The 2017-18 season has been following a pretty similar script to previous seasons in the Atlantic Division. There are a few strong teams at the top of the division, and everything else looks a little less inspiring. There's not a ton of depth.
So as we hit December, where there's not a ton of movement in the standings anyway, it might be as good a time as any to look ahead with some prospect-system check-ins. There is plenty of intrigue there as far as the Atlantic Division goes. So let's have a look at where things are for each team, including our way-too-early 2018-19 watch for players who can make an impact a year from now.
Boston Bruins
The Bruins have graduated a number of prospects this season, with Charlie McAvoy, Jake DeBrusk, Anders Bjork and Danton Heinen rounding into full-timers. That raids their prospect pool quite a bit, but there's still some depth there -- starting at the AHL level, where the Providence Bruins are among the league's best teams this season.
First-year pro Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson has made the transition smoothly and is a top producer for the P-Bruins. Meanwhile, first-rounder Zach Senyshyn appears to be coming along as an AHL rookie with 10 points in 20 games. He's going to require some patience, but the talent is there and the points will come.
Below the AHL level, the Bruins have some particularly strong prospects in the NCAA ranks. Harvard center Ryan Donato is one of the best players in college hockey this season, averaging 1.50 points per game for the Crimson. Over at Wisconsin, 2016 first-rounder Trent Frederic has been rounding out into a higher-end, two-way center as a sophomore. He should be on the U.S. World Junior team in a fairly prominent role.
Over in Europe, the Bruins' most recent first-rounder, Urho Vaakanainen, is excelling for SaiPa in Finland. The 18-year-old leads the team in average ice time, at 22:15 through 19 games. He'll likely be patrolling the blue line for a very deep Finland squad at the World Juniors.
2018-19 watch:
Buffalo Sabres
With the way things are going in Buffalo right now, you'd have to be looking for a positive anywhere. There are certainly some prospects in Buffalo's system that are going to make an impact for the team at the NHL level. The pool isn't quite deep as you'd hope it to be given the fact that this team spent a lot of time tearing down, tanking and rebuilding, but the top end of its prospects system is pretty good.
Last year's first-rounder, Casey Mittelstadt, has been excellent offensively at the University of Minnesota and will be a top-six forward for USA at the World Juniors in Buffalo. Cliff Pu is having a tremendous junior season with the OHL's London Knights, averaging over 1.3 points per game. In Europe, 22-year-old Victor Olofsson and 20-year-old Rasmus Asplund are having their best seasons as pros. Additionally, Finnish goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is playing well in Finland's second division and will be part of the Finns' World Junior entry.
Meanwhile, the Sabres are seeing some success at the AHL level. Top defense prospect Brendan Guhle is looking solid in his first pro season, as he is fourth in the AHL in points by a defenseman with 14 in 21 games. C.J. Smith has also been a strong addition after signing as a free agent out of college, as he is averaging better than a point per game and is the top scorer among all rookies excluding Dylan Strome, who was recalled to the Coyotes.
Much of the attention rests on Alexander Nylander, however, as he is now back from injury. The talented winger has four points in eight games since returning. His NHL projection and timeline is still pretty hard to pin down. We'll have to see if he is released to play in the World Juniors in Buffalo. He dominated that tournament last year. It could be a good springboard for the second half now that he's healthy, but the Sabres might need to keep him on the AHL roster in case they need to recall a winger.
2018-19 watch: While Sabres fans probably want Mittelstadt right away, there's still work that needs to be done on his game away from the puck; a little patience, especially given the current circumstances, is a good idea. It's more likely players such as Guhle and Nylander get their chance as soon as this season, but I would not expect either to reach full-time status until next season.
Detroit Red Wings
With only three players under age 24 on the NHL roster, the Red Wings are in some serious need of an influx of youthful talent. Right now, however, there's not a ton of depth in the prospect system that is going to be especially helpful in the near term -- or whenever it is the Wings want to get younger like the rest of the league.
That said, the bright spots in the system include two of their most recent first-round draft picks. Michael Rasmussen was having a good season in the WHL before getting hurt. I had a chance to see him at the Canada-Russia series and I think he's progressing, with a high motor and good net-front drive. I still think his skating needs some work, but it's not going to hold him back substantially. Defenseman Dennis Cholowski was also there, and I thought his game has grown a lot from his underwhelming freshman season at St. Cloud State in 2016-17. Now with the WHL's Prince George Cougars, he is producing and looks very comfortable with the puck.
The Grand Rapids Griffins as a whole have struggled this season, currently in fifth place in their division and near the bottom of the AHL in points percentage. It's also concerning that Andrei Svechnikov's production has dipped after coming back from injury, as he appeared to have the most upside of the forwards still with Grand Rapids.
2018-19 watch: Libor Sulak is a name to know. The 23-year-old Czech defenseman signed with Detroit last spring as a free agent. After not making the Wings in camp, he was sent to the Lahti Pelicans in Finland's top pro division. He is currently leading defensemen in Liiga with 0.85 points per game and is averaging 24:30 of ice time per game, which is third-highest in the league. It's the toughest league competition he has faced in his career, and he has been excelling. He could be back next year to help support defensive depth in Detroit.
Florida Panthers
While it has been a disappointing season in South Florida, what's happening in their prospect pipeline has to be viewed as a positive. While there isn't tremendous depth in the system, there are some players playing at an extraordinarily high level that should help the Panthers improve in the pipeline rankings over the summer.
The Panthers' system currently boasts the top scorer in the WHL in Aleksi Heponiemi and arguably the most talented player in college hockey, Henrik Borgstrom. First off, Heponiemi is putting up silly numbers for the Swift Current Broncos, with 66 points in 27 games, a per-game rate of 2.44. It doesn't seem real, but he's on a historic pace right now. We'll see how he looks at World Juniors away from Swift Current running mate Tyler Steenbergen, but Heponiemi has tremendous vision and offensive sense. Meanwhile, Borgstrom is called "The Artist" for a reason. His high skill has put him on highlight reels in each of his first two college seasons at the University of Denver. Despite being held off the score sheet for the first time all season last weekend, he has 13 goals and nine assists in just 13 games this season for DU.
Florida will also be pleased with the play of Owen Tippett after he was sent back to the OHL. He has 13 points in 11 games and could make Canada's roster for the World Juniors. Meanwhile, Adam Mascherin and Jonathan Ang have been putting up big points, both within the OHL's top 20. Elsewhere in the college ranks, Max Gildon has played his way into consideration for the U.S. WJC team with 12 points in 14 games as a freshman defenseman for New Hampshire.
2018-19 watch: Borgstrom has been one of college hockey's best players for two years. In 50 NCAA games, Borgstrom has 65 points. Having already helped lead Denver to a national title and putting the Pioneers in the cat-bird seat for a repeat, I'd expect to see him sign with the Panthers after this season. He also has the skill level and smarts to be an immediate impact player at the next level. This season, we've seen a number of college-trained players make immediate impacts as rookies at the NHL level, and I think Borgstrom will be one of the players who continues that trend.
Montreal Canadiens
The Habs' system is a little tougher to gauge in the early goings of the season because of the surprise graduation of Victor Mete and two of the top players in the pipeline have been injured. Noah Juulsen was recently activated from injured reserve after healing from a broken foot sustained in the NHL preseason and has appeared in three AHL games so far. Nikita Scherbak also went down in October in need of knee surgery and remains out. The Laval Rocket has been a middle-of-the-pack team in the AHL so far, but perhaps getting those two players back will help.
Some of the real bright spots in Montreal's system have come in the NCAA. Notre Dame captain Jake Evans is the top scorer in college hockey with 28 points. Meanwhile, first-rounder Ryan Poehling is playing a high-end game with St. Cloud State at both ends of the ice while averaging 1.25 points per game. One of the surprises so far this season is the play of Northeastern freshman goalie Cayden Primeau, who has a .920 save percentage through his first 11 college starts. Over in the OHL, speedster Will Bitten is averaging a point per game and has a shot at the Canadian World Juniors team.
There's a lot riding on the top players in this system, as the depth isn't especially great. That said, there should still be some optimism in Scherbak and Juulsen as they return to health. I don't know that either's stock is as high as it was just a few short years ago, but they're not ready to be written off, either.
2018-19 watch: We'll have to see how Scherbak responds to knee surgery and how strongly he'll come back. He had nine points in six AHL games before earning a call-up. Getting injured right away was another tough break for a player who has shown he deserves a shot at the next level. Perhaps he'll get another shot or two with Montreal before the season is over, but next season could finally be the time he arrives. Tom Parisi, a strong skater and defender, is another one in Laval to keep an eye on as a potential depth addition next season.
Ottawa Senators
I think the Senators have put together a pretty decent pipeline over the past few years. The depth of talent available to them, even after the expected graduation of Thomas Chabot, is a big reason a player such as first-rounder Shane Bowers was expendable for them in the Matt Duchene trade. There's some really promising talent at the AHL level, and they have a number of junior players who increase the intrigue.
In the AHL, all eyes remain on 20-year-old Filip Chlapik, who is tied for the team scoring lead with 13 points. The 2015 second-rounder nearly made the Sens out of camp and has already appeared in one NHL game in which he registered an assist. Meanwhile, Colin White is back from injury and has eight points in 15 games so far for the Belleville Senators. Both of those players could figure more immediately into Ottawa's plans.
At the junior level, Drake Batherson has been one of the big surprises, as he is fifth in the QMJHL in scoring. Logan Brown, who made the team out of camp and was sent back to junior, has responded very well with 21 points in 13 games, and his roster spot for the U.S. junior team locked in. The speedy Alex Formenton also has a shot at the WJC for Canada, as he has averaged over 1.2 points per game since returning to London in the OHL. Another under-the-radar prospect to watch is Christian Wolanin, of the University of North Dakota, who is having a career year and is his team's most dependable blueliner.
2018-19 watch: Both Chlapik and White appear poised to be full-timers by 2018-19 and could get a few more looks this season. With a number of veterans on expiring contracts, there should be more than enough room for the youngsters to establish middle-six roles over the next few seasons.
Tampa Bay Lightning
It has to be a bit maddening to the rest of the league that the Lightning can be so good at the NHL level and have a large number of high-end prospects with strong NHL upside just waiting in the wings. This team's ability to draft is a big reason for its current success and why it should be able to sustain that success for years to come.
The Bolts have a really strong contingent of prospects across major juniors, led by Soo Greyhounds scoring sensation Boris Katchouk, who is fifth in the OHL with 41 points in 27 games. Taylor Raddysh is also having an exceptional OHL season and is a lock for Team Canada at the WJC, while Katchouk is likely to also make it. There's a good chance for defenseman Cal Foote, too, who is putting up points while also playing a heavy, sound game for the Kelowna Rockets in the WHL. Brett Howden is more of a bubble player, but he is a solid, two-way center for Moose Jaw. There's also big Oleg Sosunov (6-foot-8, 225 pounds), who has been impressive in his first North American season with Moose Jaw in the WHL. Over in the QMJHL, Finnish winger Otto Somppi has produced for the highly skilled Halifax Mooseheads but was not invited to Finland's World Juniors camp.
There is also a strong contingent of young players in Tampa's AHL system. Erik Cernak, Anthony Cirelli, Mathieu Joseph, Alexander Volkov, Mitchell Stephens and Dennis Yan are all AHL rookies with NHL upside. None of them are lighting the league on fire yet, but with Tampa's history of internal development, this is a nice group of prospects to have a step below the NHL. It also offers Tampa some potential trade chips if they think they need veteran help to gear up for a playoff run.
2018-19 watch: The Lightning are pretty well set in their top six for the next few years, so the roster may not look a ton different than before. It's also a little early to tell how close some of Tampa's AHL rookies are to being able to make the jump. Cernak looks to have the most likely path to a spot as a big, right-handed-shot defenseman who plays a mature game.
Toronto Maple Leafs
One of the reasons I really like the Maple Leafs' rebuild in the long term, aside from the obvious draft home runs such as Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander, is that they have been working to build depth in their system. They're developing more players at the AHL level who are better prepared for the NHL, and they're continually drafting well outside of the first round or making solid European signings.
Right now, the Toronto Marlies are one of the two best teams in the AHL, and that could pay off at the NHL level later on. The Leafs have a number of call-up options on their AHL roster, which gives them a lot of flexibility and the ability to develop players into the roles they'll play in the NHL. Players such as Andreas Johnsson, Dmytro Timashov, Mason Marchment and Miro Aaltonen all could find their way to the NHL roster in the coming seasons. The team can take its time with especially promising defensemen Timothy Liljegren and Travis Dermott, who each have a chance to be long-term options for the NHL club. Meanwhile, Garret Sparks has been one of the AHL's best goaltenders (more on him in a second).
Outside of the minors, there are high expectations for center Carl Grundstrom, who was playing well before being sidelined by injury while playing with Frolunda in the Swedish Hockey League. He is expected back after the holiday break. Russian winger Yegor Korshkov, 21, might be worth keeping track of, as well, despite average numbers in the KHL.
2018-19 watch: The season Sparks is having shows the value of the patience with which Toronto can approach its prospects. The 24-year-old goalie has a .944 save percentage and 1.64 goals-against average for the Marlies. He appears poised to be Frederik Andersen's backup, perhaps sooner than later with the way he has played. It is always important to have a good backup these days, and even if that's where Sparks maxes out, he'll provide good value in that role based on his development trajectory.