In a new feature aimed to warm the heart and numb the mind, Buster Gunning presents “Busters Little Heroes”, tales of local amateur athletes who go above and beyond their sport and achieve greatness, if only for one day. This week’s her, Paul Homenock of Dallas, Texas, is fresh off a four-ringer performance at a Dallas pool party last weekend.
With the emergence of Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin, the NHL certainly has an abundance of future stars emerging through their respective organizations. Here is a list ranking the NHL’s top prospects.
Throughout the year we will be ranking who we think the top 5 players are in each position every month. These lists will change and it’s based on what they’ve done thus far in the year.
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By Adam Kirshenblatt
1. Buffalo: Injuries have caused them to look more like the Rochester Americans, but hasn’t slowed them down.
2. Vancouver: The combination of Luongo and the Sedin twins have propelled them to the top of their division. They will need more than that to do well in the playoffs.
3. Anaheim: The only one of the contenders to do nothing at the trade deadline has been consistent throughout the season. However, an injury to Pronger can cause them to fall a bit.
4. Detroit: Injuries have been a concern for the Wings, but once healthy this perennial playoff team will be better than ever with the acquisition of Bertuzzi.
5. Nashville: Struggled for a bit after acquiring Forsberg from Philadelphia, but they are hitting their stride now. Look for them to be a force when Sullivan and Hartnell return from injury.
6. New Jersey: The Devils have been riding Brodeur like there’s no tomorrow. But have lost every game since Jansson’s cheap shot on Tomas Kaberle.
7. Pittsburgh: The majority of their wins have been in overtime and in the shootout, where their skill and speed gives them the advantage over any team in the league.
8. Ottawa: Since the Buffalo Brawl, Emery has been shaky. The Sens have lost 3 games after leading going into the 3rd period.
9. New York Islanders: Rick DiPietro has been on fire for the Islanders all season, most recently stopping 56 of 57 shots against the Rangers (in a shootout loss). They should be rising in the standings after getting Smyth from the Oilers
10. Dallas: The Stars are completing another successful season, but this was never a question for them. This year has to be Turco’s year in the playoffs or he might not be a Star next year.
11. Calgary: The strangest team in the NHL right now. The most dominant team when in Calgary, but the worst team in the league on the road. If the playoffs started today, the Flames would be in big trouble without home ice advantage.
12. San Jose: The Sharks are still having trouble clicking together after the Guerin trade. It’s only a matter of time.
13. Tampa Bay: Riding the offence of Lecavalier, St. Louis, and Richards right now. Goaltending is still suspect.
14. Toronto: Losing Kaberle for what could be the season really hurts but look for them to rally behind that hit to fall into the 8th seed. Only problem is out of all the teams fighting for that spot, the Leafs have the toughest schedule.
15. Atlanta: They’ve blown the division lead and they could be on the verge of blowing a playoff spot. If that happens look for Waddell to have blown his job.
16. Minnesota: Have played fairly decent through most of the year, but goaltending is still a question. They’re in a fight for that 8th spot despite what the standings say right now.
17. Colorado: They are one of the hottest teams in the league led by rookie Paul Stastny. The question is do they have enough time to overtake the Wild for the playoffs.
18. Boston: The Bruins have been coming on of late, but inconsistent goaltending will probably be their down fall in the playoff race.
19. New York Rangers: After beating the Islanders in a shootout after putting 57 shots on goals put them tied with the Leafs for a while, just out of the playoffs. Do not count this team out.
20. Carolina: The defending Stanley Cup Champions just don’t seem to want to be in this year’s playoff tournament. Staal and Ward have not played up to expectations this season. If those two pick it up, it’s no contest for the 8th spot.
21. Montreal: This team was very much in the playoff race until they decided to be sellers at the trade deadline by trading Rivet to the Sharks and shopping Souray right to the last minute. Without Huet in the lineup this team will fall fast in the standings.
22. St. Louis: Andy Murray has done a great job with the Blues and they probably had the best trade deadline out of all teams by acquiring a lot of young assets for their rent-a-players. They won’t be making the playoffs this year but next year they will be making some noise.
23. Edmonton: Things have not been this low since before the lockout in Edmonton. They traded their heart and soul to the New York Islanders at the trade deadline and have fallen farther and farther down the standings and are completely out of the playoff race. Look for them to do something big in the offseason
24. Columbus: Like St. Louis, Ken Hitchcock has really turned the play of the Blue Jackets around. This was supposed to be their year for the playoffs, but look for the experience behind the bench lead them there next year.
25. Florida: The Panthers have been hot of late with Belfour looking like the pre-lockout version of the goalie. However, there’s no time for them to make a run back to the playoff race now.
26. Los Angeles Kings: Kopitar has been hurt and should be out the next week or so. But the Kings are playing spoiler role well in the west.
27. Philadelphia: The acquisitions of Biron and the young assets over the trade deadline have caused the Flyers to have a great future going into next year. Look for them to re-sign Biron and be an active party in the free agent market.
28. Chicago: This team is out of the playoffs again but help is on the way. The Hawks have a bunch of good young talent in their system that will hopefully lead them back to glory. Even as they lose though, their mix of young and old makes them an exciting team to watch.
29. Phoenix: The Gretzky led Coyotes are down and out of the playoff race, but they are just going to keep going down fighting.
30. Washington: The Caps looked like they were going to be pushing for a playoff spot this season but after a couple of losing streaks they showed that they just aren’t ready for the grind yet. Next year with young Nicklas Backstrom supposedly coming over from Europe this team will be stronger than ever… next year.
