I thought Boston had a budding star in Lysell but he's struggled to make an impact so far. I've kept an eye on Pelosi who plays for Quinnipiac. He's probably a longshot to be an NHLer but I like his game.
The Rangers have one premium prospect (for me, but not everyone), some interesting player types and several prospects who are going to play NHL games, but an imperfect group on the whole.
As I said before, I think the Rangers should be a 3-4 spots lower. Perreault is a good prospect, but I don't think he's better than Hagens. Then teams like WPG have several prospects that are almost as good.
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The Blue Jackets’ pool was the toughest in last year’s countdown to slot because of the uncertainty around top pick Cayden Lindstrom.
Last year, I gave them the benefit of the doubt and slotted him based on his pre-injury projection because I didn’t have updated viewings (which, in hindsight, was probably too generous given what we knew about the injury and the likely impact the lost development time would have).
This year, after seeing him back in action, I have to be more cautious. That downgraded projection (or at least likelihood of hitting it), in conjunction with the graduation of Denton Mateychuk and trade of Gavin Brindley, has hurt their pool’s overall standing — even with the additions of two first-round picks from the 2025 draft.
It feels as though, CBJs have a relatively bad return on all the high draft picks they still have in the system. I guess that's a cautionary tale of having too many assets, and/or not hitting on the picks you do get. Del Bel Belluz is a guy I would really like the Flames to take a look at if the Blue Jackets don't have a spot for him in the lineup.
Is it just me, or does ‘Del Bel Belluz’ sound like the name of an 80s synth-pop band from West Berlin?
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‘You see in Calgary, [Ryan] Huska is no joke. It’s good. He’s really set on a specific model defensively. If you can be reliable, you have the freedom to play offence.’
—Ethan Wyttenbach
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Appreciate that Gvitaly will post the details, but Pittsburgh is number 17 -- and that's without Kindel because he's already graduated him.
Will wait for Gvit to post the details, but it's pretty incredible how quickly Dubas has turned their prospect system around, while remaining competitive (mostly because of Crosby). It kind of says a lot about how tough GMing is in Toronto and other Canadian markets, where the pressure is always on with very little patience.
And a little off topic, but I think whoever wrote the Wiki article on Dubas might not like him very much:
"Dubas then promoted himself to permanent general manager on August 3, officially replacing Ron Hextall."
After years as a bottom-of-the-league pool, the Penguins have transformed their group over the last two seasons and now have a respectable collection of prospects. They would have ranked a little higher had Ben Kindel not made the immediate jump to the NHL, too.
Their pool is still missing a premium ceiling-changing type, but they’ve created good depth for themselves and made more picks in last year’s draft (13, including three in the first round) than any other team.
Appreciate that Gvitaly will post the details, but Pittsburgh is number 17 -- and that's without Kindel because he's already graduated him.
Will wait for Gvit to post the details, but it's pretty incredible how quickly Dubas has turned their prospect system around, while remaining competitive (mostly because of Crosby). It kind of says a lot about how tough GMing is in Toronto and other Canadian markets, where the pressure is always on with very little patience.
And a little off topic, but I think whoever wrote the Wiki article on Dubas might not like him very much:
"Dubas then promoted himself to permanent general manager on August 3, officially replacing Ron Hextall."
I'm not sure i agree that it is harder to rebuild in Canadian markets because of less patience. Outside of Toronto, I think you have fanbases that will support young rebuilding teams more than in any comparable US market.
18. New York Rangers
17. Columbus Blue Jackets
16. Pittsburgh Penguins
