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Future Watch 2020
The Hockey News' Future Watch 2020 has all the staples of our popular annual prospect-blowout: our Top 100 list, Top 10s and team grades for every franchise, and Sneak Peeks at the next three NHL drafts. Also in the issue, we have features on the how Seattle is building a team from scratch, and prospects Bowen Byram, Kirill Kaprizov, Moritz Sieder and Trevor Zegras.
Boston Bruins
TAKE YOUR BEST SHOT The Bruins want to celebrate another Stanley Cup now, and if that means sacrificing future assets, so be it RANK: C / 28 IF ANYONE DOUBTED THAT the Bruins see themselves in “future is now” mode, the B’s proved it again at the 2020 NHL trade deadline: for the second time in three years, they used a first-round draft pick and defense prospect to acquire pieces for a playoff run. That stretch also saw them sacrifice top scoring prospect Ryan Donato and a second-round pick. GM Don Sweeney, however, has made certain to acquire mid-20s assets such as Charlie Coyle and Ondrej Kase, and some top prospects remain in development for the day that veteran core players Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci and Brad Marchand retire. 1. JACK STUDNICKA C,…
Washington Capitals
MEET CONNOR MAC He’s still a couple years away from making an impact, but Connor McMichael has a great name for hockey RANK: C / 27 WHILE THE WINDOW FOR the Capitals’ core group should remain open for at least a few more years, the club is slowly beginning to restock its prospect cupboard. In winning more games in the 2010s than any other NHL franchise – plus the 2018 Stanley Cup – prospects and picks were often sacrificed as a cost of doing business. In three of the past five drafts, the Capitals made only four selections. Despite the limited number of picks, the Capitals went heavy on defensemen. Martin Fehervary is the most NHL-ready. Connor McMichael headlines a forward crop that is otherwise thin on potential game-breakers. 1. CONNOR MCMICHAEL C, 19, 6-0,…
Calgary Flames
PIPELINE PROBLEMS Flames have graduated many prospects and traded a lot of picks in recent years. So the system isn’t deep RANK: C / 29 THE CALGARY FLAMES don’t have many high-end, surefire standouts in their system compared to past years. However, there are understandable reasons for the situation. And Calgary’s low grade and ranking isn’t as dire as it seems. “We’ve graduated a lot of guys and moved a lot of picks for players we felt would grow with us and grow with our core,” said GM Brad Treliving. Calgary has a bevy of skaters under 27, most of whom were their own picks, but also Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin, acquired for Dougie Hamilton, as well as Travis Hamonic. The success of the past is being seen today, but the Flames…
Arizona Coyotes
DIGGING FOR GOLD Coyotes thrilled with progress of prospects taken in later rounds. Some gems are on their way to Arizona RANK: B+ / 11 EVER SINCE JOHN CHAYKA’S rise to power as president of hockey operations and GM of the Coyotes in 2016, the franchise has placed a bigger emphasis on building up its prospect pipeline through the NHL draft. And a big part of filling the prospect pool has been finding talent in the later rounds. While each of the Coyotes’ top five prospects were drafted in the past two years, only one (Victor Soderstrom) was selected earlier than the third round. The Coyotes have shown an impressive ability to find high-end prospects outside of the first 60 selections, but will these players turn into effective NHLers? 1. VICTOR SODERSTROM D, 19, 6-0,…
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