The Canadian Hockey League has barely settled into its season, but a group of Eastern Conference prospects is already putting up numbers that demand a second look from NHL development staffs. From Guelph’s crease to Calgary’s special teams, Rangers, Penguins, Maple Leafs and several other clubs have drafted players who are carrying hot starts into October.
Guelph has supplied two of the sharper early stories. Maple Leafs center Tyler Hopkins opened with four consecutive multipoint games after collecting two assists in a 6-0 season-opening win over Oshawa. The 19-year-old followed that run with two goals, including the winner, in a 4-2 victory against Windsor on Oct. 2. His opening burst produced nine points, four goals and five assists before the streak ended in Friday’s 3-2 win over Owen Sound. Toronto selected Hopkins in the third round, No. 86, in 2025.
Behind him, Hurricanes goaltending prospect Zachary Jovanovski began the OHL schedule with a bit of history. The 19-year-old stopped 25 shots against Oshawa on Sept. 25, then made 19 saves against Kitchener on Oct. 4 to post back-to-back shutouts. No OHL goalie had opened a season that way since the league began tracking the mark in 1997-98. Jovanovski had recorded only one shutout in each of his first two OHL campaigns. His scoreless stretch finally ended at 150:25 when Owen Sound scored in the second period Friday. Through three games, he was 3-0-0 with a 0.67 goals-against average, a .974 save percentage and only two goals allowed on 77 shots. Carolina used the 165th pick of the 2026 NHL Draft on him.
The Rangers have two forwards humming in the OHL. Flint right wing Darian Anderson scored in each of his first five games and still extended his season-opening points streak to six after setting up Cooper Williams’ winner in Wednesday’s 5-2 loss to Kitchener. Anderson’s run included a goal and two assists, plus the deciding goal, in Flint’s 7-2 road win over London on Oct. 4. He has five goals and three assists, and already owns two game-winners after recording two across 60 games last season. New York picked the 19-year-old sixth round, No. 163, in 2026.
Ottawa left wing Spencer Bowes, another 2026 Rangers selection, scored his club’s only goal in Thursday’s 2-1 overtime loss at Niagara. That made it three straight games with a goal and four in five outings for the 19-year-old. Bowes has five goals, two assists and points in all six games to begin the season. The Rangers took him in the fourth round at No. 102.
Western clubs producing offense
Pittsburgh’s prospects have wasted no time making an impression in the WHL. Medicine Hat center Markus Ruck missed the Tigers’ first two games while attending Penguins camp, then resumed the playmaking form that made him the WHL’s points leader last season, when he piled up 108 points on 21 goals and 87 assists in 68 games. The 18-year-old opened with an assist and two shots in each of his first two appearances, broke through with two goals and an assist in an Oct. 3 win over Prince Albert, and added two assists in Friday’s 4-3 shootout loss to Edmonton. He has seven points, including five assists, in four games. Pittsburgh selected Ruck 39th overall in 2026, after taking his twin brother Liam Ruck at No. 22 in the same draft.
Penguins left wing Carter Sanderson has brought his scoring touch from the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks to Calgary. In his WHL debut, the 19-year-old scored on the power play and added two assists in a 6-1 win over Edmonton on Sept. 25. His next outing was louder: a hat trick featuring two power-play goals and a short-handed marker, plus an assist, in a 7-4 win at Lethbridge on Oct. 3. Sanderson then scored in a 7-2 defeat against Regina and struck twice in Friday’s 8-5 loss at Red Deer. He owns seven goals and three assists during a four-game opening points streak. Pittsburgh chose him in the sixth round, No. 169, in 2025.
Prince George center Aiden Foster has rebounded well after the Cougars’ 8-0 opening-night loss at Seattle on Sept. 26, a minus-5 night for the Lightning prospect. Foster scored twice in a Sept. 27 loss at Vancouver, including his first WHL short-handed goal. He repeated the short-handed work against Brandon on Oct. 2, then snapped a 1-1 tie in the third period to send Prince George to a 3-1 victory. The 19-year-old had recorded just one two-goal game over his first three WHL seasons before producing two in his first three games this year. Tampa Bay drafted him in the fourth round, No. 127, in 2025.
Montreal prospect Brayden Klimpke is setting the pace among WHL blue-liners. Saskatoon’s newly named captain became the first defenseman in the league to reach 10 points when he scored on the power play and added an assist in an Oct. 2 loss to Red Deer. The 19-year-old has stretched his points streak through all six games, collecting four goals and eight assists, with five multipoint performances. The Canadiens selected Klimpke in the fourth round, No. 117, in 2026.
Lethbridge center Logan Stuart is also settling in quickly after two seasons with USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program. The 18-year-old opened his WHL career with points in five straight games, totaling three goals and three assists in that stretch. His first multipoint performance came Oct. 2, when he had a goal and an assist against Prince Albert in a 3-1 win. Stuart has four goals and four assists in seven games, and he has won 51.3 percent of a team-high 113 faceoffs. Washington took the son of former NHL defenseman Brad Stuart in the seventh round, No. 208, of the 2026 draft.
Quebec scorer finding another gear
Philadelphia center prospect Nathan Quinn has been a major early driver for Quebec. After producing only one multigoal game over his first 28 games last season, Quinn had two goals and two assists in his second game this year, a 7-3 win over Shawinigan on Sept. 25. His second goal stood as the winner. Two nights later, he scored 31 seconds into overtime against Rimouski to finish a 5-4 victory. The 19-year-old has five goals and five assists in five games, with a goal in four of those contests. The Flyers drafted Quinn in the sixth round, No. 164, in 2025.
