NHL Organizational Rankings: I'M FREAKING BORED!!!

A few notes before we begin:

• I was surprised at how close most of the systems seemed.  There were very few easy choices other than Tampa Bay first and St. Louis last.
• Many teams' positions have been changed many times.  I'll try to refrain from tampering with this post after publishing, but It'll be very tempting.  That's how close it is.
• Ranking Calgary was, predictably, very difficult.  I had to keep in mind that I was biased, and tried to be as objective as I could.  Even so, I was surprised that I had them as high as I did, but they basically fell in that slot by default (and I'm not the only one who had them that high).  The reason? I essentially consider Chicago/Montreal/Calgary to be almost a three-way tie. The tiebreaker between Calgary and Montreal was Sven Baertschi. After matching players of similar value against each other, Baertschi was left over, and so Calgary moved ahead. If Alex Galchenyuk was still considered a prospect, Montreal would get the edge. Chicago/Calgary was far more difficult.  I decided to give Chicago an edge in goal, considering Raanta's age and track record rather than Gillies' sheer upside. Defense was easier, with the Blackhawks carrying many players with similar (or slightly lower) upsides to the Flames', but who were far more pro-ready. Adam Clendening was what made it easy, as he is easily the best defense prospect in either system.  What made the ranking decision difficult was the forwards, as the Flames have a very good group of players at center and left wing. I consider the Flames' group to be better (the Blackhawks have one player with top line potential in Teravainen, whereas the Flames have four in Baertschi, Monahan, Gaudreau, and Jankowski, though two of those are with high risk). The Blackhawks' depth at center (the more valuable position) made it close, though, and I moved them closer when I considered that basically everyone everywhere is higher on Mark McNeill than I am. In the end, it was Adam Clendening that broke the tie.
• [NEW] Initially I had Ottawa much lower, but I looked at their collection and then at Montreal's writeup and realized they were too low.  Putting them ahead of Montreal basically meant they were ahead of Chicago, as well.
• Edmonton and Phoenix are basically interchangeable. The Coyotes have better forwards and goaltending, but I liked Klefbom and Nurse enough to move the Oilers ahead considering their stupendous depth on defense (and the fact that, like McNeill, pretty much everyone is higher on Martin Marincin than I am).
• I originally had Buffalo second, but I moved them behind Anaheim mostly because of John Gibson. Big fan, not going to lie.
• I am aware that pretty much everyone is higher on the Islanders than I am.  But I don't like Griffin Reinhart, so suck it.
• Before the draft, Vancouver would have been in the mix for dead last with Philadelphia and maybe St. Louis. Horvat and Shinkaruk really saved them.

 

1. Tampa Bay - This is a ridiculously deep system.  Andrei Vasilevski is a top goaltending prospect, and may be ready to play soon. Vladislav Namestnikov is a very good center prospect, and free agent signing Tyler Johnson has shown very well in the AHL. Jonathan Drouin is one of the top prospects in hockey, and could be a franchise player. Nikita Kucherov is highly skilled, and Richard Panik has been pretty successful in the AHL. Alex Killorn may be ready for the NHL soon, while Nikita Gusev is a regular in Russia. Tanner Richard has successfully transitioned to North America, and will turn pro next season. On defense, Slater Koekkoek is an intriguing talent, and Radko Gudas has looked good in a short NHL stint. Recent signee Andrej Sustr is a huge offensive defenseman, and Nikita Nesterov is a toolsy puck mover with some upside.  I've been impressed with Artem Sergeev in limited viewing, but he went undrafted for some reason.
2. Anaheim - John Gibson is the best goaltending prospect I've ever seen, full stop.  The system boasts several solid center prospects, including Peter Holland (who should graduate soon), college free-agent Steven Whitney, the undersized Kevin Roy, college sniper Nick Kerdiles, and the speedy William Karlsson.  With former Senator Jakob Silfverberg graduated, the depth on the wing is a little lacking, but soon-to-be graduated Emerson Etem has high-end potential, and Rickard Rakell, Devante Smith-Pelly, and Stefan Noesen are all solid.  The defense is very strong, with Hampus Lindholm and Sami Vatanen looking like they could man a top pair, and Shea Theodore having a very high ceiling.
3. Buffalo - The Sabres have a system to covet, as they boast considerable depth at all positions.  Matt Hackett and Andrei Makarov are both good goaltending prospects, and Hackett is more-or-less ready for the NHL. At center, Mikhail Grigorenko has a stupendously high skill level, with a very high ceiling, and Zemgus Girgensons is very safe as a solid two-way middle-rotation pivot. Johan Larsson and Daniel Catenacci also have very solid projections as two-way players, though their futures may be on the wing.  If there's a weakness in this system, it's on the wing, as Joel Armia is the only player who projects as much of a scorer, but Corey Tropp looks like he could be a decent bottom six option, and recently-drafted power forward Justin Bailey has some intriguing tools.  They're stupidly deep on defense, with Rasmus Ristolainen headlining a deep group that includes Jake McCabe (who I had a problem of underrating considering he was drafted with a pick the Flames handed to Buffalo), the colossal Nikita Zadorov, Mark Pysyk, and the intriguing and toolsy Brayden McNabb.
4. Florida - Being awful for the better part of the last two decades has its advantages. Jakob Markström is one of the top goaltending prospects in hockey. Even with Jonathan Huberdeau graduated, the Panthers have a superb collection of centers, with Sasha Barkov leading a group that includes tiny Rocco Grimaldi, colossal Martin Hanzal clone Nick Bjugstad, highly skilled two-way forward Vince Trocheck, and soon-to-be graduated Drew Shore. There isn't a lot on the wings aside from Quinton Howden, but Francis Beauvillier could be a solid two-way forward. Alex Petrovic and Ian McCoshen are very good defense prospects, and Michael Matheson has intriguing upside. Colby Robak may be near NHL-ready.
5. Nashville - Magnus Hellberg and Juuse Saros are talented goaltenders. The center group is thin, and kept from being barren by the likes of Zach Stepan and surprising WJ camp invitee Felix Girard. Nashville's best position is the wing, with Filip Forsberg leading the way (after that baffling trade with Washington). Austin Watson looks like a solid bet to be a good defensive forward (and he can also play center), while Pontus Åberg remains an intriguing prospect in spite of a disappointing season.  Brendan Leipsic, Jimmy Vesey, and Miikka Salomäki fly under the radar a little bit. Seth Jones is the gem of the defense corps, though Mattias Ekholm and Ryan Ellis are talented players. Jonathan-Ismael Diaby is a big defenseman with some upside. 
6. Detroit - Petr Mrázek has emerged as a top goalie prospect, and Jake Patterson has some upside as well. At center the system is mostly depleted aside from Calle Jarnkrok, though Riley Sheahan had a solid if unspectacular pro debut.  The wings are solid (and unusually balanced) with NHL-ready Tomas Tatar and Gustav Nyquist headlining a group that includes Tomas Jurco, Martin Frk, Teemu Pulkkinen, and Anthony Mantha, who all have scoring upside. The graduation of Brendan Smith hurts the defense slightly, but the Red Wings still have Ryan Sproul and Xavier Ouellett as very good prospects, while highly-regarded college free agent Dany DeKeyser is close to NHL ready. All in all, Detroit somehow manages to maintain a very good system in spite of frequently graduating players and maintaining an above-average hockey team. The lack of a truly top prospect is the only nitpick here.
7. New York Islanders - The goaltending is led by a pair of pros in Anders Nilsson and Kevin Poulin.  Ryan Strome and Brock Nelson are very good center prospects, Taylor Cammarata is a good boom/bust type, and Anders Lee has some upside as well. Kirill Kabanov and Kirill Petrov head a shallow collection of wingers. The defense is deep and varied, considering Griffin Reinhart, Ville Pokka, Scott Mayfield, and Adam Pelech are all relatively safe bets to be decent NHLers. Ryan Pulock was a great pickup at the draft. Calvin De Haan and Thomas Hickey have upside, but both have progressed at a glacial pace--though Hickey did show some signs of life last season.
8. Dallas - Jack Campbell is a perfect example of why projecting goalies is so difficult.  He was drafted in the first round--mostly due to an excellent WJC--but basically immediately veered completely off course development-wise.  He was still great internationally, though, for whatever reason.  Then, he had a solid pro debut.  At center, Radek Faksa disappointed offensively last season, though he still plays an advanced defensive game and has some good tools. Devin Shore, the only other truly noteworthy prospect at center for the Stars, had a solid freshman season in college. Valeri Nichushkin is a dynamic power forward prospect who has the tools to be an elite scorer, and Brett Ritchie and Alex Chiasson also look like good power forward prospects (how did Dallas find so many?).  Brendan Dillon looks like a truly high-end prospect on defense, while the gigantic Jamie Oleksiak and Patrik Nemeth both look like solid shutdown defenders. Kevin Connauton still has some upside, and Ludvig Byström has a future as well if he can improve his consistency.
9. Ottawa - Robin Lehner is an elite goaltending prospect, and Chris Dreidger and Marcus Hogberg both show plenty of upside as well. Mika Zibanejad continues to develop as a pro, and (like Roman Horak) is still a prospect (according to me) in spite of spending all of last season in the NHL. Jean-Gabriel Pageau surprised last season, and may graduate as soon as this fall.  He has an extremely high skill level, and a high ceiling as well, though he may be converted to wing. Stephane Da Costa and Curtis Lazar both look like solid bets as future bottom six players (Lazar with some chance of becoming more).  On the wing, Cory Conacher still has some development to do in spite of being nearly ready, and Mark Stone, Matt Puempel, and Shane Prince all have scoring-line ceilings. Nikita Filatov may have more than he's shown, as well. Patrick Wiercioch is a huge two-way defender who should perhaps be considered graduated, and Cody Ceci is still an intriguing prospect in spite of the prevailing opinion that he somehow disappointed last season. Troy Rutkowski and Eric Gryba could be solid depth players, and Mikael Wikstrand showed significant improvement last season, and is an excellent sleeper as a former seventh round pick.
10. Chicago - How is it that such a great team can also have such a good pipeline?  Recently-signed Antti Raanta looks like a very good prospect in goal, while Brandon Whitney might have more upside than he's shown and Mac Carruth is set to turn pro. Teuvo Teravainen has a very high ceiling (though he'll likely be a winger in the NHL) and has put up stellar numbers in Finland.  Brandon Pirri, college signee Drew LeBlanc, and Philippe Danault are all tracking very well, while Mark McNeill and Kevin Hayes could still be decent pros.  On the wing the outlook is somewhat less sunny with Brandon Saad graduated, but Jeremy Morin has (like Pirri) ripened nicely in the minors, while Ryan Hartman and Jimmy Hayes could be solid third line forwards--with a chance to be more.  On defense Adam Clendening had an excellent pro debut, while Dylan Olsen is starting to look like he could be a decent pro. Stephen Johns continues to hone his game in college, while Dillon Fournier remains a talented blueliner with good upside and Shawn Lalonde appears to be back on track after a disappointing 2012 season.
11. Calgary - Suddenly a strong system with plenty of depth (three first rounders will do that), Calgary has really rebuilt their system well over the last few years.  Jon Gillies is one of the most talented goaltending prospects in hockey, and Laurent Brossoit is a very good one.  There is plenty of quality depth at center, though Sean Monahan (aside from high-risk Mark Jankowski) is the only one with high-end upside.  The system has plenty of high-talent wingers, led by Sven Baertschi and Johnny Gaudreau.  The only obvious weakness is on the blueline, with only Eric Roy, Brett Kulak, and Tyler Wotherspoon tracking as possible top four defenders (though Pat Sieloff does look like a top four guy on occasion).
12. Montréal - After wrecking the last two drafts, the Habs have an excellent system. Zach Fucale is (apparently) a top goaltending prospect, while Dustin Tokarski appears to be responding well to the change in scenery.  Alex Galchenyuk is graduated, but the center depth is still solid with Louis Leblanc, Jacob De La Rose, and Michael Bournival looking like solid pros. Though Brendan Gallagher is graduated, a strong group of wingers is led by sniper Sebastian Collberg and two-way stud Charles Hudon, and includes Tim Bozon, Artturi Lehkonen, Mike McCarron, and Sven Andrighetto. Stellar (and under-mentioned) Nathan Beaulieu leads a thin but talented collection of defenders that includes Jarred Tinordi and Dalton Thrower.
13. Columbus - Oscar Dansk (in spite of being completely terrible in the OHL last season) remains a great goalie prospect, and the Blue Jackets have some depth behind him as well.  They lack a top-end at center, but they do have Boone Jenner and Alex Wennberg, who are both very good.  Marko Dano and TJ Tynan both have high skill levels.  Kerby Rychel could be a good second line power forward, while undersized Jonathan Audy-Marchessault has had two very good AHL seasons.  Oliver Bjorkstrand is a hardworking forward with some skill, so he may become a solid pro as well.  Ryan Murray and Tim Erixon (sigh) are both high-end defense prospects, and David Savard should be ready for the NHL soon.  Mike Reilly has a very high skill level.
14. Winnipeg - Solid drafting has rebuilt a system that was in trouble. Connor Hellebucyk is a star in college, and Eric Comrie was a solid pickup in the most recent draft. Mark Scheifele is a very good power forward prospect, and the diminutive Nic Petan could be a high scorer. Lukas Sutter and JC Lipon may become third liners, though Sutter is coming off a supremely disappointing season. Adam Lowry and Ivan Telegin are both solid wing prospects, and both could become scoring forwards. Scott Kosmachuk and Carl Klingberg may have futures as third liners. Jacob Trouba is a top-end defensive prospect, and Josh Morrissey is a very good one. Brendan Kichton was a huge scorer in junior, and oddly re-entered the draft. Seemingly Winnipeg's gain. 
15. Washington - This system has a good high-end, but falls off a planet afterward. Philipp Grubauer is a solid goaltending prospect, and he could even be a decent pro. Center is all but empty, but Evgeni Kuznetsov is a top prospect on the wing, and power forward Tom Wilson is a very good one after living up to his draft status with a very good draft +1 season. Stanislav Galiev had a disappointing pro debut, but he remains a highly skilled prospect. Andre Burakovsky is a flashy, speedy winger, though he has yet to post much offense at the pro level. Madison Bowey is a solid defense prospect, particularly where the Caps snagged him in the draft. Dmitry Orlov is a good prospect, though he disappointed last season when he was expected to make the jump. Tomas Kundratek has put up good numbers in the AHL, and Patrick Wey was one of Boston College's top shutdown defenders.
16. Edmonton - Numerous successful (and graduated) picks have left the Oilers' system seeming more depleted than one would expect, but there is still a lot to like (hate) here. The system lacks goaltending talent, though Olivier Roy is still progressing as a pro. There are some solid complimentary players at center, such as Greg Chase, Tyler Pitlick, and Marc-Olivier Roy, but overall the Oilers lack talent at that position.  Bogdan Yakimov does have scoring upside, however, so it will be interesting to see how he progresses. The outlook is a little more positive on the wing, with Toni Rajala seemingly back on track, and other talented players like Daniil Zharkov and Anton Slepyshev looking like they could be scorers as well. Teemu Hartikainen is close to graduation, and could be a solid bottom six checker, and recently-signed Jujhar Khaira had an impressive freshman season. The good news is the depth on defense is among the better pipelines in the league, with Oscar Klefbom and Darnell Nurse being top prospects and David Musil, Martin Gernat, and Martin Marincin being highly regarded as well. Taylor Fedun may be ready for bottom-pair duty in the NHL. Erik Gustafsson will play with Frolunda of the SHL next season.
17. Phoenix - Phoenix has a couple solid goaltending prospects in Mark Visentin and Brendan Burke. They've also improved what was a dismal group of forwards in recent drafts, with centers Max Domi, Henrik Samuelsson, and Laurent Dauphin all being selected in the last two years. Late-bloomer Brendan Shinnimin had a decent (if underwhelming) AHL debut, and he has some upside as a depth forward. The wings are largely absent of talent, though the Coyotes did steal Tobias Rieder from Edmonton (somehow), and Lucas Lessio is a solid prospect as well. Chris Brown has shown some upside in the AHL, but he'll have to show more than potential soon. On defense the system has two immensely talented players in Brandon Gormley and David Rundblad.  The latter has not yet shown enough defensive ability to be a regular NHL player, but there is still time for him to improve. Connor Murphy and Michael Stone are both solid prospects as well, with Stone being close to NHL ready.
18. Colorado - Calvin Pickard had a solid first AHL season, and Kieran Millan was a star in college.  Finn Sami Aittokallio has impressed me in limited viewing.  The Avalanche have a top-end prospect at center with Nate MacKinnon, and a pretty good one in Michael Sgarbossa (that trade with the Sharks is looking better all the time).  Joey Hishon may be back to 100% after his concussion.  The system is all but barren on the wings, though Troy Bourke has some upside. Tyson Barrie is a top-end defense prospect, and will almost certainly be ready for full time NHL duty next season, while Stefan Elliott, Duncan Siemens, and recently-drafted Chris Bigras are all very good.
19. Minnesota - The Wild traded away Matt Hackett, but they still have Johan Gustafsson and Darcy Kuemper, who are solid. Mikael Granlund is a top-end prospect, and Zack Phillips could be something as well if his game translates. Charlie Coyle headlines the wing prospects, as he is arguably already ready for a scoring role in the NHL (much to my surprise), while Jason Zucker still looks like an excellent two-way forward. Nino Niederreiter fell out of favour in New York, but he's still a skilled, fast winger with size, and Brett Bulmer looks like a solid checker. The graduation of Jonas Brodin leaves the Wild without one of the best defense prospects around, but Mat Dumba has good upside, and there appears to be good depth in low-upside players.  With a young defense, that is acceptable.
20. Boston - Malcolm Subban is a talented goaltending prospect with good numbers in junior, and Nicklas Svedberg is close to graduation.  The system is a bit thin at center, but Ryan Spooner, Alex Khokhlachev, and Seth Griffith all have good skill levels.  On the wing, Boston received a very good prospect from Dallas in Reilly Smith, while Anthony Camara has displayed better offensive upside than expected.  Jared Knight continues to track as a solid two-way forward, though he disappointed a little last season. The true strength of the system is on defense, as the Bruins boast two top prospects (Dougie Hamilton and Joe Morrow) with very high ceilings, while Torey Krug has shown well in limited viewing as a pro, and Matt Grzelcyk, aside from an incomprehensible name (which is somehow pronounced "Grezlick"), has a very high skill level. Linus Arnesson was a solid pickup in the draft.
21. Pittsburgh - The Penguins added talented Oil Kings goalie Tristan Jarry at the draft, and signed college star Eric Hartzell early in the summer. Teodors Blugers is a small but talented center, who still has upside in spite of an underwhelming college debut. Oskar Sundqvist is a tall, skilled player developing in Sweden. Beau Bennett is a very good wing prospect, and Anton Zlobin and Tom Kühnhackl are good ones as well. Josh Archibald had a tremendous Sophomore season in Nebraska. Simon Despres, Scott Harrington, and Brian Dumoulin are very good defense prospects, while Olli Määttä and Derrick Pouliot are highly-regarded as well (in spite of not impressing me all that much). Robert Bortuzzo looks like he'll be a solid third pair depth player in short order.
22. New York Rangers - The Rangers have nothing in goal--but that's okay for now, with Henrik Lundqvist looking like he could be great forever (and the Flames have shown how quickly a goalie pipeline can be turned around in a pinch). JT Miller is a very good prospect at center ice, with a nice combination of size and skill to go with above-average skating. Christoval Nieves and Michael St. Croix headline the remainder, with Steven Fogarty as a potential sleeper. Ryan Bourque could still be a solid checking forward. A short list of wing prospects is led by college stars Chris Kreider and Danny Kristo, along with Swedish speed demon Jesper Fasth. A trio of third round picks in the most recent draft improves their wing depth, with Adam Tambellini, Anthony Duclair, and Pavel Buchnevich all in the conversation as first rounders. Shutdown colossus Dylan McIlrath put up lots of PIMs and few points in his first pro season, while Brady Skjei brings a nice mix of size and speed, giving him a high ceiling. Calle Andersson is quietly progressing in Swedish pro leagues.
23. Vancouver - This system was saved from being judged as completely dismal by last year's draft. Joacim Eriksson is a very good goaltending prospect who is coming to North America next season. There is a solid collection of centers here, starting with Hunter Shinkaruk (who I am repeatedly told is, indeed, a center) who looks like he could be a very good sniping forward some day (like a Mike Cammalleri). Bo Horvat may have top six upside, but mostly he's just a very good two-way forward. Jordan Schroeder took a long-awaited step forward last season, and appears to be back on track as a scoring forward. Brendan Gaunce is a fairly safe bet to be a third line forward who is difficult to play against. The wing is all but completely barren, with overrated Nicklas Jensen as the only truly noteworthy player at that position. Jensen, in spite of good size and a solid skill level, has never managed to produce at an impressive rate at any level (though he did have a decent stint in the Swedish league last year). He could still be a very good third liner, but I doubt he'll be a scoring line player at this point. Frank Corrado is a solid defense prospect, and Jordan Subban has an excellent skill level. I was once a Yann Sauve fan, but that time has passed as the player has spiraled into ignominy.
24. Toronto - Garrett Sparks and Christopher Gibson (who is Finnish somehow) are both very skilled goalies, but neither one has shown to be very consistent.  They'll both turn pro next season. At center, the best player by far is the giant and skilled Joe Colborne, who may still have scoring line upside. Massive center Frederik Gauthier is an interesting two-way forward with an uncertain ceiling. Undersized Spencer Abbott had a solid pro debut, while Greg McKegg underwhelmed just slightly. Ryan Rupert was a surprising (and puzzling) invite to Canada's WJC Summer Camp. Among the wingers, Jerry D'Amigo has not progressed as planned, taking a significant step back last season. Super pest Brad Ross could be a solid third liner, while Carter Ashton was somehow acquired in exchange for Keith Aulie. He has skill, but he needs to take a significant step forward fairly soon. Speedy thug Tyler Biggs is highly-regarded for some reason. The Leafs have a deep and varied group of defensemen, led by top prospects Jake Gardiner and Morgan Rielly, two offensive defenders with tremendous skill. Stuart Percy and Matt Finn are both coming along nicely, with Percy set to turn pro next season. I'm a Jesse Blacker fan, and I think he still has some NHL upside.
25. San Jose - Alex Stalock and Harri Säteri have battled for playing time in the AHL for years, both of them developing rather well. Tomas Hertl was a shrewd choice in the 2012 draft, as his skating kept him from being considered among the better players in the draft.  The Sharks are likely quite happy about that. Freddie Hamilton looks like he could be a very good defensive forward relatively soon, similar to Max Reinhart in Calgary. Sean Kuraly is an astute late round selection with intriguing tools and upside. Aside from Matt Nieto, the wings are quite barren, though they might have something in Sebastian Stålberg. The system's defense is full of big to giant players, headlined by Mirco Müller and Matt Tennyson.  I've been impressed with the titanic (6'8"!!!) Taylor Doherty in the past (though he's been disappointing as a pro) and Kyle Bigos is set to leave college this season.
26. Carolina - There isn't a lot to get excited about in Carolina.  They drafted two goalies in 2012 (under the premise that Cam Ward can't last forever), but Daniel Altshuller has underwhelmed in Junior, and Collin Olson hasn't shown much upside yet.  They're decent at center, Elias Lindholm and his tremendous skill level leading the group.  Victor Rask looks like he could still become a scorer, but his skating still needs work, while Zac Dalpe continues to post good AHL numbers while simultaneously failing to make the jump to the NHL.  Erik Karlsson (not that Erik Karlsson) continues to post good numbers in Europe, but he'll need to improve his decision making. The wings are barren aside from Phil Di Giuseppe, who has spun his tires in two years at college.  Ryan Murphy continues to be high-risk in his own zone (and high-end at the other), while Danny Biega, Keegan Lowe, and Brett Pesce look like they could be solid pros.
27. Los Angeles - Martin Jones is still a solid goaltending prospect. The system is thin at center, though Jordan Weal had a solid pro debut, and Nick Shore is set to move into the AHL next season. Sometime center Tyler Toffoli and Linden Vey both had excellent AHL seasons, while Tanner Pearson, Valentin Zykov, and Tomas Hyka are all good wing prospects as well. Brandon Kozun has been solid in the AHL, but is still not close to making the jump. Derek Forbort is a solid prospect on defense, and Nick Ebert has a high ceiling. Nicolas Deslauriers has progressed solidly in the AHL.
28. Philadelphia - A very weak system, but there are a few players to like in here.  Anthony Stolarz "stole" (get it?) the show in London last year, and is a very talented goaltending prospect (hopefully Holmgren doesn't trade this one away). Scott Laughton has "solid" written all over him, and he could be a very good second line forward. Nick Cousins has been a prolific scorer in junior, and it will be interesting to watch his progression as a pro. Jason Akeson, Marcel Noebels, and Taylor Leier are all solid prospects, but not what you want listed as the top of your wing order. Eric Wellwood looked like a safe bet as a third liner, but his progression has stalled. There is a little more depth on defense, as Shayne Gostisbehere is progressing nicely, and Marc-Andre Bourdon and Brandon Manning add decent depth.  The Flyers added two solid players in the draft, as well, in Samuel Morin and Robert Hägg.
29. New Jersey - The Devils' system doesn't reflect the fact that Martin Brodeur is 100 years old (which explains the Schneider trade), but Scott Wedgewood and Keith Kinkaid are both decent goaltending prospects (even if neither of them is close to NHL ready). They also just drafted Anthony Brodeur. Other than recently-drafted project Ryan Kujawinski, Blake Coleman is the sole center of any interest, though he's coming off a disappointing season. Stefan Matteau and sniper Reid Boucher are good winger prospects, and Blake Pietila has been decent, if underwhelming, in college. The system does boast a deep group of defensemen, however, led by Jon Merril and including Alexander Urbom, Steve Santini and Éric Gélinas, as well as some projects who are further away such as Reece Scarlett and Damon Severson.
30. St. Louis - The Blues have a top goalie prospect in Jake Allen, and another very good one in Jordan Binnington. There's nothing at center, as the Blues have pre-emptively converted many players to the wing.  Evgeny Grachev is highly talented, but has underwhelmed in the AHL. Jaden Schwartz could still be a top line player, but he has yet to score at any kind of an encouraging rate as a pro. Tyler Shattock may have a future as a grinder, but he has not progressed offensively in three pro seasons. Ty Rattie has an elite shot and very good skating, and Ryan Tesink has a good skillset as well. Dmitrij Jaskin has progressed nicely, and started his North American career with a bang in the QMJHL. He is set to play in the AHL next season. On defense, Jordan Schmaltz remains a promising offensive defenseman with major holes in his game. Jani Hakanpää has shown well in Europe, and Joel Edmunson may have a future as a shutdown defender.