Welcome to the 2015 edition of Top Shelf Prospects. As the summer progresses, I will be featuring each NHL team’s top prospects, following the order of the first round of the 2015 NHL draft (as if there were no traded draft picks) — you can find all the articles here.

Because we already published an extensive NHL Draft preview, I will not be reviewing the players who were drafted in 2015, as my reports on them will not have changed — I will, however, link you to those articles. Instead I will focus on prospects that were acquired in past drafts, examining their progress and their chances of making the 2015-16 roster of their respective NHL team. I will also choose one sleeper pick – a player who was either drafted in the fourth round or later, or was an undrafted free agent signing who I pick as a darkhorse to make the NHL.

For those wondering, the determining factors for defining who is or isn’t a prospect is typically about 50 NHL games played or being 25 years old. These are not set in stone, and I may make some exceptions depending on the circumstances.

It was a bit surprising, and not in a good way, that the Pittsburgh Penguins didn’t clinch their spot in the NHL playoffs until the last weekend of the season. The Penguins then fell in the first round of the NHL playoffs. For a team with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin as the foundation, and who expect to compete for the Stanley Cup every year, it prompted changes as well.

Out are Paul Martin and Steve Downie who left as free agents; and Brandon Sutter who was traded to the Canucks. Christian Ehrhoff is a free agent who doesn’t seem likely to return. Coming in is former Leafs sniper Phil Kessel, former Canucks Nick Bonino and Adam Clendening. Jim Rutherford and the Penguins are also looking to improve the defence, recently announcing that they are bringing in Sergei Gonchar to try-out for the team.

2015 Draftees: Daniel Sprong, Dominick Simon, Frederik Tiffels, Nikita Pavlychev

Graduates:

Pittsburgh Penguins Prospects

Top Prospect: Derrick Pouliot, Defence

Born Jan 16 1994 — Weyburn, SASK

Height 6.00 — Weight 208 — Shoots Left

Drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1st round, 8th overall of the 2012 NHL Draft.

Derrick Pouliot was taken 8th overall by the Penguins in 2012 with a pick acquired when Pittsburgh traded Jordan Staal to the Carolina Hurricanes. Pouliot split his first year of pro hockey between the NHL and AHL, playing in 34 games and scoring 7 points with the big club, and 31 games in the AHL scoring 24 points.

Pouliot is a skilled offensive defenceman. He is one of the best skating prospects in this series, as he is very fast in both directions and has great acceleration. He also has excellent balance and agility. Pouliot uses his edges extremely well and has good pivots. He is able to change directions quickly. The outstanding mobility is Pouliot’s best asset and helps him in all aspects of the game, whether it be creating offense off the rush, walking the line in the offensive zone and opening up shooting and passing lanes on the powerplay or by helping him to contain opponents defensively.

Pouliot is very skilled with the puck on his stick, able to carry and control it efficiently and is a good stickhandler capable of making deceptive moves around opponents. He makes tape to tape passes both in starting the breakout and in setting up his teammates with excellent chances in the offensive zone. Pouliot’s shot doesn’t have the power of some other top offensive defence prospects but he makes up for that with a lightning quick release on his wrist shot and deadly accuracy. He’s able to keep his slap shot low and get it on net, which is essential for any power play quarterback as it creates good opportunities for teammates to tip in shots or pounce on rebounds.

Pouliot continues to make strides in the defensive aspects of his game, but is not fully there yet. As mentioned before his quick skating and good first pass are definite assets as he can effectively get to loose pucks, find his way out of danger, and start the transition game. Pouliot has added almost 25 pounds since his draft day and this has really helped him to be stronger. Pouliot can sometimes be overpowered by bigger, stronger opponents; though this weakness has been reduced with his extra bulk. His defensive positioning has also improved but will continue to needs work going forward. He can sometimes make errors in coverage and miss assignments leading to quality scoring chances against. He has improved over the last year, but there is still some work for him to do going forward.

Pouliot is still a solid prospect, especially with the emphasis on puck moving, mobile defencemen in the NHL today. Pouliot is an outstanding prospect who can become a top pairing defenceman if he can improve defensively. Those types of skills can be developed especially for a player with the skating and offensive mind which Pouliot possesses. Expect Pouliot to be with the Penguins this season.

Prospect #2: Oskar Sundqvist, Centre

Born Mar 23 1994 — Boden, Sweden

Height 6.03 — Weight 209 [191 cm/95 kg] — Shoots Right

Drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in round 3, 81st overall in the 2012 NHL Draft

Oskar Sundqvist nearly made the Penguins out of training camp last season. Despite a solid camp, it was decided that the youngster’s development would be better served by heading back to Sweden and playing more minutes than he would get in a fourth line role in the NHL. Suddqvist returned to Skelleftea in the SHL and put up 9 goals and 19 points in 41 games.

Sundqvist has decent overall speed, but could stand to work on his first step quickness and his acceleration. His agility could also be a bit better. Its not that these areas are bad, its just that they won’t really stand out at the NHL level. One area that is above average is his strength and balance on his skates. This allows him to win battles on the boards or drive to the net.

Sundqvist has good vision and passing skills. His balance and puck protection allow him to extend plays in the cycle game and wait for a teammate to get open. Sundqivst controls the puck well down below the circles and uses his long reach and his big body to shield the puck from defenders. He has a decent shot, it is accurate and has a good release.

Sundqvist is a well developped two-way player and can be used to kill penalties. His long reach and excellent positioning help him to cut down passing lanes in the defensive zone. He is very good at reading the play and anticipating plays. Sundqvist may need to get better in the faceoff circle to be a true shutdown centre, though this is something that can be improved with hard work.

Sundqvist will again push for a spot in training camp, however with recent signings of Eric Fehr and Matt Cullen, there may not be room for him in Pittsburgh, and he may start the year in Wilkes-Barre where he will wait for an opportunity.

Prospect #3: Brian Dumoulin, Defence

Born Sep 6 1991 — Biddeford, ME

Height 6.04 — Weight 219 — Shoots Left

Drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2nd Round, 51st Overall in the 2009 NHL Draft.

Traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins at the 2012 NHL Draft.

Brian Dumoulin has already played three years of college hockey with Boston College (and two national championships), and three full years in the AHL. He got a bit of a shot with the Penguins this year, playing 7 regular season games and five playoffgames while Pittsburgh was going through major injuries on the blueline. He even scored his first NHL goal. Dumoulin also showed decent offence in the AHL this year with 33 points in 62 games.

Dumoulin has a very awkward, almost bowlegged skating stride. However it doesn’t seem to slow him down, as he shows excellent mobility for his size. He has decent speed, and good acceleration in both directions. He has good agility and lateral mobility, with the ability to walk the line and open up shooting and passing lanes. He has a hard shot which he keeps low and gets through to the net. Dumoulin is also a good passer from the point, capable of playing powerplay minutes, but likely maxes out as a second unit kind of guy. He makes good breakout passes to start the transition game and is not afraid to join the rush.

Dumoulin uses his size to play a physical game throwing big hits on opposing forwards, and battling in the corners and in front of the net. He needs to learn how to reign in his aggressiveness at times though as it can lead to him over-committing and getting caught out of position. These seem to be the cause of the majority of his mistakes as he is very good defensively in other areas including his general positioning when he doesn’t get overly aggressive looking for that big hit. Dumoulin is a good penalty killer using his size and long reach to cut down on passing lanes, and not being afraid to block shots.

Its now or never for Dumoulin and the Penguins, as he must be waived to be sent to the minors. I expect him to earn his spot on what should be a relatively young Penguins blueline. The question here is upside. Dumoulin does a lot of things good, but nothing really great. This likely means he will top out as a 5/6 defenceman going forward.

Sleeper: Scott Wilson, Centre/Wing

Born Apr 24 1992 — Oakville, ONT

Height 6.00 — Weight 175 [183 cm/79 kg] — Shoots Left

Drafted by Pittsburgh Penguins in round 7, 209th overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft

In his first pro season with Wilkes-Barre, Scott Wilson put up 19 goals and 41 points in 55 games. When injuries hit in Pittsburgh, he also played one regular season game and three playoff games for the Penguins. The former U-Mass Lowell star has already beaten the odds as most seventh round draft picks never make it that far.

Wilson is another forward who seems best suited for a bottom six role. He is a good skater, who digs hard in the corners and is willing to do whatever it takes to win. He is a good skater who gets in quickly on the forecheck, pressuring and hitting defencemen; and causing turnovers in the offensive zone. When he gets the chance, he has a hard and accurate wrist show. Wilson works hard on the cycle and controls the puck down low.

Wilson brings that strong work ethic to his own end of the ice. He does the same digging in the corners in his own zone and supports the defence down low. He is willing to block shots, and can even work on the penalty kill. Wilson’s responsible game makes him a coaching favorite.

Wilson is likely to start the season in the AHL, but should be one of the Penguins first callups if injuries hit.

The Penguins prospect group has been weakened by trades in recent years, as they have moved a number of prospects and draft picks attempting to win another Stanley Cup. As a result we see the group in a greatly diminished state. Daniel Sprong was a really nice high risk, high reward pick, especially given that the Penguins don’t seem to have another high potential forward in the system. The defence is a bit better with Pouliot being the high end guy, and some depth in Dumoulin and Clendening, but is nowhere near as deep as it was a few years ago. The Penguins do have a good pair of goaltenders in Matt Murray and Tristan Jarry, so this is one position that is still well stocked. Overall though, the challenge will be continuing to grow this group while also trying to get over the hump in the short term.