2020-21 DobberProspects Organizational Rankings

What NHL franchise has the best prospects? That can be a difficult and subjective question to answer.

To give it our best shot, the senior staff at DobberProspects has collaborated to give our personal rankings for each team. With that, we have established a consensus ranking.

Peter Harling (Content Manager) has put together a team consisting of Cam Robinson (Managing Editor), Jokke Nevalainen (Director of European Scouting), Tony Ferrari (Director of North American Scouting), Brayden Olafson (Jr. Associate Editor), and Pat Quinn (Associate Editor).

The process for the final rankings consisted of each writer submitting their team’s prospect rankings. Every NHL team scored no less than a top ten prospects. However, to find organizations that have depth as well as quality, we allowed writers to include additional prospects  (up to a top 15) if they felt they were fantasy relevant. Another bonus we awarded teams was if they had roster players under 21-years-old that had established themselves as NHL players, such as Andrei Svechnikov. Players older than 25-year-old were excluded. For the players ranked, they would be scored between 1-10, a ten being a potential franchise player. The total of all the scores determines the overall team score.

This Series of articles will release the results in a count down of 5-6 teams per article, revealing the team’s overall score, each writer’s score, top prospects, and an overview or outlook of the future.

In case you missed previous rankings you can find them on our Organizational Rankings Page

In the third edition, the count down covers teams ranked 19-14

19 56.9 Columbus Blue Jackets 60.9 52 55.6 56 49 68

18 57.5 Edmonton Oilers 53.6 63 53.4 52 58 65

17 59.8 NY Islanders 47.7 58 51.3 63 68 71

16 62.2 Arizona Coyotes 69.5 53 68 58.5 58 66

15 64.7 Minnesota Wild 71.2 45 71.7 58.5 69 73

14 65.7 Philadephia Flyers 54.1 74 62.7 60.5 66 77

19. Columbus Blue Jackets – 56.9

Brayden – 60.9

Peter – 52

Tony – 55.6

Cam – 56

Jokke – 49

Pat – 68

Prospect Depth Chart

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Jakob Lilja	Liam Foudy	Kirill Marchenko
	Dmitry Voronkov	Trey Fix-Wolanski
	Tyler Angle	Marcus Karlberg
	Kevin Stenlund	Maxime Fortier
	Calvin Thurkauf	Kole Sherwood
	Ryan MacInnis
Defensemen	Goaltender	Defensemen
Gabriel Carlsson	Danil Tarasov	Eric Hjorth
Tim Berni	Veini Vehvilainen	Andrew Peeke

Top Ten Prospects

1. Kirill Marchenko, RW – Dominated VHL, impressed at WJC and in KHL
2. Liam Foudy, C – Made early NHL debut as emergency injury recall.
3. Danil Tarasov, G – Longer wait, but has a higher ceiling than other goalies in the system
4. Veini Vehvilainen, G – Dominated Liiga and had impressive AHL debut. 
5. Trey Fix-Wolanski, RW – Enduring a learning curve at pro level.
6. Dmitry Voronkov, C – Big center produced a PPG at WJC for Russia
7. Eric Hjorth, D – Big defender found some offense in the OHL with Sarnia
8. Andrew Peeke, D – Injuries forced him into NHL sooner than expected, he looked good.
9. Tyler Angle, C – 67 points in 62 games in last year of OHL, needs a contract.
10. Marcus Karlberg, RW – Dominated SuperElit, but struggled in SHL

Other Players who Received Votes

Gabriel Carlsson, Calvin Thurkauf, Tim Berni, Kole Sherwood

Roster Players 21 and Under

Emil Bemstrom, LW – Alex Texier, RW

Overview

Having Bemstrom and Texier as bonus graduated players helped push the Blue Jackets up the rankings slightly. The top prospect was a split between Foudy and Marchenko, with the Russian slightly edging out the speedy Foudy. Columbus was forced to push some prospects through faster than they may have wanted with some off-season turnover last summer and a rash of injuries that forced some of their kids in as emergency call ups. Missing on some first-round picks (Kirby Rychel, Sonny Milano, and Gabriel Carlsson) in combination with not having first-round picks in 2017 and 2019 has left the pipeline a little dry.

18. Edmonton Oilers – 57.5 

Brayden – 53.6

Peter – 63

Tony – 53.4

Cam – 52

Jokke – 58

Pat – 65

Prospect Depth Chart

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Tyler Benson	Ryan McLeod	Jesse Puljujarvi
Ostap Safin	Aapeli Rasanen	Raphael Lavoie
Ryan Kuffner	Maxim Denezhkin	Kirill Maksimov
		Cooper Marody
Defenseman	Goaltender	Defenseman
Philip Broberg	Stuart Skinner	Evan Bouchard
Dmitri Samorukov	Ilya Konovalov	Ethan Bear
Caleb Jones	Olivier Rodrigue
	Dylan Wells
	Shane Starrett

Top Ten Prospects

1. Evan Bouchard, D – Good year of development in AHL, has big upside as future PP QB.
2. Philip Broberg, D – Needs more ice time in SHL, only managed eight points in 45 games.
3. Jesse Puljujarvi, RW – Not a bust yet, but no future in Edmonton. Needs a trade.
4. Raphael Lavoie, RW – Big winger had big season in the Q, didn’t produce at WJC.
5. Tyler Benson, LW – Made NHL debut and is ready to graduate full-time next year.
6. Ryan McLeod, C – Had growing pains as AHL rookie notching only five goals.
7. Dmitri Samorukov, D – Sure-fire NHL defender but limited offensive upside.
8. Stuart Skinner, G – Log jam in goal and Skinner is at the bottleneck
9. Ilya Konovalov, G – Impressive 40 games played in the KHL on good Lokomotiv team
10. Olivier Rodrigue, G – Third goalie for Canada at WJC did not see any games

Other Players to Receive Votes:

Caleb Jones, Kirill Maximov, Aapeli Rasanen, Ostap Safin, Dylan Wells, Maxim Denezhkin, Filip Berglund, Cooper Marody, Skyler Brind’Amour, Shane Starrett.

Roster Players 21 and Under.

Kailer Yamamoto, RW

Overview

Bouchard was ranked number one by five of six and the big defenseman has a tremendous offensive upside. The prospect of quarterbacking the Oilers power play in the near future with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl has fantasy owners drooling. The jury is still out on 2016 fourth overall pick Jesse Puljujarvi. Is he a bust, or does he just need to get out of the Oilers system? He produced in Liiga and needs a trade so he can take another shot at an NHL job. Tyler Benson has been developing slowly and surely in the AHL and looks ready to graduate as a solid third line contributor. The Oilers have a serious log jam in goal. The organization has been attempting to address a positional need and has stockpiled half a dozen goalie prospects in hopes that one sticks.

17. New York Islanders – 59.8 

Brayden – 47.7

Peter – 58

Tony – 51.3

Cam – 63

Jokke – 69

Pat – 71

Prospect Depth Chart

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Kieffer Bellows	Otto Koivula	Olliver Wahlstrom
Anatoli Golyshev	Ruslan Iskhakov	Josh Ho-Sang
Ross Johnston	Jacob Pivonka	Simon Holmstrom
Colin Adams	Felix Bibeau	Cole Coskey
Blade Jenkins	Reece Newkirk
	Johan Sundstrom
Defensemen	Goaltender	Defensemen
Samuel Bolduc	Ilya Sorokin	Bode Wilde
Sebastian Aho	Jakub Skarek
Robin Salo	Linus Soderstrom
Mitch Vande Sompel
Parker Wotherspoon

Top Ten Prospects

1. Ilya Sorokin, G – Hype train has him as the franchise savior and he very well could be!
2. Oliver Wahlstrom, RW – Struggled in NCAA, stats declined in AHL but finished strong.
3. Kieffer Bellows, LW – Inconsistent scorer, improved as sophomore and made NHL debut.
4. Simon Holmstrom, RW – 19-year-old endured growing pains as AHL rookie.
5. Bode Wilde, D – Was not ready for AHL and was assigned to Saginaw for last 11 games.
6. Otto Koivula, C – Second season in North America included NHL debut.
7. Ruslan Iskhakov, C – Back-to-back 21 point seasons at U. Of Connecticut.
8. Samuel Bolduc, D – Offensive production nearly doubled after mid-season trade.
9. Josh Ho-Sang, RW – Loan to San Antonio indicates his days in organization are over.
10. Jakub Skarek, G – Split time in AHL and ECHL in rookie season in North America

Other players to Receive Votes:

Robin Salo, Sebastian Aho, Linus Soderstrom, Jacob Pivonka, Mitch Vande Sompel, Parker Wotherspoon

Roster Players 21 and Under:

Noah Dobson, D.

Overview:

The Islanders had limited success under the long reign of GM Garth Snow. Last year the Lou Lamoriello era began and hopes are renewed. The Islanders have had 15 first-round picks in the past 11 drafts. There have been some hits (Mathew Barzal, Anthony Beauvillier) and some misses (Josh Ho-Sang, Griffin Reinhart) but overall they have struggled to develop their youth. Plenty of optimism surrounds the top five prospects who were all consistently ranked in the top five. Sorokin has as much hype as his countryman and cross-town rival Igor Shestorkin in Manhattan. Oliver Wahlstrom left NCAA after one so-so season to play in AHL and his point per game production fell even lower. Not as alarming as he is only 19-years-old. He also made his NHL debut and spending more time in the AHL may be best for his development. Kieffer Bellows has been an inconsistent producer for years but he ended the season with seven points in seven AHL games after being returned from a brief NHL recall. The future of Josh Ho-Sang is unclear at best. He has struggled to endear himself to management and was loaned to San Antonio for the end of the season. He needs a fresh start in a new organization and he needs to figure it out or he will be officially labeled as a bust if he hasn’t already.

16. Arizona Coyotes – 62.2 

Brayden – 69.5

Peter – 58

Tony – 68

Cam – 58.5

Jokke – 58

Pat – 66

Prospect Depth Chart

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Matias Macelli	Jan Jenik	Aku Raty
Brayden Burke	John Farinacci	Hudson Fasching
Alexander Daryin	Lane Pederson
Liam Kirk	Valentin Nussbaumer
Tyler Steenbergen	Ryan McGregor
Nate Sucese
Defensemen	Goaltender	Defensemen
Kyle Capobianco	Adin Hill	Victor Soderstrom
Cam Dineen	Ivan Prosvetov	Ty Emberson
Michael Callahan	Merrick Madsen	Filip Westerlund
		Jordan Gross
		Cam Crotty
		Vili Saarijarvi
		Robbi Russo

Top Ten Prospects

1. Victor Soderstrom, D – Big improvement in sophomore season in SHL.
2. Jan Jenik, C – Monster season in OHL before injury at WJC ended his season.
3. Matias Maccelli, LW – Impressed at WJC, and in league play in Liiga.
4. Kyle Capobianco, D – Consistent point producer in AHL, getting longer looks in NHL.
5. John Farinacci, C – Harvard freshman named to ECAC All-Rookie Team
6. Adin Hill, G – 24-year-old already has 30 NHL games of experience, is knocking on the door
7. Brayden Burke, LW – Doubled point-per-game production in his second AHL season.
8. Aku Raty, RW – 18-year-old plays an advanced physical and two-way game in Liiga
9. Lane Pederson, C – Breakout season cut short by injury. He’s a sleeper for next year.
10. Alexander Daryin, LW – 45 points in 44 MHL games has this prospect on the rise

Other Players to Receive Votes:

Ivan Prosvetov, Ryan McGregor, Liam Kirk, Nate Sucese, Valentin Nussbaumer, Jordan Gross, Tyler Steenbergen, Filip Westerlund, Ty Emberson

Roster Players 21 and Under:

Barrett Hayton, C

Overview:

Arizona has won two playoff rounds in the past decade (both in 2011-12) and has had 13 first-round picks in the past ten years. Of the 13, only four remain in the organization (Clayton Keller, Jakob Chychrun, Barrett Hayton and Victor Soderstrom), nine have been moved or are busts (Pierre-Olivier Joseph, Dylan Strome, Brendan Perlini, Max Domi, Nick Merkley, Connor Murphy, Brandon Gormley, Mark Visentin, and Henrik Samuelsson). That’s not a great record! Arizona was a young team with plenty of prospects with upside, and now the average age is above league average at 27.57. For a team that has struggled to win games the way Arizona has for as long as they have, you would think they should be ranked much higher in these rankings. There are not any very recognizable names in the prospect pool to the average fan, but for prospect aficionados, the name Jan Jenik and Matias Maccelli are the names of prospects on the rise. The Coyotes may lack in quality, but they do have quantity as plenty of prospects were recognized as top ten candidates with fantasy relevance as the other players to receive votes list indicates. There are players not listed that would have made other teams list such as Axel Bergkvist, Cameron Crotty, Vili Saarijarvi, and Merrick Madsen.

15. Minnesota Wild – 64.7 

Brayden – 71.2

Peter -45

Tony – 71.7

Cam – 58.5

Jokke – 69

Pat – 73

Prospect Depth Chart

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Kirill Kaprizov	Alex Khovanov	Ivan Lodnia
Matt Boldy	Jack McBain	Will Bitten
Adam Beckman	Mason Shaw	Connor Dewar
Vladislav Firstov	Nico Sturm	Shawn Boudrias
Dmitri Sokolov	Damien Giroux	Mitchell Chaffee
	Sam Hentges
Defensemen	Goaltender	Defensemen
Marshall Warren	Kaapo Kahkonen	Calen Addison
	Hunter Jones	Brennan Menell
		Simon Johansson
		Louie Belpedio
		Filip Johansson

Top Ten Prospects

1. Kirill Kaprizov, LW – The best drafted player not currently in the NHL.
2. Matt Boldy, LW – Slow start as NCAA freshman, but caught fire in the second half.
3. Adam Beckman, LW – notched 107 points in 63 games in WHL with another year to go.
4. Alex Khovanov, C – Breakout season in QMJHL and dominated at WJC with Russia.
5. Calen Addison, D – Point per game defenseman in WHL acquired in Jason Zucker deal.
6. Kaapo Kahkonen, G – Second season as starting goalie in AHL, made his NHL debut.
7. Vladislav Firstov, LW – Second season in North America, produced in USHL and NCAA
8. Hunter Jones, G – Starting goalie on a stacked Petes team had a shot at a Championship.
9. Louie Belpedio, D – Becoming more of a rugged defender than offensive defenseman.
10. Jack McBain, C – Big center showed improvement as NCAA sophomore.

Other Players to Receive Votes:

Brennan Menell, Dmitry Sokolov, Simon Johansson, Ivan Lodnia, Mason Shaw, Will Bitten, Connor Dewar, Nico Sturm, Marshall Warren, Mitchell Chaffee, Sam Hentges.

Roster Players 21 and Under:

None.

Overview:

Wild fans have been waiting for Kaprizov to come to North America for what seems like an eternity. He had announced that he intended to sign his NHL ELC contract to play as soon as the KHL season ended. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic may have set those intentions back by a year. The 2020-21 season may be quite delayed as the NHL plays out the 2019-20 playoffs. Kaprizov would not be allowed to join the Wild until the 2020-21 season begins, which could be as far away as January! Rather than wait that long he will likely begin to play in September back for one more year in the KHL. It would be a disappointing blow to the Wild and their fans who have been waiting for his arrival. Outside of Kaprizov, the Wild have a few other prospects to get excited for. Their 2019 first-round pick Matt Boldy had a tremendous conclusion to his freshman season in the NCAA and has a very promising ceiling. Adam Beckman was the WHL scoring leader in his second season with an impressive 48 goals and 107 points. Alex Khovanov raised some eyebrows with his 99 point season and dominant performance with Russia at the WJC. Khovanov will be turning pro but should see some AHL adjustment time before he joins the Wild. Boldy will return to Boston College for his sophomore season and Beckman has a year of eligibility in the WHL.

14. Philadelphia Flyers – 65.7 

Brayden – 54.1

Peter – 74

Tony – 62.7

Cam 60.5

Jokke – 66

Pat – 77

Prospect Depth Chart

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Isaac Ratcliffe	Morgan Frost	Bobby Brink
David Kase	Jay O’Brien	Wade Allison
Matthew Strome	Mikhail Vorobyev	Maxin Sushko
Noah Cates	German Rubtsov	Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Carsen Twarynski	Tanner Laczynski
Defensemen	Goaltender	Defensemen
Cam York	Samuel Ersson	Wyatte Wylie
Yegor Zamula	Kirill Ustimenko	Ronnie Attard
Adam Ginning	Felix Sandstrom
Mason Millman
Linus Hogberg

Top Ten Prospects

1. Morgan Frost, C – Dominated OHL for two years and played 20 NHL games as a rookie.
2. Bobby Brink, RW – 24 points in 28 games as a freshman at Denver. 
3. Cam York, D – Needs more development time, but has a high ceiling.
4. Yegor Zamula, D – Two solid seasons with Hitmen and an impressive WJC this year.
5. Isaac Ratcliffe, LW – 6-foot-6 giant struggled offensively as AHL rookie.
6. Samuel Ersson, G – Has starting upside, but Hart is the goalie of the future.
7. Wade Allison, RW – Hasn’t played more than 26 games in three years, needs to stay healthy
8. Jay O’Brien, C – Left Providence to go back to BCHL, committed to B.U. for 2020-21.
9. Mikhail Vorobyev, C – Can he find his offensive game at the NHL level?
10. German Rubtsov, C – Becoming a valuable pro player, but is a defensive specialist.

Other Players to Receive Votes:

Kirill Ustimenko, Tanner Laczynski, Felix Sandstrom, Noah Cates, David Kase, Matthew Strome, Adam Ginning, Connor Bunnaman, Bryce Brodzinski, Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Pascal Laberge, Wyatt, Wylie, Mason Millman

Roster Players 21 and Under:

Joel Farabee, LW; Carter Hart, G; Nolan Patrick, C

Overview:

Offensive forward Morgan Frost was the clear top prospect. He has dominated the OHL for two seasons and made a smooth transition to pro hockey with 29 points in 41 games in the AHL and playing in 20 NHL games. Frost will likely make the Flyers next year and be a productive offensive player, and potential Calder candidate. I said the Leafs got a first-round pick in the second round with Nick Robertson, and the Flyers have pulled off the same trick with Brink. He is in good hands at the University of Denver and had an impressive freshman season from start to finish with 24 points in 28 games. The 5-foot-8 winger will play at least one more season with the Pioneers and may need some AHL seasoning, but he looks like a future top six winger. Big defender Yegor Zamula used the WJC stage with Russia to make his presence known. Zamula actually had his breakout in the 2018-19 season after a trade from Regina to the Calgary Hitmen where he has posted 0.92 and 1.0 PPG seasons as a defenseman. The Flyers have an elite prospect in Frost, several very good prospects in Brink, York, and Zamula and a bevy of fantasy-relevant prospects. The writers listed several different players as fantasy-relevant beyond the top-ten and the bottom four of the writer’s top ten varied widely. This indicates there will be some tough competition for Flyers prospects to make an already good team.