Welcome back to The Journey, where we follow hockey prospects and their paths to the NHL, providing Fantasy predictions and analysis along the way.

The 2021 NHL Draft has now come and gone, and teams were able to add a good number of promising prospects to their organization, which warrants a review and comparison of each team's pipeline in order to determine which organization has set itself up for the brightest future. In these power rankings, I will focus on upside rather than NHL certainty, and teams possessing more star potential in their system will be rewarded with higher spots.

To be considered an NHL prospect, a player must match the following two criteria:

1. Is 22 years old or younger (25 for goaltenders)
2. Has not played more than 41 NHL games

In the case of the newly-founded Seattle Kraken, who only have one draft year under their belt, they will be added near the bottom of the list until Matthew Beniers can prove that he single-handedly compensates for the lack of quantity in the Kraken's system with his quality as a player.

1. Los Angeles Kings

Another impressive draft for the Los Angeles Kings, despite having traded their fourth- to seventh-rounders away. This comes after their excellent 2020 selections, which included Quinton Byfield, Helge Grans, Brock Faber and Kasper Simontaival, among others.

With their first-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, the Kings opted for right-handed defenseman Brandt Clarke at 8th overall, and then picked a gem in Francesco Pinelli at 42nd as he fell into their laps. Pinelli adds to an already-overflowing pool of talent at forward, which also includes star prospects such as Alex Turcotte, Arthur Kaliyev, Gabriel Vilardi, Akil Thomas, Samuel Fagemo, Tyler Madden and Rasmus Kupari.

The list of potential top-line players is extensive, which is why the Los Angeles Kings earn the top spot on the Prospect Pool Power Rankings.

Top-three prospects: Quinton Byfield, Brandt Clarke, Alex Turcotte

2.  Anaheim Ducks

The Ducks' prospect pool is hard to beat, as they have a future star in Trevor Zegras, a tremendous offensive defenseman in Jamie Drysdale, as well as a good crop of 2021 picks such as Mason McTavish (3rd overall), Olen Zellweger (34th overall) and Sasha Pastujov (66th overall), all taken with Anaheim's own selections.

They also have Jacob Perreault in the system, who could be a great offensive winger, and one of the best goaltender prospects in hockey at the moment in Lukas Dostal. The team's future seems very bright, with every position in the pipeline having at least one elite-potential prospect.

Top-three prospects: Trevor Zegras, Jamie Drysdale, Lukas Dostal

3.  Detroit Red Wings

The Red Wings come in third in the power rankings due to the immense potential of their top-two prospects: defenseman Moritz Seider, who earned 28 points in 41 games and was named the SHL junior-age player of the year, and winger Lucas Raymond who, in the same league, earned 18 points in 34 games and looked very impressive against men, playing on William Eklund's line and making high-end plays with him on a regular basis.

The Wings also added defenseman Simon Edvinsson (6th overall) and goaltender Sebastian Cossa (15th) in the first round of the 2021 NHL Draft, two pieces that could very well become top-end NHL talents one day. The team seems on its way to recreating the 1990's/2000's dynasty that saw them win four cups.

Top-three prospects: Moritz Seider, Lucas Raymond, Simon Edvinsson

4.  Minnesota Wild

The Wild had a very decent 2021 NHL Draft, selecting Jesper Wallstedt 20th overall when the Swedish goaltender was expected to go in the top-10. They then took a shot on Carson Lambos, a prospect whose value dropped steeply throughout the year, but who has decent skills on and off the puck. Jack Peart was another interesting pick-up, selected in the second round.

The Wild's greatest prospects are definitely at forward, however, as they have Marco Rossi and Matt Boldy ready to hit the NHL in stride as soon as 2021-2022. The two are prospects with a very high offensive ceiling, although there are questions as to how Rossi will bounce back after having severe complications due to COVID-19, which kept him off the ice all season long.

Top-three prospects: Marco Rossi, Matt Boldy, Jesper Wallstedt

5. Carolina Hurricanes

The Hurricanes' pool of prospects just got a lot better with the additions of 13 new prospects, including high-end potential right-handed defensemen Scott Morrow and Aleksi Heimosalmi, as well as forward Ville Koivunen, all chosen in the second round.

Their prospect pipeline was already ahead of the curve last year, when they added Seth Jarvis, Noel Gunler, Zion Nybeck and Alexander Pashin to their pool of talent. The Canes also have promising players that have been developing under their guidance for a while already, such as 20-year-old center Ryan Suzuki and 21-year-old German winger Dominik Bokk, which makes their selection at fifth-overall an easy one.

Top-three prospects: Seth Jarvis, Scott Morrow, Ryan Suzuki

6.  Colorado Avalanche

The Avalanche is in an exceptional position for a hockey team, where both their NHL roster and their pipeline are filled to the brim with talent. Alex Newhook is going to be an offensive dynamo, Bowen Byram is set to become a high-end two-way defenseman, and they picked up a few good talents in Oskar Olausson (28th overall) and Sean Behrens (61st overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft.

Few teams can both contend for the President's Trophy and playoffs yearly and run a promising pipeline, but Joe Sakic and the Colorado Avalanche have juggled the two to perfection. A team with very high upside among its prospects, which warrants a place within the top-six.

Top-three prospects: Alex Newhook, Bowen Byram, Oskar Olausson

7. New York Rangers

Despite the fact that Kaapo Kakko and Alexis Lafrenière have exceeded the 41-game mark and are not included in the Rangers' pipeline, their overflow of skilled forward and defense prospects makes them a team to keep an eye on for years to come. The team selected Brennan Othmann and Ryder Korczak as interesting long-term pieces, but reached on a bunch of their picks for players that haven't shown as much promise.

Still, the pool the Rangers currently have includes promising forwards such as Vitaly Kravtsov, Will Cuylle and Brett Berard, as well as excellent defense prospects in Zac Jones, Nils Lundkvist, Braden Schneider and Matthew Robertson; their pipeline is overflowing with high-potential talent that could bring the team back to contention sooner rather than later.

Top-three prospects: Vitaly Kravtsov, Zac Jones, Nils Lundkvist

8.  San Jose Sharks

The Sharks' pool improved greatly the second they selected William Eklund at 7th overall in the 2021 NHL Draft; he joins an already-stacked pipeline of high-end talent that includes Thomas Bordeleau, Daniil Gushchin, Ozzy Wiesblatt and Tristen Robins, all selected in 2020. They also have Ryan Merkley on defense, who shows great promise as an offensive blueliner.

They also added a pretty solid goaltender prospect in Benjamin Gaudreau in the 2021 NHL Draft, which sets them up well in every position moving forward. The Sharks get high marks for the quality in their pool.

Top-three prospects: William Eklund, Daniil Gushchin, Ryan Merkley

9.  Columbus Blue Jackets

This is a team that, in February 2021, was 27th on Corey Pronman's prospect pool rankings. Since then, however, the Jackets drafted three great first-round talents in Kent Johnson (5th), Cole Sillinger (12th) and Corson Ceulemans (25th), stole Stanislav Svozil off the board in the third round, and top prospects Yegor Chinakhov and Kirill Marchenko had monster seasons overseas in the KHL.

Great circumstances and above-average drafting and trading by Jarmo Kekäläinen have put the team in a great situation to rebuild moving forward There's a lot of upside among the Jackets' prospects, so Columbus sneaks into the top-10.

Top-three prospects: Kent Johnson, Kirill Marchenko, Cole Sillinger

10.  Dallas Stars

The Stars are in the top-10 after a great 2021 NHL Draft, which saw them pick up Logan Stankoven (47th overall) and Ayrton Martino (73rd) much later than they should have gone. Dallas is likely betting that their diminutive size won't hold them back, and they're likely right given the direction the NHL is taking.

They also have an impressive array of offensive talent ready to jump into the big league in the next couple of years, such as Ty Dellandrea and Mavrik Bourque. Defenseman Thomas Harley seems set for a full-time NHL job as soon as 2021-2022, and goaltender Jake Oettinger shows great promise for the near future.

Top-three prospects: Thomas Harley, Logan Stankoven, Ty Dellandrea

11.  Nashville Predators

The Predators entered the 2021 NHL Draft with two first-round picks, which they used to select Fyodor Svechkov and Zachary L'Heureux, two versatile forwards with wildly different approaches to the game. They ended the draft with some pretty shrewd picks, but few players who could make a true difference at the next level. Add on top of that the existing talent in their system, such as Phillip Tomasino, Yaroslav Askarov and David Farrance, and the Preds have a great future ahead.

Top-three prospects: Yaroslav Askarov, Phillip Tomasino, Fyodor Svechkov

12.  Winnipeg Jets

The Jets did themselves a great favor by adding Chaz Lucius to their pipeline with their 18th overall pick, and then selecting the dynamic Nikita Chibrikov at 50th overall. For a team that has Cole Perfetti already as a future first-line center, the need for supporting goal-scorers and play-drivers was clear. Their defensive prospects Ville Heinola and Anton Johannesson are on the right track, and the team added Dmitri Kuzmin (82nd overall) in 2021, adding more talent to their blue line prospect pool. A team set to be better in the near future.

Top-three prospects: Cole Perfetti, Ville Heinola, Chaz Lucius

13.  Florida Panthers

The Panthers already had Anton Lundell and Grigori Denisenko as high-end prospects in the pipeline, and had a great draft in 2021 by adding Matthew Samoskevich and Evan Nause with their first two picks. The team also owns one of the best goaltender prospects in the world in Spencer Knight, who was terrific in a short sample of games for the Panthers, namely in the 2021 playoffs, playing in two games and earning a .933 save percentage. Great potential all around for the Panthers, who might lack a bit of prospect depth on defense.

Top-three prospects: Anton Lundell, Spencer Knight, Grigori Denisenko

14.  New Jersey Devils

The Devils earn the 13th spot mainly thanks to their addition of Luke Hughes in the 2021 NHL Draft, as well as the depth they have at forward. Nolan Foote is still a prospect, as he has only played six NHL games, and shows promise as a goal-scorer from the left wing; Alexander Holtz looks primed to take over on the right wing with his own goal-scoring prowess. Dawson Mercer is another winger who shows promise, mainly for his two-way game and dual-threat offense. The team also has a couple long-term projects in the books, with Shakir Mukhamadullin and Ethan Edwards slowly building their game. All they're missing is a top-tier goaltender prospect to jump up the power rankings drastically.

Top-three prospects: Luke Hughes, Alexander Holtz, Nolan Foote

15.  Buffalo Sabres

The Sabres came off one of the worst NHL seasons in recent history, as very few players had good results for the team. This at least allowed them to win the Draft Lottery and pick first-overall in 2021, selecting Owen Power. They later added Isak Rosén and Prokhor Poltapov to their offensive depth chart. The Sabres' highest hope for immediate offensive help is Jack Quinn, who had a great AHL season and seems ready to contribute with the big team, but the lack of top-tier offensive and defensive talent and depth hurts their ranking on this list. Their goaltender position seems covered with Ukko-Pekka Luukonen, who struggled a bit last year in the AHL but has otherwise been outstanding at every level he's played with.

Top-three prospects: Ukko-Pekka Luukonen, Owen Power, Jack Quinn

16.  Toronto Maple Leafs

The Maple Leafs have been stocking up on offensive chance-creators over the past few years, with Nick Robertson, Rodion Amirov, Roni Hirvonen and Veeti Miettinen all playing a quick, high-tempo game that leads to many scoring chances. The team had traded some picks in 2021, and ended up with three selections in total: they used their first two picks to select Matthew Knies and Ty Voit, both great offensive facilitators that could have gone way higher. The Leafs' defense and goaltender prospect options are quite limited, especially with Rasmus Sandin having graduated this season, but the offensive potential in their pool sees them sneak into the top-15.

Top-three prospects: Nick Robertson, Rodion Amirov, Matthew Knies

17.  Montréal Canadiens

A team with a good quantity of above-average prospects but no outstanding talent apart from Cole Caufield, the Canadiens barely miss out on the top-15 due to a sub-par 2021 NHL Draft, which saw them draft a few prospects with decent chances of making the cut, but none that have true game-breaking talent. Among the players already in their system, Caufield has the best chance of being an NHL star; he showed the ability to take over a game offensively from Day 1, and has immense goal-scoring potential. Next-highest on the upside chart are defenseman Mattias Norlinder and goaltender Cayden Primeau, both of whom have a real but slim chance of being top-end players at their respective positions. Watch out for Jesse Ylönen and Jordan Harris, who could sneak onto the roster soon.

Top-three prospects: Cole Caufield, Cayden Primeau, Mattias Norlinder

18.  Philadelphia Flyers

Joel Farabee's graduation to the NHL this past season hurt the Flyers' pipeline value, but they compensated for that with the selection of Samu Tuomaala at 46th overall. The rest of their draft went a bit strangely, however, with reaches and stretches for prospects that were quite obscure to the scouting world. They still have Morgan Frost to develop in 2021-2022, and have an impressive array of high-end defense prospects such as Emil Andrae and Cam York, but the biggest wild card is goaltender Ivan Fedotov, who put up outstanding numbers in the KHL these past two seasons. He could be the next Ilya Sorokin or Alex Georgiev, but we'll only know once he's in North America.

Top-three prospects Morgan Frost, Cam York, Emil Andrae

19.  Ottawa Senators

The Senators played a lot of the prospects they had, to the point of affecting their current pipeline. Players like Tim Stützle, Josh Norris and Erik Brännström graduated from the system and left a few holes among the remaining prospects in the pool. An almost awful 2021 NHL Draft did not help, as the team left promising talent on the board to reach for Tyler Boucher at 10th overall, and didn't compensate with any redeeming picks later on. Their current pool still shows promise, with Jake Sanderson, Shane Pinto and Ridly Grieg seemingly headed towards prominent NHL roles.

Top-three prospects: Jake Sanderson, Shane Pinto, Ridly Grieg

20.  Edmonton Oilers

The Oilers made a pretty good decision on Day 1 of the 2021 NHL Draft, drafting center Xavier Bourgault with their 22nd overall pick. They then went on a trend of strange decisions, drafting players not many scouting websites nor NHL Central Scouting had ranked. Their current pool makes up for it, as Evan Bouchard, Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg as well as Bourgault show promise for NHL action, but the Oilers could really benefit from better late-round drafting.

Top-three prospects: Evan Bouchard, Xavier Bourgault, Dylan Holloway

21.  Calgary Flames

The Flames had themselves a very decent 2021 NHL Draft, selecting Matthew Coronato at 13th in a bit of a stretch while still acquiring a good player. They then selected another good prospect in William Strömgren in the second round and then added a couple of third-round projects in Cole Huckins and Cameron Whynot who could be decent players down the line. Their current pool is headlined by Jakob Pelletier and Connor Zary, but their defense is lackluster; Jérémie Poirier is a longshot to make the NHL, and there's no game-breaker on the back-end other than him. Watch out for goaltender Dustin Wolf; he's been dominating the WHL with Everett and could be interesting for the Flames.

Top-three prospects: Jakob Pelletier, Matthew Coronato, Connor Zary

22.  Vancouver Canucks

When the Canucks traded their ninth-overall pick to the Arizona Coyotes, they sacrificed the future for the present. The team missed out on a top-end prospect like Dylan Guenther in favor of improving their current product and attempting to ice a competitive team. With Nils Höglander now a part of the main team, Vasili Podkolzin is now the only prospect remaining in the Canucks' pipeline with real top-end upside, apart from maybe Danila Klimovich, their 2021 second-round selection. The presence of Jack Rathbone in the system does show promise for the team's blue line, but the cupboards are starting to get bare.

Top-three prospects: Vasili Podkolzin, Jack Rathbone, Danila Klimovich

23.  Vegas Golden Knights

The Golden Knights find themselves short of a high-end prospect as they traded Cody Glass in a three-team deal that saw them recuperate the young but established Nolan Patrick from the Philadelphia Flyers. This left them with a promising Peyton Krebs in their pipeline, but not much else to work with. A potential top-four defenseman here, a bottom-six forward there, but the Knights' pipeline is drying up. The addition of Zach Dean in the first round of the 2021 NHL Draft helps them restock a bit, but there's some work to do to bring the Knights' long-term future some stability.

Top-three prospects: Peyton Krebs, Zach Dean, Brendan Brisson

24.  Arizona Coyotes

The Coyotes' low ranking among teams' prospect pipelines is entirely their fault; they attempted to circumvent the NHL's Draft Combine rules, and were forced to renounce two first-rounders as a result. The Coyotes did manage to get away with it, obtaining Vancouver's first-round pick in a complex deal involving Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Conor Garland and a couple of cap dumps. Dylan Guenther, who they selected with Vancouver's ninth-overall pick, is by far the best prospect in their pool, although Victor Söderström does have some strong upside. Watch out for Matias Maccelli, who was second-best in scoring among under-21 Finnish Liiga players in 2020-2021.

Top-three prospects: Dylan Guenther, Victor Söderström, Matias Maccelli

25.  St. Louis Blues

The Blues' 2021 NHL Draft picks allowed them to offer immediate relief to a drying well of prospects with Jordan Kyrou graduating, as the team added Zachary Bolduc and Simon Robertsson to their system. Bolduc was a bit of a reach, but adding Robertsson in the third round more than makes up for it. The team does have a couple of potential roster players, but has a lot of work to do in order to bring in quality prospects and ensure their long-term future; they have a competitive main team, however, and can get away with it for the moment.

Top-three prospects: Zachary Bolduc, Simon Robertsson, Jake Neighbours

26.  Boston Bruins

Before the 2020-2021 season started, the Bruins only had Jack Studnicka as a serious prospect in their system, as most of the organization's other young projects had a lot more questions than answers in their game. After Studnicka's underwhelming 2020-2021 season, it seemed like the Bruins' rankings would drop even lower. However, the emergence of Jeremy Swayman as one of the league's most promising goaltenders brings the Bruins up a couple of notches. Combine that with a strong 2021 NHL Draft in which the team saw Fabian Lysell drop right in their lap, and the team is on its way up the standings. Defenseman Mason Lohrei is another breakout name from this season, as he put up 59 points in 48 games at the USHL level.

Top-three prospects: Fabian Lysell, Jeremy Swayman, Mason Lohrei

27.  Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins' first pick in the 2021 NHL Draft was the 58th overall selection, well into the second round. They managed to pick up Tristan Broz, who is a promising forward with a varied arsenal of offensive tools. He joins Samuel Poulin on the team as the two main forward prospects, with P.O. Joseph being the main blueliner in the Pens' system. Joseph will likely play out his 2021-22 season in the NHL, leaving very little promise behind him in the Pens' defense prospect pool. Joel Blomqvist is a goaltender to keep an eye on in the next few years; he could marinate in the Liiga for a couple of seasons and come to North America as a great starting goaltender.

Top-three prospects: Samuel Poulin, Joel Blomqvist, Tristan Broz

28.  Chicago Blackhawks

The Blackhawks made some strange selections at the 2021 NHL Draft, which does not bode well for their lackluster prospect pool; they still have Nicolas Beaudin in their system, but the young defenseman is all but guaranteed a full-time spot next year. Lukas Reichel could be a very good NHL player one day, and they have goaltender Drew Commesso working on improving his game in the NCAA, but their prospect pool is looking more and more like a puddle. Selecting Nolan Allan in this year's first round is definitely a head-scratcher, and they didn't make up for it with their later picks, either.

Top-three prospects: Nicolas Beaudin, Lukas Reichel, Drew Commesso

29.  Washington Capitals

The Capitals are another team that traded away their first-rounder this year, and ended up selecting for the first time in the mid-fifties. Apart from Brent Johnson in the third round, they did not select many potential game-breakers (nor did they have many left to choose from), and are left to rely on Connor McMichael and Hendrix Lapierre to hopefully pan out as they're projected to. Lapierre is a big question mark given his concussion history and his lack of breakout production post-draft, but McMichael looks like a surefire prospect at the moment.

Top three prospects: Connor McMichael, Hendrix Lapierre, Brent Johnson

30.  New York Islanders

The Islanders have very little to show for on the prospects side, especially since they traded their 2021 first-rounder for Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac at the trade deadline. They had to wait until the 54th overall pick to be allowed to jump on stage, picking Aatu Räty in the second round. Räty was expected to be in the run-up for the first-overall pick of the draft, but fell off hard after a mediocre draft-year season. He remains very talented, and could be a steal at 54. The Isles also have Samuel Bolduc, a sizable defenseman with good skating and offensive upside. Ruslan Iskhakov is a sleeper pick from the team's system, as he earned 38 points in 54 men's league games in the Finnish Liiga. Unfortunately, that seems to be the extent of the team's potential impact players for the future, especially with Kieffer Bellows' underwhelming career so far.

Top-three prospects: Aatu Räty, Samuel Bolduc, Ruslan Iskhakov

31.  Seattle Kraken

As was mentioned at the beginning of the rankings, the Kraken sees its name closer to the bottom due to the fact that they only have one round of picks in their system; that means that the team has exactly one high-end prospect, and that's Matthew Beniers. That's one more than the team below them, however, and Beniers is a great prospect around which to build their pipeline. Their late-round additions, such as overage defenseman Ryker Evans and center Ryan Winterton, are not the flashiest picks and indicate that the team is looking for a slow and steady build-up, rather than the rambunctious league entry that the Vegas Golden Knights concocted in 2018.

Top-three prospects: Matthew Beniers, Ryker Evans, Ryan Winterton

32.  Tampa Bay Lightning

Simply put, the Lightning currently have zero high-impact potential prospects in their system. An argument can be made for the freshly-drafted Dylan Duke or for defenseman Eamon Powell, who had a coming-out party in the NCAA this season, but it seems like those players will likely assume support roles in the team without being able to dislodge any of the household names in Tampa. Swedish goaltender Hugo Alnefelt could be something interesting down the road, but there is no chance that he steals Andrei Vasilevskiy's starter role with the two-time cup-winning team. The Lightning will need to retain at least a couple of draft picks in the upcoming years in order to prolong their window of competitiveness.

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Hadi K.

Follow me on Twitter @HadiK_Scouting for all of your fantasy prospect needs!