It has been an extremely strange year for NHL prospects, with many playing shortened seasons and/or taking long hiatuses between competitive gameplay. That takes a toll on player development. But while it is a bit more difficult to do so than in normal years, we're ranking every pool and identifying each franchise's top 10 prospects, a potential breakout candidate for this season and those who might make an NHL-level impact in the next year.
I've broken down prospects for each club into three categories, noted in parentheses in the team prospect rankings:
A prospects have a high likelihood of becoming NHL high-impact players (i.e. a top-six forward, top-four defenseman or long-term starting goaltender)
B prospects have a higher likelihood of becoming NHL regulars and contributors.
C prospects showcase the upside to make the NHL, but either need more development time or are more likely to fill out depth roles.
Systems are most often graded on the backs of their top three or four prospects, but I also place a good deal of value on the depth of systems. While there is often fluidity in these organizational rankings, with players graduating quickly and changing the face of the system sometimes dramatically on a year-to-year basis, this is how the NHL prospect pools stack up as we gear up for the 2020-21 season.
Note: To maintain prospect eligibility, a player must still have rookie status. Players who appeared in 26 or more NHL regular-season games last season are not eligible, nor are players with at least 50 career NHL contests. And players are only considered for prospect status if they are 25 or younger.
Jump to a team:
ANA | ARI | BOS | BUF | CGY | CAR | CHI
COL | CBJ | DAL | DET | EDM | FLA
LA | MIN | MTL | NSH | NJ | NYI
NYR | OTT | PHI | PIT | SJ | STL
TB | TOR | VAN | VGS | WSH | WPG
1. Los Angeles Kings
No team has stockpiled prospects in as great a number as the Kings. And adding a crown jewel in 2020 No. 2 overall pick Quinton Byfield took a great system and turned it into the class of the league.
The Los Angeles system is forward heavy, with the vast majority of their best prospects being natural centers. Not all of them will be playing center at the next level, but if you're going to be heavy at one position, that's certainly not a bad area to focus.
In addition to Byfield, the team has five other A-rated prospects and 10 B-rated prospects, both coming in as high-water marks for our entire ranking. Eight Kings prospects are in our most recent top 100, as well. The only thing the system is lacking is a bonafide No. 1 goalie prospect, but they do have some intriguing players in Lukas Parik and Jacob Ingham, among a few others who could develop.
Breakout candidate for 2020-21: Alex Turcotte
Potential NHL impact in 2020-21: Tobias Bjornfot, Kale Clague, Mikey Anderson, Gabriel Vilardi, Jaret Anderson-Dolan
2. New York Rangers
Landing the No. 1 pick in the 2020 draft supercharged a prospect pool that was dealing with some high-profile prospect graduations, including Kaapo Kakko and Adam Fox. Alexis Lafreniere joins the fray as the No. 1 prospect in hockey and one of the most complete wings to enter the league immediately following his draft in some years.
On top of adding a new No. 1 prospect, the Rangers can also still consider Igor Shesterkin a prospect, and he very well could be a Calder Trophy favorite this year given his brief audition last season. He's the No. 2 goaltending prospect in hockey behind the recently drafted Yaroslav Askarov and is a foundational piece for the Rangers going forward. So, too, should be Vitali Kravtsov, who has been lighting up the KHL on loan this season. Meanwhile, the Rangers still have to get Nils Lundkvist under contract after he put together one of the greatest U20 seasons by a defenseman in SHL history in 2019-20.
With a great high end of the pool, the Rangers also boast pool depth with a number of players who should figure into their near future. That's especially true on the blue line, as the club can look to K'Andre Miller, Braden Schneider, Zach Jones and Matt Robertson.
Breakout candidate for 2020-21: Brett Berard
Potential NHL impact in 2020-21: Alexis Lafreniere, Igor Shesterkin, Morgan Barron
3. Ottawa Senators
The Senators have multiple players at every position that they should be able to count on very soon for their roster. The addition of another foundational winger in Tim Stuetzle and potential future top-pairing defenseman Jake Sanderson in the 2020 draft moved the Sens into an even stronger position for their future. Both of those players look like key building blocks who can be added to a mix that already includes Brady Tkachuk and Thomas Chabot.
The Senators have put together a reliable AHL pipeline that is showing their players how to excel before reaching the NHL level. Top prospects Josh Norris, Alex Formenton and Logan Brown took big steps with the Belleville Senators last year. That goes a long way toward supplementing a roster that needs an influx of speed and skill.
Ottawa addressed a need at goaltending through a trade for Matt Murray, which covers one of the holes in their prospect system, though both Filip Gustavsson and Mads Sogaard look as if they can continue to develop over time. Other than that, there aren't many holes in a system that looked good on paper and has only gotten better over the last year of development.
Breakout candidate for 2020-21: Shane Pinto
Potential NHL impact in 2020-21: Tim Stuetzle, Josh Norris, Alex Formenton, Logan Brown, Joey Daccord
4. Minnesota Wild
Over the past two drafts in particular, the Wild have significantly improved a prospect pool that was pretty shallow. It didn't hurt that they've had Kirill Kaprizov developing into a KHL star over the past five years since he was drafted. Now Kaprizov is in North America, and the Wild get to see firsthand what he can do at the NHL level.
The additions of Marco Rossi and Matt Boldy via the draft, and Calen Addison via trade -- along with continued improvement in their own development system with the AHL's Iowa Wild -- has pushed this system forward. The Wild have players at all positions who should figure into the NHL plans within the next few years. So the team has both depth and high-end talent, which goes a long way to replenishing an NHL roster that has become more and more vanilla these last few seasons.
Breakout candidate for 2020-21: Matt Boldy
Potential NHL impact in 2020-21: Kirill Kaprizov, Kaapo Kahkonen, Nico Sturm, Louie Belpedio
5. Detroit Red Wings
The Red Wings' system strength leans heavily on the quality of their past two top picks. Lucas Raymond is a foundational winger who could become a game-changing prospect for the rebuilding Red Wings, and Moritz Seider is a cornerstone defenseman who looks every bit ready to become a No. 1 in the very near future. Those are the only two A-rated prospects in the system, but they're such key pieces for the future that they can easily carry this system into the top five.
On top of them, however, there are a lot of second-tier prospects who looked poise to develop into important pieces for the franchise. In recent years, the Red Wings have added a number of quality pieces through the draft outside of the first round. Jonatan Berggren, Jared McIsaac, William Wallinder and Albert Johansson all have notable upside. Joe Veleno is a late first-rounder who continues to develop nicely and probably could become a staple of Detroit's middle six.
Detroit has pretty nice balance in the system, though it still lacks a true No. 1 goaltending prospect. That's not to say that some of the goaltenders in the system can't develop into one, as there are a number of players with solid upside, including Filip Larsson and Jan Bednar. But they're going to require patience.
Breakout candidate for 2020-21: Albert Johansson
Potential NHL impact in 2020-21: Yevgeni Svechnikov
6. New Jersey Devils
You have to give new GM Tom Fitzgerald credit for addressing some organizational needs in trades and compiling draft picks. It helped replenish a system that saw No. 1 pick Jack Hughes graduate last season. Alexander Holtz is the new No. 1 prospect in the system and could one day be on the receiving end of Hughes' playmaking ability.
In the 2020 draft, the Devils added Dawson Mercer, a do-everything kind of player who can slot into a variety of roles down the line, and defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin, who is a bit more of a project but one worth taking a flier on. There's also potential top-four defenseman Ty Smith, a 2018 first-rounder.
Trades brought in key players who are going to help as soon as next season. Nolan Foote came over in the Blake Coleman trade, Kevin Bahl was a key piece added along with Nick Merkley in the Taylor Hall deal, and Janne Kuokkanen came over in the Hurricanes' risky move for Sami Vatanen. All of those players are trending toward NHL regulars.
Breakout candidate for 2020-21: Shakir Mukhamadullin
Potential NHL impact in 2020-21: Janne Kuokkanen, Nick Merkley, Nolan Foote
7. Florida Panthers
The Panthers have managed to keep a lofty position in prospect rankings based mostly on the top end of their pool. There's not much depth in this group, but the top prospects are of a particular quality as the Panthers placed four players inside our top 50 prospects, with Grigori Denisenko and Anton Lundell boasting lofty positions in the top 25. Meanwhile, the club boasts one of the best goaltending prospects in the world in Spencer Knight, which is a chip many teams wish they could have in their back pocket.
While the system as a whole is not deep, the next tier of player in their system has improved. Some of that is due to the most recent draft and a few trades. Among intriguing prospects in the second tier of the Panthers' system are Ty Smilanic and Emil Heineman, both midround picks in the 2020 draft. Eetu Luotsarainen and Chase Priskie were added via trade and could help the team in the nearer term.
Breakout candidate for 2020-21: Ty Smilanic
Potential NHL impact in 2020-21: Grigori Denisenko, Owen Tippett, Eetu Luotsarainen
8. Anaheim Ducks
If you've watched the World Juniors at all, you've seen the wizardry of Trevor Zegras. The skill and offensive know-how is at an elite level, which could make him a game-breaker at the next level as the Ducks add to a younger core of players. Meanwhile, Jamie Drysdale appears to have the makings of a top-pairing defenseman. That's two massive pieces for any team.
The Ducks have a second tier of prospects that should contribute in the near future, with first-rounders Isac Lundestrom, Brayden Tracey and Jacob Perreault all looking to have the upside to help. I'm also especially intrigued by goaltender Lukas Dostal, who has put together a few incredible seasons playing in Finland and has shown upside to be a potential starter one day. The Ducks still have a ways to go, but their system is loading up and getting better on an annual basis.
Breakout candidate for 2020-21: Josh Mahura
Potential NHL impact in 2020-21: Trevor Zegras, Isac Lundestrom, Antoine Morand, Josh Mahura
9. Colorado Avalanche
The Avs don't have much need for a top prospect system right now, but that's the icing on the cake for one of the league's best teams. They can take their time and let their players develop until they're ready to step into a contending team. The hard part about that? The Avs should have multiple players ready before there's a spot available for them.
Bowen Byram looks like he could be the long-term No. 2 behind Cale Makar, while Alex Newhook is looking more and more like a future No. 1 or No. 2 center. The next tier of players includes several who could contribute as early as this season, with Conor Timmins, Shane Bowers and Martin Kaut looking to be the most ready in that department.
Breakout candidate for 2020-21: Justin Barron
Potential NHL impact in 2020-21: Bowen Byram, Conor Timmins, Martin Kaut, Shane Bowers, Logan O'Connor
10. Buffalo Sabres
The Sabres have built a system more steadily, but the next wave of talent is coming. Dylan Cozens in particular should be coming to the NHL soon, as he has taken big steps over the past year in his overall development and gotten stronger. He's going to be a major difference-maker sooner rather than later for Buffalo.
After that, the next tier has plenty of intrigue, with a couple of high-end goal scorers in Jack Quinn and John-Jason Peterka. Those two are a little further away from contributing but have shown they can put pucks in nets. And Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has shown he can stop them. Having spent part of last season on the shelf recovering from hip surgery, this season should be one where he stabilizes and starts working toward the NHL more steadily.
The Sabres have players in all positions, with a lot of defensemen who look like they can eventually fill some depth spots around Rasmus Dahlin down the line. This system may not be as exciting as some other rebuilding teams, but it has players who will help the big club soon.
Breakout candidate for 2020-21: John-Jason Peterka
Potential NHL impact in 2020-21: Dylan Cozens, Arttu Ruotsolainen, Will Borgen
Read more about NHL prospects:
11. Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes have a prospect system that is predicated on depth. They managed to use their surplus last season to work trades and find players who could help them. That led to jettisoning a few quality pieces, with Julien Gauthier being the biggest loss. But even with those trades, the Hurricanes maintained a strong pool that got stronger at the 2020 draft.
The Canes have had the benefit of developing a lot of their talent right under their noses in Charlotte but will be using the Chicago Wolves as their new farm team. A different logo, but a similar approach should help the Canes keep their NHL roster on its toes and their prospects prepared when their names are called.
There's a whole bunch of skill waiting in the wings, with Seth Jarvis, Ryan Suzuki, Morgan Geekie, Vasily Ponomaryov, Dominik Bokk, Noel Gunler and Patrik Puistola bringing high-end talent to the table. The surplus of talent outside of the NHL roster is a weapon for this team to use going forward.
Breakout candidate for 2020-21: Noel Gunler
Potential NHL impact in 2020-21: Jake Bean, Morgan Geekie, Joey Keane, Alex Nedeljkovic
12. Toronto Maple Leafs
The Maple Leafs have built a system that puts a premium on skill over all. Second-round find in Nick Robertson had 55 goals in the OHL last season and got a few games in the bubble with Toronto. Meanwhile, the club picked up Rodion Amirov, who has taken a step forward in the KHL and looks like he could be a high-end playmaker down the line.
Beyond that, the Maple Leafs have a lot of players trending up. Patience is going to be required for a lot of the system, though players like Timothy Liljegren and Filip Hallander will give the Leafs some minutes very soon.
Breakout candidate for 2020-21: Topi Niemela
Potential NHL impact in 2020-21: Timothy Liljegren, Nick Robertson
13. Montreal Canadiens
The Habs have a very interesting prospect system. They have some super high-end talents, especially in gifted goal-scorer Cole Caufield and two-way defenseman Alexander Romanov, the latter of which is in North America and ready to play for Montreal. The club also got another highly-mobile blueliner in Kaiden Guhle at the 2020 draft and have a more dynamic offensive-defenseman type in Mattias Norlinder. One of the real wild cards in the group is Cayden Primeau, who has the makings of a potential starting goaltender down the line.
Jan Mysak and Jayden Struble are intriguing prospects, too. They have a lot of the physical tools and skills to be big-time players once they put more of their game together.
Breakout candidate for 2020-21: Jordan Harris
Potential NHL impact in 2020-21: Alexander Romanov
14. Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers don't have a ton of depth in their prospect pool, but they do have two potential top-four defensemen and a middle-six center that will solidify things down the middle. Evan Bouchard is ready to make the jump to the NHL with his poise and hockey sense, while Philip Broberg is at least a year away from being able to make an impact but should once he arrives. And 2020 draftee Dylan Holloway already looks like he has taken a step in his draft-plus-one season.
Down the line, there's not a ton of excitement, though Raphael Lavoie and Tyler Benson have the ability to make plays and earn spots down the line. Dmitri Samorukov will need some time to find his pro legs, but he has potential, as well.
Breakout candidate for 2020-21: Carter Savoie
Potential NHL impact in 2020-21: Evan Bouchard, Tyler Benson, Cooper Marody
15. Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers always have balance in their system. Even with recent graduations of Joel Farabee and Carter Hart, the system has solid depth.
Morgan Frost is the most likely to make the jump this season, but further down the line, both Cam York and Yegor Zamula could be moving into prominent roles on the Flyers' blue line. Add in some skilled players like Bobby Brink and Tyson Foerster, and you've got some scoring depth for the future.
Breakout candidate for 2020-21: Bobby Brink
Potential NHL impact in 2020-21: Morgan Frost
16. Nashville Predators
Having the No. 1 goaltending prospect in the NHL is going to go a long way for your system. Yaroslav Askarov is still a few years away from tending the Preds' crease, but he looks to be the absolute real deal when it comes to goalie prospects. Goalies who look like No. 1s at his age are rare but typically can be a little risky. I've been watching him a lot over the past three years, and I'm a big-time believer in what he can do.
After that, Philip Tomasino is a really fun player to watch with a good work ethic and skating ability. He has surpassed Eeli Tolvanen on the depth chart, but Tolvanen took a good solid step forward in the AHL last season and should compete for a spot.
Breakout candidate for 2020-21: Patrick Harper
Potential NHL impact in 2020-21: Eeli Tolvanen, Jeremy Davies
17. Vegas Golden Knights
The Golden Knights' prospect system is still reaping the benefits of their first ever draft, as Lucas Elvenes and Jack Dugan are late-round picks who have developed into potential contributors. While they're a little further down on the list, that's just a great view of how well Vegas started themselves off in the prospect department.
On the top end, Peyton Krebs has recovered nicely from his pre-draft Achilles injury and didn't miss a beat. The Golden Knights also added a bonafide sniper in Brendan Brisson, who they can let develop at the college level for a few more years. Then there's the highly-skilled Ivan Morozov, who is having a great season in the KHL right now, and pretty nice depth on the blue line, starting with Zach Whitecloud.
Breakout candidate for 2020-21: Ivan Morozov
Potential NHL impact in 2020-21: Zach Whitecloud, Peyton Krebs
18. Arizona Coyotes
The Coyotes have a tremendous top two in their system, but things thin out pretty quickly. The next tier has two top-100 prospects in Jan Jenik and Matias Maccelli, who had breakout seasons last season and have looked good early in 2020-21. The system rides heavily on the laurels of Barrett Hayton, who sat for most of last season but looked great at the World Juniors and in bursts with the Coyotes.
Arizona's system got no help at the most recent NHL draft, where they relinquished the rights to their first pick and had traded away others. It's going to be a while before the Coyotes can recover from the suspected graduations of Hayton and Victor Soderstrom.
Breakout candidate for 2020-21: Michael Callahan
Potential NHL impact in 2020-21: Barrett Hayton
19. Vancouver Canucks
The Canucks graduated a lot of great young players over the past few years, and it's starting to catch up to their prospect system. Vasily Podkolzin will keep the team waiting a bit longer as he finishes out his KHL contract, but players like Jack Rathbone, Kole Lind and Brogan Rafferty should be challenging for spots in camp. Vancouver has to hope that Olli Juolevi can stay healthy and take another step, too, while others like Will Lockwood and Jett Woo establish themselves within the organization during their first pro seasons.
Breakout candidate for 2020-21: Linus Karlsson
Potential NHL impact in 2020-21: Jack Rathbone, Kole Lind, Brogan Rafferty
20. Columbus Blue Jackets
The Jackets don't have a deep pool, but they have some fun talent up top. Kirill Marchenko has been popping off in the KHL this season and showcases a great mix of skill and power that will serve him well at the next level. And Liam Foudy showed last season that he can hang with NHL talent due to his elite speed.
The Blue Jackets surprised everyone when they went off the board to land Yegor Chinakhov in the first round in the 2020 draft. It was risky, but Chinakhov has looked good for the most part in the KHL this season. Columbus also has some especially talented goaltending prospects outside of the two guys they have at the NHL level. Both Veini Vehvilainen and Daniil Tarasov appear to be future NHL goaltenders, even if they might be longer-term No. 2 options.
Breakout candidate for 2020-21: Trey Fix-Wolansky
Potential NHL impact in 2020-21: Liam Foudy, Andrew Peeke, Kole Sherwood
Read more about NHL prospects:
21. Dallas Stars
The Stars had some high-profile graduations last year. For one, Denis Gurianov broke out as a rookie and had a great performance during the Stanley Cup playoff run. There should be more reinforcements soon, with Ty Dellandrea likely to take a step and contribute here and there this season.
The Stars also have some high-upside players with No. 1 prospect Thomas Harley and Riley Damiani, who will be a first-year pro in 2020-21. They also appear to have a potential No. 1 goalie down in the line in Jake Oettinger.
Breakout candidate for 2020-21: Mavrik Bourque
Potential NHL impact in 2020-21: Ty Dellandrea, Joel Kiviranta, Nick Caamano
22. Chicago Blackhawks
The Blackhawks had several high-profile graduates out of the prospect ranks, including Alex Nylander, Adam Boqvist, Matthew Highmore and Kirby Dach, who is now injured and unlikely to play much of this season.
Chicago did do some patch work at the 2020 draft, adding a needed dose of skill to the system with Lukas Reichel. The Blackhawks also landed their new top goalie prospect in Drew Commesso in the second round. Ian Mitchell and Nicolas Beaudin should compete for spots as early this season, and Chicago signed European free agents Pius Suter and Matej Chalupa, who could contribute very soon. The team is in a bit of a soft rebuild right now and is going to need to build up a lot more to supplement the young talent it already has at the NHL level.
Breakout candidate for 2020-21: Wyatt Kaiser
Potential NHL impact in 2020-21: Ian Mitchell, Nicolas Beaudin, Pius Suter
23. Calgary Flames
Not too long ago, the Flames had one of the weaker prospect pools in the league. But they have managed to build it back up slowly but surely over the past few drafts. Juuso Valimaki was expected to be a prospect graduate by now, but he missed all of last season with an injury. The uncertainty that comes after a lost year of development knocked him down the rankings, but make no mistake -- he has a chance to be a big part of Calgary's blue line as soon as this season.
The Flames also added a strong piece to their future in Connor Zary, who has skill and versatility. Versatility can also be found in Jakob Pelletier, who put up big numbers in the QMJHL last season. There's also Emilio Pettersen and Dmitri Zavgorodniy, who bring a ton of skill to the table. There's not great depth, but there's a core of players the team should be looking to take steps toward the NHL roster over the next few years.
Breakout candidate for 2020-21: Martin Pospisil
Potential NHL impact in 2020-21: Juuso Valimaki, Emilio Pettersen
24. New York Islanders
The Islanders don't have a ton of high, high-end pieces after the graduation of Noah Dobson, but they do have a potential long-term No. 1 goalie in Russian sensation Ilya Sorokin. He's in North America and likely will get a year of understudy duty before starting the transition to becoming this team's No. 1.
The Isles' system has a lot of players in it that we're waiting to see take a step. Oliver Wahlstrom has been building back up his game after underwhelming in two seasons after his draft. Kieffer Bellows is another whose promise hasn't quite been lived up to yet. There's still time for both of those natural snipers. A few bright spots on the rise include Robin Salo and Cole Coskey, as well as Reece Newkirk.
Breakout candidate for 2020-21: Reece Newkirk
Potential NHL impact in 2020-21: Ilya Sorokin, Oliver Wahlstrom, Simon Holmstrom
25. San Jose Sharks
The Sharks have a tough system to read. There is not one bonafide star in the group, but there's enough talent in there to see some help on the way for the Sharks. Ryan Merkley is by far the most intriguing, with exceptional passing abilities and offensive sense and at least some improvement in his defensive game last season. Where he goes next in his career will be particularly interesting to watch.
San Jose has a bunch of higher-end skill players in its group, which is why there's reason to be optimistic about how this system is trending. Recent draftee Thomas Bordeleau has looked awesome in the early-goings of this season, and John Leonard took a huge step forward in college hockey last season before turning pro. Most recent first-round pick Ozzy Wiesblatt was trending up before the season was halted. Meanwhile, if Jonathan Dahlen wants to give North America another shot, he has been dominant in Sweden's second pro division and looks ready for a new challenge.
So even though the top end is not at the level of many other teams' elites, the sum of this system's parts is moving in the right direction.
Breakout candidate for 2020-21: Jonathan Dahlen
Potential NHL impact in 2020-21: John Leonard, Ryan Merkley
26. Washington Capitals
The Caps have had some big-time drafts over the past two years, and that helps a great deal. Connor McMichael is far and away the top prospect in the group, but there's a lot of upside in Hendrix Lapierre, the team's 2020 first-rounder.
On the blue line, Washington has two players who don't look all that far away: Martin Fehevary and Alexander Alexeyev offer strong defending and adequate puck-moving. Martin Hugo Has is another intriguing project who could round out into a strong two-way blueliner. There's not much depth yet, but this is an improved system.
Breakout candidate for 2020-21: Bobby Nardella
Potential NHL impact in 2020-21: Connor McMichael, Martin Fehevary
27. Winnipeg Jets
The Jets had a gift fall in their laps when Cole Perfetti dropped to the No. 10 pick. He's an elite playmaking talent who should fit into Winnipeg's group within a year or two. That's a real boost to a system that had grown a little stale after years of graduating super high-end players.
Ville Heinola started last season in the NHL and didn't have a great year after he went back to Finland. But he has started the 2020-21 season on fire in Liiga. The Jets' blue line needs a lot of help and should get some from Dylan Samberg, who had a brilliant NCAA career. Meanwhile, the Jets may have a future No. 2 for Connor Hellebuyck in Mikhail Berdin, who played well in the AHL last season and did very well in the KHL to start this season.
There are pieces ... just not a ton of them right now. But if there's one thing that Winnipeg has reliably done since being relocated from Atlanta, it's drafting well.
Breakout candidate for 2020-21: Kristian Vesalainen
Potential NHL impact in 2020-21: Dylan Samberg, David Gustafsson, Mikhail Berdin
28. St. Louis Blues
The Blues don't have much in their system at the moment, especially after the graduation of Jordan Kyrou. What they do have, however, are some good developmental players.
On the blue line, Hobey Baker winner Scott Perunovich just got better and better over a three-year NCAA career, where he went from good to special in short order. The Blues are also still waiting on Klim Kostin to take that next step as a potential power forward, and he still looks like he can get there. Joel Hofer and Ville Husso are a pair of quality goaltending prospects, and recent first-round winger Jake Neighbours looks like a great stylistic fit for what the Blues do.
Breakout candidate for 2020-21: Klim Kostin
Potential NHL impact in 2020-21: Scott Perunovich, Klim Kostin, Ville Husso
29. Tampa Bay Lightning
The defending Stanley Cup champs don't have a lot of star power after trading some prospects away and not having first-round picks to replenish things. That won't matter much to the team yet, as they look to keep their Stanley Cup window open -- but they will need cheap players on entry-level deals to help them navigate a murky salary cap situation.
That help could come as soon as this season, with Alex Barre-Boulet and Cal Foote each performing at a high level in the AHL and appearing ready to take the next step. After that, there's a lot of uncertainty in the system, but the Lightning have high-upside players in Hugo Alnefelt, Maxim Cajkovic, Maxim Groshev and a trio of intriguing college players in Sammy Walker, Cole Koepke and Cole Guttman.
Breakout candidate for 2020-21: Cole Guttman
Potential NHL impact in 2020-21: Alex Barre-Boulet, Cal Foote
30. Boston Bruins
The Bruins have a shallow pool that didn't have much of a chance to get much better in the 2020 draft. There is some real promise, though. Jack Studnicka is a speedy forward who should get NHL time this season and will likely be a long-term forward in the middle six for Boston.
Another position of strength for the team is in net. Jeremy Swayman broke out for the University of Maine last season, Daniel Vladar was among the best goalies in the AHL last season, and Kyle Keyser is coming out of his first professional season. There's some real intrigue in the pipeline that may need to be called upon in the next few years.
Breakout candidate for 2020-21: Jack Ahcan
Potential NHL impact in 2020-21: Jack Studnicka, Daniel Vladar, Trent Frederic
31. Pittsburgh Penguins
After trading picks and prospects yet again, the Penguins' cupboard is even barer than it was this time last year. The good news is Samuel Poulin had a tremendous draft-plus-one season and showcased what he could look like at the next level. He should be knocking on the door for a spot soon.
Outside of him, however, there aren't a ton of sure things. The Penguins drafted two goalies with their first two picks in 2020, and they should help down the line. But this system has needs all over the place.
Breakout candidate for 2020-21: Nathan Legare
Potential NHL impact in 2020-21: Pierre-Olivier Joseph, Sam Miletic, Samel Poulin