A few months ago, it looked like this year's No. 1 goalie prospect ranking would be the easiest I've ever done, after Matt Murray was a significant part of the Penguins' Stanley Cup run.
That was before I realized Andrei Vasilevskiy had fallen just short of being considered a graduate -- 25 or more NHL games played in any one season or 50 or more NHL games total in a career -- and then this turned into one of the hardest calls I've had to make in net. After that captivating debate at No. 1, there are a number of interesting goalie prospects in the pipeline, so it's not as if the rest of the top 10 was any easier.
Furthermore, I broke the convention of five honorable mentions to have six this season because I felt this group was a tier through No. 16, and cutting one without a mention would be doing a disservice to that player.