With the AHL season coming to an end, this season saw no shortage of prospects who no doubt have a bright promising future ahead. We will be breaking down division by division which prospects from the 2025-26 AHL season can go to the NHL next season and have a fighting chance to win Rookie of the Year Honors:

Yakemchuk scored 40 points (10G, 30A) in 54 games for the Belleville Senators in the 2025-26 season, his first pro campaign after four seasons with the WHL Calgary Hitmen. The Fort McMurray, Alberta native was rewarded with a spot on the 2026 Top Prospects Team. The 2024 Draft seventh-overall pick found his way to the NHL and skated in four regular-season games with Ottawa this past season, recording a goal and an assist in his debut in a 3-2 win at Detroit on Mar. 24. Yakemchuk also played in one Stanley Cup Playoff game, recording two assists against eventual champions, Carolina on Apr. 25. With defenceman Jordan Spence being a restricted free agent going into the off-season, now is the perfect time for Yakemchuk to fill in, be a full-timer and make an impact.

Goaltenders face a steep hill for the Calder, but Akhtyamov is coming off an incredible postseason run. He was the backbone of the Toronto Marlies all the way to a 2026 Calder Cup Championship and walked away with the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as Playoffs MVP. If the Kazan, Russia native can bypass Dennis Hildeby and Anthony Stolarz on the Leafs' goalie depth chart out of camp, then the 2020 Draft fourth-rounder has proven he has the fearless composure to beat the odds and become the first goaltender since the 2009-10 season to win the Calder Trophy.

From the beginning of the 2025-26 NHL season to Jan. 11th, despite being third on the Canadiens goalie depth chart, Fowler was first on the unit in save percentage (.908) and Goals-Against-Average (2.46). For the rest of the season, he overtook Sam Montembeault for the backup spot and maintained a save percentage over 0.900. The 2026 AHL All-Star will pair up with 2025-26 All-Rookie Team goalie Jakub Dobes to not just form a Jennings Trophy contending goaltending unit (for lowest goals allowed) but Fowler will hope to be in line for the Calder Trophy.

The Järna, Sweden native played in 45 regular-season games for Laval in 2025-26 and recorded 34 points (10G, 24A) while recording a plus-14 rating to help the Rocket capture the North Division title. The 2026 AHL All-Star also led all AHL defensemen with five game-winning goals on the season. He will be an ideal part of a Montreal blueline that needs support from defencemen not named Lane Hutson, Mike Matheson or Noah Dobson. The 2022 Draft third-rounder already made his NHL debut on Nov. 26, 2025 and skated in 15 games with the Canadiens. He was also named to the 2026 AHL Top Prospects Team.

Helenius has now been named to the AHL Top Prospects Team in back-to-back seasons and for good reason too: He led Rochester with 63 points (21G, 42A) in 63 games, tied for ninth in the league and setting a franchise record for scoring by a teenager. The Buffalo 2024 first-rounder was also named as a 2026 AHL All-Star and was ultimately rewarded with playing his first game in a Sabres jersey on Jan. 19 while scoring two goals in four games for Buffalo in his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut. The Ylöjärvi, Finland native scored the gold-medal clinching overtime goal for Finland at the 2026 IIHF World Championships. Helenius will definitely be looking to collect some more meaningful hardware this upcoming NHL season.  

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