HF Mid-Season Organizational Rankings Posted (21-30)

[Holly Gunning]

The first installment of the organizational rankings is up:

http://www.hockeysfuture.com/article.php?sid=6650

Click to read more...

 

[V for Voodoo]

Just thought i'd get in with the first thank you. Keep 'em coming!

 

[X-SHARKIE]

Wow Sharks only went up to 21?

 

[badtakemachine]

I knew Colorado would be dead last..

 

[Nielson81]

Personally I think the Panthers are a little low, but other then that everything looks good.

Unbiased Canadian

 

[Ruckus007]

The effort put into this is greatly appreciated.

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

Personally I think the Panthers are a little low

I agree.

 

[degroat*]

When the Blues' best two forward prospects weren't even mentioned in the evaluation of the organization (Sejna, Zakharov) it makes it really hard for me to put much into the rankings...

 

[Aaron Vickers]

When the Blues' best two forward prospects weren't even mentioned in the evaluation of the organization (Sejna, Zakharov) it makes it really hard for me to put much into the rankings...

Sejna's been moved to the graduated list, and at 24, probably doesn't have the upside we all think. Zakharov, on the other hand, is ranked a 6 by the Blues Editor, something I'll have faith in considering he was a 3rd rounder last season.

 

[Rattrick]

I agree.

I third that! Unbiasedly, I would put them in the top 5.

 

[degroat*]

Sejna's been moved to the graduated list, and at 24, probably doesn't have the upside we all think. Zakharov, on the other hand, is ranked a 6 by the Blues Editor, something I'll have faith in considering he was a 3rd rounder last season.

Sejna should not have been moved to graduated list because he has not played the required number of NHL games nor has he been out of college for two years.

As for Zakharov's rating... you should note that there is no current Blues editor and those rankings are extremely out of date. One could easily argue that Zakharov is the Blues prospect that the Blues have right now.

 

[Aaron Vickers]

I third that! Unbiasedly, I would put them in the top 5.

Outside of Stewart and Krajicek, what really do they have?

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

When the Blues' best two forward prospects weren't even mentioned in the evaluation of the organization (Sejna, Zakharov) it makes it really hard for me to put much into the rankings...

Sejna is as much a "flava o' the week" as the guy in your avatar. He's hardly the kind of guy who would move your crappy team (as far as prospects go) much higher. That being said, he shouldn't have been moved to graduated by the compilers.

Zhakarov is nice and all, but I love what I hear of Dave Backes and would grab him over any other Blues forward prospect (based on information I get, not firsthand).

2-3 more years with the new scouting staff and the Blues will move up the rankings.

 

[Brock]

Outside of Stewart and Krajicek, what really do they have?

And even then, neither is a top 30 prospect currently.

I like Stewart, but he's still got time to grow and currently isn't exactly that high up the top 50 prospects poll.

And Ive never really been a fan of Krajicek, even in his OHL days. He's a bottom 15 top 50 guy as well.

Then we have some guys who have good potential, but are not top prospects at the moment, Rob Globke, Novak, Taticek, Campbell etc.

 

[Aaron Vickers]

Sejna should not have been moved to graduated list because he has not played the required number of NHL games nor has he been out of college for two years.

As for Zakharov's rating... you should note that there is no current Blues editor and those rankings are extremely out of date. One could easily argue that Zakharov is the Blues prospect that the Blues have right now.

Well, to be given a rating in the first place, it can't be dated more than 8 months...and I'd consider those selected ahead of Zakharov to be better prospects, at least for the time being.

To each his own...The rankings aren't bound to please everyone, and are mearly a point of interest.

 

[Hockeycrazed07]

Big thanks to all of the writers at HF that got in on this.
~Crazed.

 

[degroat*]

Sejna is as much a "flava o' the week" as the guy in your avatar. He's hardly the kind of guy who would move your crappy team (as far as prospects go) much higher. That being said, he shouldn't have been moved to graduated by the compilers.

Zhakarov is nice and all, but I love what I hear of Dave Backes and would grab him over any other Blues forward prospect (based on information I get, not firsthand).

2-3 more years with the new scouting staff and the Blues will move up the rankings.

I'm not even complaining about the ranking of my 'crappy team'. They're actually higher than I expected them to be (based on the lack of hype driven prospects in the Blues sytem). I'm complaining about the obvious lack of knowedge displayed when it comes to the Blues in the article.

As far as Sejna... I guess it was hype that caused most NHL teams to offer him the maximum contract for undrafted free agents. Hype is what caused the Calder talk. The money NHL teams offered him is what should show everyone what NHL scouts think of him.

In the end.. the poor ranking that HF gives the Blues on an annual basis doesn't change the fact that the Blues bring up as much talent through their organization as any team in the league... it's not superstar talent, but they develop players very well.

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

I third that! Unbiasedly, I would put them in the top 5.

Top 5 is pushing it a LOT. Keep in mind the criteria they used to make that list.

I think there's some bias here (or some serious need to do some homework and look league-wide) even though you won't admit it.

 

[Coffey77]

Detroit is at least top 20? Hehe, most likely number 20. Not bad considering how many picks they seem to trade away.

Can't wait to see the rest of the list. Also can't wait to see how many posters will say "my team should have been higher".

 

[Hockeycrazed07]

Detroit is at least top 20? Hehe, most likely number 20. Not bad considering how many picks they seem to trade away.

Can't wait to see the rest of the list. Also can't wait to see how many posters will say "my team should have been higher".

Very much agreed. You're probably one of few that thinks his team is pretty high.

~Crazed.

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

As far as Sejna... I guess it was hype that caused most NHL teams to offer him the maximum contract for undrafted free agents. Hype is what caused the Calder talk. The money NHL teams offered him is what should show everyone what NHL scouts think of him.

What they *thought* of him. Evaluations change on a pretty regular basis and Sejna's new performances in new environments would be factored in. Some scouts might still believe in him, some might not.

I think he would plummet down but hey, that's me.

In any event, what scouts think of him does not concern me at all.

In the end.. the poor ranking that HF gives the Blues on an annual basis doesn't change the fact that the Blues bring up as much talent through their organization as any team in the league... it's not superstar talent, but they develop players very well.

Yup. They are in that category of teams like Dallas who quietly do develop players. For an example of a craptacular organization, one can look at the Hurricanes/Whalers.

It's just that right now, under the criteria HF has set for this, I don't think the Blues cut it much. And I don't think a guy currently struggling in *the AHL* would change that.

I don't think your team is crappy, BTW. I think the prospects falling under the criteria don't look very impressive compared to many teams in the NHL. Sorry if that wasn't clear.

 

[Vagrant]

Strengths: The Hurricanes have numerous goaltending prospects led by first rounder Cam Ward while Patrick Desrochers, Daniel Manzato, Rob Zepp, Daniel Boisclair and Kevin Nastiuk follow behind. It’s very likely that at least a few of these guys might carve out NHL careers. Defensive prospect depth is another strength for Carolina. Tomas Malec, Danny Richmond, Jesse Lane, Bruno St. Jacques and Aaron Dawson all could be NHL defensemen.

A few concerns from a Hurricanes standpoint:

1. Jesse Lane. While still listed as a top prospect according to these rankings, he's playing in the USHL this year because he refused to go back to Junior hockey after not being signed by the Carolina Hurricanes. He considered it a disappointment that he wasn't signed, and subsequently removed himself from the Victoriaville Tigers. His career has taken a serious nosedive due to that move and he likely won't ever see action for the Hurricanes. I wouldn't even put him in the top 20 prospects Carolina has.

2. Matej Trojovsky hasn't been mentioned. He was a darkhorse candidate to actually make the NHL Hurricanes but it was decided that it would better aide his development to be sent back to play more junior hockey before making the transition to pro hockey. Outside of Richmond and Malec, our best defensive prospect was not recognized. Most Hurricanes faithful have him slightly above Malec. I disagree, but still feel he should be on the list. Great size, very young.

3. Niklas Nordgren. He's probably the best prospect the Hurricanes have outside the country with the exception of Magnus Kahnberg. He's tearing it up in the SEL and probably deserved to be mentioned. However, I can see the oversight due to the fact that he doesn't even have a player profile on this site. Trust me though, from what i've heard he's a very solid NHL prospect.

4. Magnus Kahnberg was only mentioned under "other prospects". He's leading the SEL in goals and points by a wide margin and is generating quite a buzz not only on these boards but among people who follow Swedish hockey. He will almost certainly make the Hurricanes next year and should be mentioned despite his age. (23)

 

[Brock]

A few concerns from a Hurricanes standpoint:

1. Jesse Lane. While still listed as a top prospect according to these rankings, he's playing in the USHL this year because he refused to go back to Junior hockey after not being signed by the Carolina Hurricanes. He considered it a disappointment that he wasn't signed, and subsequently removed himself from the Victoriaville Tigers. His career has taken a serious nosedive due to that move and he likely won't ever see action for the Hurricanes. I wouldn't even put him in the top 20 prospects Carolina has.

2. Matej Trojovsky hasn't been mentioned. He was a darkhorse candidate to actually make the NHL Hurricanes but it was decided that it would better aide his development to be sent back to play more junior hockey before making the transition to pro hockey. Outside of Richmond and Malec, our best defensive prospect was not recognized. Most Hurricanes faithful have him slightly above Malec. I disagree, but still feel he should be on the list. Great size, very young.

3. Niklas Nordgren. He's probably the best prospect the Hurricanes have outside the country with the exception of Magnus Kahnberg. He's tearing it up in the SEL and probably deserved to be mentioned. However, I can see the oversight due to the fact that he doesn't even have a player profile on this site. Trust me though, from what i've heard he's a very solid NHL prospect.

4. Magnus Kahnberg was only mentioned under "other prospects". He's leading the SEL in goals and points by a wide margin and is generating quite a buzz not only on these boards but among people who follow Swedish hockey. He will almost certainly make the Hurricanes next year and should be mentioned despite his age. (23)

The problem is, we don't have enough space to write about all these things. We can't talk about one single player for a few sentences. The write ups were supposed to be short blurbs that covered the jist of the organization on a whole. In terms of Kahnberg, we can't say he's a strength. A single player isn't a strength. We were looking in terms of certain areas, such as positional, size, skill etc.

 

[Fantasywonder]

Isles are ranked fairly accurate, lack of prospect depth at D and G is killing them.

The Stars look to get some proper credit this time, being ranked in the top 20..

 

[Vagrant]

For an example of a craptacular organization, one can look at the Hurricanes/Whalers.

Well, i'm going to have to disagree here. I think Carolina has developed a few prospects over the past few years that are going to make an impact in the near future. Ryan Bayda, Josef Vasicek, Erik Cole, Pavel Brendl, Bruno St.Jacques, Mike Zigomanis, Tomas Malec, Tomas Kurka, and Damian Surma have all spent time in the minor league system for Carolina and all have played in the NHL. Most of those guys were drafted by Carolina and a few of them still play a big part in the team to this day. Erik Cole and Josef Vasicek probably being the best of the bunch right now. I'm not giving up on them developing into second tier Jeff O'Neill type players in this league. Carolina has given up on a few players too soon like Bobby Holik and Chris Pronger, but we've also developed a few guys like Ron Francis, Jeff O'Neill and a few others.

Poor farm systems come with the territory when you're a forever .500 team. It's not the result of poor drafting or bad choices per say, but I think Carolina has done a fine job of being more patient with their players and it's starting to show up on the NHL rosters.