NHL's Best and Worst prospect pools

[Lanny_McDonald]

Didn't see a thread on this but Yahoo Sports Canada released their rankings recently. Thought it would make for some good fodder.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/sports/nhl...16/ar-AA1dInJA

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/sports/nhl...32/ar-AA1dGnvE

Best pool is the Buffalo Sabres. "For a team featuring Dylan Cozens, Peyton Krebs, Owen Power, Jack Quinn, Rasmus Dahlin, JJ Peterka and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen already at the NHL level, to say they still have a top-five prospect pool should terrify opponents.

Grabbing Zach Benson outside the top ten in this year’s NHL draft was a steal, adding him to their depth of first-round picks including Jiri Kulich, Matthew Savoie, Isak Rosen and Noah Ostlund up front, along with Anton Wahlberg. In net, Devon Levi is considered one of the best netminding prospects on the planet. This is a deep and highly-skilled prospect pool."

Here are the Canadian team.

#4 - Montreal Canadiens. "From an organizational standpoint, Montreal’s blueline is brimming with potential. From Jordan Harris, Justin Barron, Kaiden Guhle and Arber Xhekaj who all spent time in the NHL this season, to Reinbacher and Hutson who are perhaps the best prospects of the bunch, it’s obscene depth. Then there’s the talented but problematic Logan Mailloux, who was inexplicably picked and signed. Hutson’s skillset is off the charts, while Reinbacher was the most NHL-ready defender in this year’s draft.

Up front, Owen Beck, Joshua Roy, Filip Mesar and Sean Farrell will all challenge for roster spots at camp, looking to add to the young core in Montreal."

#16 - Winnipeg Jets. "There’s a lot to like about Winnipeg’s forward prospects, especially after acquiring young NHLers Gabriel Vilardi and Rasmus Kupari from the Los Angeles Kings. This year’s top pick, Colby Barlow, fits into the highly-skilled group being amassed in Winnipeg, featuring Brad Lambert, Chaz Lucius, Rutger McGroarty, Danny Zhilkin and Nikita Chibrikov.

There’s a lot of high-risk, high-reward in there, which Winnipeg added volatility to by starting Lucius and Lambert in the pros this year. On the blueline, Ville Heinola doesn’t have a lot of runway left before the organization moves on, while Dmitri Kuzmin and Elias Salomonsson both have upside. Thomas Milic is the best netminder in the system."

#20 - Toronto Maple Leafs. "Knies will be counted on to step in right away. He showed he was ready in the playoffs, although Toronto may be wise to also give him some top line starts in the AHL if their depth pushes him into a fourth line role. This season will be the year we know if Rodion Amirov’s recovery from cancer will include a future with the Maple Leafs as he’s set to suit up for his first full campaign in the KHL. Up front, it seems to be yet another make-or-break year for Nick Robertson as well, who has slid from blue-chipper to expendable. Up front, the development of Fraser Minten, Ty Voit, Nicholas Moldenhauer and Roni Hirvonen continues to trend in the right direction, while Easton Cowan, who was a shocking first round selection, will be under a microscope. On the blue line, Topi Niemela is the organization’s top prospect and will play his first full season in North America, while William Villeneuve was a pleasant surprise for the Toronto Marlies last year. The Leafs remain without a true goalie of the future in the system unless Dennis Hildeby can claim that moniker this year."

#21 - Ottawa Senators. "Ottawa has an abundance of youth in the NHL, so there’s no reason to panic that they’re sitting this low, and they still have a handful of meaningful prospects on the way. This should be the season we see 2020 first round pick Ridly Greig begin his full-time NHL career after he got into 20 games last season as a rookie. Other players who could be in contention for a spot up front include Zack Ostapchuk, Tyler Boucher, and Roby Jarventie, with Boucher being of special interest as the 10th overall pick in 2021. It’s time for Jacob Bernard-Docker and Lassi Thompson to claim full time spots, but they’ll be battling with another rookie, Tyler Kleven, who made his NHL debut at the end of last season after ending his NCAA career. Tomas Hamara remains a top prospect despite a step backward last season in the OHL. Their top goaltending prospect is Leevi Merilainen."

#22 - Calgary Flames. "It would be hard to point to a team who has drafted and developed worse than the Calgary Flames over the last half decade. They’ve just refused to give strong prospects a shot at the NHL, and eventually, it seems to have stunted development and confidence in many. By all rights, for a team in Calgary’s position, Connor Zary and Jakob Pelletier should be done their development path and given every opportunity in scoring roles at the NHL level. Matt Coronato may start in the AHL, but he looks close as well after a spectacular NCAA career with Harvard and a strong World Championship with Team USA. Honzek’s selection adds to this crop of forwards. Jeremie Poirier had a spectacular rookie campaign in the AHL producing well beyond expectations from the blue line. He’ll get looks this year for the Flames if he doesn’t make the team out of camp with the towering Yan Kuznetsov close behind at the AHL ranks, and Etienne Morin showing promise in the QMJHL. Dustin Wolf is the top goaltending prospect in the system and should be given more starts in the NHL this year."

#23 - Vancouver Canucks. "After a horrific season for Jonathan Lekkerimäki, he broke out scoring a point per game in the playoffs in Allsvenskan. He’ll step up to the SHL next year, and could be a prospect needing more time than anticipated. Vancouver also acquired Aatu Räty and Linus Karlsson, hoping a change of scenery will help them find their stride at the NHL level. Heading into this year’s NHL Draft, the Canucks had almost no blue line prospects looking like NHL candidates. They addressed that in part by selecting Tom Willander and Hunter Brzustewicz, but remain shallow at the position outside of 2022 pick Elias Pettersson. Arturs Silovs’ World Championship MVP performance has fans hoping he’s a long term goaltending solution."

And the worst prospect pool in the NHL...

#32 - Edmonton Oilers. "Sorry Oilers fans, but with the graduation of Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway to the NHL, the prospect cupboard is bare. Ken Holland has a way of doing that, but he also inherited a bad prospect situation and then compounded it. Matvei Petrov could turn into a steal for the Oilers if he can duplicate his success from the OHL level in the AHL next year. The stock of two other Oilers prospects — Carter Savoie and Raphael Lavoie — needs to be determined this year. It’s a group that is thin from top to bottom, and not picking until 56th overall this year didn’t help."

Seems like a reasonable list. Discuss away.

[Jiri Hrdina]

It's not a drafting issue with Calgary. The issues have been lack of picks and indeed not giving enough of them a chance.
I don't see the picking itself as the issue.

[klikitiklik]

LOL! love to see Bumonton at the bottom.


E=NG

[ricardodw]

Montreal was #4 in prospects but their very best prospect, David Reinbacher, was just drafted. Logically that would make the rest of their prospects kind of ho hum.


Wolf not the Flames best 3 alarm prospect and Zary being higher than Pelletier, Coronato and Honzek.

It also makes no sense that Cossa, Wallstadet, Levi, Askarov are all prime prospects of teams that have their prospects rated significantly higher than the Flames.

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

It's not a drafting issue with Calgary. The issues have been lack of picks and indeed not giving enough of them a chance.
I don't see the picking itself as the issue.

Yeah, even the development hasn't been terrible up to the point where they should be getting ice time in the NHL. Tre really liked to plug the roster with plugs even before Sutter was coaching. Sutter leaned even harder into vets

[Bonded]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1624433567219474432
Best thing from that article lol

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

It's not a drafting issue with Calgary. The issues have been lack of picks and indeed not giving enough of them a chance.
I don't see the picking itself as the issue.

It's a combination. Not enough picks have been a problem. But so have the players selected been a challenge. Treliving was terrible at asset management and the prospect pool suffered as a result but the pool is poor because of some of the whiffs they made. We'll see if this draft signals a philosophical shift and a change in the pool. The next big thing is development. Flames need to improve there as well. All aspects (picks, philosophy, and development) impact the pool and the Flames have to improve in all aspects.

[Enoch Root]

okay, so we have Yahoo's opinion, let's get some more.

[Lanny_McDonald]

This was the first ranking I saw come out post-draft, so thought it was interesting. Here's another from hockeyprospecting.com posted through reddit.

https://www.reddit.com/r/hockey/comm...ngs_july_2023/

Flames at #24.

[Enoch Root]

That one has the Flames 17th for goalie rank. That's all that needs to be said about that one.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

It's not a drafting issue with Calgary. The issues have been lack of picks and indeed not giving enough of them a chance.
I don't see the picking itself as the issue.

Yeah that was a terrible analysis of the situation in Calgary.

The drafting has not been poor.

Pelletier and Zary are not late, nor would they have arrived earlier. They'll arrive precisely when they mean to.

The only #### up that "stunted" players I'd say was Phillips and Ruzicka under Sutter. But they're far from ruined and will get their shots now (albeit MP in Washington..)

[TheIronMaiden]

I want to push against the not giving prospects a chance narrative.

Ruzicka, Pelletier and Walker each got a lot of looks.
The only two players I can think of is Valimaki and Phillips who could have been better handled. Never the less, I think that they were in unique positions and didn't stunt other players development.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

That one has the Flames 17th for goalie rank. That's all that needs to be said about that one.

Haha, when the top goaltending prospect on the planet only gets you 17th..

[devo22]

I always enjoy Scott Wheeler's rankings in The Athletic, which always come out in January/February. Obviously things have changed because of the draft, but his 2023 list was:

1. Minnesota Wild
2. New Jersey Devils
3. Columbus Blue Jackets
4. Detroit Red Wings
5. Chicago Blackhawks
...
20. Calgary Flames
...
28. Vancouver Canucks
29. Pittsburgh Penguins
30. Boston Bruins
31. Tampa Bay Lightning
32. Colorado Avalanche

https://theathletic.com/3923067/2023...rankings-2023/

still feel that's a pretty fair assessment.

[CliffFletcher]

Scott Wheeler just put out his drafted goalie prospect ranking, and he has Wolf at #4.

https://theathletic.com/4665592/2023...pects-ranking/

[HighLifeMan]

I remember us being ranked in the bottom 3rd prospect wise when we had Tkachuk, Fox, Andersson, Mangiapane, Kylington and Dube in the pool..


Anyone who puts the Leafs group ahead of the Flames is out too lunch.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by HighLifeMan

I remember us being ranked in the bottom 3rd prospect wise when we had Tkachuk, Fox, Andersson, Mangiapane, Kylington and Dube in the pool..


Anyone who puts the Leafs group ahead of the Flames is out too lunch.

Great point. Seems that the Flames prospect pool is just chronically underrated.

Now with Poirier, Pelletier, Coronato, Zary, Wolf, Honzek, Morin and Suniev there's some real talent in this teams pool again. The Flames have accumulated well I would say and their picks should begin bearing fruit in short order.

But don't tell these eastern guys making their lists, just another year's in the 20s.

[redmile04]

Originally Posted by TrentCrimmIndependent

The drafting has not been poor.


The only #### up that "stunted" players I'd say was Phillips and Ruzicka under Sutter. But they're far from ruined and will get their shots now (albeit MP in Washington..)

But they didnt say only drafting also mentioned development: It would be hard to point to a team who has drafted and developed worse than the Calgary Flames over the last half decade

You can add Valimaki to your list of Phillips and ruzicka. Imagine Sutter was around next season.. thinking of Pelletier under his coaching again, barf.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Scott Wheeler just put out his drafted goalie prospect ranking, and he has Wolf at #4.

https://theathletic.com/4665592/2023...pects-ranking/

(Has subscription) *Signs in*

"Subscibe now!"

#### the Athletic.

[cannon7]

The analysis that goes into these rankings is usually laughably shallow. Wolf is a 7th round pick, so can't be that good.