The Calder Cup Playoffs are the best showcase for AHLers to prove that they belong in the NHL. They learn how to play in difficult games, playoff hockey that forces them to adjust and win an uncomfortable game. 

The 2026 playoffs have boosted the stock of a few prospects on the final four teams. Likewise, some players who aren’t considered prospects but are still young and learning the pro game are playing their best hockey, proving they deserve an NHL shot. 

Last season, Arturs Silovs was dominant in the net and led the Abbotsford Canucks to the Calder Cup title. It forced the Vancouver front office to either keep him on the NHL team or trade him (they moved him to the Pittsburgh Penguins, where his play helped them make the playoffs). The same thing might be in the works for another goaltender. 

Artur Ahktyamov put together a strong season for the Toronto Marlies but is playing at another level in the playoffs. His .928 save percentage (SV%), 2.03 goals-against average, and only nine goals in his last five starts have the Marlies two wins away from the Calder Cup Final. 

More importantly, Ahktyamov is playing like an NHL goaltender. He has the size and physicality to withstand pressure in his crease, something that’s been on display in the playoffs as teams try to get into the dirty areas. Ahktyamov moves well in the net and has a great glove, allowing him to stop NHL-caliber shots. 

The question the Toronto Maple Leafs have is whether they bring him up to the NHL next season or keep developing the 24-year-old in the AHL. If they bring him up, they have to trade either Joseph Woll or Anthony Stolarz, two goaltenders who battled injuries and struggled last season but have the track record that will give a new front office hesitation. 

The Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins have plenty of prospects, many of whom are more skilled than Tristan Broz. Mikhail Ilyin, Ville Koivunen, Rutger McGroarty, and defenseman Harrison Brunicke are all highlight plays waiting to happen and might be in Pittsburgh next season. 

This run Broz is putting together is hard to ignore. He’s emerged as the do-it-all center who has made everyone around him better. Broz often centers the line with all the Penguins' skill on the wings but he’s allowing them to find open looks and the back of the net. 

Broz leads the team with 10 points in 11 playoff games. There was talk about him being on the NHL team this season if not for injury, so he heads into the next season in the driver’s seat to center one of their lines. The NHL team might need someone to center the second or third line, especially as Evgeni Malkin ages and moves to the wing. Broz can be that guy. 

At 26, Tristen Nielsen isn’t a prospect. The Colorado Eagles aren’t the first AHL team he’s played for, either. He’s a tweener by AHL standards, not a prospect and not a veteran either. Nielsen is a late bloomer, hitting his stride with the Eagles as the team inches closer to its first Calder Cup Final in team history. 

Nielsen had an impressive season, yet he is making his biggest impact as a playoff performer. His five goals and four assists in the 2025 playoffs helped the Canucks win the Calder Cup title, and this season, he’s taken it up a notch with the Eagles, scoring eight goals and adding five assists in 12 playoff games. 

Nielsen can be a depth skater on an NHL team next season. The Colorado Avalanche have him under contract for one more season, and they might want ot give him that chance. He’s not a prospect yet would make them younger and add more speed to a team that lost it at the end of this season. 

It seems hard to crack the Carolina Hurricanes these days. After all, they steamrolled the Eastern Conference with a 12-1 record on their way to the Stanley Cup Final. However, if there’s one player who has proven he can make it, it’s Bradly Nadeau. 

Nadeau has two goals and seven assists in the Chicago Wolves' playoff run and can be a third-line playmaker at the NHL level. While his ice time was minimal with the Hurricanes this season, his play in the playoffs has shown he can take on a bigger role next season.