McIlrath will probably be a #4/5D with limited offensive upside, puck skills and skating, but at least he'll probably be an NHL player. Skjei should be a #2/3 defensive defenseman. If he really develops his offensive game and puck skills, maybe there's a chance he becomes a #1, but its really unlikely. Tambellini, Gropp, Kovacs, Stromwall, Morrison all have a chance to be middle 6 forwards. Nieves, Fogarty, Jensen all have a chance to be bottom 6 forwards. If we get 2 middle 6 forwards and 1 or 2 bottom 6 forwards out of that group of players, I think we've done well. Zborovskiy seems to have limited NHL upside, but there's probably a good chance with the way he plays that he gets to the NHL as a #4/5 defenseman.
We might not have a good prospect pool, but we have good goalies. Huska's has a lot of upside. He had a really good 1st post-draft season. Now he'll face better competition. He's probably two or three years away from an ELC at the earliest, maybe even four. Halverson has shown good tools, but he's not played as well as he's capable of. Now he'll have a big transition to pro hockey. I think these next two seasons are very important for him. He has big potential, NHL starter potential, but if he doesn't put that together in the next two years, I'm not sure that we can really expect an NHL starter out of him. If he does though, maybe he's the next back up to Hank after Raanta's contract expires. Skapski has shown in the past that he could be a good NHL back up. After his injury, its harder to project him to be an NHL goalie, but its possible. It all depends if he can rebound from his injury. He has shown that level of ability.
I already mentioned Skjei who's already played in the NHL. Other than him, the only three prospects that I feel safe to project difference maker potential in the NHL are Graves, Shesty and Buch. Graves has a lot of tools, and he's progressed a lot in recent seasons, which makes me think there's a chance he hits his ceiling. He's really big, he has a great shot, he skates well for a big man and he has good puck skills for a big man. What he needs to improve on is his physicality on the defensive end and his overall defense. He's not yet ready to play in the NHL, but if he can correct those two areas of his game, he could be a really interesting player. I believe he has potential to be about Sheldon Souray level if he really hits his ceiling. He'll probably end up around Jason Garrison level, which is still really good. I actually think there's a good chance Graves could be better than Skjei, and thats not really a slight on Skjei.
Shesty is our best goalie prospect, and I think he deserves his spot as our second best prospect. He was about as good as you could be in the VHL this season, and has done well in the KHL and international competitions. He figures to probably split starters minutes this upcoming season with SKA, but Koskinen had a good WC, and there's been talk he could want to head back to the NHL and there's interest in him. If that happens, Shesty could inherit the starting spot this season. If not, and he's just strictly a back up, I'd bring him over to NA after the season when his contract is up. If he gets the starting spot though, I'd probably let him develop with SKA for a few more seasons until he's ready to play in the NHL.
Buch is our best prospect, and I think he's a top 5 prospect who's been drafted and is not yet in the NHL. He has star upside if he reaches his ceiling, and should be no worse than a good second line forward. I think a good 1st line forward is a fair projection.
I think the system is bottom 10 in the league, maybe even bottom 5. There are a few impact players in the system, but overall its lacking in impact players, especially right hand defenseman and forwards.
