For a team that has been competitive for nearly 20 years, this prospect pool is actually pretty decent. Defense is quite promising, as well as the top 6

That's actually a solid top 6

I wouldn't really put Shepard on the list, he realistically has almost no chance of making it to the NHL unless disaster strikes with injuries next year and even for goalies 27 is old -- I don't think the org views him as anything other than a good vet for Hershey. I would also have Stevenson first ahead of Gibson and Keller -- he had a really good rookie pro season and is going to be the backup in Hershey next year. All of the national writers saying we needed a goalie in this draft are crazy. Keller obviously is a help but Gibson and Stevenson are both really solid and the org has a great track record of developing guys all the way from the ECHL up. Bjorklund is kind of a mystery with all his injury troubles but don't expect him to stick. Clark is a bit younger and has more leeway but was absolutely terrible this year as the backup to the best NCAA team in the country, he also has a long way to go.

Literally nothing to say about the D although I might bring Sandin and Fehervary out as they have been full-time NHLers for multiple years now. I think the RD depth is sneaky good but worry about the lack of a true offensive defenseman or top-pair potential guy in the pipeline. Iorio and Chesley are both Fehervary types who I think will be great complimentary guys in a top 4. Really like the bet on Allen too, who a year ago was in the conversation for best defenseman in the class. I don't see Gucciardi, Lemay, or Johnson having a future with the club outside of a depth role in Hershey.

Not much to say about the forwards either although I'm tempted to list Protas as a center and put him above McMichael and Lapierre. Even though they've spent two firsts their recently I'm not really sold on the center depth. I think McMichael tops out as a low end 2c and I'm not sure Lapierre has enough juice to make it as a top-6 option but without the flexibility to play in the bottom 6. The wing depth is great though, with all of Leonard, Miro, Cristall, Suz having not just the potential to make the NHL but be serious top-6 contributors. Outside of them though Trineyev is the only really intriguing guy, it's tough to read into KHL production outside of the really high end guys so this year in Hershey will be really interesting for him. Hofer, Magnusson, Hanelt, Persson, and Karabela have all either stagnated or taken steps backwards from when they were drafted and I don't see a future for except in Hershey's bottom 6. Hofer I think has the highest pro ceiling out of that group. Fine with the Patrick pick but don't understand the Hyland one as he had really mediocre OHL stats and was a double re-entry.

Overall I'm very pleased with this draft -- Leonard, Cristall, and Allen especially. With Leonard they have the true can't-miss A+ level prospect they haven't really had since Kuzy and that was the org's biggest hole. Their wing depth and RD depth is I think underrated, with a lot of great second and third round picks from recent years looking good. The biggest needs unsurprisingly is a center and defenseman with true star potential. They have a lot of guys right now who project not as what I would say is depth but rather complimentary guys on a good team. It's going to take getting really lucky or being really bad to get one, but there isn't anyone outside of Leonard and *maybe* Miro that I think can be a true driver at the top of a playoff team.