Prospects Analysis: Atlantic Division

Before the season began, we looked at the top three prospects from all 30 NHL teams and discussed what was expected this season. With the season nearing its completion, it's time review how the last seven months went for those 90 young players. 


(Notes: The prospects are in order that appeared in the original article in September. They wouldn't necessarily be in this order if they were re-ranked today. All stats as of May 11.)

Boston Bruins
1. Malcolm Subban (G, Boston-NHL/Providence-AHL): A solid season in the AHL for Subban (2.44 GAA, .921 save percentage) earned him a promotion to the NHL. He made one start against the Blues, got absolutely shelled and was sent back down to the minors shortly thereafter. Subban seems to be a prime trade candidate. He's never going to unseat Tuukka Rask as the starter in Boston, and he's too good to spend another year in the AHL. Perhaps a team like the Oilers will attempt to acquire him this summer, but if he remains in the organization, he's the favorite to begin next season as Rask's backup.

2. Matt Grzelcyk (D, Boston University-NCAA): Grzelcyk was Boston University's top defensemen and one of the best in the NCAA all season long. He finished with 38 points in 41 games and showed his playmaking ability on a nightly basis. Grzelcyk also lead all Terrier defensemen with a plus-32 rating. The Bruins wanted to sign him after his season came to a close, but Grzelcyk decided he wanted to return to college for his senior year. Technically, Grzelcyk can pull a "Kevin Hayes" and become an unrestricted free agent after he finishes his fourth year of college, but since he's a native of Charlestown, it's tough to see him not wanting to play with his hometown club.

3. Alexander Khokhlachev (C, Boston-NHL/Providence-AHL): Khokhlachev's numbers dropped pretty much across the board this season (15 goals and 43 points in 61 games), though he did earn a four-game trial with the Bruins. He has now spent just about two full seasons at Providence, and the Bruins should be concerned about him potentially bolting back to Russia. It's going to take a trade or two to a couple of Boston's overpriced forwards (Brad Marchand, Milan Lucic) for Khokhlachev to have any fantasy value next season. His skills would be wasted if he isn't in a top-six role and the Bruins seem to realize that.

Buffalo Sabres
1. Sam Reinhart (C, Buffalo-NHL/Rochester-AHL/Kootenay-WHL): Reinhart began the season in the NHL, but he looked completely lost and was quickly shipped back to Kootenay. To no one's surprise, he dominated for the Ice (65 points in 47 games), and he was a standout once again for Canada at the World Juniors. I've long been in the camp that felt Reinhart was more of a No. 2 center as opposed to a top guy, and the addition of Jack Eichel to the Sabres this summer should be a massive help to Reinhart. All the focus will be on Eichel, and Reinhart should be able to develop without being the center of attention.

2. Nikita Zadorov (D, Buffalo-NHL): Zadorov's season pretty much went as expected: he showed flashes of his size and skill, struggled massively at times and was benched on a couple occasions for incidents with head coach Ted Nolan. Zadorov has way too much ability for the Sabres to even consider giving up on him, and besides, Nolan is gone now. It didn't help that Buffalo, for some terrible reason, decided not to release Zadorov to play in the World Juniors. He has the ability to be a No. 2 or 3 defenseman at the NHL level, but he's immature and his overall game needs work. He is also just 20-years-old.

3. Joel Armia (RW, Buffalo-NHL/Rochester/St. John's-AHL): I haven't completely given up hope on Armia, but I'm getting there. For a guy who was drafted as a pure goal scorer, he has shown no ability to score consistently at the AHL level. Armia was traded from Buffalo to Winnipeg in February in the deal that sent Evander Kane to the Sabres. Winnipeg assigned Armia to their AHL affiliate in St. John's and he responded with only two goals in 21 games for the IceCaps. Armia now has a total of 19 goals in 108 AHL games over the last two seasons. I'm not holding my breath that he's going to get his act together.

Detroit Red Wings
1. Anthony Mantha (RW, Grand Rapids-AHL): Mantha broke his tibia in rookie camp in September, missed over two months and never really got on track in his first professional season. His numbers in Grand Rapids weren't terrible (15 goals and 33 points in 62 games) but much more was expected. There are so few players with Mantha's size (6-foot-5, 205 pounds) and scoring ability that his ceiling remains extremely high. Detroit general manager Ken Holland described Mantha's first pro season as "a struggle." I'm not the least bit concerned about Mantha but he needs to bounce back next season.

2. Teemu Pulkkinen (RW, Detroit-NHL/Grand Rapids-AHL): No one in the Detroit organization (or in all of hockey, really) raised his stock more than Pulkkinen this past season. He dominated the AHL (34 goals and 61 points in 46 games) and made a positive impression in 31 games with the Wings. Pulkkinen is tiny (5-10, 195 pounds) but he's generally been able to score at will since coming over to North America from Finland back in 2012. It will be a big mistake on Detroit's part if Pulkkinen isn't given a significant role next season.

3. Andreas Athanasiou (LW, Grand Rapids-AHL): Athanasiou was a project when he was taken in the fourth-round of the 2012 entry draft, but he exploded in his final season in the OHL with 49 goals before having a productive first professional season (16 goals and 32 points in 55 games). Athanasiou is a great skater for a kid his size (6-2, 200 pounds) and he's very coachable. He probably is going to need another full season in the AHL, but he's definitely trending in the right direction.

Florida Panthers
1. Aaron Ekblad (D, Florida-NHL): There isn't much to say about Ekblad's rookie season that hasn't already been said. He was a game-changing defender at times and it was made even more impressive by the fact that he played the majority of the season as an 18-year-old. I've always liked Ekblad's long-term potential but even I didn't think he would be as productive as he was (12 goals and 39 points in 81 games) in his rookie season. He's a potential franchise defenseman and he's going to go awfully early in all fantasy drafts next season. He would get my vote for the Calder Trophy if I had one.

2. Mike Matheson (D, San Antonio-AHL, Boston College-NCAA): Matheson's numbers in his junior year (3 goals and 25 points in 38 games) were awfully similar to his sophomore season. The bigger concern is that he scored more goals in his freshman year than his next two seasons combined. Matheson elected to sign with the Panthers after the season ended and he finished the year playing in the AHL. I don't think he's the impact defenseman that I thought he was when he was a first-round draft pick (23rd overall) back in 2012, but he should have a long career as a regular in the NHL.

3. Rocco Grimaldi (C, Florida-NHL/San Antonio-AHL): There are plenty of people who continue to think that a player of Grimaldi's size (he's listed at 5-6) will struggle to produce in the NHL. He was impressive in his first AHL season (42 points in 64 games) and he scored his first NHL goal in a brief seven-game stint this season. I'm concerned that he may have problems staying healthy due to his size but I think he's talented enough that, at the very least, he can be a skilled third-liner who can help on the power play.

Montreal Canadiens
1. Zach Fucale (G, Halifax/Quebec-QMJHL): Fucale's prospects as a future starting goaltender in the NHL have diminished. There's no other way to put it. He had a dreadful regular season (3.21 GAA, .885 save percentage) but he's turned it around in the playoffs (2.38 GAA, .918 save percentage). I've always felt he was a bit overrated but I didn't see a drop like this coming. Fucale is getting extra work because Quebec is playing in the QMJHL Championship, and since they are hosting the Memorial Cup, they are going to be there even if they lose the QMJHL title to Rimouski. Fucale's steep decline would be a much larger concern for a team that didn't already have Carey Price in goal.

2. Nathan Beaulieu (D, Montreal-NHL/Hamilton-AHL): Beaulieu got considerably better as the season wore on and he's looked far more comfortable the last couple months. He is a mobile, puck-moving defenseman who would probably put up pretty decent numbers if he was given a ton of ice time and got on the power play consistently. As is, he's more of a depth defender who is being given tons of time to develop. I still like him as a long-term prospect, but it's taking longer to get there than I thought it would.

3. Nikita Scherbak (RW, Everett-WHL): Scherbak was traded from the awful Saskatoon Blades to the much better Everett Silvertips before the season began, but his numbers were almost identical (27 goals and 82 points in 65 games) as last year. The bigger concern was that Russia didn't invite Scherbak to participate in the World Juniors. How a country thinks that a kid who was a first-round pick in the NHL draft isn't among their best under-20 players is beyond me. But Scherbak took it in stride, said all of the right things and continued to perform for Everett. He has nothing left to prove in the WHL and I'd like to see how he fares in the AHL next year.

Ottawa Senators
1. Curtis Lazar (C, Ottawa-NHL): It was an awfully nice season for Lazar. He was a healthy scratch several times early in the season but he was loaned to Team Canada for the World Juniors where he served as the team's captain and helped lead them to the gold medal. He played much better after he returned from the tournament and was a key cog in Ottawa's charge to make the playoffs. Lazar is a tremendously smart and physically mature kid for a 20-year-old and while he may eventually only be a third-line center, he is going to help in so many other areas (face offs, penalty kill, leadership) that he should be an extremely valuable piece for Ottawa for years to come.

2. Matt Puempel (LW, Ottawa-NHL/Binghamton-AHL): Puempel is another player whose stock has dropped dramatically this season. Despite Ottawa's youth movement, Puempel only got into 13 games with the Sens. He scored two goals and wasn't a factor most nights. He's seemingly been passed on the depth chart by guys (ex: Nick Paul) who I thought would be inferior players. It's not a great sign for Puempel's future.

3. Mark Stone (RW, Ottawa-NHL): Stone outperformed my expectations more so than any other prospect in the league this season. Even though he was a massive scorer at the junior level (41 goals and 123 points in his final season), I never thought his skills would really translate to the NHL. I was dead wrong. Stone had perhaps the biggest hand in leading the Sens to the playoffs and I didn't think he'd come anywhere close to the 26 goals and 64 points that he produced. Stone seems like a prime regression candidate but he was so good this year that I wouldn't be surprised if he posted similar numbers next season. Either way, he was a steal of a sixth-round pick.

Tampa Bay Lightning
1. Jonathan Drouin (LW, Tampa Bay-NHL/Syracuse-AHL): Drouin's first pro season was inconsistent, which is to be expected from a kid who didn't turn 20 years old until this past March. The two biggest concerns regarding Drouin were his inability to put the puck in the net (4 goals in 70 games) and the coaching staff's complete lack of confidence in him. Drouin was a healthy scratch on several occasions and Lightning head coach Jon Cooper has shown no confidence at all in him in the playoffs. Drouin began the season as our top overall prospect in the league, and even though his future remains extremely bright, it was a disappointing season overall.

2. Andrei Vasilevskiy (G, Tampa Bay-NHL/Syracuse-AHL): It's pretty clear that the Lightning wanted to give Vasilevskiy an entire season of development in the AHL to get used to the smaller rinks of North America, but Evgeni Nabokov was so awful in his 11 starts early in the season that Tampa general manager Steve Yzerman had no choice but to get rid of him and promote Vasilevskiy. He is huge (6-3, 205 pounds), athletic and looked terrific (2.36 GAA, .918 save percentage) in his first 16 NHL appearances. Ben Bishop is signed for two more seasons but I would have complete confidence in Vasilevskiy should Bishop get injured or the Lightning decided to move him.

3. Vladislav Namestnikov (C, Tampa Bay-NHL/Syracuse-AHL): I've liked what I've seen from Namestnikov even though he's only played in 47 career NHL games; he's smart and shifty with good offensive instincts. It seems like the Lightning are destined to keep the line of Ondrej Palat/Tyler Johnson/Nikita Kucherov together for the next half-decade or so but I wouldn't be surprised to see Namestnikov on the top line with Steven Stamkos as early as next season. He's a far better player than Alex Killorn, and he may be worth a late-round flier in fantasy drafts in the fall.

Toronto Maple Leafs
1. William Nylander (RW, MoDo-Sweden/Toronto-AHL): Nylander had quite a season. He was terrific for MoDo (20 points in 21 gmaes), had a very impressive showing at the World Juniors and was a stud for the Marlies of AHL (14 goals and 32 points in 37 games) after he was assigned there later in the season. Simply put, Nylander has offensive abilities that can't be taught. The Leafs are not a good hockey team (obviously) and I'd be shocked if Nylander isn't playing a major role for them starting next season.

2. Connor Brown (RW, Toronto-AHL): I had Brown ranked as the Leafs No. 2 prospect entering the season and he made me look pretty good. He was awfully impressive in his first professional season (61 points in 76 games) and he's now on the radar of pretty much all hockey analysts around the league. Brown was a huge scorer in juniors but there were questions about whether his game would translate to the NHL or not. He proved it can and he is in line to get a shot with the Leafs next season.

3. Frederik Gauthier (C, Rimouski-QMJHL): I'm not a Gauthier fan. I don't know what I was thinking having him ranked as an NHL team's third-best prospect. He's absolutely massive (6-4, 215 pounds) but he has some of the worst hands and offensive ability I've ever seen out of a forward who was a first-round pick. To Gauthier's credit, he's a terrific penalty killer and very good on faceoffs. He just wasn't worth the 21st overall pick back in the 2013 entry draft when guys like Andre Burakovsky, Shea Theodore and Nic Petan were still on the board. I would be very surprised if Gauthier was ever anything more than a third-line center at the NHL level.