By the Numbers: An In-Depth Look at 2023 NHL Development Camps

As the off-season settles down, NHL prospects were hard at work improving their skills at team development camps. Here’s a look at who went, where they’re from and what positions they play.

For NHL teams, development camps are like Christmas in July. After drafting what they hope to be the future of their respective clubs, GMs get an up-close look at their prospect pool, as well as any free agents they’re trying to woo.

Coaches put invitees through rigorous workouts, and they train them on the latest development techniques. Most of the time, prospects even wind up learning to cook in widely shared videos.

But who exactly is going to these development camps? What positions do they play? What teams do they play for?

Here’s an in-depth look at the numbers at the 31 NHL development camps that have taken place so far this summer.

Including injured participants who took part in limited capacities, 1,101 prospects showed up to NHL development camps this season. The only club not to hold a camp thus far has been the New York Islanders, who traditionally hold a prospect camp near their training camp.

By position, teams invited a total of 303 centers, 150 left wingers and 153 right wingers for a total of 606 forwards. Note that many of those centers also play the wing, but teams consider them centers in their system.

Additionally, 359 defensemen made it to development camps, with 214 of those players being left-handed. That’s a difference of 69 players between left and right, reflecting just how in-demand righties are in the pro ranks. Finally, 136 goalies stood between the pipes from 19 different junior and professional leagues.

Because some players suited up for as many as three or four different teams last season – especially in European junior and professional systems – this section will sort players by the team they played the most games with during the 2022-23 season. If a player played equal games for two squads, then they were assigned to their most recent club.

Overall, more than 265 different organizations worldwide sent at least one player to an NHL development camp. Those teams came from 29 leagues, with national systems represented as one league because of the frequency with which players are called up and sent down in those development programs.

Three players did not suit up for a team in 2022-23 – Vegas invitee Ryder Donovan, St. Louis prospect Tanner Dickinson and Minnesota’s Pavel Novak. All three overcame the odds to attend camp.

Donovan was supposed to play for NCAA Vermont last season, but sat out due to personal reasons. Dickinson participated in Blues prospect camp after coming back from two leg surgeries due to an on-ice injury in January 2022. Novak capped off a comeback story at camp, too – he was battling cancer last season, which he recently beat before getting to partially participate in this year’s Wild camp. He plans to turn pro this season and continue working toward the NHL.

The vast majority of the represented teams came from North America, with the NCAA sending 338 athletes to development camps. Teams with the most participants from the NCAA included North Dakota (16), Michigan (16), Denver (14), Harvard (14), Minnesota (13) and Boston University (12). Most schools also had committed players for next season attend development camps, but those players were credited to their 2022-23 Jr. A clubs in leagues such as the BCHL, AJHL and USHL.

From the CHL system, a total of 365 athletes came from the OHL (161), WHL (135) and QMJHL (69). The OHL had four teams – Barrie, Kitchener, Peterborough and Sarnia – tied for the most development camp reps at 11. Seattle led the WHL with 15 athletes, while Gatineau sent 11 players from the QMJHL.

Perhaps surprisingly, Swedish hockey players made up 83 development camp slots, which was more than the AHL. Detroit and Vancouver each brought in eight Swedish prospects to their camps, while Buffalo ranked third with seven Swedes. That group includes recent No. 2 overall pick Leo Carlsson, who went to Anaheim’s camp.

All other European leagues – including Finland’s Liiga and Mestis, for example, as well as the Russian KHL and VHL – added up to 84. That number – or at least its KHL and VHL percentage – could decrease in the future when the effects of the CHL’s 2022 import draft ban on Russian and Belarusian players impact the NHL draft. But for now, there was still a decent group of European players who crossed the ocean for development camp training.

Finally, a significant portion of prospects – 70 to be exact – came from the USHL, which feeds most of its players into the NCAA system. That figure excludes 12 USA Hockey National Team Development Program players, who participate in both USHL and collegiate exhibition games in addition to international contests for USA Hockey.

NHL teams would book a trip to Mars if it meant finding a game-changing prospect, so it’s no surprise that development camp attendees came from many countries. Canada led with a whopping 478 players, while the United States paced behind at 340. Swedish prospects numbered 96, with Russia and Finland sending 55 and 38 icers, respectively.

Overall, skaters represented 20 countries from Europe and North America. This included smaller hockey markets like Great Britain, which sent three prospects, and France, which sent two. Denmark, Hungary, Italy and Poland each sent a lone representative to development camps.

Just because teams have many draft picks in their proverbial cupboard doesn’t mean they aren’t looking at free agents, too. The 390 undrafted invitees to this summer’s camps made up a significant 35.4 percent of all participants, many of whom came from the NCAA or were overagers in the CHL.

By draft year, the attendees date back nine draft cycles, as a 2015 Minnesota fourth-rounder, goaltender Ales Stezka, attended Seattle’s camp. Two picks from 2017 in fourth-rounder Noel Hoefenmayer and sixth-rounder Skyler Brind'amour also attended camps.

The most invitees came from the 2022 draft, which led with 191 picks gleaning lessons from the NHL coaches at their disposal.

With eight different drafts on the table, prospects picked in all draft rounds showed up to development camps. Only 82 first-rounders showed up to development camps, mainly because some first-rounders have already made it to the professional ranks, such as Kraken center Matty Beniers or Rangers winger Alexis Lafreniere.

The third round represented the most invitees with 119, while the second, fourth, fifth and sixth rounds all cleared 100 or more participants. Ninety-seven seventh-rounders made it to development camps, on par with the other rounds but still the second-lowest.

Some of these players see these camps as an opportunity to sign with a team – especially for undrafted free agents. For others, it’s a chance to gain better knowledge as they strive to reach the NHL. While it’s not likely that everyone will make it to the professional ranks, for 1,101 players, these camps served as a major opportunity. Now, it’s just a matter of what percentage of these players one day reach the NHL.