| Strengths: Although the organization no longer boasts a great stockpile of talented forwards, the Ducks still have solid depth up front in Matt Beleskey and Logan MacMillan. Defensive depth is another strength with Mark Mitera, Brian Salcido, and Brendan Mikkelson all playing in the pro ranks. |
| Weaknesses: Some of Anaheim's top blueliners are starting to get a little long in the tooth, but some of the replacements may not be ready to step in. Jake Gardiner is the PP quarterback of the future, but his future should be a couple of years from now. Although they have a number of goaltending prospects in the system, quality is lacking. |
| Top 5 Prospects: 1. Luca Sbisa, D, 2. Jake Gardiner, D, 3. Peter Holland, C, 4. Mark Mitera, D, 5. Kyle Palmieri, C. Key losses to graduation: Bobby Ryan, Ryan Carter. |
| Strengths: The Flames have a great talent in Mikael Backlund, a Swedish pivot who has seamlessly acclimated himself to the North American game this season. While Mitch Wahl and Greg Nemisz could also develop into scorers at the pro level, the real strength of this crop of Flames forwards is grit and toughness. Kris Chucko, David Van der Gulik, and Brett Sutter could all make an impact in the near future. Defenseman Keith Aulie also fits the tough and physical mold. Calgary has two good goaltending prospects in Leland Irving and Matt Keetley. |
| Weaknesses: The talent level drops off significantly after Backlund. While a glut of gritty forwards is always a plus, this leads to a dearth of scoring threats in the system. Defensive depth is also a concern. |
| Top 5 Prospects: 1. Mikael Backlund, C, 2. Greg Nemisz, RW, 3. Keith Aulie, D, 4. Leland Irving, G, 5. Tim Erixson, D. Key losses to graduation: none |
| Strengths: Even after graduating many of the top prospects in the last two years, the Blackhawks still have a solid group of forward prospects, including Kyle Beach, Billy Sweatt, and Akim Aliu. Other forwards, such as Jack Skille, Evan Brophey, and Igor Makarov, are much closer to cracking the Blackhawks' lineup. The blue line was restocked in the 2008 draft and that depth stands as one of the main strengths of the system, headlined by Niklas Hjalmarsson. In goal, Corey Crawford leads a strong group that includes Joe Fallon and Josh Unice. |
| Weaknesses: With their surefire prospects graduated, the Blackhawks' prospect pool lacks the top-end talent it once had. Some of the best prospects remaining, like Beach and Aliu, are of the boom-or-bust variety. The depth on wing, particularly left, is also suspect. |
| Top 5 Prospects: 1. Niklas Hjalmarsson, D, 2. Kyle Beach, LW, 3. Akim Aliu, RW, 4. Dylan Olsen, D, 5. Shawn Lalonde, D. Key losses to graduation: Dave Bolland, Troy Brouwer, Colin Fraser, Kris Versteeg. |
| Strengths: Colorado has a strong collection of character forwards with potential top-six forwards Chris Stewart, T.J. Galiardi and Ryan Stoa. The Avalanche's main strength, however, is defensive depth. Led by top-ranked prospect Kevin Shattenkirk, the Avalanche have solid group of defensemen in Colby Cohen, Cameron Gaunce, Nigel Williams and Kyle Cumiskey. |
| Weaknesses: The Avalanche have lacked a top-end goaltending prospect for several years now. The organization could also use a highly-skilled forward prospect who's ready to play soon. |
| Top 5 Prospects: 1. Matt Duchene, C, 2. Kevin Shattenkirk, D, 3. Chris Stewart, RW, 4. Ryan Stoa, C, 5. Ryan O'Reilly, C. Key losses to graduation: T.J. Hensick, David Jones. |
| Strengths: The Blue Jackets graduated a couple of their top prospects Calder front-runner Steve Mason and winger Jakub Voracek this season on way to earning the franchise's first postseason appearance. The cupboard is still stocked with several talented forwards, headlined by an elite scoring winger in Nikita Filatov. Derick Brassard will also look to fill the net following an injury-shortened rookie season. Beyond the top two forwards, Columbus has some nice depth with players like Maxim Mayorov, Jake Hansen, and Tom Sestito on the wings. The defense also features solid prospects in Cody Goloubef, Teddy Ruth, and Andrei Plekhanov. |
| Weaknesses: The Jackets are particularly thin down the middle with only three center prospects. Although the system recently graduated Mason, it now lacks a top-flight prospect in goal. |
| Top 5 Prospects: 1. Nikita Filatov, LW, 2. Derick Brassard, C, 3. John Moore, D, 4. Cody Goloubef, D, 5. Maksim Mayorov, LW. Key losses to graduation: Steve Mason, Jakub Voracek. |
| Strengths: The prospect pool for Dallas is finally regaining its depth. The Stars' scouting staff has found some excellent late-round gems that rank prominently in the organization's top 20. The Stars possess a lot more scoring forwards in the system than in years past although there are some meat-and-potato types also in the mix. There are only three blueliners in the top 20, but two of them, Ivan Vishnevskiy and Philip Larsen, are highly skilled. |
| Weaknesses: There's a lack of defensive prospects, with just five rearguard prospects in the organization. Goaltending is again a weakness. Tyler Beskorowany and Richard Bachman have fairly high ceilings, but both are coming off relatively disappointing seasons. Dallas also lacks any elite-level prospects. |
| Top 5 Prospects: 1. Ivan Vishnevskiy, D, 2. Jamie Benn, LW, 3. Scott Glennie, RW, 4. Fabian Brunnstrom, LW, 5. Philip Larsen, D. Key losses to graduation: James Neal, Mark Fistric. |
| Strengths: Detroit has solid depth at forward. Darren Helm and Justin Abdelkader are strong heart and soul types that the Wings like in their bottom-six forwards. Dick Axelsson, Ville Leino and the enigmatic Jan Mursak provide Detroit with potential top-six players in the coming years. Detroit also has a strong trio of goaltenders in the system. Daniel Larsson, Thomas McCollum and Jimmy Howard all have the potential to be starting goaltenders in the NHL. |
| Weaknesses: Though Detroit has a handful of solid defensive prospects in Jakub Kindl, Brendan Smith and Jonathan Ericsson, there is not much depth in this department. Detroit should also look to address their top-six forward depth if at all possible. |
| Top 5 Prospects: 1. Jakub Kindl, D, 2. Ville Leino, C, 3. Brendan Smith, D, 4. Daniel Larsson, G, 5. Thomas McCollum, G. Key losses to graduation: none |
| Strengths: The Oilers have a wealth of talented defensemen headlined by Jeff Petry and Theo Peckham. The organization is also stocked with talented but occasionally frustrating players like Rob Schremp, Linus Omark, and Jordan Eberle, who all fit the run-and-gun style of play Edmonton is known for. |
| Weaknesses: Many of the players at the top of the Oilers' prospect list are long on potential but short on production. Even sure-fire players like Peckham offer limited upside. Quality goaltending prospects is a concern with Devan Dubnyk as the organization's top prospect goaltender. |
| Top 5 Prospects: 1. Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson, LW, 2. Jordan Eberle, RW, 3. Riley Nash, C, 4. Linus Omark, LW, 5. Theo Peckham, D. Key losses to graduation: Kyle Brodziak. |
| Strengths: The Kings' prospect pool remains very deep. The top of the class is diverse in all positions. A group of forwards highlighted by Oscar Moller, Ted Purcell and Brian Boyle not to mention under-the-radar center Andrei Loktionov assure the Kings will be strong up front in the foreseeable future. Despite the loss of Drew Doughty, the Kings group of defensive prospects remains strong with Thomas Hickey, Colten Teubert and Vyacheslav Voinov at the top of the list. The goaltending depth is strong as well thanks to Jonathan Bernier and Jeff Zatkoff. |
| Weaknesses: A great deal of depth was lost to graduation. Questions remain as to whether Bernier is a legitimate starting goaltender prospect. |
| Top 5 Prospects: Top 5 prospects: 1. Thomas Hickey, D, 2. Jonathan Bernier, G, 3. Brayden Schenn, C, 4. Oscar Moller, RW, 5. Vyacheslav Voinov, D. Key losses to graduation: Drew Doughty, Peter Harrold, Jonathan Quick, Kyle Quincey, Wayne Simmonds, John Zeiler. |
| Strengths: There is depth in the system's defensive prospects, led by top prospects Tyler Cuma and Marco Scandella. Changes in the organization may mean forwards such as Colton Gillies and Benoit Pouliot would not be pressured to develop as quickly into a defensive system that does not suit their style of play. |
| Weaknesses: There are no first line, first pairing, nor top netminding prospects in the system. There is also very little depth. Although the Wild selected excellent players in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft when they had top picks, since 2003, none of the team's mid-to-late first-round selections have become impact players in the NHL. With the possible exception of Cal Clutterbuck, Minnesota has also failed to find later-round diamonds in the rough. |
| Top 5 Prospects: 1. Tyler Cuma, D, 2. Colton Gillies, C, 3. Nick Leddy, D, 4. Marco Scandella, D, 5. Benoit Pouliot, LW. Key losses to graduation: Cal Clutterbuck. |
| Strengths: The Predators have good high-end prospects at forward, defense, and in goal with Colin Wilson, Jon Blum, and Chet Pickard respectively. The organization possesses great depth along the wing with forwards such as Ryan Jones and Patric Hornqvist. The Predators are also deep in net with Mark Dekanich and Jeremy Smith beyond Pickard. Nashville drafts high-character prospects, who are self-driven. |
| Weaknesses: An organization that used to be stocked with defensive prospects, that department looks comparatively bare as of late. While there is great forward depth along the wings, the system is thin at center. Also, Nashville drafts a great deal from Europe, and with that comes no guarantees of signability. |
| Top 5 Prospects: 1. Colin Wilson, C, 2. Chet Pickard, G, 3. Jon Blum, D, 4. Ryan Ellis, D, 5. Cody Franson, D. Key loss to graduation: Kevin Klein. |
| Strengths: Despite the fact that skilled forwards like Kyle Turris and Mikkel Boedker have graduated this season, the Coyotes continue to boast a talented group of forwards headlined by Viktor Tikhonov and Brett MacLean. Depth and skill along the blue line is also an asset as defensemen Chris Summers and Jonas Ahnelov are both considered to have top-four potential. |
| Weaknesses: Although the Coyotes have a great deal of depth in net with Josh Tordjman and Scott Darling, they lack a true elite goaltending prospect. The organization is also very thin on both wings. |
| Top 5 Prospects: 1. Eric Tangradi, LW, 2. Alex Goligoski, D, 3. Simon Despres, D, 4. Brian Strait, D, 5. Luca Caputi, LW. Key losses to graduation: Kyle Turris, Mikkel Boedker. |
| Strengths: Logan Couture is still the Sharks top prospect. Coming off his best season to date in the OHL and will turn pro next year. The Sharks are rich with depth in goal. A quality cast including Thomas Greiss, Tyson Sexsmith, Finn Harri Sateri, and NCAA standout Alex Stalock. Behind Petrecki on defense, Derek Joslin has made marked progress since Ty Wishart's departure. Mike Moore has also quickly risen to a serviceable level. |
| Weaknesses: There is no immediate, bona fide elite talent in the Sharks system. Beginning with Couture, there is a heavy presence of two-way players up front as well as on the blue line. And in goal, though Sateri may prove to be the most capable of becoming a No. 1 at the NHL level, he is still a big question mark. |
| Top 5 Prospects: 1. Logan Couture, C, 2. Nick Petrecki, D, 3. Tyson Sexsmith, G, 4. Jamie McGinn, LW, 5. Thomas Greiss, G. Key graduates: None. |
| Strengths: Even after the graduation of players like David Perron and Patrik Berglund over the past two seasons, St. Louis still boasts one of the strongest prospect pools in the NHL. The Blues have a pair of top prospects remaining in their system in center T.J. Oshie and defenseman Alex Pietrangelo. There is strong depth down the middle with Brett Sonne and Philip McRae along with a couple of nice options on the wings in Lars Eller and Aaron Palushaj. The blue line is set for years with Ian Cole and Cade Fairchild progressing through the system. In net, Jake Allen and Ben Bishop could both potentially see time as the Blues primary backstop in the near future. |
| Weaknesses: Because of graduations, depth along the wing is not what it once was. |
| Top 5 Prospects: 1. Alex Pietrangelo, D, 2. T.J. Oshie, C, 3. Lars Eller, LW, 4. Ian Cole, D, 5. Aaron Palushaj, RW. Key losses to graduation: Patrik Berglund |
| Strengths: For Vancouver it is all about Cody Hodgson and Cory Schneider. After earning high praises for his accomplishments over the course of the year, Hodgson seems set to make his entrance to the pro ranks. Schneider, a first-round pick from 2004, finally made his NHL debut in 2008-09. Michael Grabner, relatively anonymous by comparison, has top-six upside. |
| Weaknesses: Beyond the top few, there is a significant drop-off in talent. The system lacks any pedigree along the blue line and scoring depth is also an issue. There is little safety in Yann Sauve, the highest ranking rearguard, and the NHL future of Russian forwards Sergei Shirokov and Ilja Kablukov is difficult to foresee. |
| Top 5 Prospects: 1. Cody Hodgson, C, 2. Cory Schneider, G, 3. Michael Grabner, RW, 4. Jordan Schroeder, RW, 5. Jannik Hansen, RW. Key losses to graduation: none. |
