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NHL teams have been stocking prospect cupboards for 100 years and it remains a staple of success. In fact, procurement of youngsters is even more important in the salary-cap era, when players are being lost to free agency or trade every summer.

An excellent example of the importance of having a strong prospect system is the quick turnaround by the Toronto Maple Leafs. The club improved by 36 points in the standings in the 2016-17 season partly due to a historic rookie class. Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner all posted more than 60 points, while Toronto got 20 goals from Connor Brown. Effective defensive play by Nikita Zaitsev and strong two-way play by Zach Hyman were also part of the monster crop of freshman.

That's the goal for the other 30 NHL teams, while the Maple Leafs attempt to maintain the team's current status as an outstanding producer of NHL talent. Here are the top 10 prospect pools in the NHL after last week's 2017 draft.