Elite Prospects' 2026 U23 NHL organizational ranking

After publishing our top-100 under-23 skater rankings and top-25 under-23 goalie rankings earlier, it’s time to rank every organization by the under-23 talent. 

As a refresher, the eligibility is players born on or after September 16th, 2002, keeping all first-time 2021 NHL Draft eligibles together – so you will see some 23-year-olds included here. 

Given the mixture of NHL talent and prospects, the criteria are a bit different than a prospect-only ranking. There’s more emphasis on established NHL talent, as well as market value and organizational fit. 

And just like any ranking, there’s a lot of interchangeability between rankings, with a lot of the separation coming down to simple personal preference. Generally, we preferred established, top-end NHL talent over multiple top-end prospect pie