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Future Watch 2021
The Hockey News' annual Future Watch edition – now 100 pages! – has all the staples of our popular prospect issue: the 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 Ottawa Senators, Trevor Zegras, Quinton Byfield, Spencer Knight and much more.
Calgary Flames
Rank: 26th | C THERE WAS A TIME when Calgary’s cupboard was stockpiled with an embarrassment of riches on the back end, thanks to drafting and focusing on the development of their blueline prospects. With a league-wide emphasis on puck possession, speed and skill, that’s crucial. Defensemen are still a top priority for a Flames team that has 37-year-old Mark Giordano anchoring its blueline, along with two homegrown prospects in Juuso Valimaki and Rasmus Andersson. But there’s an emphasis on finding unique attributes and talent – no matter the player’s origin, position or size. 1. CONNOR ZARY C, 19, 6-0, 188Kamloops (WHL) 2–1–3–4–7Stockton (AHL) 9–3–4–7–42020 draft, 24th overall OVERALL 42 Zary has benefitted from a strange season, taking advantage of the COVID-19 delays in the WHL which allowed him to get nine games of pro…
RECOGNIZING FAULT LINES
OH, TO BE A hockey fan in California in 2014. The NHL playoffs opened with the Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings holding the top three spots in the Pacific Division and sitting second, fifth and 10th in the overall standings. The Kings rallied from a 3-0 series deficit in Round 1 to defeat the Sharks in seven games before taking down the Ducks in another seven-game war. Los Angeles ended up winning its second Stanley Cup in a three-season span. From 2007 through 2017, the Kings, Ducks and Sharks were among the league’s alpha franchises, combining for three Stanley Cups, four appearances in the final and 10 of 11 Pacific Division titles. Surviving the West meant going through Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey…
Philadelphia Flyers
B– | Rank: 17th NO ONE HAS TO REMIND the Flyers about the importance of a strong development system, as young homegrown stars Ivan Provorov, Travis Konecny and Carter Hart begin to fashion the core of the team’s future. Philadelphia assistant GM Brent Flahr, who oversees the team’s scouting staff, appreciates the “build from within” approach. “We’ve seen a number of young guys on the big team now,” he said. “We’re happy with that. (Developing players) is a big part of the game in the cap era. I believe we have some young players who are going to be Flyers going forward.” 1. CAM YORK D, 20, 5-11, 175Michigan (Big Ten)24–4–16–20–42019 draft, 14th overall OVERALL 32 York captained the U.S. to WJC gold and that speaks to his leadership qualities. He also impressed scouts with…
Winnipeg Jets
Rank: 15th | B– THERE MAY BE OTHER teams that, given Winnipeg’s salary-cap situation and roster needs, would thrust youngsters into NHL roles rather than find patchwork replacements or scour the bargain bin. But patience continues to be the watchword for the Jets. That is chief among the reasons even those who are believed to be ready for the NHL still experience an incubation period in the AHL. “Everybody matures at a different rate and gets there when they’re ready,” said Jets assistant GM Craig Heisinger, “not when they think they’re ready or when the organization wants them ready.” 1. COLE PERFETTI C, 19, 5-11, 177Manitoba (AHL)19–3–6–9–22020 draft, 10th overall OVERALL 17 Ideally, Perfetti would have played another campaign in the OHL, but the Jets are more than happy to have him in the mix…
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