With the NHL season around the corner, NHL teams are evaluating what they have from a prospect standpoint. Here's a look at each Pacific 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.
Here's a look at the Pacific Division.
Atlantic
| Metropolitan | Central
Anaheim Ducks
A prospects: Isac Lundestrom, Sam Steel and Troy Terry
B prospects: Maxime Comtois, Max Jones, Josh Mahura, Antoine Morand, Jack Kopacka and Jacob Larsson
I'm not sure the Ducks get talked about enough for the quality of their drafting over the years. They have far more hits than misses, and then they have those picks that work out far better than they even probably anticipated. Specifically, former fifth-round pick Terry has developed into an impressive prospect over three years at the University of Denver. He also earned a spot on the U.S. Men's Olympic Team and had five assists in the tournament. That provides a big boost to a system that has some quality elsewhere.
The top two prospects in the system are Steel and Lundestrom, however. Steel is a shifty center who can make a lot of plays, and he dominated the WHL over the past three seasons. Lundestrom, the team's 2018 top pick, is a guy I had up-and-down reactions to last season, but I think he has a chance to be a major contributor down the line. The rest of Anaheim's system has intrigue, but some of the guys listed as B-range prospects have some holes in their game. Jones is the one who seems to have the most upside, due to some higher-end skills to go with his big frame. Others such as Comtois, Morand and Kopacka give some more options to the Ducks for a little further on down the lineup.
2018-19 NHL-level impact prospect: Troy Terry
2018-19 breakout prospect: Isac Lundestrom
Arizona Coyotes
A prospects: Barrett Hayton and Dylan Strome
B prospects: Pierre-Olivier Joseph, Nick Merkley, Cam Dineen, Kyle Capobianco, Mario Kempe, Tyler Steenbergen and Filip Westerlund
The Coyotes' system is an intriguing one considering the number of high picks they've had. There have been the obvious hits such as Clayton Keller, but there's still a lot to learn about Strome's true potential, as he hasn't quite made the jump to the NHL yet. I think his play in the AHL last season shows that he still has an NHL-level skill set, but there are valid concerns about him living up to the promise that often comes with being a top-three pick in the NHL. This is a pretty big season for him, to say the least.
After that, the Coyotes will be hoping first-round gamble Hayton pays dividends. He has some good two-way skills, shows good skating ability and has good offensive tools, but none of those say great. I think he's going to need another few seasons to truly showcase his potential, but I definitely like him as a player, and I think there's more to come after a strong draft season. Then there's a lot of decent options among Arizona's second tier. The good news is that there are several defensemen in that group, namely former first-rounder Joseph and AHL standout Capobianco. Dineen is another one who I think has some compelling upside as a solid producer from the back end in the OHL.
Most of Arizona's top young talent is already in the NHL, and those players should be starting to take significant steps forward starting this season. That doesn't necessarily mean playoff contention, but there's reason for optimism in the desert.
2018-19 NHL-level impact prospect: Dylan Strome
2018-19 breakout prospect: Cam Dineen
Calgary Flames
A prospect: Juuso Valimaki
B prospects: Dillon Dube, Glenn Gawdin, Andrew Mangiapane, Rasmus Andersson, Oliver Kylington and Matthew Phillips
The Flames' system trends toward average, with a cadre of talented prospects but few who would be considered among the elites. There's little doubt that Valimaki is one of the higher-end defensemen not presently patrolling an NHL blue line, and he still has much more ceiling to reach in these next few years. I could see him sliding into the team's top four in the very near future.
There are a lot of players who look poised to make some kind of impact at the NHL level, just not in especially big roles. Dube captained Canada to World Junior gold last year and showcased some really positive growth in his game, which should allow him to compete for a roster spot soon. Mangiapane has been growing quite a bit at the AHL level and earned a little taste of the show with the Flames last season. He should be ready for more this year. The same can be said for Andersson, who the Flames have been pretty patient with and have been rewarded with year-over-year improvement in his game.
After trading away prospect Adam Fox, there's a little more pressure on Kylington to take the next step in his development, which I think he can. He always has had such great potential, and I think he's pretty close to breaking through in a big way. In addition to top defensemen, the team also has some intrigue among their goaltending prospects; Jon Gillies and Tyler Parsons, in particular, look to have some NHL potential, but now there's going to be a bit of a battle for ice time in the AHL net.
2018-19 NHL-level impact prospect: Rasmus Andersson
2018-19 breakout prospect: Oliver Kylington
Edmonton Oilers
A prospects: Evan Bouchard and Kailer Yamamoto
B prospects: Tyler Benson, Ethan Bear, Ryan McLeod and Kirill Maksimov
Edmonton's prospect system isn't terribly inspiring as the Oilers still try to figure out who they are as a team in the Connor McDavid era. Getting Bouchard in the last draft, however, provides a much-needed boost to the blue line and could potentially pay dividends as early as this season. He is a gifted puck-mover, which could help out on the power play and give the Oilers more jump from the back end.
Up front, Yamamoto showed early last season that he has the speed to keep up with the likes of McDavid, but he ended up getting sent back to junior and unexpectedly struggled for a while. Assuming he bounces back this season, Yamamoto could once again contend for a roster spot and provide some scoring depth at the NHL level, but that last campaign raised a few more questions about where he ultimately stands as a prospect. McLeod, selected in the second round in 2018, is another player with explosive skating ability. I don't know if his offensive upside is as high as we thought it could be going into last season, but I have a lot of time for him as a prospect who can keep things moving quickly up and down the ice.
Beyond those three players, there are a lot of middle-range prospects. Bear, Benson and Maksimov are among those who have shown the most promise over the past year, with Bear even seeing NHL time last season. That said, there is an awful lot riding on Bouchard hitting as a top-four guy.
2018-19 NHL-level impact prospect: Evan Bouchard
2018-19 breakout prospect: Kirill Maksimov
Los Angeles Kings
A prospects: Gabriel Vilardi and Rasmus Kupari
B prospects: Akil Thomas, Daniel Brickley, Kale Clague, Cal Petersen, Jaret Anderson-Dolan and Bulat Shafigullin
The Kings' system has a really high top end and a pretty solid middle range, which puts them in a comfortable position going forward. Vilardi is an outstanding player, but he has had some health issues -- particularly a balky back -- that cause a little concern; but when he's healthy, he is an elite-level prospect. They also picked Kupari in last year's first round, and I think he has the potential to really take off this season in a more established role with Karpat in the Finnish league. He is a remarkably quick skater with high-end puck skills and some great creativity.
Los Angeles also has some interesting projects in Thomas and Anderson-Dolan. I think both have the skill sets to play in substantial roles down the line. Thomas is a higher-end playmaker who probably needs to get a little more selfish and shoot more often. Anderson-Dolan, or JAD as he's affectionately known, does everything at a high rate of speed with skill. He just needs to get a little stronger, and he could be a pretty solid prospect for the Kings.
Meanwhile, the Kings have a couple of strong players on the blue line in college free-agent signing Brickley, who should provide immediate help, and Clague, who is a talented puck-moving defenseman. I think Clague needs a little more time to round out his defensive game to make an impact with the Kings, but the offensive skill set is pretty impressive.
Below that layer, there's a good mix of high-upside players who have some iffy projections for various reasons. Shafigullin, Petersen, Michael Eyssimont and Aidan Dudas are among the players I think could have a say in the Kings' future too.
2018-19 NHL-level impact prospect: Daniel Brickley
2018-19 breakout prospect: Rasmus Kupari
San Jose Sharks
A prospects: None
B prospects: Ryan Merkley, Dylan Gambrell, Mario Ferraro, Jeremy Roy and Alexander Chmelevski
San Jose consistently has a hard system to read. The way the current system looks isn't all that different from how it usually is. A lot of the value here hinges on Merkley and whether he was worth the gamble. There's no question he has elite-level puck skills, but his well-documented defensive deficiencies remain a cause for concern. I've thought the Sharks to be more of a risk-averse team, but this pick blows that perception away. There's just enough concern about Merkley to have me leave him as a "B" prospect at this point.
After Merkley, you see some of the more traditional-type players. The Sharks shipped Josh Norris and Rudolfs Balcers out of town in the Erik Karlsson trade, leaving the pool pretty dry. Gambrell is intriguing for his offensive potential, while guys like Noah Gregor, Alexander True, Kyle Wood, Roy, Joachim Blichfeld and Vincent Praplan also have shown flashes of pro potential. What happens with San Jose long term is going to be interesting to watch, but right now, I don't see theirs as comparable to many of the top systems out there.
2018-19 NHL-level impact prospect: Dylan Gambrell
2018-19 breakout prospect: Ryan Merkley
Vancouver Canucks
A prospects: Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes
B prospects: Jonathan Dahlen, Olli Juolevi, Adam Gaudette, Kole Lind, Jonah Gadjovich, Will Lockwood, Thatcher Demko, Michael DiPietro and Jett Woo
The Sabres might have the top system heading into the season, but I don't think the Canucks are far behind at all. The Canucks have a good package of players beneath the NHL level currently who help them rebuild on the fly. Having a top two of Pettersson and Hughes is enough to make a lot of teams jealous. Pettersson was the MVP of the Swedish Hockey League last season and had the best campaign ever by a U20 player in that well-established circuit. Meanwhile, Hughes shook off a slower start to become one of the more dominant defensemen in college hockey despite being one of the youngest players in the NCAA last season.
The second tier of players in this system is really strong, as well. Dahlen was a star in the Allsvenskan last year, and I think he should be ready to compete at the NHL level soon. Gaudette was the Hobey Baker Award winner in college hockey last year and got his first taste of the NHL at the end of last season. The Canucks also have not one, but two top-end goaltending prospects in Demko and DiPietro. This is a big year for Demko, who has shown that he is just about ready to make an NHL impact, and DiPietro has some significant upside that will require some patience. Then there's defenseman Juolevi, whose projection has trended down over the past few years, but he still has skills that could translate to becoming a regular on the Canucks' roster; he just needs to figure out a little more about his game.
Even the next group of players, including Lind, Gadjovich and Woo, give the Canucks a lot to look forward to. It's an especially strong system that has grown most over the past two years, which is a big credit to Jim Benning and the scouting staff he put together.
2018-19 NHL-level impact prospect: Elias Pettersson
2018-19 breakout prospect: Will Lockwood
Vegas Golden Knights
A prospects: Cody Glass, Erik Brannstrom and Nicolas Hague
B prospects: Lucas Elvenes, Ivan Morozov, Tomas Hyka, Zach Whitecloud, Ben Jones and Jack Dugan
Much has been made about the way the Golden Knights set up their expansion draft. One of the big benefits of how they played the system was collecting as many draft picks as possible. That gave them three in 2017, and they would have had one in 2018, but they traded it for Tomas Tatar.
The Knights' prospect system is so strong that they felt confident enough to trade that 2018 first-round pick, and then they went ahead and traded Nick Suzuki to Montreal for Max Pacioretty. Normally, I wouldn't advocate sending away such a skilled player for a winger on an expiring contract, but the Golden Knights still have a strong system, which is an incredible feat for an expansion team.
Despite the loss of Suzuki, the team boasts three quality A prospects in talented playmaking center Glass, electric-skating offensive defenseman Brannstrom and reigning OHL defenseman of the year Hague, who was a second-round choice in 2017. What impresses me most about the system, however, is the strong second tier Vegas has built in the past six rounds of the draft. Morozov was a good upside pickup in the second round this year. Elvenes, a fifth-round pick in 2017, had a breakout year last season. The Golden Knights signed raw, athletic defenseman Whitecloud as a college UFA. Lightning-fast Hyka, who as signed as a UFA last year, had a really strong showing in the AHL last season and earned an extension.
The Knights had players really jump up in unexpected ways last season, and that's going to help down the line when more veterans leave after their contracts expire. After all of that, the team still has the rights to KHL superstar Nikita Gusev, who could be available to be signed as soon as this spring.
2018-19 NHL-level impact prospect: Tomas Hyka
2018-19 breakout prospect: Erik Brannstrom