach their potential in two or three years, but it's becoming more unlikely sooner than later.

One of the toughest decisions in fantasy is deciding when to move on from a prospect. Does the player have another level of production or have they already peaked after three or four NHL seasons under their belt.

Players drafted in 2016

Jake Bean – 13th overall pick – Calgary

Bean was drafted as an offensive defender after posting 196 points in 219 WHL games. He had a decent sophomore campaign in 2021-22 while with Carolina where he had seven goals and 18 assists in 67 games. Now with Calgary, Bean is struggling to be a regular and has put up just four points in 26 games.

Luke Kunin – 15th overall pick – San Jose

Kunin's best year so far was in 2019-20 with the Minnesota Wild where he had 15 goals and 16 assists in 63 games. He could break his career high in goals (15) as he has put up 10 in his first 42 games of 2024-25.

He's become a physical forward who hits and should get 10-15 goals and 20-25 points each year.

Logan Stanley – 18th overall pick – Winnipeg

Stanley has never played more than 58 games in a season and has averaged 14:39 in 156 career games. He could get 100 hits and blocks if he was able to play 75 games or more. He is a sixth or seventh defender at this point.

Brett Howden – 27th overall pick – Vegas

Howden is breaking out in 2024-25 with 15 goals in his first 39 games. His previous career-high was nine goals in 2021-22 with Vegas and in 2019-20 with the NY Rangers. He's a physical player who is nearing the 400-game mark of his career. Howden is unlikely to maintain his 30-goal pace but should crack 20.

Players drafted in 2017

Casey Mittelstadt – 8th overall pick – Colorado

With back-to-back campaigns of 59 and 57 points entering into 2024-25, there was high hope that Mittelstadt would break through with the high-scoring Avalanche and elevate to perhaps 70 points or more. After 40 games, he has eight goals and 17 assists and is on pace for 50 points. His career-high in goals is just 15.

Erik Brannström – 15th overall pick – Vancouver

Brannstrom struggles defensively and with career-highs of three goals and 20 points after 294 career games, it's not enough offense to keep him as a regular in the lineup in the NHL. It looked like he was going to turn the corner in Vancouver in 2024-25, but he has cooled off as of late (28-3-5-8) and has been a healthy scratch a few times.

Juuso Valimaki – 16th overall pick – Utah

Things were looking good for Valimaki in 2022-23 after posting 34 points in 78 games for Arizona, but he has gone a little backwards since then in Arizona and now Utah in 2024-25. He has (33-2-2-4) averaged just 16:49 per game and has become a third-pairing defender after being in the top four the prior two years.

Timothy Liljegren – 17th overall pick – San Jose

Liljegren had never played more than 63 games in a year during his time in Toronto. After moving to San Jose, he has played 30 games in 2024-25 and has three goals and four assists and is averaging 18:14 per game. He's shown moments in the NHL of being a top-four defender, but he might be a fifth or sixth defender at this point.

Eeli Tolvanen – 30th overall pick – Seattle

Tolvanen has become a solid third-line forward who can put up 15 goals and 20 assists while throwing 150-200 hits with the Kraken. He is probably not a regular top-four player at this point.

Players drafted in 2018

Barrett Hayton – 5th overall pick – Utah

Hayton had 19 goals and 24 assists in 82 games in 2022-23 and I thought it was just the beginning of his progression. He was injured in 2023-24, playing just 33 games and posting a disappointing 10 points. In 2024-25 he has been healthy but had just seven goals and 10 assists in 39 games. He's been passed on the depth chart by Logan Cooley and has seen his ice time go from 17:30 to 15:30 since 2022-23. He has now played 248 NHL games.

Ty Dellandrea – 13th overall pick – San Jose

Dellandrea had a promising sophomore season in 2022-23 where he had nine goals and 19 assists in 82 games while with Dallas. Since then, he has played 75 games split between Dallas and San Jose and has put up three goals and 10 assists. He is averaging 11:48 in 2024-25. He has been a healthy scratch in five of his past nine games.

Grigori Denisenko – 15th overall pick – Vegas

Denisenko has played one NHL game in 2024-25 with Vegas and his AHL statline is 29-7-12-19 and a minus 18. His time in North America could be over after 2024-25.

Rasmus Kupari – 20th overall pick – Winnipeg

In 65 games with the Jets, Kupari has posted three goals and two assists. He is a fourth-line penalty killer who averages just over nine minutes per game and that is more than likely his ceiling now.

Isac Lundestrom – 23rd overall pick – Anaheim

Some young players tease us with a bit of production early on and I know I'm guilty of assuming that they should progress from there in the next year or two. Lundestrom had 16 goals and 13 assists in 80 games in 2021-22 and it would be understandable to think that perhaps he could put up 20 goals at some point. In hindsight, he shot 19.3 percent, and it was a stretch for him to get 16 goals. In 2024-25 he has just four goals and one assist in 36 games and has become a defensive center with very limited offense.

Nils Lundkvist – 28th overall pick – Dallas

Any hopes of Lundkvist becoming a 30–40-point defender have evaporated. He averages just 14-15 minutes per game and can't move past being a sixth or seventh defender in Dallas. Perhaps a fresh start somewhere else would kickstart some offense, but it's unlikely in Dallas.

Players drafted in 2019

Kaapo Kakko – 2nd overall pick – Seattle

Kakko had 18 goals and 22 assists with the NY Rangers in 2022-23 and now has five goals and 13 assists in 37 games in 2024-25. That is a pace for 10 goals and 26 assists in 74 games. He's going the wrong way and seems pigeonholed as a third-line winger. He doesn't hit, block or take faceoffs, so without offense he has very little fantasy upside.

Alex Turcotte – 5th overall pick – Los Angeles

At the very least Turcotte has become an NHL regular in 2024-25, five years after being drafted. He has played 33 games with four goals and 11 assists and has moved up to the third line from the fourth. I think most people had moved on from him after 2022-23 as the offense just wasn't there for a 5th overall pick.

Philip Broberg – 8th overall pick – St. Louis

In 81 regular season games as a member of the Edmonton Oilers, Broberg looked a little lost as an NHL defender. He had two goals and 11 assists and struggled defensively. In the 2023-24 playoffs, with the Oilers, he played 10 games and had two goals and an assist. The Blues offer-sheeted Broberg during the summer after and they have the playoff version of Broberg so far in 2024-25. He has 14 points after 28 games and has averaged 20:39 per game after averaging just over 12 per game in Edmonton. Sometimes a fresh start helps.

Trevor Zegras – 9th overall pick – Anaheim

Zegras was progressing well until 2023-24. He had seasons of 23-38-61 and 23-42-65 in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He had an awful start to 2023-24 and was injured for much of the campaign where he played just 31 games. It hasn't been much better in 2024-25 where he has played just 24 games in the first half. In his past 55 games he has posted just 10 goals and 15 assists. I still think he is capable of a point per game in the NHL, but it might not be in Anaheim.

Vasili Podkolzin – 10th overall pick – Edmonton

After Podkolzin posted 14 goals and 12 assists in 79 games as a rookie in 2021-22, I don't think many people thought he wouldn't reach 20 goals and 20 assists one day. Three years later, he is in Edmonton and he has played just 97 NHL games with eight goals and 15 assists. The move to Edmonton was probably good for Podkolzin, but there is doubt about him reaching the 20-20 club now.

Ville Heinola – 20th overall pick – Winnipeg

Since being drafted, Heinola has played parts of five different seasons with Winnipeg, never having played more than 13 games (so far in 2024-25). He has battled numerous injuries and had to bide his time. 2024-25 seemed like it was his time to become a regular, but he had some complications from his broken bone in 2023-24 and missed the first 25 games. Right now, he is just the sixth or seventh defender on the Jets and has played 48 career games with one goal and 11 assists. Because of his injuries, he might need another year or two for us to pass judgement on his game.

Arthur Kaliyev – 33rd overall pick – Los Angeles (put on waivers on Sunday)

When Kaliyev posted 13 goals and 15 assists in 56 games in 2022-23 I thought he would score 20 goals or more in 2023-24. He went the other way with just seven goals and eight assists in 51 games and was a healthy scratch quite a few times. Fast forward to 2024-25, where he missed the first 35 games because of an injury and was just placed on waivers.

Nils Hoglander – 40th overall pick – Vancouver

Hoglander had 24 goals in 80 games in 2023-24. He has two goals and five assists in 36 games in 2024-25. His progress since being a rookie in 2020-21 has been a roller coaster. He's played well in two of the five years he has spent in the NHL and been wildly inconsistent. I don't think he will get to 24 goals again, but he should be capable of 12-18 at some point.

Players drafted in 2020

Quinton Byfield – 2nd overall pick – Los Angeles

Big forwards take time, we have heard time and time again and this is the case with Byfield. It looked like he was set for an early breakout in 2023-24 (80-20-35-55), but he reversed course a little in 2024-25 with nine goals and 11 assists in his first 38 games. He has now played 217 NHL games and the consensus is that players like Byfield breakout around 400 games. He's a gamble as his price tag is still very high and he could have a ceiling of 55-60 points.

Alexander Holtz – 7th overall pick – Vegas

I was surprised that New Jersey traded Holtz after 2023-24 where he was a regular and put up 16 goals and 12 assists in 82 games. He has struggled in Vegas in 2024-25 with three goals and seven assists in 39 games while averaging just 11:45 per game. He's only played 149 NHL games, so he needs a full 2025-26 before we can pass complete judgement.

Cole Perfetti – 10th overall pick – Winnipeg

Perfetti has career-highs of 19 goals and 19 assists in 71 games in 2023-24. Over the past three seasons, Perfetti has produced between 0.54 and 0.59 points per game. He has now played 181 NHL games so is approaching his breakout point this year or next. He could have a ceiling of 45-50 points.

Lukas Reichel – 17th overall pick – Chicago

Reichel showed some promise in the 23 games he played in 2022-23 where he put up seven goals and eight assists. Since then, he's played 99 games for the Blackhawks and has put up just eight goals and 19 assists. He has seen his icetime go from 16:22 to 14:07 and presently to 12:30. After 133 NHL games, I'm not sure his breakthrough will happen in Chicago.

Jake Neighbours – 26th overall pick – St. Louis

Neighbours had 27 goals and 11 assists in 77 games in 2023-24 while shooting 18.6 percent. In 2024-25, he saw a little more ice time from 15:42 to 16:28 per game and received more PP time from 41.8 percent to 57.7. He has 10 goals and nine assists in 41 games and is on pace for 20 goals and 18 assists. He has now played 170 NHL games and is entering his breakout window either this year or next. Was 2023-24 the breakout or will we see a little bit more from him offensively down the road?

Thank you very much for reading and if you have any comments, please leave them below or follow me on Twitter @gampbler15