Welcome to Scott Wheeler’s 2021 rankings of every NHL organization’s prospects. You can find the complete ranking and more information on the criteria here, as we count down daily from No. 31 to No. 1. The series, which includes my own evaluations and commentary from coaches and staff on more than 500 prospects, runs from Jan. 11 to Feb. 9.
I was asked at the end of last year’s prospect pool rankings project if there was one organization that I would have ranked higher or lower in retrospect. After having given it more thought and consideration, I answered that I would have had the Blackhawks a couple of spots lower.
Then they graduated Adam Boqvist (their No. 1 prospect and a personal favorite of mine), didn’t sign Ryan Shea (a player who I believe has real NHL aspirations), and lost Lucas Carlsson due to the age criteria here. And while they did well to offset against those three graduations with a strong eight picks in the 2020 draft, the…
