Another NHL offseason is on the verge of coming to a close. Free agency has all but wrapped up and we now have a good idea of how all 31 NHL teams — and their prospect pools — will look heading into the 2018-2019 season.



That also means it’s time for my annual top 50 drafted prospects ranking. The criteria align with my team rankings. They are as follows:



The players must be 23 and under. Data suggests that a player is largely done developing by the time he turns 23. As a result, a few players I quite like, such as Blackhawks draftee (Dylan Sikura who turned 23 in June), are excluded.



Players approaching that age cutoff who spent the bulk of last season in the NHL, including young talents like Sonny Milano and Travis Sanheim, were also excluded.



Some other players (primarily those closer to the 23-year-old cutoff) who finished the year in the NHL and look poised to return this fall, such as the Maple Leafs’ Travis...