This unusual 2019-20 hockey season was cut short for most prospects, as the coronavirus pandemic canceled remaining games in multiple leagues around the world. And it may take another twist soon, with the 2020 NHL draft potentially being held before the season is completed or perhaps canceled. With that in mind, it's a good time to take stock of where some systems stand in terms of their prospect pools.
Where do teams stand based on developments of the abbreviated 2019-20 season? Which pipelines made the biggest jumps during the season? Which are in dire need of reinforcements? Let's hand out some pre-draft NHL pipeline awards.
Deepest system: Los Angeles Kings
The Kings have the largest collection of potential impact prospects of any team in the NHL. Not only have they drafted well, they've also made some key depth additions via trade, including Tyler Madden in the Tyler Toffoli deal. Top prospect and 2019 draftee Alex Turcotte had a bit of an underwhelming season but still turned pro, and the Kings can start directly working on his game.
One of the most positive developments of the season, however, was the return to health of Gabriel Vilardi. After missing full seasons with various injuries, he looked great in the AHL this past year and had seven points in 10 NHL contests, proving it was too early to write him off.
But even setting aside Vilardi getting healthy, the Kings would have had one of the best prospect systems in the league. Turcotte, Madden, Tobias Bjornfot, Rasmus Kupari, Arthur Kaliyev, Akil Thomas, Aidan Dudas, Kale Clague, Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Samuel Fagemo, Mikey Anderson and Cal Petersen are among the players most likely to make an impact in the near future. That's a long list. But there's even more talent beyond the top of the pool that could figure into the team's long-term plans. The Kings have quality at all positions and could still yet land an elite-level prospect in the forthcoming draft.
Weakest system: Pittsburgh Penguins
Yes, the Penguins have a few strong prospects in their group, including recent draftees Samuel Poulin and Nathan Legare. And sure, Valtteri Puustinen had an impressive breakout season in Finland. But trading away offensive defenseman Calen Addison in the Jason Zucker deal really thinned out their defensive prospect pool.
Pittsburgh has been able to mitigate that with some free-agent signings. Defenseman John Marino exceeded expectations and made an NHL impact in Year 1. The Penguins are going to be fine in the short term, but they're not leaving themselves a lot of room for long-term growth, especially given the possibility of not having a first- or second-round pick in 2020. They were No. 31 when we ranked pipelines last September, and they haven't done enough to move the needle in the past eight months.
Most improved system: Minnesota Wild
The Wild have had a middle-of-the-road prospect system for a long time, but it's starting to turn the corner. Kirill Kaprizov, whom we ranked as the No. 1 NHL-affiliated prospect in March, appears poised to come to the NHL now that his most recent KHL contract has expired. Matt Boldy, the team's 2019 first-rounder, also overcame a slow start to take positive steps.
The system was really bolstered, however, by breakout seasons from WHL leading scorer Adam Beckman and QMJHL standout Alexander Khovanov. Minnesota has also seen really positive growth in its AHL team in Des Moines -- the Iowa Wild have been a very important training ground for a number of players, including goalie Kaapo Kahkonen and undrafted free-agent signing Nico Sturm.
Most likely to have 2020-21 impact: Florida Panthers
The Panthers have some prospects in their system who are right on the cusp of making an NHL impact. With the signing of top prospect and Russian standout Grigori Denisenko, the door is open for the Panthers to get two of their best forward prospects into the mix immediately. Denisenko may need some extra AHL time before making an impact on the big club, but Owen Tippett should be a guy who is on the NHL roster from day one next season. He needed a lot of extra seasoning, but proved that he's ready to play offensively at the pro level after 40 points in 46 AHL games.
Defenseman Chase Priskie, and forwards Aleksi Saarela and Eetu Loustarinen, should also be in the mix to see some NHL time next season.
System ready to take off: Ottawa Senators
The 2020 draft could take the Senators' prospect system from excellent to elite. The suggested draft lottery would give the Sens two guaranteed top-five picks, with a shot at first overall with one of them. They'd land as many as two game-breaking talents the system has lacked even amid a rebuild. They'd also have a foundation of young players to support a potential franchise-changing talent.
The current group is led by AHL standouts Josh Norris, Alex Formenton, Logan Brown and Vitaly Abramov. Recent graduates from prospect status Erik Brannstrom and Drake Batherson are also key pieces. But the Sens lack a succession plan at the goaltending position as Craig Anderson's career winds down. That could potentially be addressed in the draft. Otherwise, this team has depth at just about every position with both short-term and longer-term options.
Most top-heavy system: Colorado Avalanche
Cale Makar graduated from Colorado's prospect system, but the Avs still have really impressive potential beneath the NHL level. They have two of our top 10 NHL-affiliated prospects in Bowen Byram and Alex Newhook. Both have incredible upside and room to still grow their games, but Newhook in particular really took off this season.
Shane Bowers and Martin Kaut could provide NHL depth as early as next season, and talented young defenseman Conor Timmins might enter the NHL mix next season, too. One position the Avalanche have struggled to address from within is goaltender, but that may change. Justus Annunen was a top goaltender in Finland's pro league at just 19 years old this season. Despite a relative lack of depth, the Avs are loaded at the top and have young players who are going to fit into the way they play very, very well.
Best system upside: New York Rangers
We often talk about players with great upside and high ceilings, but if there's one system that has a chance to make a huge impact in the longer term, it's the Rangers' group. Goaltender Igor Shesterkin is obviously the crown jewel at the moment, and even though forward Vitali Kravtsov and defenseman K'Andre Miller took steps back this season, both still look to have bright futures. And Nils Lundkvist was one of the breakout prospects of the year, posting a historic season for U20 defensemen in Sweden's top professional league.
The team also added forward Julien Gauthier via a trade with the Hurricanes, and I think he's going to be a really nice long-term fit. Outside of the Kings, I think the Rangers have the most depth in their system, which gives them a lot of materials to build up a foundation.
System under construction: New Jersey Devils
Give credit to GM Tom Fitzgerald for working hard to build for the future in New Jersey. No, this season has not gone well, but the team did manage to turn some assets into pieces for the future. Landing Nolan Foote in the Blake Coleman trade was huge, as he becomes a top prospect in a system that needed a boost.
The Devils also brought in Kevin Bahl and Nick Merkley through the Taylor Hall trade, which helps a bit. Janne Kuokkanen was added in a deal with Carolina, and he could contribute as early as next season. Plus, Tyce Thompson, a midround pick in 2020, had a huge breakout year at Providence College. So things are starting to fall into place a bit more for a system that was Jack Hughes, Ty Smith and a whole lot of uncertainty last summer. Speaking of which, Smith should be helping New Jersey in the near future, too.
The rebuild starter pack: Detroit Red Wings
Considering how bad the Red Wings have been this season, they might even be a little behind where they should be. But that might change if the draft lottery allows them to come away with either Alexis Lafreniere or Quinton Byfield, each of whom has franchise cornerstone potential. The Wings already have Moritz Seider, who looks like he can be a top-pairing defenseman one day. And Joe Veleno, Antti Tuomisto, Jared McIsaac, Robert Mastrosimone and Jonatan Berggren all have the potential to grow into quality pieces down the line.
Sure, there are still a lot of needs in the system. It's not going to be a quick fix, even with this year's draft pick. But Detroit is putting the pieces in place.
Trending up: Dallas Stars
The Stars are moving on up in the prospect world. They got a nice surprise from Denis Guryanov, a strong performer in his long-awaited rookie season. Thomas Harley, the 2019 first-round pick, also asserted himself more this season in the OHL, registering nearly a point per game. Ty Dellandrea, showed his versatility at the world juniors and throughout the season for a breakout Flint Firebirds team.
I'm also a big fan of the highly skilled Riley Damiani, even though his numbers dipped a bit this season with the Kitchener Rangers. Jason Robertson had a strong showing in his first AHL season, as did goalie Jake Oettinger. The former Boston University standout put up a .917 save percentage in his first full pro campaign with the Texas Stars. Dallas still doesn't exactly have a top-tier prospect system, but I think this was a year of growth for many of its drafted players.
Trending up: Washington Capitals
The Caps have been much maligned as a prospect system over the years, with few high picks in pursuit of the Stanley Cup. But we're starting to see the value they've mined from later first-round and midround selections. That starts with Connor McMichael, who finished third in the OHL scoring race with 102 points and played a solid middle-six role for Canada at the World Junior Championship. There, he helped the Canadians win gold with seven points in seven games. He outperformed my expectations for his draft-plus-one season and really looked like a player hitting his stride from a development standpoint.
A breakout season for 2019 third-rounder Alexei Protas (80 points in the WHL) also helped raise the profile of that Caps draft class even further. And the team has started funneling more players to Hershey in the AHL and saw positive growth from defenseman Martin Fehervary, Axel Jonsson-Fjallby and Brett Leason, among others. Despite graduating their top prospect, Ilya Samsonov, to the NHL this season, the Caps have a little more pop in their system than it appeared they did prior to the 2019-20 campaign.
Trending down: New York Islanders
As top defensive prospect Noah Dobson moved on to the NHL, albeit amid extremely limited game action, there's a little less to be excited about for the Isles' pipeline. That is, aside from top goalie prospect Ilya Sorokin, who has future No. 1 written all over him.
Oliver Wahlstrom continues to look a little stagnated after a disappointing 2018-19 campaign and a relatively quiet first year in the AHL. Kieffer Bellows took a step this season but still hasn't made good on his first-round standing. And the North American pro learning curve has been steep for 2019 first-rounder Simon Holmstrom, who put up just 15 points in 46 games in the AHL this season. There's just not a lot of top-end talent in the system at the moment. Beyond Sorokin, I see fewer easy-to-project impact players.
Trending down: Chicago Blackhawks
The Blackhawks' prospect pool has fallen quite a bit. Kirby Dach, Adam Boqvist and Alex Nylander all graduated from prospect status. You can argue whether or not the NHL was the best place for Dach given Chicago's struggles, but both he and Boqvist showed good growth over the course of the season and still have favorable long-term projections.
Chicago should get some help via the 2020 draft, but its prospect pool is otherwise fairly shallow for a team in a quasi-rebuilding phase. Defenseman Ian Mitchell is among the best of the next wave, while 2018 first-rounder Nicolas Beaudin still has a lot of work to do before he can make good on his lofty draft position. The pool lacks any true game-breakers, as there are a lot of maybes and longer-term projects.