In a new column, our prospect expert also looks at this year's top NCAA free agent, Jarmo's draft record and the top five drafted prospects in hockey.

Welcome to a brand-new column here at The Hockey News, dedicated to prospects. With Future Watch Weekly, I plan on giving readers an inside look at what is happening around the hockey world, with exclusive quotes and analysis on some of the big players and topics of the day. Let's kick things off with a program that has become synonymous with NHL prospects, the London Knights.

London Calling

Under the stewardship of brothers Dale and Mark Hunter, the OHL's London Knights became a factory for talent. Their pro-style set-up enticed a lot of big names to the city and the Knights, starting in the 2000s, were particularly adept at bringing high-end American players to the OHL instead of the NCAA. Patrick Kane, John Carlson and Matthew Tkachuk (who was once committed to Notre Dame) all wore the green and gold while teaming up with the usual stream of Canadian stars that feed into the OHL system.

Lately, the Knights have found a new stream of developmental success - seeing younger high-end players marinate in Jr. B.

NHL first-rounders such as Logan Mailloux (MTL), Easton Cowan (TOR) and Oliver Bonk (PHI) all played for affiliates such as the London Nationals, Komoka Kings and St. Thomas Stars because it allowed them to get more opportunities than they would have on veteran Knights teams. Then when they did become full-timers, they exploded onto the scene. The latest graduate, 2024 NHL draft prospect Sam O'Reilly, spent most of his 16-year-old season with the GOJHL's Nationals and this year is one of the leading rookie scorers in the OHL.

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"We've been doing this for a long time - we even had Seth Griffiths play at St. Mary's at an early age," said London assistant GM Rob Simpson. "But the reason it has worked so well with these guys is they were higher picks willing to go down and trust us. They could have played in the OHL, but they had their long-term development in mind over the short-term, just wanting to play in the league."

The fact the Jr. B teams are close by or even in the same city is an advantage, too.

"It helps having your affiliates in the same city as you," Simpson said. "Then those players can practise with you, do video with your coaches every day and they can train with your trainers. As much as they're playing Jr. B, they're also getting 50 percent of the OHL experience."

Talent hawks have also taken notice with O'Reilly this season.

"He's taken his development slowly and now he's playing down the middle with Easton Cowan on his wing, fitting in and making plays," said one NHL scout. "He's going to develop into that proverbial 200-foot player. He came out and worked and played physical and Dale Hunter gave him more responsibility."

While the Knights aren't the only CHL team to do this, they've certainly perfected the art. It also makes me wonder who will break through for them next year - P.J. Fagan and Noah Jenken are two names to keep an eye on.

Jarmo's Draft Record

The Columbus Blue Jackets relieved GM Jarmo Kekalainen of his duties this week, and the fact the Blue Jackets have been a disaster this season justifies it. Kekalainen did oversee the most successful years in franchise history, however, so it's important to remember some of his positives, too. Since this is a Future Watch column, let's ponder his draft record for a minute, which should also include director of amateur scouting Ville Siren, who has held that post since Kekalainen's first full season with the team (Siren joined in 2013-14).

Bad: Sonny Milano over David Pastrnak in 2014

Good: Pierre-Luc Dubois over Jesse Puljujarvi (who many thought was going top-three) in 2016

Bad: Liam Foudy over K'Andre Miller or Rasmus Sandin in 2018

Good: Dmitri Voronkov in the fourth round when CBJ only had three picks (none in the top 100) in 2019

Bad: Yegor Chinakhov over Brock Faber or J.J. Peterka in 2020.

Good: David Jiricek sixth overall in 2022 (now they just have to use him more).

So overall, Kekalainen had triumphs and whiffs - probably not too different from the majority of his peers. At least he didn't pass on Anze Kopitar and the chance to get Martin St-Louis on waivers like one of his CBJ predecessors...

NCAA Free Agent Race

Every year, we get worked up into a fever about college free agents, and while most eventually become AHLers or depth NHLers, it's impossible not to get caught up in the hysteria. I mean, you're essentially getting a free asset, so why complain? 

This year's wish list for NHL teams is headlined by Quinnipiac right winger Collin Graf, who has put up a ton of points for the Bobcats - nearly 100 between this season and last combined - and helped them to the school's first national championship. Here's what one NHL scout told me about the top target, who chose to stay this season at Quinnipiac when he probably could have signed after last year's title run:

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"I was never a fan until this year: Yeah, he can score, but he's light. But he's shown a lot more compete and battle now and I've been impressed. With his scoring ability and buy-in, he could play in the NHL. Him going back this year was good for him."

Future Watch Top Names

Obviously, I cribbed the name of this column from our famous Future Watch issue, which closes at the end of next week and will hit your mailboxes soon after. As a teaser, here are the top five prospects from our ranked list of 100, based on a panel of NHL scouts gathered by our own Future Watch master, Brian Costello. I'm listing them here in alphabetical order - you figure out where they landed in our top five:

Brandt Clarke, D, Los Angeles

Simon Edvinsson, D, Detroit

Cutter Gauthier, C, Anaheim

Matvei Michkov, RW, Philadelphia

Will Smith, C, San Jose

Good luck!