With the junior evaluation camps in Lake Placid, New York, and Montreal in the rearview mirror, it's time to roll out my initial top 100 drafted prospects rankings for 2014-15. I provide a separate ranking for goalies due to the fact that I rank most of them fairly low relative to skaters. For example, my top two on this list would be ranked at about No. 50 and No. 80, respectively, in the overall top 100.
As part of this prospects package, we will also have the organization pipeline ranks, and will have the top 10 prospects by team running next week.
The following ranking and analysis are based on my own observations and include notes I've picked up in conversations with scouts and other NHL sources:
Top 100 index | No. 1-50 | No. 51-100 | Top 10 goalies
1. Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning
2013-14 team: Salavat Yulaev Ufa (KHL)
2013-14 stats: 28 GP | 2.21 GAA | .923 SV%
I'm not exaggerating when I say this: Vasilevskiy is one of the best goalie prospects of the past 20 years. He's a special player who has excelled if not dominated at just about every level and major event he's participated in during the past five years, including the KHL playoffs. Vasilevskiy has good size -- 6-foot-3, 201 pounds -- elite athleticism, and a high hockey IQ and technical refinement you don't typically see in a goalie of his age (20).