The regular season has either wound down or ended across leagues outside the North American professional ranks. European teams are already into the postseason, major junior is on its way there, and college hockey is into its conference finals as we move quickly toward the NCAA tournament.
With that in mind, it seems like a good time to check in with some of the top systems feeding into NHL rosters.
Just to give you some insight into the methodology, I value depth of a team's pool more than an elite prospect or two at the top of a team's system. You need stars to win in the NHL, but it seems that many of those players are spending less and less time in the prospect pipeline. The health of an overall system often comes from having not only good prospects, but also plenty of options. There aren't many huge misses in the first round anymore, but the teams that are finding players in the midrounds or through undrafted free agency are building bigger, better pools to pull from.
With all of that said, I don't think there's a ton of separation between most teams in the NHL right now. Because so many top prospects are reaching the NHL by 19 or 20 years old, it's harder for franchises to establish a loaded pipeline. Each club has at least one legit top prospect, which is a big reason I leaned more heavily on system depth, with a few exceptions for teams with a particularly intriguing top three or four guys.
Rookies who appeared in at least 40 of their NHL club's games for this season were no longer considered part of the pipeline for this particular piece. Others just shy of that -- such as Philadelphia's Travis Sanheim and Boston's Anders Bjork, for instance -- are still considered pipeline pieces for now. Here's a look at the top 10 prospect pools in the NHL.
1. St. Louis Blues
It's nice to have a hotly contested debate about whether Jordan Kyrou or Robert Thomas is the best prospect in your system. Both are exceptional, but I lean Kyrou, as I think he's one of the best puck handlers presently outside the NHL. Either way, they're both high-end prospects with bright NHL futures. Having two elite prospects is nice, but it's the depth the team has managed to build that puts them at the top. Klim Kostin and Tage Thompson are also both higher-end players with big upside.
Despite not having a dedicated AHL affiliate, the Blues have players excelling in the minors. Thompson has already seen significant NHL time, while Kostin is one of the AHL's younger players and is more than holding his own out there. They've also gotten nice contributions from Sammy Blais, who has been a point-per-game player in the AHL at just 21 years old. Meanwhile, Ville Husso is making a strong case for being the Blues' goalie of the future based on his AHL performance.
There are quite a few other players who possess NHL upside in the system at the various levels. Jake Walman has struggled this season but still has a high-end skill set. Acquiring Nikita Soshnikov was a good gamble at a low cost. Erik Foley, who came over in the Paul Stastny trade, has an NHL future with his mix of speed, power and hard-nosed game. There should be no shortage of options when the Blues have to cycle through some of their more veteran players.
2. Philadelphia Flyers
Despite the graduation of high-profile prospects, such as last year's No. 2 pick Nolan Patrick, the Flyers have an incredibly deep pool of players with NHL upside. So many players in their pipeline have had incredible seasons, none more so than Morgan Frost of the Soo Greyhounds. He's in the thick of a hotly-contested OHL scoring race and is looking more and more like a late first-round steal. I just saw him play last week, and he's progressing at a rapid rate.
While Frost is a nice No. 1 to have outside the NHL, there's much more to this class. In the OHL alone, Matthew Strome, Isaac Ratcliffe and Maxim Sushko have taken big steps forward. Cooper Marody and Tanner Laczynski were two of the top forwards in the Big Ten, while Western Michigan's Wade Allison was having a great season before going down with injury and looks like a good future middle-six forward. Meanwhile, the Flyers' top farm club, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, is one of the top teams in the AHL and has helped or is helping players such as Travis Sanheim, Philippe Myers, Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Danick Martel and Oskar Lindblom develop.
On top of all of that, the Flyers have the best goalie in junior hockey in Carter Hart, who backstopped Canada to World Junior gold and boasts a .948 save percentage in the high-scoring WHL. Not a bad group.
3. Boston Bruins
The Bruins' system is carried to No. 3 by its sheer depth. While Hobey Baker candidate and Olympian Ryan Donato provides a lot of excitement, there aren't a ton of star-quality players in Boston's pool. That said, they have a diversity of talent that can fill roles in all positions, aided by a proven track record of being able to develop their drafted talent at the AHL level, as recent graduates Danton Heinen and Matt Grzelcyk can attest.
Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson is one of those players who looks like he could be among the next to graduate from the Providence Bruins and be an immediate contributor. Trent Frederic, a 2016 first-round pick, just got signed and should be a quality long-term depth player while getting a taste of the AHL to start. Last year's first-rounder, Urho Vaakanainen played big minutes in Finland this year and looks like a stout defender.
The Bruins still have some guys to develop more in the AHL, as well, such as Anders Bjork, Zach Senyshyn, Jakub Zboril and Joona Koppanen, who just jumped the pond after a good season in Finland. They also have a pair of interesting goalie prospects in Zane McIntyre and Jeremy Swayman. The Bruins have an established star core, and the depth of their pool is going to provide options to filter into the NHL lineup over the next few years.
4. Vancouver Canucks
Having one of the top three prospects in hockey, Elias Pettersson, helps the Canucks attain this lofty position without the overall depth I'd like to see. Pettersson still needs to build strength to maximize his NHL potential, but what he did in the Swedish league this season was simply ridiculous, as he broke the U20 scoring record, passing the likes of Kent Nilsson, Peter Forsberg, the Sedins and Markus Naslund along the way.
Meanwhile, Jonathan Dahlen was a point-per-game player in Sweden's second division and possibly raised expectations with how crucial he was and is to Timra's bid for promotion to the SHL.
The Canucks need to remain patient with Olli Juolevi, who may be a bit behind where everyone thought he'd be, but he's getting good opportunities in the Finnish league. Speedy winger Kole Lind has been particularly strong in the WHL, and Jonah Gadjovich is a versatile forward with size having a nice season with Owen Sound in the OHL. Then there's Adam Gaudette, who is a front-runner for the Hobey Baker and is torching college hockey as a junior.
Meanwhile, Thatcher Demko is a top-five goalie prospect who has been getting meaningful reps and putting up good numbers in the AHL, and Michael DiPietro is a netminder with massive upside based on what he's showing in the OHL right now.
The Canucks need to keep building out the depth of this pool as they rebuild some, but they've got some great foundational pieces coming up behind top youngsters Brock Boeser and Bo Horvat, who've already made their impact at the NHL level.
5. Arizona Coyotes
There is still some hemming and hawing over Dylan Strome not making an immediate impact at the NHL level, but he remains a high-end prospect who has just required some extra time. What Strome is doing in the AHL as a 20-year-old, averaging 1.11 points per game, is a fairly good sign that he can eventually get up to NHL speed. Nick Merkley is also having a standout season at the AHL level. They are pair of players I could see making an NHL impact as soon as next season if put in the right situations.
Pierre-Olivier Joseph, selected 23rd overall in June, appears to be progressing fine. Former third-round pick Cam Dineen seems to be developing rather nicely, as well, and is now with a club that may better suit his offensive style. Tyler Steenbergen has put up eye-popping numbers in the WHL, but I still need some convincing on his long-term upside. The organization also just signed UFA Brayden Burke, who's had a high-scoring season in the WHL.
6. Vegas Golden Knights
Vegas has so much building left to do, as they were starting from scratch, but George McPhee's group built a nice foundation of prospects in the Golden Knights' first entry draft. That starts at the top with three strong first-round picks: Cody Glass, Nick Suzuki and Erik Brannstrom. Each has met or exceeded expectations this year. They all still need some time, but there's a lot to like about the Golden Knights' core prospects.
They didn't just do well in the first round, though. Vegas has seen some of its midround picks have really strong seasons, as well. Nicolas Hague has 33 goals from the blue line in the OHL this season, while Jack Dugan is above a point per game, and Maksim Zhukov is a top goalie in the USHL. Also, Lucas Elvenes has been a revelation in the Swedish pro ranks this year.
On top of all of that, the team still has rights to Nikita Gusev, who was a top player at the Olympics and finished second in KHL scoring this year. It's unclear if the Knights will ever get him to come over, but this team is positioned far better than you might expect.
7. New York Rangers
The Rangers helped bolster their prospect pool over the last two years and are now starting to accumulate nice depth. Their top two prospects are their last two first-round picks: Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil. Both are getting quality reps in the AHL this season. That is a tough league for teenagers, and they are handling the AHL grind extremely well. The Rangers' haul in the Ryan McDonagh-J.T. Miller trade gave them a quality defense prospect in Libor Hajek and a higher end two-way forward in Brett Howden, who I seem to be higher on than most.
The Rangers also have one of the top goaltending prospects in the game in Igor Shestyorkin, who has routinely put up solid numbers in the KHL. It certainly doesn't hurt that the club has already gotten some contributions from 22-year-old Alexandar Georgiev at the NHL level in net this year.
Meanwhile, there are some rawer prospects in junior and college -- Ty Ronning, Timothy Gettinger, Sean Day and Ryan Lindgren -- who have more development ahead but also have some upside. The Rangers have also supplemented with some quality depth signings out of college free agency, such as Neal Pionk and Vinni Lettieri.
8. Tampa Bay Lightning
The Lightning traded away key prospects, but the depth of the pool they had to draw from was just stacked. Tampa has made a killing at the draft and with free-agent finds, but this is an organization that also develops players at an incredibly efficient rate. This system does not have an elite prospect right now -- at least it doesn't look like they do. However, Yanni Gourde and Tyler Johnson didn't necessarily look the part of key contributors to a Stanley Cup contender when they started in the organization, either. What Tampa does have is many prospects who look poised to play at the NHL level in a variety of roles, including several right below the NHL, with the Lightning's AHL affiliate in Syracuse.
The top guys in terms of highest ceiling appear to be Taylor Raddysh and Boris Katchouk, who are part of a dominant Soo Greyhounds team in the OHL and played on the same line for Canada at the world juniors. The organization is also very high on defenseman Callan Foote, who is a solid, smart defender but has limited offensive upside. Looking at the Bolts' AHL roster right now, their most productive players are rookies such as Mathieu Joseph, Mitchell Stephens and Anthony Cirelli. That's a great sign for all of them. Alexander Volkov and Erik Cernak have also made key contributions as AHL first-years. Then there are others who have earned call-ups, such as Matthew Peca and Adam Erne, among others.
The Lightning are going for it right now, so many of these players aren't going to be needed for a while, but they give the team several quality call-up options, trade assets or future full-timers. This club has positioned itself well for the long term.
9. Calgary Flames
Few teams are as deep with defense prospects as the Flames. Led by blue-chip offensive blueliner Adam Fox of Harvard and exciting first-rounder Juuso Valimaki, Calgary also has a pair of AHL defenders who look pretty close in Rasmus Andersson and Oliver Kylington. Additionally, the Flames have a pair of high-end goaltending prospects in Jon Gillies and Tyler Parsons.
Up front, the Flames are less dynamic, but Dillon Dube looks like he'll be a strong long-term middle-six forward for the Flames. Adam Ruzicka is also having a very nice season in the OHL, and a pair of high-scoring WHLers in Matthew Phillips and Glenn Gawdin offer intriguing upside. Andrew Mangiapane has also been excellent in the AHL but is sidelined for the rest of the year with a shoulder injury.
10. Florida Panthers
I've really liked what the Panthers have done in the draft over the last two years, clearly emphasizing skill. This is one of the groups where the depth isn't quite where you'd like to see it, but the top end is terrific. Florida has one of college hockey's very best players in Henrik Borgstrom, who has been dubbed The Artist due to his playmaking. I think he's going to make an instant impact whenever he arrives, which could be as early as this season, depending on when the Denver Pioneers' season wraps up.
The OHL has looked pretty easy for Owen Tippett after being sent back early in the season, as he has 70 points in 48 games this year. Adam Mascherin is another top offensive performer in the OHL, as is Jonathan Ang. Each looked very good in recent live viewings. Over in the WHL, Aleksi Heponiemi has torched the league for an average of 2.17 points per game as one of junior hockey's most gifted playmakers.
There isn't as much in terms of high-end prospects defensively or in net, but I think Borgstrom and Tippett could be big-time impact players down the line for Florida.
Honorable mentions: Minnesota Wild, Winnipeg Jets, Ottawa Senators, Los Angeles Kings and Colorado Avalanche