J.D. Burke

Sep 12, 2024 | eprinkside.com | Filip Bystedt |J.D. Burke

Prospect Pool Rankings The San Jose Sharks don't just have the best prospect pool in the NHL going into the 2024-25 season – they may have the best prospect pool we've ever seen in all our years doing this series. What a difference a year can make. The last time we wrote about this system, it checked in at 13. Now, the Sharks are at the top of the NHL, with the No. 1-ranked skater prospect and the No. 1-ranked prospect in goal. The fun doesn't stop there either.

Aug 30, 2024 | eprinkside.com | J.D. Burke

Prospect Pool Rankings The Washington Capitals are in a strange place. They're not good enough to contend but remain almost singularly focused on getting Alexander Ovechkin across the finish line as the NHL's all-time leading goal-scorer, so that takes a tear-it-down rebuild off the table. For now, the plan is to retool on the fly, doing whatever they can to keep the team competitive while they try to draft and develop a new Stanley Cup core.

Aug 27, 2024 | eprinkside.com | J.D. Burke

Prospect Pool Rankings When we first started ranking teams' prospect pools, the New York Rangers were a veritable lock for the top-five in any given season. They started first, fell to second, and went to fifth overall, and then, the plan worked. They couldn't secure high picks, they stopped hoarding draft capital, and their system's standing fell. That's how this is supposed to go.

Aug 20, 2024 | eprinkside.com | J.D. Burke

Prospect Pool Rankings The Edmonton Oilers may be a Stanley Cup contender, but that hasn't kept them from attending to their prospect pool. The decision to part with a future first-round pick to jump the line and take Sam O'Reilly in this year's draft, paired with the acquisition of Matthew Savoie in the Ryan McLeod deal, signals that far from mortgaging the future, they see investing in it as critical to building a sustainable contender.

Aug 19, 2024 | eprinkside.com | J.D. Burke

Prospect Pool Rankings The Boston Bruins never draft high, and they don't draft often, but they almost always find a way to line the margins of their roster with homegrown talent anyway. That's about all you can ask for from your amateur scouting and player development departments given the circumstances. Traditionally, this group has coveted safety at the expense of upside. It's how they've found so much relative success over the years.