Traded/not signed: None. There's a lot to like for the Golden Knights, who reached the Stanley Cup Final in their first season and were among the final four as the No. Even an offseason ACL tear suffered by promising defenseman Juuso Valimaki shouldnt dampen the mood, as a full year of recovery leaves room for improving his overall understanding of the league. Big winger Raphael Lavoieisa prospect to earmark for a bright future for the Oilersafter they stole him in the second round of the 2019 draft as is22-year-old center Cooper Marody whofinished second to Benson in scoring for Bakersfield. Graduated: None Also,Pavel Dorofeyevis a solid bet on the wing. For starters, Columbus'best prospect is a 24-year-old goalie who appears to be quite happy playing in Switzerland (wouldn't you?). Breakout candidate for 2020-21: Brett Berard Heis recovering from hip surgery but is expected to be with the AHLs Rochester Americans for most of the season. Another impressive OHL prospect was hard-shooting Russian defender Dmitri Samorukov, who notched 28 points in 24 playoffs games helping Guelph advance to the Memorial Cup. Key additions:Taro Hirose (LW, UDFA), Albert Johansson (LHD), Oliwer Kaski (RHD), Ryan Kuffner (LW, UDFA), Robert Mastrosimone (LW), Moritz Seider (RHD) Go ahead and get their lockers ready. Graduations: Sammy Blais (C/W),Robert Thomas (C) LW Alexis Lafreniere, No. While it's perfectly fine to believe the Cup-contending Predators were built at the draft table, the truth is that their three best skaters Ryan Johansen, Filip Forsberg and P.K. They caught a huge break last year when Finnish sniper Eeli Tolvanen inexcusably fell to them late in the first round, and after a Stanley Cup Finalappearance no less. Don't expect the league to pity the Lightning for a dearth of prospects considering the team is overloaded at the NHL level and in the midst of revelry from its second Stanley Cup. Furthermore, theres a difference between where a player was ranked versus where he was drafted. Winger Martin Kaut is a sturdy playmaker who was among the AHLs top teenage scorers last season and Shane Bowers, a 2017 first-round pick of Ottawas acquired in the Matt Duchene deal, was one of Hockey Easts top two-way centers; heis signed to play this season with the AHLs Colorado Eagles. However, fans are growing impatient, even if they know all about sniper Eeli Tolvanen and heady puck rusher Dante Fabbro, Nashvilles two best prospects who appeared briefly in late-season action. Curious about the Senators' future? Women's Champ Week predictions: Which teams will win the auto bids in all 32 conferences? If not, theres no harm in keeping the Marlies stocked for another Calder Cup run. Typically a losing franchiseinjects youth into the lineup for more than only a handful of games, but for whatever reason, the Oilers continued to ice a veteran roster even after the playoffs were a forgone conclusion. Center Henrik Borgstrom leads Florida's crew of playmaking neophytes, and speedy winger Owen Tippett is good enough to make the club out of camp for the second year in a row. Back in the net, Spencer Knight was the best goalie in college hockey as a first-year player at Boston College and could be a future Florida mainstay. MORE:Phil Kessel excited to begin next phase in Arizona: 'I think it's going to be great', 2018-19 rank: 21st MORE: Jets' window to win depends on threeunanswered questions. Players who appeared in 26 or more NHL regular-season games last season are not eligible, nor are players with at least 50 career NHL contests. Losing a Stanley Cup Final hurts, but the Stars and their supporters can smile knowing they hit a home run in defenseman Miro Heiskanen, who was among the league leaders in playoff scoring. Right winger Vasili Podkolzin is 19 and a powerful, two-way forward who'll reach the NHL sometime in 2020-21. The Pirates have probably a top 5 farm system after such a huge draft and the infusion of so much depth at the deadline. Scott Perunovich as the top jewel. Lets check in on the farm system rankings before the draft. At a time when prospects are generally afforded a longer leash to develop, neither has moved the needle enough to validate their draft position, let alone to earn a top-6 or top-9 role with Dallas. Oliver Wahlstrom had 10 goals in 45 AHL games in 2019-20 and has a high-octane style of play. Defense always has been a Kings' hallmark, and both Kale Clague and Mikey Anderson have just scratched the surface of their top-pairing potential. 2018-19 rank: 5th Few teams do a better job at plugging holes from within than the Ducks who took advantage of the lost season by playing over a dozen youngsters age 23 and younger, including heralded rookie Troy Terry (32 games). Heres our final draft rankings. Last season centers Janne Kuokkanen, Nicolas Roy (traded to Vegas) and Morgan Geekieand big winger Julien Gauthier,joined Necas, Beanand Saarela as seven of Charlottes top-10 scorers all drafted from 2015 onward. Graduated: Mason Appleton (LW), Sami Niku (LHD) Alexis Lafreniere joins the fray as the No. 1 prospect, the Rangers can also still consider Igor Shesterkin a prospect, and he very well could be a Calder Trophy favorite this year given his brief audition last season. Traded/not signed:Kyle Olson (C),Marcus Pettersson (LHD, PIT). Traded/not signed: Rudolfs Balcers (LW, OTT), Josh Norris (C, OTT). Netminder Ilya Samsonov is in the mix here in North America after a stellar career in Russia, and the Caps are loaded with mobile defenders, including 2018 first-rounder Alexander Alexeyev and puck distributor Lucas Johansen. Meanwhile, with the NHL team's goaltending situation uncertain, prospects Ian Scott and Joseph Woll could be long-term solutions. Marie Greyhounds. One of the bigger movers from last years list, the Blackhawks had luck on their side when they won the third pick in the draft lottery following a season in which they improved in the standings and nearly snuck into the playoffs. Jump to a team: Elsewhere, it's a pair of goalies on the rise: University of Maine standout Jeremy Swayman and Kyle Keyser, who spent his 2019-20 in the AHL and ECHL. NHL DRAFT 2019: Jack Hughes peerless atopway-too-early big board. MORE: Checking in on the Red Wings' improving rebuild. Conversely, the Buffalo Sabres may have drafted Dylan Cozens seventh overall, but they graduated Rasmus Dahlin and Casey Mittelstadt, in addition to trading Alex Nylander, all in one year. Elsewhere, goaltenderUkko-Pekka Luukkonen spent 2019-20 in the ECHL and AHL and had three shutouts in 15 wins with a 2.53 goals-against average. Are PSG better off without Neymar in big games? Although there is a significant amount of force to that argument, the truth is that New Jersey is an organization on the rise and the prospect pool is deep enough to help fuel a sustained run towards perennial playoff contention. Waddell also more than replenished the losses of Saarela and Roy at the 2019 draft with the selections of skilled forwards Ryan Suzuki and Patrik Puistola. The Sharks seem to always make the most out of late-round picks, but first-rounders from 2013 (Mirco Mueller) and 2014 (Nikolay Goldobin) no longer are with the organization. Graduated: Lias Andersson (C), Filip Chytil (C/W), Alexander Georgiev (G),Brett Howden (C) Is it only a coincidence that Denvers Emilio Pettersson, their sixth-round pick from last year, was one of the nations top freshman scorers? By doing so, they acquired more blue-chip assets in four months than they did in the previous 10 years combined. Chayka also added Swedish defenseman Victor Soderstrom, an intelligent and mature puck mover, who would be a nice compliment to the physical, shut-down style of Kevin Bahl. I've broken down prospects for each club into three categories, noted in parentheses in the team prospect rankings: A prospects have a high likelihood of becoming NHL high-impact players (i.e. Same rings true for leading scorer Jeremy Bracco, a second-round pick in 2015 who as a sophomore winger led the Baby Buds in both regular and playoff scoring with 79 and 16 points, respectively. Nonetheless, there still are impressive pieces who can help stem the tide, such as winger Jason Robertson, who in his fourth OHL season led the league with 117 points. The ninth overall pick rarely becomes one of the best players in his draft class, let alonean NHL star. In the followingrankings, the zone of consideration for all 310 prospects is Calder Trophy (NHL rookie of the year) eligibility between 18-26 years old and no more than 25 combined NHL regular season games played. Kaprizov still has a year left on his KHL dealand it looks like Boldy will stick around the college ranks for the next season or two. Also there's forwardJanne Kuokkanen, who arrived from Carolina for Sami Vatanen. Potential NHL impact in 2020-21: Alexis Lafreniere, Igor Shesterkin, Morgan Barron. New prospects. Of course, the ability to swing deals for late-season glory is predicated on several factors, namely the possession of coveted draft picks and prospects. A new start with Chicago could revive his offensive flair. They have arguably the best European prospect outside of Kakko in Russian winger Kirill Kaprizov. The Jets are so young at the NHL, so some of these kids will either get moved or blocked into the ECHL. a top-six forward, top-four defenseman or long-term starting goaltender). As solid as those two prospects are, however, the organization hasnt had a legitimate home-grown No. B prospects have a higher likelihood of becoming NHL regulars and contributors. But while it is a bit more difficult to do so than in normal years, we're ranking every pool and identifying each franchise's top 10 prospects, a potential breakout candidate for this season and those who might make an NHL-level impact in the next year. It has been an extremely strange year for NHL prospects, with many playing shortened seasons and/or taking long hiatuses between competitive gameplay. And in the net, you ask? Forget about the fact that theyve iced Cup-contending rosters in each of their two years of existence. Behind them, 20-year-old wingerOliver Wahlstrom had 10 goals in 45 AHL games in 2019-20 and has a high-octane style of play. Next up is flashy winger Grigori Denisenko, who wowed crowds in Vancouver at the most recent world junior championship with his stickhandling, danglesand a silky set of hands. 329m goal: Felix the only men's contender for Chelsea's Goal of the Month, UFC 285's Shevchenko by the numbers: It all adds up to domination, A battle for No. ANA | ARI | BOS | BUF | CGY | CAR | CHI 1 overall pick (2020). It also appears this will be the youngest lineupHershey has iced since becoming Washingtons AHL affiliate in 2005-06. Continue reading this article and more from top writers, for only $9.99/mo. 1 prospect in hockey and one of the most complete wings to enter the league immediately following his draft in some years. Potential NHL impact in 2020-21: Tobias Bjornfot, Kale Clague, Mikey Anderson, Gabriel Vilardi, Jaret Anderson-Dolan. And if Demko doesn't pan out, Michael DiPietro is a solid goalie prospect. 2 goaltending prospect in hockey behind the recently drafted Yaroslav Askarov and is a foundational piece for the Rangers going forward. So if you're buying NHL prospect stock, here's the place to dump your cash. Defenseman Gabriel Carlsson and Andrew Peeke are former high-round picks who likely will never see power-play time or anchor a top or middle pairing. COL | CBJ | DAL | DET | EDM | FLA MORE:St. Louis, the Blues and the Stanley Cup come together in perfect harmony, 2018-19 rank: 16th Of course, finishing second inthe draft lotteryand, therefore, getting super-sniper Kaapo Kakko was more luck than the art of scouting. Still, there are several key pieces still in place, with flashy 200-foot center Barret Hayton at the top of the list. Back in the net, Spencer Knight was the best goalie in college hockey as a first-year player at Boston College and could be a future Florida mainstay. The top player from this stacked system is slick two-way winger Joel Farabee, a 2018 first-round pick who is under contract and was a top performer as a freshman for Boston University. MORE: How the Matt Duchenetrade gave Avalanche much-needed direction. With a great high end of the pool, the Rangers also boast pool depth with a number of players who should figure into their near future. 2021 NHL Entry Draft Rankings First Round 1. 1 since Ryan Miller, who they traded nearly a decade ago. And Montreals good luck with Finnish prospects seems to be continuing following Jesperi Kotkaniemis breakout rookie season, as winger Jesse Ylonen and center Joni Ikonen looked strong as teenagers in the SM-Liiga, where they also signed coveted free agent defense prospect Otto Leskinen from. Where other teams are rich and getting richer at forward, the Sharks seem content to build from back to front. Vasili Podkolzin, Vancouver Canucks. 1 and 2 overall duos in NHL Draft history, Every team gets do-over in NHL re-draft, 2012 edition. Each of Buffalos five first-round picks since 2014 are either full-time Sabres or were traded for quality help. WebBuffalo Sabres (BOS): Aleksi Kosolov, G (Dinamo Minsk, KHL) The Sabres drafted only two goalies Ukko-Pekka-Lukkonen and Erik Portillo in the previous six drafts. Mounting injuries or veteran rosters can cause exceptions to this idea, but most of the kids you see called up must have done something right to get approval from both AHL and NHL team management; however, dreadful play in the NHL evena small sample size could count against them. 1 netminder Jonathan Quick. NHL readiness and experience Generally speaking, a player who is among the best team performers in the AHL usually is one of the first to receive an in-season promotion. It looks like both will be off the opening-night roster for the fifth consecutive year. Traded/not signed: Vitalii Abramov (RW, OTT), Jonathan Davidsson (RW, OTT), Veeti Vainio (D). He also covered the Boston Bruins, the AHL and Hockey East for SportsTicker, and was a minor league baseball editor for Howe SportsData. The league isn't out to get them, nor is some black cloud hovering over the franchise. Gifted winger Kristian Vesalainen and towering defenseman Logan Stanley were hot topics around the trade deadline but ultimately stayed put, as did top 2018-19prospects Sami Niku and Mason Appleton. The Los Angeles system is forward heavy, with the vast majority of their best prospects being natural centers. Unfortunately, the lengthy undertaking of roster reconstruction played a role in his firing, and Philadelphia failed to make the playoffs for the third time in five years in 2019. Point production a prospects development can be measured in a variety of ways, but their production on the traditional or analytic scoresheet always represents the lowest-hanging fruit. Draft Odds & Ends. Their organizational depth chart below the NHL level is thin on elite prospects, with controversial playmaker Ryan Merkley the obvious choice to earmark as their lone potential star. While there is often fluidity in these organizational rankings, with players graduating quickly and changing the face of the system sometimes dramatically on a year-to-year basis, this is how the NHL prospect pools stack up as we gear up for the 2020-21 season. He's had a seven-game stint across two seasons in the NHL and has combined for 71 points in 121 games in the AHL. 2018-19 rank: 8th Sure, you might hit on a quality mid-rounder here and there like Jake Guentzel, and 2018 draftees Filip Hallander and Calen Addison are the best two picks the Pens have made in several years. Shocking. 2018-19 rank: 28th Systems are most often graded on the backs of their top three or four prospects, but I also place a good deal of value on the depth of systems. 15 overall pick (2019). Even after trading away Aleksi Saarela to Chicago, the Canes still own four dual-threat forwards from Finland and Eetu Luostarinen may be the best, as he was a consistent point producer as a top-line player in the SM-Liiga. Additionally, they added a premier playmaking center in Trevor Zegrasthis year and a hard-working scorer in Brayden Tracey via the first round of thisyears draft. Lastly, Russian-born 2019 draftees Yegor Spiridonov and defenseman Artemy Knyazev, were minute-eating mainstays for their under-18 national team. Swedish wunderkind Adam Boqvist highlights this talented group of defenders for his obvious flair and blistering shot. Not only did the Senators receive Calder Trophy-caliber rookie reasons from Brady Tkachuk and Colin White, but the ongoing rebuild allowed the likes of goalie Joey Daccord and forwards Drake Batherson, Logan Brown and speedy Alex Formenton, to experience the rigors of the NHL first hand. Rest easy, Blue Jackets fans. 1 prospect, the Rangers can also still consider Igor Shesterkin a prospect, and he very well could be a Calder Trophy favorite this year given his brief audition last season. Eeli Tolvanen, who was picked 30th overall in 2017. Fellow Swede Rasmus Asplund is one of the better two-way centers among prospects, and the Sabres have several impressive college prospects such as in speedy winger Linus Weissbach, power-play specialist Jacob Bryson and punishing defender Mattias Samuelsson. Trades on the NHL level haven't helped the long-range pipeline scenario for the Coyotes. Its a tad unfair to ding an organization that came within one win of a second Stanley Cup this decade and had GM Don Sweeney named the NHLs Executive of the Year. Draft rankings intend to predict NHL success, not the actual order on draft day. Im going to begin by pointing readers to a few useful resources. Goaltending also was part of the teams success this year and 2017 first-rounder Jake Oettinger appears to be the favorite to shadow Ben Bishop until the starting job is his. The Sharks more than make-up for their trading of valuable assets by spanning the globe in search of late-round gems andundrafted free agents either coveted or obscure. The Habs also acquired cerebral playmaker Nick Suzuki from Vegas in the Max Pacioretty deal;hell battle fellow 2017 first-rounder Ryan Poehling to make the big club out of camp. Now that thenucleus has formed, the Canucks can patiently follow the progress of an impressive tier of potential point-producing defensemen like Olli Juolevi, Toni Utunen, Jett Woo, and Jack Rathbone. They also moved their first pick of 2016 in the Martin Jones trade, and took a huge gamble this year by taking troubled two-way defender Ryan Merkley at 20th overall. Graduated: None Three of the past nine Rookie of the Year winners have been Avalanche players. MORE:Quinn Hughes 'as valuable as anyone' playing a style his own. Your team at the NHL level is young, exciting and loaded with star-caliber players south of 25 years old. Eight Kings prospects are in our most recent top 100, as well. Down the middle, the Jets could use an infusion of top-end talent, although Finlands Santeri Virtanen and Swedens David Gustafsson, a pair of mature European two-way pivots, need to continue upwards in their development. Landing the No. Are PSG better off without Neymar in big games? On the bright side, the Oilers AHL farm team in Bakersfield had its best season since moving from Oklahoma City in 2015. Despite some recent graduations and trades of the Rays top prospects, they still have a solid farm system and are one of the best in the league in developing talent. They're in addition to 2018 first-rounder Ty Smith, who's a future power-play point man. Not to mention he has a high-revving motor in a tough-to-contain 5'7", 162-pound frame. NHL DRAFT 2018:Team-by-team grades|Winners and losers. The knee-jerk reaction is to think the Devils are ranked this high because of Jack Hughes and not because of GM Ray Sheros craftiness at the draft table. Most of their recent draft picks had stellar seasons both in league and international play, with French-born forward Alexandre Texier leading the way after an excellent campaign in the SM-Liiga and difference-making play during the Stanley Cup playoffs. Meanwhile, the Rangers still have to get Nils Lundkvist under contract after he put together one of the greatest U20 seasons by a defenseman in SHL history in 2019-20. We ranked them from bottom to top while considering the presence of elite individuals along with depth of talent and what those players can be expected to do at the top level when they arrive. Nylander, on the other hand, has game-breaking potentialbut his time as Sabres property was nothing short of underwhelming. But not having the assets to trade for or draft players remotely capable of being considered heir apparents for Sidney Crosby and Evgeny Malkin paints an ominous picture for their fans. 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