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.

This edition ranks teams ranked eighth down to four.

The next edition will be the conclusion wit the top three teams.

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

8 73.9 Florida Panthers 91 58 78.8 62.5 74 79

7 74.1 Detroit Red Wings 80.8 62 84.8 58 74 85

6 77.4 Montreal Canadiens 76.5 72 83.6 75 77 80

5 78.9 NJ Devils 73.7 88 79 65.5 86 81

4 82.0 NY Rangers 87 76 86.4 75.5 81 86

8. Florida Panthers – 73.9

Brayden – 91

Peter – 58

Tony – 78.8

Cam – 62.5

Jokke – 74

Pat – 79

Prospect Depth Chart

Top Ten Prospects

1. Owen Tippett, LW/RW – Speedy sniper excelled as AHL rookie with 40 points in 46 games.
2. Spencer Knight, G – Dominated NCAA as a freshman starting goalie. A star in the making.
3. Grigori Denisenko, LW/RW – Coming to N.A. after limited minutes in KHL. 
4. Henrik Borgstrom, C – Played more in AHL than the previous year, maybe a good third line C.
5. Aleksi Heponiemi, C – After a big year in Liiga, his N.A. debut was disappointing.
6. Aleksi Saarela, C – Traded twice in 2019 may be a red flag.
7. Seron Noel, RW – 6-5 winger will turn pro, needs time but has power forward upside.
8. Max Gildon, D – NCAA junior signed and should replace traded Ian McCoshen nicely.
9. Cole Schwindt, RW – 2019 third-round pick posted 71 points in 58 games in OHL.
10. Vladislav Kolyachonok, D – Shutdown defenseman has limited fantasy upside.

Other Players To Receive Votes

Chase Priskie, John Ludvid, Logan Hutsko, Owen Lindmark, Eetu Luostrinen, Samuel Montembeault, Riley Stillman, Jonathan Ang, Cliff Pu, Brady Keeper, Santtu Kinnunen.

Roster Players 21 and Under:

None

Overview:

The writers that contributed to this had some difference of opinion when it came to ranking Floridas prospects. Owen Tippett, Spencer Knight, and Grigori Denisenko all received first-place votes. Every writer voted for at least three extra fantasy-relevant prospects. A total of 20 different players were recognized as fantasy relevant. While we could not agree on who was ranked 1-2-3, we all did agree that the Florida system is rich with fantasy-relevant prospects. Chase Priskie, John Ludvig, and Logan Hustko would surely make 20 teams top ten prospects. Don’t forget Florida still owns the rights to Juho Lammikko who posted 51 points in 57 Liiga games. After the votes were cast, Florida added another fantasy-relevant prospect signing 25-year-old NCAA free agent Alec Rauhauser. The rich get richer!

7. Detroit Red Wings – 74.1

Brayden – 80.8

Peter – 62

Tony – 84.8

Cam – 58

Jokke – 74

Pat – 85

Prospect Depth Chart

Top Ten Prospects

1. Moritz Seider, D – 19-year-old AHL rookie acquitted himself well in his first year in N.A.
2. Joe Veleno, C – Slow start as a rookie in AHL but overall was good. 
3. Michael Rasmussen, C – Played a bigger role in AHL after 62 NHL games season prior.
4. Taro Hirose, LW – NCAA free agent split his rookie season between AHL and NHL.
5. Dennis Cholowski, D – Roster spots are opening up and he is front of the line.
6. Jared McIsaac, D – Wrapped up junior career with WJC Gold Medal.
7. Jonatan Berggren, RW – Limited to 30 SHL games in two years due to injury and COVID.
8. Robert Mastrosimone, LW – Good freshman year but ended with 1 point in the last 8 games.
9. Antti Tuomisto, D – 1.02 PPG defenseman in Jr. A SM Liiga is committed to the U. Of Denver.
10. Albin Grewe, RW – Rugged winger racked 111 PIM in 23 SuperElit games with Djurgardens.

Other Players To Receive Votes:

Evgeni Svechnikov, Albert Johansson, Elmer Soderblom, Joe Hicketts, Otto Kivenmaki, Givani Smith, Ethan Phillips, Gustav Lidstrom

Roster Players 21 and Under:

Filip Zadina, RW

Overview:

The Wings may be the worst team in the NHL, but they have one of the best prospect pools and scored well with players such as Zadina, Seider, and Veleno. Wings fans can also look forward to the 2020 Draft where the Wings have a good shot at a top pick. Adding a player like Alexis Lafreniere or Quinton Byfield would have a profound impact on their outlook. Outside of their first-round pick, the Wings also pick a total of six times in the first 65 picks. Detroit has always drafted and developed well and after the 2020 draft will have several high-quality prospects and an embarrassment of riches with the depth of their prospect pool. A positional need the organization has to fill is in goal.

6. Montreal Canadiens – 77.4

Brayden – 76.5

Peter – 72

Tony – 83.6

Cam – 75

Jokke – 77

Pat – 80

Prospect Depth Chart

Top Ten Prospects

1. Cole Caufield, RW – Six goals in the first three NCAA games was unsustainable but impressive
2. Cayden Primeau, G – The Tradition of elite goaltending in Montreal will continue.
3. Alexander Romanov, D – Signed his ELC and will push for an NHL job to start the season.
4. Ryan Poehling, LW – Scored a hat-trick in NHL debut, split rookie season in AHL and NHL.
5. Jesse Ylonen, RW – Signed ELC and would have played in AHL if the season were not cut.
6. Josh Brook, D – Slow to adjust to AHL but was playing a top-four role by seasons end.
7. Mattias Norlinder, D – Won the Golden Cage Award as Allsvenskan Best Junior Player.
8. Jake Evans, C – Drop in depth chart due to improved roster, not lack of development.
9. Joni Ikonen, C – Injuries taking a toll, missed an entire season and limited to 13 games in 18-19.
10. Jordan Harris, D – Big sophomore season highlighted with Bean Pot double OT GWG.

Other Players To Receive Votes

Jacob Olofsson, Jayden Struble, Joel Teasdale, Otto Leskinen, Arsen Khisamutdinov, Rafael Harvey-Pinard, Cam Hillis, Rhett Pitlick, 

Roster Players 21 and Under:

Nick Suzuki, C; Jesperi Kotkaniemi, C; Victor Mete, D; Cale Fleury, D

Overview

Montreal is quickly improving their prospect pool. It was not long ago players like Jake Evans was one of their top prospects. While Evans has continued to develop and is still a good prospect, he has fallen on the depth chart despite his continued development. Look to the addition of roster players like Nick Suzuki, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and prospects like Caufield, Primeau, Romanov, and Poehling as the reason why. Montreal has also improved their overall depth to the degree where they declined to qualify contracts to prospects such as Allan McShane, Cole Fonstad, and Samuel Houde because they simply do not fit into their depth chart. Montreal also used free agency to sign coveted Russian goalie Vasili Demchenko, who will challenge Primeau for starts in Laval. The voting results were interesting as Cole Caufield was unanimously ranked the top prospect. Each writer had the same top four players with Caufield at one but varying opinion of how Primeau, Romanov, and Poehling filled in after that. With Caufield and Primeau, Montreal has two promising superstars on the horizon, followed by impressive support after that and another top ten pick in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.

5. New Jersey Devils – 78.9

Brayden – 73.7

Peter – 72

Tony – 83.6

Cam – 75

Jokke – 77

Pat – 80

Prospect Depth Chart

Top Ten Prospects

1. Ty Smith, D – Almost made the Devils a year ago, turning pro now for some AHL time.
2. Nolan Foote, LW – Strong play for Canada at WJC will make the jump to pro.
3. Jesper Boqvist, C – The first year in N.A. was a success including 35 NHL games.
4. Janne Kuokkanen, LW – Acquired in Sami Vatanen deal, he dominated the AHL.
5. Joey Anderson, RW – Second pro season and finished year in NHL. He’s ready.
6. Nick Merkley, RW – Inconsistent offense throughout career, starting to score regularly.
7. Michael McLeod, C – Speedy McLeod struggling to lite the lamp at NHL or AHL level.
8. Tyce Thompson, C – 4th round pick had breakout sophomore season with Providence.
9. Graeme Clarke, RW – Short season cut shorter by injury, will return to 67’s for a final year.
10. Reilly Walsh, D – Playing big minutes for Harvard scoring close to PPG will play Sr. year.

Other Players To Receive Votes

Kevin Bahl, Nate Schnarr, Patrick Moynihan, Nathan Bastian, Nikola Pasic, Aarne Talvitie, Gilles Senn, Mikhail Maltsev, Arseni Gritsyuk, Nikita Okhotyuk, Fabian Zetterlund, Daniil Misyul

Roster Players 21 And Under

Jack Hughes, C; Nico Hischier, C; Jesper Bratt, LW

Overview

The Devils top prospects in the top ten may not be the sexiest names among teams ranked in the top ten. So why are they ranked 5th overall? The ranking gets a serious boost from U21 roster players with sexy names like Jack Hughes and Nico Hishier, both first overall picks in recent drafts. The Devils have also very good depth with very relevant prospects not inside the top ten such as Kevin Bahl, Nathan Bastian, Nate Schnarr, and Patrick Moynihan. Besides drafting and developing very well, the Devils have recently acquired several key prospects such as Nolan Foote, Janne Kuokkanen, Nick Merkley, and Nate Schnarr. In addition to an already flush prospect pool, the Devils currently own three 2020 first-round picks which could all be in or around top ten picks in a draft that is top-heavy. Many of their top prospects are on the cusp of breaking into the NHL, giving the Devils a very bright immediate future.

4. New York Rangers – 82

Brayden – 87

Peter – 76

Tony – 86.4

Cam – 75.5

Jokke – 81

Pat – 86

Prospect Depth Chart

Top Ten Prospects

1. Igor Shesterkin, G – Dominated the AHL and is ready to take over the job of franchise goalie
2. Vitali Kravtsov, LW – Started in AHL, left for KHL, and finished the year back in Hartford.
3. Nils Lundqvist, D – Breakout season in SHL and was excellent at WJC for Sweden.
4. K’Andre Miller, D – Signed after sophomore season, should spend a year in Hartford.
5. Lias Andersson, C – Major falling out with the team after failing to make the roster. 
6. Julien Gauthier, RW – Power winger acquired from Carolina for defender Joey Keane.
7. Karl Henriksson, C – Needs to play at a higher level and play well there. Lots of potential.
8. Zac Jones, D – Rising prospect, and UMass freshman played his way onto USA WJC roster. 
9. Lauri Pajuniemi, RW – Monster 40 point season in Liiga, 2018 5th round pick is a sleeper.
10. Matt Robertson, D – Developed offensive game, should dominate in final year in WHL.

Other Players To Receive Votes.

Morgan Barron, Patrick Khodorenko, Yegor Rykov, Libor Hajek, Olof Lindbom, Tarmo Reunanen, Leevi Aaltonen, Vinni Lettieri, Tim Gettinger, Tyler Wall

Roster Players 21 And Under

Kappo Kakko, RW; Filip Chytil, C; Brett Howden, C

Overview

The Rangers have been a model franchise for how to rebuild quickly, effectively and without tanking. It is hard to believe that this original six franchise made Kappo Kakko their highest-ever drafted player at second overall. The Rangers have two elite prospects in Kakko and Shesterkin and a very strong supporting cast with Kravtsov, Chytil, Lundqvist, and Miller. The top ten is deep and players ranked outside the Rangers top ten would be sure-fire top ten prospects on at least half the league. Players like Barron, Rykov, Lindbom, and Khodorenko are all fantasy relevant. While the Rangers have done an outstanding job of acquiring prospects, there are some concerns about their ability to develop prospects. The defection of two of their top prospect to Europe in Kravtsov and Andersson earlier this year raises concerns. While Kravtsov fled to the KHL, he was demoted to the VHL before ultimately returning to finish the year back in the AHL. Andersson has since publicly requested a trade, making his future in the NHL, let alone with the Rangers a question.