Welcome to the 2014 edition of “Top Shelf Prospects”. As we have gone through the Summer of 2014 I featured a team-by-team look at the top prospects in the NHL. You can find all the articles here. You can also find the 2014 Draftees in our extensive NHL Draft preview, where players were reviewed and ranked prior to the 2014 NHL Draft. For those wondering, the cut-off for what is or isn’t a prospect is typically about 50 NHL games played (including playoffs) or being 25 years old. These are not hard or fast rules though, and I may make some exceptions depending on the circumstances.
As we continue in our top shelf series, the next step is to look at what each team has in the pipeline in our NHL organizational prospect rankings. This will be done in 3 parts, with 10 teams included in each section.
A reminder that if you click the team name you will be taken to that franchise’s TSP page, which has scouting reports on their top 3 prospects; a sleeper prospect (4th round or later pick) and links to reports on any 2014 draft picks reviewed by LWOS.
NHL Organizational Prospect Rankings (20-11)
The first thing we note is that in three years of doing these organizational rankings, they have never been tougher to rank. It seems that there are more and more solid prospects that we like this year than ever before. Even teams in the low to mid 20’s on this list would get good letter grades for their prospect lists.
20) Toronto Maple Leafs (B-)
The Leafs could have been even higher if it was not for the fact that Morgan Rielly is considered graduated. William Nylander was a solid pick and fills a long time need in the organization. Matt Finn is very underrated as a defenceman and had a great season as captain of the Guelph Storm. Once you get past those two though, there is depth, but no real blue-chip talent.
There are questions about the ultimate offensive upside of Frederick Gauthier, but he should be able to become at least a third line center. Connor Brown had a huge season for the Erie Otters but, given his size, he will need to show that he can bring the scoring against pros. Josh Leivo is another player who has some ability, but may top out as a third liner. Further down the charts we see players like Carter Verhaeghe, Greg McKegg, and Andreas Johnson who have been good juniors and could develop into NHLers, but also have big question marks.
Meanwhile the defense, including Petter Granberg, Andrew MacWillian, Eric Knodel, and Stuart Percy, also has some potential to produce an NHL player or two. In goal, Antoine Bibeau had a huge season, and Christopher Gibson and Garrett Sparks had good junior careers but translating to the pro game is a question as well. The Leafs have done a decent job of stocking the cupboards with depth, but some more high end talent would really go a long way towards turning the club into a true contender in the near future.
19) Philadelphia Flyers (B-)
The Flyers strength is on defence, where big defenceman Samuel Morin has started to develop his offensive game in Rimouski this season. Travis Sanheim was a solid pick in the NHL draft, and may even be a better prospect than Morin. Shayne Gostisbehere moves to the AHL after leading his Union team to the NCAA championship. Add in Robert Hagg, a solid Swedish defence prospect, and Mark Alt and you have a good core of defencemen going forward.
The forwards feature the Flyers top prospect in Scott Laughton, but the depth beyond him is a little thin. Taylor Leier has talent but is undersized. There are some other projects at forward in Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Jason Akeson, Nick Cousins, and Michael Parks. In goal, Anthony Stolarz had a solid year in London. The Flyers are slowly moving their way up the prospect rankings in recent years, and are starting to assemble a solid group of prospects at key positions, though more forward talent is needed.
18) Boston Bruins (B-)
The Bruins prospect ranks are led by Malcolm Subban, who had an impressive first year in the AHL. They also have Niklas Svedberg in goal, who’s a little older and likely takes over as the team’s backup role while Subban continues to play in the AHL this year. While the Bruins graduated a number of defencemen this past year (due to what seemed like unending injuries on their blue line) one major talent remains in the pipeline with the slick skating Joe Morrow. There really isn’t a lot behind him on the blue line though.
Up front the Bruins boast newly-drafted David Pastrnak and a couple of players with some NHL time last year in Ryan Spooner and Matt Fraser, who should challenge for a spot in training camp. The Bruins do have depth at forward and look to Alexander Khokhlachev, Seth Griffith, Craig Cunningham, and Justin Florek to also challenge for spots in the near future. Jared Knight must bounce back from a tough season, while Anthony Camara looks to find his game at the AHL level. Overall focus on reloading on defence must be Peter Chiarelli’s next priority.
17) Pittsburgh Penguins (B)
The Penguins are the opposite of the Bruins. They are deep on defence, with Derrick Pouliot, Scott Harrington, and Brian Dumoulin as the team’s top three prospects. Add Philip Samuelsson to this group, and consider that Olli Maatta, Robert Bortuzzo, and Simon Despres are all young NHLers, and you have one of the deepest groups of young defenders in the NHL. There is also depth in goal with Tristan Jarry and Matt Murray as recent picks, and Eric Hartzell as a college free agent one year ago.
Up front the depth is being stretched, as the majority of focus in recent years has been on the back end. Beau Bennett and Brian Gibbons have graduated. Kasperi Kapanen was a good pick and starts to address that need, but the rest of the group which includes Jason Megna, Oskar Sundqvist, Scott Wilson, Teddy Blueger, and Anton Zlobin as the best of the forwards in the pipeline is lacking in real top-6 quality prospects..
16) Washington Capitals (B)
Evgeny Kuznetsov is a super stud and took 2nd place in our overall prospect rankings, but it’s depth where the Capitals are lacking. There is little at centre beyond Kuznetsov. On the wings we do see some depth in new first rounder Jakub Vrana, 2013 first rounder Andre Burakovsky, Zach Sanford, and Riley Barber. There are some decent prospects here but, outside of Kuznetsov, no forward can really provide immediate help to the Capitals.
On the defence, Madison Bowey was a great 2nd round pick in 2013 and Connor Carrick is looking like a steal, but again there is a lack of depth. Overall though, the big club is still relatively young, so it shouldn’t be too much of a concern at this point. There is enough high-end talent to fill the spots necessary over the next few years while depth is built.
15) Edmonton Oilers (B)
The Oilers have a pair of studs in newly drafted centre Leon Draisatl and 2013 first rounder Darnell Nurse, who will both push for a spot on the squad this year. The Oilers have been building defensive depth for some time as, in addition to Nurse, they also have Oscar Klefbom, Martin Marcinin, Martin Gernat, David Musil and Dillon Simpson as quality prospects here.
The forwards are a little weak behind Draisatl, as the majority of quality Oilers forward prospects are already with the big club. In Tyler Pitlick and Mitch Moroz the Oilers have a pair of forwards who look like they will be able to fill out more of a grinding, defensive role going forward. Anton Slepyshev is a wild card with high end offensive potential but he’s playing in Russia and there are some concerns as to if he will come to North America. In goal, Laurent Brossoit was acquired from the Flames in the Ladislav Smid trade and dominated in the ECHL in his first pro season; but struggled in the AHL. He will need time.
14) Vancouver Canucks (B)
The Canucks have taken a big jump in our prospect rankings over the last two years. A pair of solid drafts will do that. In 2014, Jake Virtanen might have been picked a little high, but they followed it up with getting Jared McCann as a steal at 24th. In 2013 they grabbed Bo Horvat with the 9th overall pick, and also got a steal with Hunter Shinkaruk at 24th. Shinkaruk was hurt much of this year, but he is still a great prospect. These picks, along with Brendan Gaunce, the newly acquired Linden Vey, and 2011 first rounder Nicklas Jensen are going to transform the Canucks forward group. There are also a number of good depth prospects in Cole Cassels, Dane Fox, and Mike Zalewski. They could use a few more Right Wings though.
On defence, Frankie Corrado leads the way, while Ben Hutton and Jordan Subban have shown some potential but the group lacks a true blue chip player. In net, Thatcher Demko will be given plenty of time to develop. He has that type of high end potential. Overall there are still some gaps, but Rome wasn’t built in a day and the Canucks are in much better shape than they were in just a short time ago.
13) Winnipeg Jets (B)
Overall the Jets are building a strong young team. Mark Schiefele, Jacob Trouba, and Evander Kane are all making an NHL impact already. Add to them really solid youngsters like Josh Morrisey, Nic Petan, Scott Kosmachuk and one of our favorite 2014 draft prospects in the Jets new first round pick Nikolaj Ehlers and you have some real talent here. The Jets also have a good stable of depth forwards including Adam Lowry, Eric O’Dell, Jimmy Lodge, J.C. Lipon and Tomas Kubalik. On defence Morrissey is joined by the newly drafted Jack Glover and Nelson Nogier. However it is in goal where the Jets show really great depth with Eric Comrie, Connor Hellebuyck and Michael Hutchinson also having high end potential.
12) Nashville Predators (B)
There is a revolution going on in Nashville, as the team looks to add offensive punch that has been lacking throughout almost their entire existence. Filip Forsberg leads the way, while newly drafted Kevin Fiala has big-time offensive potential but needs to work on his defensive game. Calle Jankrok had a slow start adjusting to the North American game but really took off in the second half of the season, and was a great pickup by the Preds. Colton Sissons shows power forward potential. Kamenev, Dougherty, and Kirkland are added to Fiala and gave the team a solid 2014 draft. Adding them to the depth that already exists in Nashville from players like Pontus Aberg, Brandon Leipsec, Jimmy Vesey, Taylor Beck, Anthony Bitetto, Austin Watson, and Jonathan Diaby continue to provide a system that is even deeper.
The Preds have always been strong in goal, and Juuse Saaros, Magnus Hellberg, and Marek Mazanec add to that. In fact, Mazanec won an NHL rookie of the month award last year. GM David Poile has consistently gotten results in Nashville despite their resources (high draft picks, and little money at times) being more limited than the big boys and this prospect system should allow that to continue. The Predators are again on the rise, and soon to be on the prowl.
11) Dallas Stars (B+)
The Texas Stars won the AHL’s Calder Cup this year, and while AHL success isn’t always the best indicator of the quality of a team’s prospects due to the nature of the league, and the number of veterans who are key to any AHL team’s success, the Stars did have some quality prospects at this level. The also got an “A” rating for a draft that added Julius Honka, Brett Pollock, Alex Peters, Brent Moran, and Aaron Haydon. Brett Ritchie and Jamie Oleksiak add real size to the Stars prospect group. There is some depth at centre in Jason Dickinson, Radek Faksa, and Devin Shore.
On defence Kevin Connaughton, looks ready for full-time NHL duty. With Oleksiak, Klingberg, and Connaughton all nipping at his heels on the depth chart, Patrick Nemeth may get the first opportunity to make an impact in the NHL this season. In goal, Jack Campbell is still a good goalie prospect, but now must learn to be consistent and must stay healthy. Phillipe Desrosiers is also a high-end goalie prospect who the Stars got in the second round of the 2013 draft. The weakest area right now is on the wing. This isn’t a huge issue though, as some of those centers may end up on the wing, and there are already youngsters playing on the wing in the NHL such as Jamie Benn and Valeri Nichushkin. Overall, the Stars seem to be a team on the rise under Jim Nill.
Check back tomorrow for the top 10 teams.
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