Most fans and analysts (reasonably) grade Juuso Valimaki as the organization’s top prospect, but Dillon Dube has a serious case to be considered in the same breath as the 16th overall pick in the 2017 Draft.



For context, about a year ago we took a look at comparables for Andrew Mangiapane, who was coming off one of the best seasons by a forward in the AHL at just 21-years old. This year, Mangiapane made his way into the NHL and, on the back of a tremendous second half of the season, put up top-six quality results across the board.



Mangiapane’s big AHL season was his sophomore effort where, as a 20-year old, he scored a respectable 20 goals and 41 points in 60 games. Dube, in contrast, was dominant in the AHL right away. The center/left wing managed 39 points in 37 games, a 1.05 point-per-game pace (tied for best amongst AHL rookies).



2018-19 AHL comparables



A surprise rookie out of training camp, Dube didn’t blow the doors off...