New Jersey Devils top 20 brimming with pro-ready defensemen Photo: Defenseman Jon Merrill remains the top prospect for the New Jersey Devils. Merrill recently signed an NHL contract after playing three years at the University of Michigan. (courtesy of Scott A. Schneider/Getty Images) An important summer approaches for the New Jersey Devils organization. With a plethora of free agents that may or may not be re-signed, the organization may give its minor league and junior prospects an opportunity to crack the NHL lineup. Murphy and Rask remain top prospects for Carolina Hurricanes Photo: Forward Victor Rask split the 2012-13 season between the Calgary Hitmen of the WHL and the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL. Rask projects to be a second-line forward for the Hurricanes, possibly as soon as next year. (courtesy of Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) Despite lacking a lot of depth and talent, the Carolina Hurricanes organization has top-end prospects in the pipeline, including the offensively talented defenseman Ryan Murphy, and a potential rising offensive star in Victor Rask. There are also several good depth defensemen who, in the near future, could solidify the Carolina blue line. New York Islanders graduate two promising youngsters from the NCAA ranks Photo: Defenseman Robbie Russo had a successful sophomore season with Notre Dame, where he posted five goals and 18 assists through 41 games. (courtesy of Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) The New York Islanders do not have a large quantity of prospects playing at the NCAA level and overseas, but some of these youngsters have a good chance of making a considerable impact with the organization in the 2013-14 season. Skilled forwards and steady defensemen featured in Detroit Red Wings prospect awards Photo: Speedy winger Andreas Athanasiou had a breakout season for the Barrie Colts, leading the team all the way to the OHL finals (courtesy of Terry Wilson/OHL Images) Detroit's run through the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs was surprising to many. Perhaps more surprising is depth of talent they have in their pipeline. The Detroit Red Wings boast some exceptional prospects who have the potential to be future stars in the NHL. The following awards feature the Red Wings prospects who stood out above the rest. The fact that no player won multiple awards is indicative of the depth of Detroit's talent pool. Chicago Blackhawks prospect awards dominated by AHL and junior players Photo: Jeremy Morin put together his best pro season in 2012-13 and could be on the verge of cracking the Blackhawks roster next season (courtesy of Warren Wimmer/Icon SMI) The Chicago Blackhawks prospect pool had plenty of notable performances during the 2012-13 season, particularly at the AHL level, where the Rockford IceHogs went on another late-season run only to come up just short of the playoffs for the third straight season. Many of the club's CHL prospects also had standout seasons, with two Blackhawks prospects still competing for their respective clubs at the 2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup. Erik Gustafsson leads Philadelphia Flyers HF prospect awards Photo: Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Oliver Lauridsen had a solid showing in his 15-game call-up to the NHL this season. (courtesy of Jerome Davis/Icon SMI) The prospect pool for the Philadelphia Flyers is consistently one of the more diminished gatherings of young talent every year, but they rarely miss on top-end talent when given the opportunity to acquire it. Because of their lack of picks and their aggressive style of team-building, it is far more important for the organization to consistently hit on their high draft picks as well as attract some of the better free agent prospects on the market every year. San Jose Sharks NCAA and European prospect pool features skilled forward prospects Photo: Sean Kuraly had an up-and-down freshman season for Miami, but the 6’2 center’s physical tools keep him among the Sharks top college prospects (courtesy of Tim G. Zechar/Icon SMI) Built almost entirely out of the later rounds of the draft, the San Jose Sharks NCAA prospect pool features a good mix of size and a small handful of potential NHL regulars. Of the 10 Sharks prospects who played college hockey during the 2012-13 season, eight were selected in the fifth round or later. 2013 Memorial Cup Preview: Impressive collection of talent competing for CHL’s top prize Photo: Portland Winterhawks forward and St. Louis Blues prospect Ty Rattie has continued his scoring exploits in the 2012-13 post-season, helping the Winterhawks make the Memorial Cup Tournament after near misses the past two years (courtesy of Marissa Baecker/Getty Images) The puck drops for the 2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup starting Friday evening at 6 PM CST. The host city’s Saskatoon Blades take on the Ontario Hockey League champion London Knights to kick off a tournament that features the CHL’s three top-ranked clubs (and the unranked hosts). In addition, several highly-ranked 2013 prospects plus many well-regarded NHL prospects will be taking part in this tournament. Calgary Flames prospects played large part in WHL playoffs, Frozen Four Photo: Yale winger Ken Agostino hoists the trophy after helping the Bulldogs to the first National Championship in school history (courtesy of Jeanine Leech/Icon SMI) The Calgary Flames prospects at the NHL level were unable to gain any post-season playing experience and the Abbotsford Heat failed to qualify for the AHL Calder Cup Playoffs. At the lower levels this spring, only the CHL prospects were experiencing playoff hockey as the European and NCAA prospects had already finished up their seasons. 2013 ISS Draft Rankings: U18 tournament brings few changes to the top 30 Photo: Center Nathan MacKinnon and his Halifax Mooseheads teammates are on their way to the 2013 Memorial Cup Tournament after winning the QMJHL title (courtesy of Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images) The 2013 U18 World Junior Championship has come and gone, but it had little effect on the upper ranks of ISS Hockey's May ranking of the 2013 NHL Draft prospects. |
