With the NHL season around the corner, teams are evaluating what they have from a prospect standpoint. Here's a look at each Atlantic Division team's prospect pool heading into the 2018-19 NHL season, including the top players in the system.
Some ground rules:
• Players listed as "A" prospects project more comfortably into impact roles -- that is, players who will fit into top scoring lines or top-four defenses and goalies with starter potential. "B" prospects are players who project comfortably as everyday NHL players but don't project as comfortably to make a big impact. That's not to say the B prospects can't develop into larger roles in the future; it's just what I see for them for right now.
• Players not listed simply didn't meet the very high threshold set by the A and B parameters. That doesn't mean I don't think they'll make it or that they can't develop into better prospects. I just set a high bar for the players included in this section.
• Players are considered prospects until they've lost rookie status (using the Calder Trophy eligibility threshold).
• I also have listed one prospect for each team who I think is most likely to help the NHL roster this season, along with one "breakout prospect" who I think could take the biggest step forward this season in his development.
Let's dive into the Atlantic Division.
Metropolitan
| Central | Pacific
Boston Bruins
A prospect: Ryan Donato
B prospects: Jack Studnicka, Urho Vaakanainen, Trent Frederic, Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, Axel Andersson, Joona Koppanen, Jakub Lauko and Peter Cehlarik
The Bruins have been building a solid prospect pool over the years despite rapid graduations of top picks like David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy. Donato has already shown an ability to make a rather immediate impact after wrapping up a decorated college career at Harvard. The team has also seen developmental growth from Frederic, who signed after two years at Wisconsin, and Studnicka, whose speed at right wing has made him an effective junior scorer.
There are some reliable pieces that could provide depth in the future NHL lineup, particularly AHL standout Forsbacka Karlsson and Koppanen, who both have versatility to fit a lot of different roles. On the back end, Vaakanainen looks like a reliable defender with low offensive upside. It's not your typical first-round defenseman profile, but he has pro potential. Meanwhile, 2018 second-rounder Andersson might be the more intriguing of the two in the long term with better puck-moving skills.
Boston's prospect pool is thinning out a bit, with Donato being the only bona fide A prospect in the system. While it's too early to close the book on its 2015 NHL draft, it looks like the team hit on one of its three first-round draft picks. Zach Senyshyn and Jakub Zboril are progressing, but not at the rate that suggests big NHL upside at this point. The Bruins still have a cupboard that is going to provide support to a NHL roster in the midst of honestly contending for the Stanley Cup.
2018-19 NHL-level impact prospect: Ryan Donato
2018-19 breakout prospect: Jack Studnicka
Buffalo Sabres
A prospects: Casey Mittelstadt and Rasmus Dahlin
B prospects: Alexander Nylander, Mattias Samuelsson, Lawrence Pilut, Will Borgen, Linus Ullmark, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Brendan Guhle, Victor Olofsson, Rasmus Asplund and Marcus Davidsson
The first two drafts run by general manager Jason Botterill have added potential cornerstone pieces to the Sabres organization. Dahlin (this year's No. 1 pick) and Mittelstadt (last year's pick at No. 8 overall) give Buffalo two of the elite prospects in the game today. Very few systems can say they have two of the top five prospects in hockey. Both are expected to make the NHL roster right away this season, taking some of the attention and pressure away from Jack Eichel, who remains the franchise's centerpiece unless either of the other two can prove different.
There is a pretty significant drop in terms of talent after the top two, but that's to be expected considering the pedigree of the duo. There's a fairly large question mark surrounding their 2016 first-rounder, as Nylander has posted middling AHL numbers despite an apparent high-end skill set. He still has upside, but I've downgraded him significantly in the past year to a B-level prospect. This is a big year for his development.
Aside from the Nylander questions, the Sabres have established more depth in their prospect pool. They also have pretty nice balance with a good number of defensemen and forwards, and even possess a couple of goaltenders with legitimate NHL potential. Ullmark is the goalie of the future, and there's also a pretty promising youngster in Luukkonen, who will be moving to North America to play in the OHL this season. A quartet of defensemen -- offseason signee Pilut, 2018 second-rounder Samuelsson, 2015 second-rounder Guhle and 2015 fourth-rounder Borgen -- look as though they will provide help to a thin blue line already getting a big boost from Dahlin over the next few seasons.
2018-19 NHL-level impact prospect: Rasmus Dahlin
2018-19 breakout prospect: Marcus Davidsson
Detroit Red Wings
A prospects: Filip Zadina, Joseph Veleno and Michael Rasmussen
B prospects: Jonatan Berggren, Dennis Cholowski, Filip Hronek, Jared McIsaac and Evgeny Svechnikov
One draft can really flip the script for a team, and that's just what the 2018 event in Dallas did for the Red Wings. Hauling in surprise fallers Zadina and Veleno was fortuitous for a prospect pool that needed an injection of high-end talent. There was also the underrated selection of Berggren in the second round, which I think is going to look good in a few more years.
Zadina has star-winger potential and Veleno has clear NHL upside to potentially be a strong middle-six center for the team down the line. The same is true of Rasmussen, who has battled through injuries but absolutely exploded during the WHL playoffs last season, renewing some faith in the promise he had shown previously.
Meanwhile, I still think Cholowski can be a solid defender for the Red Wings, but might require some extra patience for an honest shot. Hronek is also looking closer to NHL-ready on the back end after a strong AHL season. For some other prospects, we're still in wait-and-see mode. That is most true of the skilled Svechnikov, who just hasn't been able to break through yet. He's only 21 and has two years of AHL service time. This is a big season for him.
The Red Wings are starting to set themselves up better for the future. Another big draft like the one they just had would certainly help. It's probably not going to be a terribly exciting season for the NHL team, but watching the youth take more of a hold on the franchise is going to be awfully intriguing to watch.
2018-19 NHL-level impact prospect: Filip Zadina
2018-19 breakout prospect: Dennis Cholowski
Florida Panthers
A prospects: Henrik Borgstrom, Owen Tippett and Grigori Denisenko
B prospects: Aleksi Heponiemi, Serron Noel and Jonathan Ang
The very top of the Panthers' prospect system is loaded. Borgstrom looks like a star in the making after dominating the NCAA ranks for two years at the University of Denver. Meanwhile, Tippett has the capability to become a higher-end goal scorer for the team, and they've got a pair of extremely gifted playmakers in the system with Heponiemi and Denisenko (both still a few years away from contributing at the NHL level). The same is true of Noel, who is a raw talent with big upside as he continues growing into his body.
Those are five prospects right there any team would love to have in the fold. Each possesses higher-end offensive skills that should fit in well with the youthful group the Panthers have already built at the NHL level. The problem is that there isn't a ton of diversity of talent. It is very forward-heavy, with few defenders looking like long-term impact players. The same is true in net. The high-end quality of the top of Florida's system is what gives it an advantage over some other teams that can boast better overall depth.
2018-19 NHL-level impact prospect: Henrik Borgstrom
2018-19 breakout prospect: Logan Hutsko
Montreal Canadiens
A prospects: Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Ryan Poehling and Nick Suzuki
B prospects: Jesse Ylonen, Alexander Romanov, Noah Juulsen, Jacob Olofsson, Joni Ikonen, Cale Fleury and Cam Hillis
Much like the Red Wings, the Habs significantly altered their prospect system with a strong 2018 draft. Before that, there was next to no depth in the system and very little star power. That changes with the addition of Kotkaniemi, who might have been drafted earlier than some teams would have taken him, but he's well above anyone else in Montreal's system. On top of the big 2018 draft, Montreal also managed to land an A prospect from the Vegas Golden Knights in the Max Pacioretty trade. Nick Suzuki had 196 points over his last two OHL seasons and possesses a strong skill set consistent with that of a top-six scoring winger.
In addition to Suzuki and Kotkaniemi, Poehling looks like a solid future middle-six forward who can play a variety of roles. Olofsson, the last of three second-round picks in 2018, is also an intriguing prospect, with a number of fans within Sweden's national-team system and some legitimate offensive smarts if not tremendous speed. Meanwhile, offensive talents like Ylonen, Will Bitten and Ikonen make for some high-upside midrange talents who could be contributors a few seasons down the line. On the back end, the Habs also got a glimpse of Juulsen as an NHL defenseman last season and selected offensive-minded rearguard Romanov in the second round in June. Goalie prospect Cayden Primeau had a sensational freshman year, showing more upside than he appeared to have during his draft season.
The Habs still have some work to do in rounding out their group over the long haul, but the 2018 draft did a lot to fill holes that had been there for years. The team is also looking to make some changes in its development of prospects, having installed Joel Bouchard as head coach with AHL Laval. Montreal had been without a reliable AHL pipeline, so that could go a long way toward maximizing the prospect pool.
2018-19 NHL-level impact prospect: Noah Juulsen
2018-19 breakout prospect: Jacob Olofsson
Ottawa Senators
A prospects: Brady Tkachuk and Alex Formenton
B prospects: Logan Brown, Colin White, Drake Batherson, Jonny Tychonick, Jacob Bernard-Docker, Filip Gustavsson, Christian Wolanin, Aaron Luchuk, Josh Norris, Rudolfs Balcers and Filip Chlapik
The Senators have been working away at building a solid prospect pool over the past few seasons, and that's exactly what they've done, with some help arriving as early as next season.
Tkachuk was clearly the player the Sens coveted, someone who brings a little bit of everything to their lineup. Meanwhile, the development over the past season of Formenton appears to be taking him from second-round steal to a top prospect with a chance to make the NHL earlier than expected. Despite an injury-plagued season, Brown remains a high-upside pivot who will have a chance to develop more in the AHL. He has the potential to dominate at his size with his skill level.
What I like about the Sens' system at present is that they have good balance. There are players who are going to be able to fit into a variety of roles, such as White and Batherson, along with players with high ceilings and a little less certainty, such as Bernard-Docker and Tychonick -- both have strong offensive games from the back end. The Sens also acquired a top-end goalie prospect in Gustavsson last season in the Derick Brassard trade.
In the Erik Karlsson trade, Ottawa landed Norris and Balcers. I think Norris is due for a big year at the University of Michigan and probably has a little more offensive capability than he has shown so far in college. Balcers has some offensive potential, too, and really broke out last season with impressive play in the AHL.
Whether or not the Sens commit to the rebuild, they have a package beneath the NHL roster that gives them a more flexible and promising future.
2018-19 NHL-level impact prospect: Brady Tkachuk
2018-19 breakout prospect: Colin White
Tampa Bay Lightning
A prospects: None
B prospects: Boris Katchouk, Taylor Raddysh, Cal Foote, Anthony Cirelli, Alexei Lipanov, Mathieu Joseph and Alexander Volkov
The Lightning are in full-on contention mode, which put them in a position to trade away draft picks and prospects, weakening a prospect pool that was already starting to thin. While the Tampa pipeline lacks a future star-level talent in its ranks, it has maintained good depth with a lot of B- and C-level prospects who still have a chance to filter into the lineup in the near future.
The highest upside of the pool belongs to Katchouk and Raddysh, who have showcased strong offensive talent. The team also still has strong belief in Foote as a big contributor on the blue line at the NHL level, though I'm a little less optimistic. Additionally, the Lightning have some players who look to make contributions more in a depth situation, such as Cirelli and Joseph, both particularly good fits within the Bolts' style of play.
This is a team that has typically been strong in the draft, but also in developing talent. There's a good chance some of these players outperform their projections because of that. While Tampa Bay's pipeline is starting to dry up a little bit, it'll be able to live with it as it continues to contend for the Stanley Cup these next few seasons.
2018-19 NHL-level impact prospect: Anthony Cirelli
2018-19 breakout prospect: Alexei Lipanov
Toronto Maple Leafs
A prospects: Timothy Liljegren and Rasmus Sandin
B prospects: Andreas Johnsson, Sean Durzi, Andreas Borgman, Jeremy Bracco, Pierre Engvall and Carl Grundstrom
The Maple Leafs' system is an interesting one. Obviously the strength of their youth movement is already at the NHL level with the ridiculous trio of Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner, but the Leafs also just saw their AHL affiliate claim the Calder Cup with a roster that had several players who could be making an NHL impact as soon as next season.
Toronto is starting to remind me a bit of the Lightning right as they were becoming a contender. The high draft picks helped form the core, but the team kept building through the draft, UFA signings and a strong developmental pipeline through its AHL team. The big blank for the Maple Leafs at the NHL level is currently on the blue line, but they've got both Liljegren and Sandin as potential future solutions in the pipeline. We probably won't see either in the NHL this season, but if they continue developing on trend, it shouldn't be terribly long before one or the other helps out.
Toronto's prospect pool doesn't have a lot in terms of star power, but it has established a solid development route through the Marlies. That could help turn some of its less-heralded players into important pieces down the line, at least in terms of filling out depth in a way that won't burden the cap situation, which is about to get a little pricklier with extensions due to the aforementioned young trio of stars.
2018-19 NHL-level impact prospect: Andreas Johnsson
2018-19 breakout prospect: Timothy Liljegren