Nashville Predators prospects ranked #1 by Hockey's Future

by Dirk Hoag on Apr 21, 2010 2:17 AM EDT

Hockey's Future, one of the most prominent sites that covers the development of prospects on their way to the NHL, has come out with their Spring 2010 Organizational Rankings, and the Nashville Predators are right on top:

Strengths: The Predators' blue line prospect pool is still among the deepest and most talented in the entire league. Jon Blum, Cody Franson, and Charles-Olivier Roussel all project as skilled offensive defensemen. Colin Wilson and Zach Budish headline the Predators' forward group, which has a lot of character, but lacks some skill.

Be sure to head on over and read up on their assessment of the Preds prospects, and look ahead to what's coming up through the ranks.

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It certainly bodes well for NSH but I can’t agree with the ranking. My main critique is that two of the top 5 prospects are already part of the NHL club so they aren’t going to really be prospects next year. That applies to a few of the top teams (including the Caps) so it’s not just a shot at NSH, it’s more of a shot at how HF is shortsighted. My next complaint is that NSH’s ranking is so overwhelmingly reliant on their D prospects. The vast majority of the quality prospects you have are D, and with the guys already on the NHL team there aren’t enough spots for all of them. They can be moved to bring in other talent up front, but I don’t look at that prospect pool and think they have the core for a real competitive team. I’d put STL and LAK up top again. They have the most well-rounded prospect pools and their prospects are mostly not in the NHL yet.

I hate listening to people's dreams. It is like flipping through a stack of photographs. If I'm not in any of them and nobody is having sex, I just don't care.

by Rob Parker on Apr 21, 2010 2:35 PM EDT reply actions

In regard to your second complaint, I’d argue that HF have two of our forward prospects significantly under-ranked. They put Taylor Beck at number 11 even though he had a huge breakout season in the OHL and looks set to become a top 6 forward someday. Blake Geoffrion just won the Hobey Baker and he’s only ranked 14th. He too has a good shot to become an effective goal scorer down the road.

by Lil cutie on Apr 21, 2010 3:50 PM EDT reply actions