Since the 2016-17 season, YouTuber Steve Dangle has been creating a prospect pyramid for every prospect on the Leafs each offseason. The idea is simple: ranking prospects can be a tedious task, especially when it doesn’t really matter whether a player is ranked 19th or 20th. So, he decided to base them on a pyramid, where each section represents a level of prospect. For example, here’s how I would classify each tier.
Tier 1 : Franchise |
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Tier 2: Elite |
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Tier 4: Middle of the lineup |
Tier 5: Bottom of the lineup |
Tier 6: AHL |
Before diving further into my pyramid, here are a few criteria I've put in place to limit which players can and cannot be included. If you've played more than 42 NHL games, you're not eligible. For example, a player like Nikita Alexandrov, who has 51 games under his belt, is not part of this pyramid. Additionally, you need to be under 25 years old. A player like Marcus Sylvegård, who hasn't played a single NHL game, is also not considered. Finally, I did not rank any goalies due to the uncertainty in evaluating them. With that said, I hope you enjoy the rest of the article!
Tier 1 | |
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Tier 2 | Jimmy Snuggerud, Dalibor Dvorsky |
Tier 3 | Lukas Fischer, Adam Jiříček, Theo Lindstein, Marc-Andre Gaudet, Otto Stenberg, Zach Dean, Zachary Bolduc |
Tier 4 | Tanner Dickinson, Aleksanteri Kaskimaki, Tomas Mrsic, Simon Robertsson, Juraj Pekarcik, Ondrej Kos, Michael Buchinger, Quinton Burns, Colin Ralph, William McIsaac |
Tier 5 | Dylan Peterson, Adam Jecho, Mikhail Abramov, Jakub Stancl, Nikita Susuyev, Hunter Skinner, Jérémie Biakabutuka, Matthew Mayich, Arseni Koromyslov |
Tier 6 | Antoine Dorion, Matvei Korotky, Mathias Laferrière, Ivan Vorobyov, Leo Loof, Anton Malmström, Samuel Johannesson |
Tier 1 (franchise players)
There is currently no prospects in the organization that I would consider to be franchise-caliber.
Tier 2 (Elite)
In Tier Two, there are fittingly only two players that I see having that kind of ceiling. Snuggerud’s offensive prowess and Dvorsky’s two-way game are undeniable, and both will be extremely key to the Blues in future seasons.
Tier 3 (Top 6 – Top 4)
The key players I want to highlight in Tier Three are Marc-Andre Gaudet and Adam Jiricek. I know that many of you may be confused to see them both in the same tier, and I understand that. To me, Jiricek will absolutely be a top-four defenseman in the league, but I have difficulty seeing him becoming more than that. For Gaudet, it’s the complete opposite. When I watch him play, I see a player who could potentially be ranked in Tier Two, but for that to happen, a lot needs to go right, and that brings a big uncertainty.
Tier 4 (middle of the lineup)
Unlike many, I have a lot of hope in the Blues' defenseman prospect pool. In my opinion, if two of these four prospects pan out, the Blues will be set with a deep defensive group for a long time.
Tier 5 (Bottom of the lineup
Besides Adam Jecho, whose skills and size I like for his position, I ranked these players here because I don’t see them having huge potential, but I still believe they could play at least a season or two in the NHL.
Tier 6 (AHL)
Finally, the last tier consists of players I personally don’t believe in. I hope they prove me wrong, and in a few seasons I look like a fool, but I wouldn’t hold my breath for that.
Conclusion
In summary, this prospect pyramid reflects my current assessment of the Blues' talent pipeline. While some players show great promise and could be key contributors to the team in the near future, others carry more uncertainty. Development is never a straight path, and while I have my doubts about some prospects, I remain hopeful that a few will exceed expectations and play a crucial role in shaping the Blues’ future. As always, time will tell, and it will be exciting to see how these players grow and contribute to the team in the seasons to come.