Athletic's Farm System Rankings

[hockeyrobot]

Gotcha. I was confused by your comment.

Well, much like Button's rankings that most like to crap on, this is his opinion I guess. He clearly sees Michikov pulling Philly up the ranking.

Yep I think he views Michikov as the #1 prospect so that will bring Philly right up.

- - - Updated - - -

Detroit is top 3 because their prospects haven't been promoted.

[random-d]

To me you have to simplify rankings and take the numbers out of it if you want to evaluate it in a broad context like this. Don't assign number values just look at players potential value conservatively and say is this player "barely good enough to play games", decent, good, great, elite. Put a value on those characterizations and then average those values. Conservative is the keyword here. Evaluating based on ceiling is a terrible way to do it, you should be aiming for something closer to the "what if they don't quite hit that" point (except in the case of the elite players). This is why I like Carolina's system way more than this list values them. They have a lot of players that should probably at least play games even if they don't hit their projections and a lot of good to great potential that should be decent to good at the least. I guess this kind of emphasizes projectability over upside but I personally think it's better to have assets you know will pay out something rather than ones that might pay out alot... or nothing.

[Pengwin7]

So top 3 (based on omission from list) are CBJ, DET, BUF.
Wow. Hmmmm.

I'm assuming Fantilli's injury excludes him from hitting a GP point and he's still considered to be on list.
Jiricek & Mateychuk being "not" pros are good pieces there for sure.
I could see Wheeler still having a hard-on for all things Michigan/Ontario corridor - which would include UM product Gavin Brindley.
I'd love to read on that.

Detroit isn't a top3 team. Shouldn't be.
Though some people LOVE Nate Danielson much more post 2024 WJC.
Kasper is meh. Simon Edvinsson should be alright - but I feel like his name, alone, has some sort of mysticism attached to it.

Buffalo will be interesting.
Wheeler loves the Matt Savoie type of player.
I'd love to know whether Jiri Kulich gets inclusion.
But it's probably Devon Levi not triggering "exclusion" that keeps them there.
It's Levi's team going forward.


Just a BUMP/reminder to post the final 3 when they are posted.
And who, of these players, is included/excluded from his list.

Thanks!

[Eskimo Brother]

It's not a GP/point threshold, it's basically whether he feels the player is in the NHL full-time, or whether they might/could/should get sent down again. So Levi still qualifies, being in the minors, Fantilli probably doesn't being in the NHL probably for good (like Leo Carlsson who also didn't qualify). Might also mean Benson doesn't crack the list either.
As someone who owns Ostlund, Brindley, Danielson, and Berggren in the WHL, looking forward to some positive reading the next three days.

[hockeyrobot]

I'm not sure Fantilli will be included but ya I'll post. The list is 15 players per team so lots to choose from.

I'll post daily. I became invested when Detroit made it past the top 10. I'm surprised too, but it's looking like quantity over high end.

[loppantorkel]

Last year was
5. Chicago
4. Detroit
3. Columbus
2. NJ
1. Minnesota

so no real surprise finding Detroit still in the top five. Columbus likely nr1, but between Buffalo and Detroit..? Cossa was player of the week in the AHL, they've got Augustine, Kasper, Danielson, Edvinsson, ASP + a few longshots, and Berggren perhaps. It's not a bad group compared to other teams, just not that elite prospect.

[Eskimo Brother]

I actually think Buffalo will be #1 over Columbus. If Benson and Fantilli are out then I think Kulich, Ostlund, Wahlberg, Rosen, Savoie, Levi outweighs Jiricek, Brindley, Mateychuk, Dumais, Culemans, Tarasov.

It does highlight how much BUF needs one more big prospect defenceman though. And while they should be able to get one in the draft this year (adding someone like Buium to this pool would be excellent), it does bring up the possibility of a swap along the lines of Kulich for Mateychuk being something that could work for both teams.

[random-d]

Last year was
5. Chicago
4. Detroit
3. Columbus
2. NJ
1. Minnesota

That was Pronman's preseason ranking though wasn't it? Pronman tends to be alot looser with who is still considered a prospect.

[loppantorkel]

That was Pronman's preseason ranking though wasn't it? Pronman tends to be alot looser with who is still considered a prospect.

No, I don't think Pronman does team rankings, just individual prospect/player under 23 rankings. What you quoted is Wheeler's 2023 ranking. Rossi, Faber, Nemec, L Hughes, and of course Bedard graduated, if I'm not mistaken.

[hockeyrobot]

Columbus #3. Fantilli and Tarasov not included
Kent Johnson was.

[Pengwin7]

Kent Johnson has really had a rough season.
I haven't liked what I've seen out of him... too much "perimeter" to his game.
No inside portion.
I hate souring on my own prospects, but I'm getting there with Kent Johnson.

Wheeler probably still loves him because he's a U-Michigan guy.

[loppantorkel]

Kent Johnson is slotted as the top prospect ahead of Jiricek and Mateychuk. I'm not questioning it, but I believe I bought into some hype around Jiricek and Mateychuk being better prospects than this. Always different opinions though and interesting to read about. Looking forward to see where Ostlund is ranked and what Wheeler's views are on him.

[random-d]

Kent Johnson is slotted as the top prospect ahead of Jiricek and Mateychuk. I'm not questioning it, but I believe I bought into some hype around Jiricek and Mateychuk being better prospects than this. Always different opinions though and interesting to read about. Looking forward to see where Ostlund is ranked and what Wheeler's views are on him.

I thought Jiricek looked fine when he was carrying the puck, he just steadily lost confidence when he made mistakes in other areas. I think he just needs more time to mature and he'll be fine.

[rataylor22]

I think Wheeler has made some really....interesting...judgements on who he is including and not including on different lists. I have disagreed on some teams and some orders, although I feel differently than random-d and agree with the premise that having a truly elite prospect should rocket you up the rankings (these are the difference makers that determine if you have a chance to win a cup or not), but the inclusions and exclusions list has been weird.

[random-d]

I think Wheeler has made some really....interesting...judgements on who he is including and not including on different lists. I have disagreed on some teams and some orders, although I feel differently than random-d and agree with the premise that having a truly elite prospect should rocket you up the rankings (these are the difference makers that determine if you have a chance to win a cup or not), but the inclusions and exclusions list has been weird.

I specifically said "except in the case of elite players"