Welcome to Scott Wheeler’s 2020 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 evaluations and commentary from coaches and staff on more than 500 prospects, runs from Jan. 13 to Feb. 11.



I knew from the beginning of this process which team was going to sit at No. 1 when it was over, barring major trades. But deciding on an order for the rest of the top five teams proved challenging. I even considered placing the Senators (who landed at No. 7) and Ducks (who landed at No. 6), a couple of spots higher, which would’ve widened that cluster in the top five.



Ultimately, though, I settled on the Canadiens at No. 2 because they were the team in that group that blended a top-tier prospect with legitimate depth at every position. There were teams in the top-end of the series that had better depth (Ottawa, for...