The New York Rangers decision to move on from Nils Lundkvist in a trade with the Dallas Stars took a bite out of the quality of their prospect pool, sending them down our board from the 14th-best system to the league's 18th-best pool. We still rate him as a top prospect even after a subpar first year of North American professional hockey, and that's bound to be a big loss.

This has proven especially true for the Rangers, whose system runs deep with NHL talent but lacks any A-level prospects that could come in and significantly change the trajectory of this group for the better.

That said, when evaluating the Rangers' next wave of young talent, one can't forget just how many players they've graduated to the NHL in recent years. Players like Alexis Lafrenière and K'Andre Miller don't factor into this exercise, but if they did, it would increase the standing of New York's system substantially. They may well rate in our top 10.

So when one takes a step back and looks at the Rangers' future with a wide lens, bigger picture look, they seem as well-positioned for the coming years as any team. Only a scant few teams in the league possess players like Brennan Othmann and Brett Berard in their system; a pair of hard skill wingers who fit with this team's identity. And there's plenty of depth behind those two players, too.