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 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 fourth edition, the count down covers teams ranked 9th to 13th.

 

13th – 65.9 Anaheim Ducks 75.6 52 63 63.5 71 70

12th – 67.7 Colorado Avalanche 78.4 69 71.6 59 60 68

11th – 70.6 Chicago Blackhawks 66.3 74 70.8 57.5 78 77

10th – 71.8 Vancouver Canucks 73 67 67.6 74 76 73

9th – 73.0 Buffalo Sabres 66.7 71 70.7 77.5 76 76

 

13. Anaheim Ducks – 65.9 

Brayden – 75.6

Peter – 52

Tony – 63

Cam – 63.5

Jokke – 71

Pat – 70

 

Prospect Depth Chart

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Brayden Tracey	Trevor Zegras	Trevor Janicke
Blake McLaughlin	Benoit-Olivier Groulx	Deven Sideroff
Jack Kopacka	Antoine Morand	Justin Kloos
	Alex Dostie	Kiefer Sherwood
Defensemen	Goaltender	Defensemen
Josh Mahura	Lukas Dostal	Axel Andersson
Brendan Guhle	Olle Eriksson-Ek	Joel Persson
Jackson LaCombe	Kevin Boyle	Hunter Drew
Henry Thrun

 

Top Ten Prospects

1. Trevor Zegras, C – NCAA one-and-done will turn pro. A potential Calder candidate.
2. Brayden Tracey, LW – Followed up breakout draft year performance with a solid campaign.
3. Lukas Dostal, G – Brilliant 1.78 GAA in 43 Liiga games as a 19-year-old.
4. B.O. Groulx, C – Developing into a good second-line or great third line potential player.
5. Josh Mahura, D – Getting looks at NHL, and looking good. He’s close.
6. Blake McLaughlin, LW – Only matched freshman season, will be back for junior year.
7. Brendan Guhle, D – 22-year-old played more games in NHL than AHL. He’s ready.
8. Axel Andersson, D – Acquired from Boston as the sweetener in the David Backes trade.
9. Jackson LaCombe, D – Look for offensive production to increase in sophomore season.
10. Olle Eriksson-Ek, G – Good development season in ECHL playing in 27 games.

 

Other Players To Receive Votes:

Henry Thrun, Antoine Morand, Simon Benoit, Trevor Janicke, Jack Kopacka

Roster Players 21 and Under.

Maxime Comtois, LW; Isac Lundestrom, C

 

Overview:

The Ducks are looking to the future as core players age out or are moved out. Building around youth has allowed several young players to take larger roles on the main club such as Troy Terry, Sam Steel and Max Jones. Maxime Comtois and Isac Lundestrom count as bonus players on the active roster boosting the ducks ranking here as well. The consensus top prospect in the system is easily Trevor Zegras who played one season at Boston University and will be turning pro next season. He is a Calder candidate and is one of the top prospects heading to the NHL along with the likes of Kirill Kaprizov and Alex Lafreniere in the forward ranks. Beyond Zegras there are no blue-chip prospects in the top ten, but look for Mahura and Guhle to play their way onto the roster and compete for the sixth roster spot. Anaheim will look to add two key prospects at the 2020 NHL Draft with two first-round picks including one top ten pick.

 

12. Colorado Avalanche – 67.7 

Brayden – 78.4

Peter – 69

Tony – 71.6

Cam – 59

Jokke – 60

Pat – 68

 

Prospect Depth Chart

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Sampo Ranta	Alex Newhook	Martin Kaut
Cam Morrison	Shane Bowers	Alex Beaucage
Denis Smirnov	Igor Shvyrev	Nikolai Kovalenko
AJ Greer	Josh Dickinson	Sasha Mutala
Sheldon Dries		Logan O’Connor
Defensemen	Goaltender	Defensemen
Bowen Byram	Justus Annunen	Conor Timmins
Daniil Zhuravlyov	Adam Werner	Drew Helleson
Jacob MacDonald	Hunter Miska
Andrei Mirinov	Mason McDonald
Sergei Boikov

 

Top Ten Prospects

1. Bowen Byram, D – Future number one defender has Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes upside. Will he get the deployment?
2. Alex Newhook, C – Monster freshman season at Boston College with 42 points in 34 games
3. Conor Timmins, D – Big comeback after missing year to injury. Made NHL debut.
4. Martin Kaut, RW – Notched three points in nine NHL games. He is close.
5. Justus Annunen, G – Dominated Liiga and is coming to North America. Future starter.
6. Shane Bowers, C – Made a smooth transition to pro, but needs more AHL time.
7. Alex Beaucage, RW – Skating needs work, but he can score.
8. Sampo Ranta, LW – Production improved as a sophomore at the U of Minnesota.
9. Nikolai Kovalenko, RW – impressive numbers for a 21-year-old in KHL.
10. Sasha Mutala, RW – Offense exploded in third season, but plus/minus plummeted.

 

Other Players To Receive Votes:

Drew Helleson, Adam Werner, Logan O’Connor, Igor Shvyrev, Cam Morrison, Denis Smirnov, Daniil Zhuravlyov

Roster Players 21 and Under.

None.

 

Overview:

Bowen Byram and Alex Newhook each received several selections as the top prospect in the organization. Both have bright futures and could be impact players in one or two years. Conor Timmins missed the entire 2018-19 season due to injury, but played a full year in the AHL, and made his NHL debut. It was important for him to play a full season and continue his development. Before the injury, he had top pairing upside and will look to regain that stature. Justus Annunen was a dominant goalie in the Liiga for Karpat with eye-popping stats of 1.77 GAA, .929 SVS% and a 15-5-3 record including six shutouts. He has signed with the Avalanche and will likely see a full season in the AHL, but he is the future starting goalie. With the top five prospects, the Avalanche boast they are top-heavy with star prospects in key positions. Colorado has a young core with Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Cale Makar all 24 and under, a strong supporting cast with Nazem Kadri, Andre Burakovsky, Gabriel Landeskog, and Samuel Girard, and a rich pipeline of prospects on the way.

 

11. Chicago Blackhawks – 70.6 

Brayden – 66.3

Peter – 74

Tony – 70.8

Cam – 57.5

Jokke – 78

Pat – 77

 

Prospect Depth Chart

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Michal Teply	Evan Barratt	Niklas Nordgren
John Quenneville	Dylan Sikura	Artur Kayumov
Brandon Hagel	Philipp Kurashev	Andrei Altybarmakyan
Tim Soderlund	Jake Wise	MacKenzie Entwistle
		Matej Chalupa
		Antti Saarela
Defensemen	Goaltender	Defensemen
Nicolas Beaudin	Colin Delia	Ian Mitchell
Lucas Carlsson	Kevin Lankinen	Alec Regula
Chad Krys	Ivan Nalimov
Ryan Shea
Alex Vlasic

 

Top Ten Prospects

1. Ian Mitchell, D – Is the future anchor on the Hawks blue line as Duncan Keith winds down.
2. Nicolas Beaudin, D -Working on the defensive side in AHL, but is future PP quarterback.
3. Evan Barratt, C – Impressive numbers in NCAA will turn pro and play in AHL next year.
4. Michal Teply, LW – Dominated in his first year in North America. Needs to be faster
5. Dylan Sikura, C – Prolific scorer through NCAA and AHL. Now needs to produce in NHL.
6. Lucas Carlsson, D – Has two solid seasons of AHL development and made NHL debut. 
7. Alec Regula, D – Acquired for Brendan Perlini, scored 27 goals and 60 points in 56 OHL games.
8. Philipp Kurashev, C – Good rookie season in AHL, but needs to improve offensive game.
9. Niklas Nordgren, RW – Struggling to stick in Liiga, needs to make a big step forward.
10. Artur Kayumov, RW – Developing well in KHL, under contract through 2021/22

 

Other Players To Receive Votes:

Andrei Altybarmakyan, MacKenzie Entwistle, John Quenneville, Chad Krys, Brandon Hagel, Ryan Shea, Jake Wise, Antti Saarela, Tim Soderlund, Alex Vlasic.

Roster Players 21 and Under:

Kirby Dach, C; Adam Boqvist, D.

 

Overview:

All the writers ranked the Hawks top two prospects as Ian Mitchell and Nic Beaudin respectively. After that, it was a free for all. Evan Barratt led the NCAA in scoring and Dylan Sikura won the Hobey Baker Award as the Top NCAA Player earning them favorable scores. CHL import star Michal Teply from the Winnipeg Ice had a breakout season in North America earning himself considerable recognition as well. After that, there are a lot of question marks, but a lot of potential for the rest of the prospect pool. The Hawks are rebuilding after their dynasty run with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane as the cornerstones. Mitchell signed after his junior season and  Captain at U. of Denver and is the top-ranked prospect in a pool full of defensemen. The top-end talent may not be elite, but the Hawks scored well due to the depth and additional points from U21 roster players in Dach and Boqvist. After voting the Hawks also signed European free agent Matej Chalupa, the 21-year-old signed a two-year deal and will likely be assigned to the AHL.

 

10. Vancouver Canucks – 71.8 

Brayden – 73

Peter – 67

Tony – 67.6

Cam – 74

Jokke – 76

Pat – 73

 

Prospect Depth Chart

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Nils Hoglander	Arvid Costmar	Vasily Podkolzin
Aidan McDonough	Marc Michaelis	Kole Lind
Ethan Keppen	Carson Focht	Artyom Manukyan
Jonah Gadjovich	Linus Karlsson	Zack MacEwen
Petrus Palmu		Lukas Jasek
		William Lockwood
		Karel Plasek
Defensemen	Goaltender	Defensemen
Jack Rathbone	Michael DiPietro	Brogan Rafferty
Olli Juolevi	Jake Kielly	Jett Woo
Nikita Tryamkin		Jalen Chatfield
Toni Utunen		Mitch Eliot

 

Top Ten Prospects.

1. Vasily Podkolzin, RW – Limited minutes in KHL, but showed offensive upside at WJC.
2. Nils Hoglander, LW – Scores highlight-reel goals. Coming to North America in ’20-21.
3. Jack Rathbone, D – Wait and see if he’ll turn pro. Has torched the NCAA in two campaigns.
4. Michael DiPietro, G – Excellent transition to AHL. Has been lit up in limited NHL showings.
5. Kole Lind, RW – Impressive rebound in second AHL season after a slow start as a rookie.
6. Brogan Rafferty, D – Utica top defender was leading AHL in scoring for a while.
7. Olli Juolevi, D – Injuries slowed development, had a full season of development in Utica.
8. Jett Woo, D – points dipped in fourth year in WHL. Will join Utica in 20-21.
9. Arvid Costmar, C – Could be a hidden gem in 7th round, 215th overall.
10. Aidan McDonough, LW – Streaky scorer had back-to-back four-point games vs Dartmouth.

 

Other Players To Receive Votes:

Marc Michaelis, William Lockwood, Zack MacEwen, Linus Karlsson, Ethan Keppen, Carson Focht, Petrus Palmu, Lukas Jasek, Francis Perron, Jonah Gadjovich, Karel Plasek

Roster Players 21 and Under:

Quinn Hughes, D; Elias Petterson, C.

 

Overview:

The Canucks scored high as a result of two top prospects in Podkolzin and Hoglander. They also scored well based on the overall depth. While Podkolzin and Hoglander were ranked first and second consistently, that was the end of the consistency. Rafferty signed as a free agent from college and was a sensation as a rookie in the AHL. The 24-year-old was the top defenseman in Utica, lead the league in scoring for a stint and was very impressive. But he is 24, and it remains to be seen if he can have an impact at the NHL level. Olli Juolevi had an important season of development in the AHL after injury struggles since his draft. He may not be an elite prospect, but he still looks like an NHL player. Perhaps this year’s top NCAA free agent was Marc Michaelis, he failed to crack the top ten, but the German-born centre could have a similar rookie AHL season like Rafferty. Don’t forget the Canucks still own the rights to defenseman Nikita Tryamkin who is in the KHL but could return to the NHL at some point.

 

9. Buffalo Sabres – 73 

Brayden – 66.7

Peter – 71

Tony – 70.7

Cam – 77.5

Jokke – 76

Pat – 76

 

Prospect Depth Chart

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Arttu Ruostalainen	Dylan Cozens	Matej Pekar
Linus Weissbach	Casey Mittelstadt	Lukas Rousek
Brett Murray	Rasmus Asplund
Dawson DiPietro	Marcus Davidsson
Remi Elie
C.J. Smith
Defensemen	Goaltender	Defensemen
Ryan Johnson	Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen	Oskari Laaksonen
Lawrence Pilut	Jonas Johansson	Will Borgen
Mattias Samuelsson	Erik Portillo	Casey Nelson
Jacob Bryson

 

Top Ten Prospects

1. Dylan Cozens, C – Dominated the WHL and WJC. Could return for a final CHL season.
2. Casey Mittelstadt, C – Rushed to NHL too fast, some AHL development is needed.
3. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, G – years away, but future starting goalie.
4. Ryan Johnson, D – Excellent skater, needs to develop offensive game as a sophomore.
5. Lawrence Pilut, D – Production in AHL not translating to NHL. Stil has upside.
6. Arttu Ruostalainen, LW – Free agent signee from 2019 could come to N.A. for ’20-21.
7. Rasmus Asplund, C – Looking to recreate AHL chemistry with Victor Olafson at the NHL level.
8. Matej Pekar, RW – Scoring improved after trade to Sudbury, including 5 points in the final game
9. Brandon Biro, LW – Signed as a free agent after four years with Penn State.
10. Oskari Laaksonen, D – Unsigned 2017 third round pick has one more year in Liiga.

 

Other Players To Receive Votes:

Jacob Bryson, Linus Weissbach, Brett Murray, Erik Portillo, Mattias Samuelsson, Marcus Davidsson, Dawson DiPietro

Roster Players 21 and Under:

Rasmus Dahlin, D; Henri Jokiharju, D

 

Overview:

Buffalo has picked in the top ten at the NHL Entry Draft for seven consecutive years including first overall in 2018 (Dahlin); second overall in 2015 and 2014 (Eichel, Reinhart) and eleven first-round picks in eight years. As a result, they rank in the top ten of our Organizational Prospect Ranking. With the caliber of picks this franchise has enjoyed, they should either be ranked a little higher or be in a more competitive situation. The young core of Eichel, Dahlin, Reinhart, Olafson, Jokiharju, Ristolainen are all under 25-years-old and will soon be joined by future star Dylan Cozens in a year or two. Casey Mittelstadt was perhaps rushed to the NHL too soon. Buffalo also struggled to develop Alex Nylander and when he was looking like a lost cause they made a good trade to acquire Jokiharju. Hopefully, Mittelstadt can rediscover his game at the AHL and become an impact player. With the quality and quantity of picks Buffalo has had, it would be difficult to not get better in the near future.