Corey Pronman has released his ranking of U23 players in NHL pipelines, putting out the last 8 teams today. He's divided the rankings by who he believes will make the NHL, those players have numbered rankings, and listed honorable mentions alphabetically. The HM section he believes have an outside shot at making the NHL at some point. Let's dive in and see where BRHL Sabres prospects rank:

1. Evan Bouchard RHD (EDM)

1. William Eklund LW (SJ)

1. Ty Smith LHD (PIT)

Three Sabres come in on top of their respective pipelines. Bouchard and Eklund are legit top guys. Ty Smith is there due to a lack of talent in the Penguins system. He's in the last year of his ELC so he'll need to show some progression in his game.

2. Dylan Cozens C (BUF)

2. Thomas Bordeleau C (SJ)

2. John Beecher C/W (BOS)

Ranking Cozens ahead of Owen Power is a hot take for sure, but a lot of people seem to think he's a player set to break out this coming season. Bordeleau played well in his short stint last year but might end up starting the season in the AHL. Beecher is another guy ranked highly due to a lack of depth in the Bruins system.

3. Jamie Drysdale RHD (ANA)

3. Jack Thompson RHD (TB)

I would personally rank Drysdale higher for my prospects and Thompson lower, but Anaheim has a ridiculous prospect pool and Tampa's is lacking.

4. Dawson Mercer RW (NJ)

4. Alex Turcotte C (LA)

Mercer had a good rookie season and hopefully builds on that as the team around him improves. Turcotte just needs to stay healthy and show he can put up offense this year.

5. Ridly Greig C/LW (OTT)

Really tough injury at the WJC, looks to have raised his stock a bit from his perfromance.

6. Mackie Samoskevich RW (FLA)

Looked really good in the WJC despite not putting up big numbers. Should get a bigger role at U of Michigan.

7. Zachary Jones LHD (NYR)

7. Joseph Veleno C (DET)

7. Nikita Alexandrov C (STL)

Jones may need to wait for someone to get traded to make the Rangers blueline. Veleno looks to be settling into a 3rd line checking role. His average skating might hold Alexandrov back, really smart player otherwise.

8. Jack McBain C (ARZ)

McBain looks poised to be the 4th line center in Arizona next year. A strong athletic player, not sure where his ceiling is. Should get a good idea after a full year in the NHL.

11. Lassi Thomson RHD (OTT)

13. Mattias Norlinder LHD (MTL)

14. Carter Mazur RW (DET)

We're into long shot territory, I like Mazur's and Thomson's chances of being NHLers though. Norlinder looks good too but I think he'll end up getting passed by a few of the Habs other blueline prospects.

HM. Matthew Kessel RHD (STL)

HM. Paul Cotter LW (VGK)

HM. Jakob Demek C (VGK)

HM. Francesco Arcuri C/W (DAL)

HM. Martin Chromiak RW (LA)

HM. Hunter Skinner RHD (NYR)

HM. Henry Thrun LHD (ANA)

HM. Graeme Clarke RW (NJ)

HM. Michael Vukojevic LHD (NJ)

HM. Robert Mastrosimone LW (DET)

I think Arcuri, Thrun, and Chromiak would be top 10 on some other teams lists, but due to the depth of those pipelines end up in the honorable mention section. The rest aren't trending to be impactful NHLers, but that could change.

Not listed:

Massimo Rizzo C (CAR)

Jacob Holmes LHD (DAL)

Arber Xhekaj LHD (MTL)

I think Rizzo not being mentioned for Carolina is a big omission, he's trending in the right direction. Holmes and Xhekaj I think have NHL potential but can understand Pronman not listing them.

NHL prospect tournaments are set to start in September, so we should get a good look at some of these guys who skipped the WJC prior to the start of pre-season.