The Athletic Corey Pronman - Buffalo Has the Top Farm System and It Isn’t Really Close

[26CornerBlitz]

NHL farm system rankings: No. 1 Buffalo Sabres

Buffalo has the top farm system and it isn’t really close. There are two reasons for that: 1. Rasmus Dahlin and 2. Casey Mittelstadt. Those are two pillar type talents you can build a franchise with, and along with Jack Eichel, Rasmus Ristolainen and Sam Reinhart you’re starting to see a future in Buffalo that looks the opposite of bleak.

Down the farm system, the Sabres have good depth, at the pro level particularly, but nobody that wows you, with those two top prospects carrying the bulk of value in this system. Rochester should be an interesting team to monitor next season though, as they have a few names Buffalo could be looking to as they try to turn a corner as an organization.

A No. 1 farm system is no guarantee of success. The Atlantic is very competitive, and Buffalo needs guys to develop well, while continuing to add talent. But in terms of adding value to their team from players who didn’t play in the NHL last season, nobody is in better shape to do that than the Sabres.

Prospect Rankings

1. Rasmus Dahlin, D, Frolunda-SHL
2. Casey Mittelstadt, C, Minnesota-Big Ten
3. Alexander Nylander, LW, Rochester-AHL
4. Brendan Guhle, D, Rochester-AHL
5. Rasmus Asplund, C, Farjestad-SHL
6. Marcus Davidsson, C, Djurgardens-SHL
7. Oskari Laaksonen, D, Ilves-Liiga
8. Linus Ullmark, G, Rochester-AHL
9. Victor Olofsson, LW, Frolunda-SHL
10. Mattias Samuelsson, D, USNTDP-USHL

Organizational Top 10 (23 and Under)

1. Jack Eichel, C
2. Rasmus Dahlin, D
3. Casey Mittelstadt, C
4. Rasmus Ristolainen, D
5. Sam Reinhart, RW
6. Alexander Nylander, LW
7. Tage Thompson, RW
8. Brendan Guhle, D
9. Rasmus Asplund, C
10. Marcus Davidsson, C

Click to read more...

 

[LetsDoughBuffalo]

I love that he has Laaksonen at #7!

As somebody who has only seen the guy on the ice a handful of times, it's great to read!

7. Oskari Laaksonen, D, Ilves-Liiga
I caught Laaksonen at a U19 tournament in the second half and was really impressed by what I saw. He was an intriguing pick by Buffalo last summer after a growth spurt. He’s 6-foot-2 now, skates well, and moves the puck well. He’s got a lot of maturing to do physically and in his defensive play, but I see promise in his game. I expect he’ll be part of Finland’s U20 team next season and if he continues to develop at the same pace he could play a noteworthy role.

 

[joshjull]

 

[Goathead]

Id be interested to see where we rank once Dahlin and Mitts inevitably graduate this year. When that happens I could see us being bottom 10

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

Id be interested to see where we rank once Dahlin and Mitts inevitably graduate this year. When that happens I could see us being bottom 10

We could easily be bottom 5.... or top 5 if we use our 3 first rounders next year and make great selections. But since these rankings have minimal correlation with NHL success, it doesn’t matter much where we rank.

I do like to see his take on the top prospects of every team though, so I enjoy these articles

 

[Reddawg]

That's a good point, I had us projected for the bottom 15 next year but I wasn't taking the three first round picks into account...no way to accurately predict until we know who we end up taking.

 

[26CornerBlitz]

Prospect Rankings

1. Rasmus Dahlin, D, Frolunda-SHL
2. Casey Mittelstadt, C, Minnesota-Big Ten
3. Alexander Nylander, LW, Rochester-AHL
4. Brendan Guhle, D, Rochester-AHL
5. Rasmus Asplund, C, Farjestad-SHL
6. Marcus Davidsson, C, Djurgardens-SHL
7. Oskari Laaksonen, D, Ilves-Liiga
8. Linus Ullmark, G, Rochester-AHL
9. Victor Olofsson, LW, Frolunda-SHL
10. Mattias Samuelsson, D, USNTDP-USHL

Organizational Top 10 (23 and Under)

1. Jack Eichel, C
2. Rasmus Dahlin, D
3. Casey Mittelstadt, C
4. Rasmus Ristolainen, D
5. Sam Reinhart, RW
6. Alexander Nylander, LW
7. Tage Thompson, RW
8. Brendan Guhle, D
9. Rasmus Asplund, C
10. Marcus Davidsson, C

 

[TheMistyStranger]

Prospect Rankings

1. Rasmus Dahlin, D, Frolunda-SHL
2. Casey Mittelstadt, C, Minnesota-Big Ten
3. Alexander Nylander, LW, Rochester-AHL
4. Brendan Guhle, D, Rochester-AHL
5. Rasmus Asplund, C, Farjestad-SHL
6. Marcus Davidsson, C, Djurgardens-SHL
7. Oskari Laaksonen, D, Ilves-Liiga
8. Linus Ullmark, G, Rochester-AHL
9. Victor Olofsson, LW, Frolunda-SHL
10. Mattias Samuelsson, D, USNTDP-USHL

Organizational Top 10 (23 and Under)

1. Jack Eichel, C
2. Rasmus Dahlin, D
3. Casey Mittelstadt, C
4. Rasmus Ristolainen, D
5. Sam Reinhart, RW
6. Alexander Nylander, LW
7. Tage Thompson, RW
8. Brendan Guhle, D
9. Rasmus Asplund, C
10. Marcus Davidsson, C

That 23 and under core looks fantastic. 3 D, 7F? Tremendous. Especially if you project Asplund and Davidsson on a shutdown line together. That could be a dominant duo for a decade+. Like having Peca and CuBro on the same line.

 

[joshjull]

Prospect Rankings

1. Rasmus Dahlin, D, Frolunda-SHL
2. Casey Mittelstadt, C, Minnesota-Big Ten
3. Alexander Nylander, LW, Rochester-AHL
4. Brendan Guhle, D, Rochester-AHL
5. Rasmus Asplund, C, Farjestad-SHL
6. Marcus Davidsson, C, Djurgardens-SHL
7. Oskari Laaksonen, D, Ilves-Liiga
8. Linus Ullmark, G, Rochester-AHL
9. Victor Olofsson, LW, Frolunda-SHL
10. Mattias Samuelsson, D, USNTDP-USHL

Organizational Top 10 (23 and Under)

1. Jack Eichel, C
2. Rasmus Dahlin, D
3. Casey Mittelstadt, C
4. Rasmus Ristolainen, D
5. Sam Reinhart, RW
6. Alexander Nylander, LW
7. Tage Thompson, RW
8. Brendan Guhle, D
9. Rasmus Asplund, C
10. Marcus Davidsson, C

That’s a really nice under 23 group.

 

[stokes84]

That’s a really nice under 23 group.

Could really use some help on the wing.

 

[Icicle]

Pronman ranks Thompson higher than the voters here do. Angry trade bias probably has nothing to do with that...

And particularly votes Davidsson and Laaksonen higher than the voters here. I suspect most people just don't know enough about those two to get as hyped as Pronman is.

Interesting that he digs both Pilut and Oloffson for their size.

 

[Gabrielor]

Really liking the love Laaksonen is getting. If we draft a top goalie in 2019, our pipeline is going to look super well rounded

 

[UnleashRasmus]

At this point the team needs a strong scoring wing and until Nylander proves to be that, it's still a weakness. More depth is needed throughout all levels as far as I'm concerned. However, it's a step closer towards finally breaking through. All the trades this off season didn't affect much heading into 2019 on the farm so that's a relief.

 

[Jame]

Why doesn't Pronman list Thompson among the prospects?

 

[haseoke39]

FWIW, Dahlin and Mittelstadt went 1 and 2 in the NHL.com draft of all prospects as well.

 

[struckbyaparkedcar]

Guhle should be higher in both prospect and U23 rankings, and Risto is a couple spots too high.

I have more faith in Guhle becoming a top flight defenseman than 55 at this point.

 

[WeDislikeEich]

Why doesn't Pronman list Thompson among the prospects?

This is his criteria for what prospects are included in the rankings.

“A player is no longer considered an NHL prospect if he has played more than 25 NHL games in any single season, 50 career NHL games or is older than age 27 as of Sept. 15, 2018. All other players are considered eligible.”

 

[Jame]

This is his criteria for what prospects are included in the rankings.

“A player is no longer considered an NHL prospect if he has played more than 25 NHL games in any single season, 50 career NHL games or is older than age 27 as of Sept. 15, 2018. All other players are considered eligible.”

hmmm... that's silly... So, Thompson is no longer a prospect because a bunch of St Louis forwards got injured last year? That seems... dumb

 

[sincerity0]

hmmm... that's silly... So, Thompson is no longer a prospect because a bunch of St Louis forwards got injured last year? That seems... dumb

Have to define a “prospect” some how...

 

[sabrebuild]

Id be interested to see where we rank once Dahlin and Mitts inevitably graduate this year. When that happens I could see us being bottom 10

This is why these rankings are meaningless. One guy has a year in our ssystem and the other will be a prospect for less than 5 months and they count in the prospect pool.

What your saying is true for us and every other team they put in the top 5.

But even with those grads, your likely getting another lottery pick next year plus 2 other firsts.

Short of multiple graduations by lesser lights, which would mean the nhl team is good so who cares about prospects, they should be in the top ten for the next couple years on the weight of those first rounders.

 

[Jame]

Have to define a “prospect” some how...

Sure... rules are great... common sense is good too.

 

[sincerity0]

I feel like including Dahlin is cheating a bit. But alas, even if pronman excluded Dahlin, Buffalo likely has a top-10 pool with how he heavily weights high end prospects.

The one thing we can learn from CPs 31 team analysis is that every team has multiple Asplund/Guhle level prospects. It’s tough to part with them, but every team has a few of them.

What I am impressed by, at least in Pronmans analysis, is the sheer depth the Sabres have in the organization’s farm system. He rates Asplund as a “has a shot” prospect, I’d consider him more of a “legit NHL prospect” considering his floor and ceiling are pretty tight in hat he projects to be a good 3c.

Another point: Pronman has 15(!) players in the system ranked higher than “depth”. For reference, Vancouver has 13, STL 12, Carolina 17, NYI 18.

Again, having Dahlin listed probably puts buffalo in the top-5 even if every other prospect was excluded. But with a solid depth and height of the prospect pool, coupled with having two major cornerstones in Eichel/Dahlin, solid pieces in Mittelstadt/Reinhart/Risto, and a plethora of good prospects like Guhle, Asplund and Nylander with three first round picks next year there is no way Botterill f***s this up, right?

Assuming he doesn’t trade those extra firsts, Buffalo should have a good (7-15 ranked) prospect pool over the next few seasons. It’s exciting.

 

[Jim Bob]

I laugh when they talk about Mitts and Dahlin being a part of the Sabres farm system right now.

I just wish they would do lists of players that are 23 and under or 25 and under and not "prospects" lists.

But, that's just me.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

I guess Thompson would be ranked 3.5 on the prospect list if he met the criteria.

 

[Dingo44]

I laugh when they talk about Mitts and Dahlin being a part of the Sabres farm system right now.

I just wish they would do lists of players that are 23 and under or 25 and under and not "prospects" lists.

But, that's just me.

Why? They're prospects at this point.

And he did do a list of 23 and under???