Hockey's Future Spring 2007 Organizational Rankings (16-30)

PunjabiOil*

Guest
I think that gets away from what Hockey's Future is trying to cover. We're not trying to look at young talent, no matter where it is, we're trying to look at future NHL talent. Always with our eyes on the next wave.
Crosby, Staal, Stastny are all NHL players, it is a testament to their respective clubs that they were able to make the leap to contribute regularly so quickly and effectively. But that doesn't mean Pittsburgh or Colorado stops drafting or developing. That's what our focus is on, the next Penguin, the next member of the Avalanche.
Does Pittsburgh have an impressive bevy of young talent? Sure do, but anyone who's watched hockey in the past 12 months already knows that. The question that Hockey's Future is trying to answer with things like these rankings is who will be the next Pittsburgh, who's set to suddenly start filling their ranks with a number of talented young players and hopefully translate that into on the ice success.
I understand where you're coming from, because the current prospect criteria does appear to penalize teams for having immediately successful players. But look back at previous organizational rankings, the top spot has been occupied by teams like Pittsburgh in two of the last three rankings. Anaheim was the only one to knock them off that spot, simply because Getzlaf and Perry weren't considered full time NHLers by our criteria (I argued against it, but the staff decided to not open the door for subjective eligibility as then even more issues would result. A line had to be drawn and enforced somewhere). These teams are (for the most part, like anyone, we've made our missteps and taken our lumps) being predicted ahead of time that this talent is coming. That's what the Org Rankings are doing.

Fair enough, thanks for the explanation.

Cheers,
 

PensFan101

Forever Champions.
Apr 23, 2007
2,123
411
Owen Sound
Since the Devils are 28th, would it be ok for us to tank in 09 and draft Tavares. Pittsburgh Fans should not respond. ;)

Wow...

:help:

We could start the phenom wars then. Crosby would pwn though...

But really, the Devils are too good to tank that much down the standings. Brodeur will still be a rock, and they've got Parise and Zajac are quality Top Six player... Combined with Elias and you guys are set...

But god help us if the Leafs get Tavares, because we'll never hear the end of it when this list comes out in 09...
 

Wetcoaster

Guest
How are the Canucks not high?

Bourdon is well documented but Edler is a stud and possibly better than Bourdon.

Schneider is one of the best goalie prospects in the league.

We also have Koltsov and Rahimi for good measure behind as our #3 and #4 defensive prospects.

The offensive pool isn't great but its getting better.. Grabner, Raymond (do not know why he was not mentioned in the article......), Simek and Hansen all have potential.
Bourdon has yet to prove he is AHL ready and there are serious concerns about his hockey sense and decsionmaking. He has also yet to demonstrate he has made afull recovery from his ankle injury as his peed and mobility are diminished.

Edler did not look out of place during his first call-up but looked a little lost subsequently. He may need a little more AHL time to fine tune his game but he could be a surprsie a la Bieksa.

Since Koltsov has reportedly just signed a $1.7 million contract with his new RSL team, he is unlikely to be coming over anytime soon - if ever.

Rahimi has to prove he can skate at the NHL level and looks to have at least one or two years at the AHL level to hone his defensive game. His best upside looks to be Bryan Allen - hopefully he does not need as much time to develop. defintely a defensive D-man.

Raymond put up good offensive numbers in the NCAA but there remains concerns about his upper body strength (and he is an older player) to be able to compete in the pros. Now he has signed a pro contract Roger Takahashi can work on his strengtheniong his core. If so then he could be a sleeper. The other problem is that he is yet another left-handed forward.

Grabner did not seem to progress as much as expected this last WHL season and he was called out by his coach for not showing up when the going was physical. He all but disappeared in the play-offs. I saw him play a couple of times and while I was impressed by his speed, I was not impressed by his desire to go to the tough areas. I also saw him twice in street clothes and if he tops 165 pounds he would be going some. At best he could be described as lean - probably closer to scrawny. He will defintely need to work on his strength. In the games I saw he was moved off the puck quite easily. When he has space and time he can be excellent but that is at premium in the pros. His biggest asset besides his speed is that he is a right handed shot.

Schneider if he goes back to BC for his fourth year is unlikely to sign with the Canucks as he has a UFA option for 15 August 2008. Caddying for Luongo is unlikely to be on his list of top career aspirations.

All in all a pretty accurate placement for an organization that is pretty much bereft of elite prospects and has its top prospects carrying serious question marks.
 

GSK*

Guest
I hope the Habs are top-5.


Carey Price, Mikhail Grabovsky, Jaroslav Halak, Sergei Kostitsyn, Alexei Emelin, Ryan O'Byrne, David Fisher, Ben Maxwell :handclap::handclap:
 

Luigi Lemieux

Registered User
Sep 26, 2003
21,437
9,057
I hope the Habs are top-5.


Carey Price, Mikhail Grabovsky, Jaroslav Halak, Sergei Kostitsyn, Alexei Emelin, Ryan O'Byrne, David Fisher, Ben Maxwell :handclap::handclap:
that seems pretty mediocre to me. hopefully they don't overrate the habs prospects like they do every year. look at last year's list from 10/06. i would take teams' 7-14 prospect pool over the canadiens'. price is the only blue chip guy.

maybe this has been mentioned, but why release this list a month before the draft? these rankings will be obsolete in a month.
 

McDoused

Registered User
Feb 5, 2007
16,171
12,735
Katy <3
I guess that means the top 15 in no particular order are:

1. Kings
2. BlackHawks
3. Capitals
4. Blue Jackets
5. Canadiens
6. Bruins
7. Rangers
8. Oilers
9. Islanders
10. Predators
11. Blues
12. Red Wings
13. Coyotes
14. Flyers
15. Wild

I would probably rank them:

1. Kings
2. Hawks
3. Capitals
4. Rangers
5. Blues
6. Canadiens
7. Oilers
8. Blue Jackets
9. Wild
10. Bruins
11. Preadators
12. Red Wings
13. Coyotes
14. Flyers
15. Islanders
 

Kaktus*

Guest
Sure the penguins have drafted well, but most of their top players have fallen into their lap....

crosby duhhh, malkin duhhhh again. Jordan staal again..... Fleury....you get the theme all top 2 picks.

Whitney was top 5 or 6 I believe...

It's easy to look good when you are picking AT THE TOP, in drafts with loaded top end talent. Now they have picked up some good talent like Letang and guys like christensen and others but I'll judge the penguins drafting on how they do in the next 5 years, when they aren't getting GODLY players basically given to them.
Pittsburgh draft well? Out side of top 5 pick they could not draft anyone who is good. Crosby Malkin Stall Whitney no brainer.. Moving up in the draft to get MAF is the only thing that they did. They also sucked when it comes to trades. Kovalev trade, Jagr trade, Straka trade, waived Lang. They got nothing or almost nothing in return for all those players.

Considering their draft position and that they sucked for such a long time.. All they drafted was Orpik? I mean who else?
 
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Brooklyndevil

Registered User
Jun 24, 2005
20,386
1,171
Freehold, NJ USA
Wow...

:help:

We could start the phenom wars then. Crosby would pwn though...

But really, the Devils are too good to tank that much down the standings. Brodeur will still be a rock, and they've got Parise and Zajac are quality Top Six player... Combined with Elias and you guys are set...

But god help us if the Leafs get Tavares, because we'll never hear the end of it when this list comes out in 09...

I'm with you, but I want to know what I feels like to have generational type player. Pittsburgh already has had two in Mario and Sid. I'm not sure Malkin or Staal will reach their potential. But, heck two is better than none.
 

Gags1288

Registered User
Feb 27, 2002
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I'm with you, but I want to know what I feels like to have generational type player. Pittsburgh already has had two in Mario and Sid. I'm not sure Malkin or Staal will reach their potential. But, heck two is better than none.
Are you being serious? You have one of the top 5 goaltenders in the history of the game, he's a generational talent if there ever was one.
 

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