With the NHL season around the corner, NHL teams are evaluating what they have from a prospect standpoint. Here's a look at each Metropolitan Division team's prospect pool heading into the 2018-19 NHL season, including the top players in each 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 roll through the Metropolitan teams.
Atlantic
| Central | Pacific
Carolina Hurricanes
A prospects: Andrei Svechnikov, Martin Necas and Adam Fox
B prospects: Jake Bean, Warren Foegele, Aleksi Saarela, Valentin Zykov, Stelio Mattheos, Julien Gauthier and Nicolas Roy
With one of the more exciting prospect pools in the NHL right now, the Hurricanes could start seeing an impact from some of these players out of the gates. They have one of the best prospects in the game right now in Svechnikov, the 2018 No. 2 pick. He provides immediate scoring help to the NHL roster and might be one of the biggest impact rookies of the 2018-19 season. The team picked up top prospect Fox in the trade that also netted them Dougie Hamilton. Fox is a high-end offensive defenseman whose game has taken off in a major way the past two seasons.
Beyond the players they picked up this summer, the Hurricanes have reason to be excited about Necas, who nearly made the team last season. After a year of seasoning, he should be more prepared to make an impact in North America this year. He can do a little bit of everything.
On top of one of the better top ends among NHL farm systems, there's depth thanks to a strong year of AHL development from players such as Foegele, Zykov and Saarela. The Isles should expect bigger seasons for Roy and Gauthier, who need a little more seasoning. The AHL should also do former top defensive prospect Bean some good, as he needs to continue rounding out his game.
There's no telling where the Hurricanes are going to go next as an organization, but they're definitely building a remarkably strong farm system.
2018-19 NHL-level impact prospect: Andrei Svechnikov
2018-19 breakout prospect: Nicolas Roy
Columbus Blue Jackets
A prospects: None
B prospects: Liam Foudy, Vitali Abramov, Kirill Marchenko, Alexandre Texier, Marcus Karlberg, Vladislav Gavrikov, Gabriel Carlsson and Elvis Merzlikins
The Blue Jackets don't have a ton of star power in the pipeline, if any. Foudy, last year's first-round pick, looks like he has the best potential of the group, and Abramov boasts a lot of exciting skill. However, there are enough questions about both to prevent me from planting an "A" prospect designation on either of them. That could very well change by the end of this season.
There are some intriguing prospects in this mix beyond Foudy and Abramov. Carlsson got an extended taste of the NHL last season and is pretty young for a defenseman. There's still some solid upside there. Latvian netminder Merzlikins had a star turn at the 2018 World Championship and was the top goalie in the Swiss league last season, putting the 24-year-old more firmly on the map. Then there's Gavrikov, who won Olympic gold earlier this year and might have a shot to eat some minutes for the Blue Jackets when he comes over.
There are some other prospects who have some significant upside, with reason to expect bigger things from them in the future. Marchenko, for one, boasts skill and size. The Blue Jackets are a rising team, but they don't have a ton by way of immediate reinforcements from within. That said, the prospects they have come with intriguing potential and could prove fruitful just a little further down the line.
2018-19 NHL-level impact prospect: Gabriel Carlsson
2018-19 breakout prospect: Kirill Marchenko
New Jersey Devils
A prospect: Ty Smith
B prospects: Michael McLeod, Joey Anderson, Fabian Zetterlund and Mikhail Maltsev
The Devils are in a bit of an interesting spot with their prospect pool. Having graduated Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt last season, two of the most promising cogs in the system are making an NHL impact. Smith, the 2018 first-round pick for the club, still has some development and growth ahead of him before he can do the same, but he's a pretty intriguing talent with massive potential. Beyond him, however, there isn't a ton of star power in this group.
McLeod, selected in the first round in 2016, is a highly intelligent center who has a good all-around game but might not bring the offensive pop the team was expecting over the long term. He still looks like a solid bet to make the NHL roster in the near future and contribute reasonably well in a depth role. The rest of the team's system doesn't have much pop, but there remains promise, such as two-way winger Anderson and budding talent Zetterlund. The club also has some solid Russian prospects, but it's unclear when or if players such as Maltsev and Yegor Zaitsev will hop to North America.
Considering where the Devils are going at the NHL level right now, they have enough talent in the pipeline to filter in some new players over the next few years. There just isn't a ton of depth at this point, especially when it comes to high-end talent.
2018-19 NHL-level impact prospect: Joey Anderson
2018-19 breakout prospect: Fabian Zetterlund
New York Islanders
A prospects: Oliver Wahlstrom and Noah Dobson
B prospects: Kieffer Bellows, Ruslan Iskhakov, Bode Wilde, Sebastian Aho, Josh Ho-Sang, Ilya Sorokin and Devon Toews
The 2018 first-round coup for the Islanders netted them two players who I think have star potential in the NHL. Wahlstrom could be the natural goal-scoring winger to add to the team's new core driven by Mathew Barzal. Meanwhile, defenseman Dobson has top-pairing potential with excellent two-way skills and advanced hockey IQ. Should both reach their lofty ceilings, there's going to be a lot more to be excited about for the Isles.
Besides those top two players, there's high-scoring left wing Bellows, who improved quite a bit last season and renewed some faith in his ability to grow into a top-six offensive threat. Sorokin has become a top goaltending prospect and could one day address a position of perpetual need for the Isles. There are also some question marks, such as if Ho-Sang will ever break through on a permanent basis or if former top-five pick Michael Dal Colle will avoid the bust tag. But the positives outweigh the negatives at this point, and the new management still has time to put its stamp on the organization.
The Isles might have some pain in the near future at the NHL level, but there's at least reason for optimism, with a couple of future high-end talents to get them back on track not too far down the road.
2018-19 NHL-level impact prospect: Sebastian Aho
2018-19 breakout prospect: Ruslan Iskhakov
New York Rangers
A prospects: Filip Chytil, Lias Andersson and Vitali Kravtsov
B prospects: Igor Shestyorkin, K'Andre Miller, Brett Howden, Libor Hajek and Nils Lundkvist
The Rangers have a pretty decent rebuild starter pack going with their prospect system as constructed. They have a pair of strong center prospects selected in the first round in 2017 in Chytil and Andersson, who each could see some meaningful NHL time this season. The Blueshirts scored a trio of first-round draft picks this year, which brought a little more variety to their system. High-upside winger Kravtsov could turn that potential into being a higher-end scorer down the line. Miller is another player I took a liking to last season, and I believe he's only beginning to scratch the surface of his talent. Lundkvist is a defenseman who has a lot of different skills at his disposal and could one day become a reliable top-four defender. After years of going without first-round picks, the Rangers got five pretty good ones in a two-draft span.
They also got some outside help, bringing in Howden and Hajek in the Ryan McDonagh trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Both should provide some long-term depth options, with Howden showcasing strong two-way skills and Hajek taking a big step forward in his development last season. To cap that off, Shestyorkin has grown into a top-five goaltending prospect with potential to be a future No. 1 for this team.
That's just the top of the Rangers' system. There is some good depth that will help them build an even more reliable pipeline from the AHL over the next few seasons. Additionally, the number of prospects they're collecting gives some added flexibility on the trade market, in terms of both NHL talent they could ship out and options from within their prospect pool to help sweeten some deals. This system has grown a lot over the past two years.
2018-19 NHL-level impact prospect: Filip Chytil
2018-19 breakout prospect: Joey Keane
Philadelphia Flyers
A prospects: Morgan Frost, Joel Farabee and Carter Hart
B prospects: Philippe Myers, German Rubtsov, Jay O'Brien, Adam Ginning, Tanner Laczynski, Isaac Ratcliffe and Wade Allison
With one of the deepest systems in the NHL, the Flyers have quality players at just about every position and a variety of players who can fit into roles both large and small. Drafting has been one of the organization's biggest strengths under Ron Hextall's leadership. The Flyers have identified some diamonds in the rough in the middle rounds, and they haven't had many misses with their first-round picks.
Frost had a breakout year after being selected in the first round in 2017, leading one of the best junior teams in Canada in the Soo Greyhounds. Farabee, the team's 2018 top pick, is a very good stylistic fit for the franchise, mixing skill and speed with some grit. Then there's Hart, who is looking like one of the very best goaltending prospects in the game right now, following yet another stellar year in the WHL. He should be moving to the AHL this season to get some pro reps and take the next step in his development.
After that, there's a lot of pieces that provide value. Myers continues to develop and could be a solid bottom-four defenseman for the Flyers down the line. O'Brien, the team's second first-rounder in 2018, had a great showing at the World Junior Summer Showcase and goes to Providence College with some larger expectations.
2018-19 NHL-level impact prospect: Philippe Myers
2018-19 breakout prospect: Jay O'Brien
Pittsburgh Penguins
A prospects: None
B prospects: Calen Addison, Daniel Sprong, Filip Hallander, Jordy Bellerive, Sam Miletic and Zach Aston-Reese
There isn't a lot to sugarcoat here. Years of trading away first-round draft picks for the sake of contending has stripped the Pens' prospect pool almost bare. They still have some nice pieces below the NHL level, especially Sprong, who has been on a bit of a roller coaster as a prospect. I also thought the Pens did extremely well to land both Addison and Hallander in the 2018 NHL draft, providing some high-upside players with a fair amount of development left ahead of them.
Pittsburgh has had a pretty reliable AHL pipeline, as showcased in recent years by the growth and development of players such as Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust. Some teams are able to keep stocking their prospect pools while chasing Stanley Cups, but the Pens don't have a lot of options in the cupboard. However, it won't catch up to them for a while, and those back-to-back Cups make any sacrifices for the future worth it.
2018-19 NHL-level impact prospect: Daniel Sprong
2018-19 breakout prospect: Kasper Bjorkqvist
Washington Capitals
A prospect: Ilya Samsonov
B prospects: Alexander Alexeyev, Martin Fehervary and Axel Jonsson-Fjallby
The Stanley Cup glow should be blinding enough for Caps fans to not feel too worried about the future of the franchise. That might be a good thing because there isn't a ton of depth to the Caps' system. That said, they still have one of the two best goaltending prospects in Samsonov, who will be playing his first season in North America in 2018-19. He's the crown jewel of the prospect system for now, but it might be a few years before he manages to make much of an impact. Braden Holtby has two years left on his current contract and still has plenty of good hockey left in him.
The Caps have some options beneath the NHL roster for help when they need it. Australian Nathan Walker pitched in a bit last season, as did Shane Gersich following his strong collegiate career at North Dakota. Others such as Riley Barber and Lucas Johansen remain in the mix long-term but might be more helpful in depth roles should any become available. Besides that, the Caps have a promising, big defender in 2018 first-rounder Alexeyev, a mature blueliner in Fehervary and an energetic two-way winger in Jonsson-Fjallby, one of my personal favorites in their system, who will be playing for the Hershey Bears in 2018-19.
When you look at all of the players who were drafted by this organization and played a role in the Stanley Cup run, there isn't much need to get wrapped up in the state of the prospect system. It might have taken them longer than they would have liked, but the Capitals' Stanley Cup was won through the draft.
2018-19 NHL-level impact prospect: Nathan Walker
2018-19 breakout prospect: Axel Jonsson-Fjallby