It appears that the Vegas Golden Knights might actually have a bright future ahead of them. Yeah, I know, it seems odd since the team’s on the older side with big names like Mark Stone past the 30-year-old mark. However, that seems to be the case.

Nick from Watch The Stats posted the winter rankings for the 100 best prospects in the NHL today. Yes, the Golden Knights have three names in the rankings, which is rather… surprising.

It involved a usual suspect in Trevor Connelly (#26), who thrived in the amateur scene and has lofty expectations in the Golden Knights system. However, the other two names will surprise you. Can you guess who the other two are?

WATCH THE STATS TOP 100 PROSPECT RANKING

Here are my prospect rankings for this winter! To qualify as a prospect, a player must have played no more than 25 NHL games in their career and be in their D+5 or earlier.

If you’ve been following my stuff for a while, Cole Hutson at… pic.twitter.com/EUiWaVmHRC

— Nick (@nickiacoban) February 10, 2026

If I had told you that Mateo Nobert (#39) and Lucas Van Vliet (#76) would be in the Top 100, my jaw would’ve hit the floor. Not only that, but I would’ve farted so loud out of sheer shock that I would’ve woken up my cat.

But there’s a good reason for that. Nobert was unstoppable in the QMJHL, scoring 65 goals and 91 assists with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in three seasons. Van Vliet scored 11 goals and 20 assists in 29 games for the University of St. Thomas, making him one of the more underrated NCAA players around.

Golden Knights fans should feel good about the future with the latest prospect ranking

The latest prospect ranking might be a bit surprising to Golden Knights fans. They might’ve thought that there wasn’t much depth after Carl Lindbom, leaving some fans worried. However, the latest rankings reveal that Vegas has a brighter future ahead than people realize.

What’s more, it’s coming from the forward position. The Golden Knights have been known for having some bona fide goaltenders in their system in recent years, making them a threat. But forwards? That’s a new one.

Who would’ve thought that names like Van Vliet and Nobert would show up on the list? That’s not even mentioning how Jakob Ihs-Wozniak is coming up. It’s further proof that the Golden Knights can hit with limited draft ammo.

The Golden Knights future looks even brighter when you add in another surprising name

This season, Braeden Bowman has erupted onto the Golden Knights’ scene and has taken the hockey world by storm. He has seven goals and 13 assists in 41 games, pushing him closer to maintaining a permanent role on the team.

In fact, you can say that he’ll have that by season’s end. The undrafted rookie plays like Mark Stone, taking on all of his lovely characterists. That includes positioning and hockey intelligence, essentially acting as another veteran on the Golden Knights.

Combine the 22-year-old with another young superstar in Pavel Dorofeyev and the Golden Knights have a much brighter future than people realize. That’s bad news for the other 31 teams patiently waiting for Vegas’s demise, especially with Kelly McCrimmon in the mix. Other fanbases haven’t even considered how the general manager can bring in superstar players to accompany these youngsters.

Oh, the horror…