NHL Draft 2017: Team-by-Team Results, Grades and Analysis

Several teams significantly altered their futures Friday and Saturday by virtue of their selections in the 2017 NHL draft, held in Chicago.

Although the draft seemingly lacked generational talent, the likes of New Jersey Devils center Nico Hischier and Philadelphia Flyers center Nolan Patrick have a chance to make instant impacts and develop into All-Star players.

The 2017 NHL draft is officially in the books, and every selection for every team can be seen at NHL.com.

As the focus starts to shift toward free agency, here is a full listing of draft grades for the league's teams, as well as a closer look at the organizations that left Chicago with the most impressive haul.

Grades

Anaheim Ducks: B- (Top pick: LW Maxime Comtois)

Arizona Coyotes: C+ (Top pick: D Pierre-Olivier Joseph)

Boston Bruins: C+ (Top pick: D Urho Vaakanainen)

Buffalo Sabres: B+ (Top pick: C Casey Mittelstadt)

Calgary Flames: C+ (Top pick: D Juuso Valimaki)

Carolina Hurricanes: B (Top pick: C Martin Necas)

Chicago Blackhawks: C (Top pick: D Henri Jokiharju)

Colorado Avalanche: A- (Top pick: D Cale Makar)

Columbus Blue Jackets: C- (Top pick: C Alexandre Texier)

Dallas Stars: B+ (Top pick: D Miro Heiskanen)

Detroit Red Wings: B (Top pick: C Michael Rasmussen)

Edmonton Oilers: B- (Top pick: RW Kailer Yamamoto)

Florida Panthers: B+ (Top pick: RW Owen Tippett)

Los Angeles Kings: B+ (Top pick: C Gabriel Vilardi)

Minnesota Wild: D+ (Top pick: RW Ivan Lodnia)

Montreal Canadiens: C+ (Top pick: C Ryan Poehling)

Nashville Predators: A- (Top pick: RW Eeli Tolvanen)

New Jersey Devils: B+ (Top pick: C Nico Hischier)

New York Islanders: C- (Top pick: D Robin Salo)

New York Rangers: B+ (Top pick: C Lias Andersson)

Ottawa Senators: B (Top pick: C Shane Bowers)

Philadelphia Flyers: A (Top pick: C Nolan Patrick)

Pittsburgh Penguins: D+ (Top pick: D Zachary Lauzon)

San Jose Sharks: B+ (Top pick: C Josh Norris)

St. Louis Blues: B+ (Top pick: C Robert Thomas)

Tampa Bay Lightning: B+ (Top pick: D Cal Foote)

Toronto Maple Leafs: B (Top pick: Timothy Liljegren)

Vancouver Canucks: A- (Top pick: C Elias Pettersson)

Vegas Golden Knights: A (Top pick: C Cody Glass)

Washington Capitals: D (Top pick: D Tobias Geisser)

Winnipeg Jets: B (Top pick: LW Kristian Vesalainen)

Top Teams

Vegas Golden Knights

The Vegas Golden Knights entered the draft with three first-round picks thanks to some wheeling and dealing during the expansion draft, and they left the Windy City with an impressive group of prospects.

With the No. 6, No. 13 and No. 15 overall picks respectively, the Golden Knights landed center Cody Glass, center Nick Suzuki and defenseman Erik Brannstrom.

Scott Wheeler of the Toronto Star is among the many who liked what Vegas was able to do:

All three first-round picks have a chance to be major contributors in the NHL, but Glass undoubtedly tops the list after going from scoring 27 points in the WHL in 2015-16 to a remarkable 94 for the Portland Winterhawks last season.

Per Gary Lawless of the Golden Knights' official website, general manager George McPhee considered trading up to nab Glass.

He was able to get him by staying at No. 6 and was pleased to have done so: "He's a smart, smart player. An elite center with exceptional hockey sense. Getting to draft a top-end centre like Cody—it's a great fit for us."

In addition to a big-time goal scorer in Suzuki and offensively gifted blueliner in Brannstrom, the Golden Knights got another promising defenseman early in the second round in Nicolas Hague.

They also added depth throughout the rest of the draft, and they have plenty of metaphorical lottery tickets at their disposal as they attempt to build themselves into a competitive franchise.

Philadelphia Flyers

The Philadelphia Flyers potentially saw the top player in the draft fall into their laps at No. 2 in the form of Patrick, but that was far from their only coup Friday and Saturday.

Patrick is coming off a season that saw him appear in only 33 games because of injury, but he racked up 102 points in 2015-16, and every indication is he will be a No. 1 center at the NHL level provided he can stay healthy.

The Flyers selected an additional two promising forwards, as a trade with the St. Louis Blues allowed them to take center Morgan Frost at No. 27 before nabbing left winger Isaac Ratcliffe early in the second round.

Charlie O'Connor of Broad Street Hockey believes Philly's draft class has a high floor in addition to a high ceiling:

Frost is coming off a season that saw him put up 62 points in 67 games in the OHL, while Ratcliffe was a 28-goal scorer for the OHL's Guelph Storm.

Since the Flyers already have a bevy of up-and-coming defensemen, building up the forward group was a clear focus entering the draft.

They did precisely that by landing a player who should help immediately, along with two forwards who could play significant roles further down the road.

Colorado Avalanche

Few teams entered the draft with as many needs as the Colorado Avalanche, but there is no question that defense has been their Achilles' heel over the past several seasons.

The Avs have largely focused on drafting forwards early in recent years, but they departed from that on Friday and Saturday.

With the No. 4 overall pick in the draft, Colorado took highly touted offensive defenseman Cale Makar out of the AJHL in Canada.

Makar played against a low level of competition, but he dominated last season to the tune of 24 goals and 75 points in 54 games.

Adrian Dater of BSN Denver believes the Avalanche got it right by jumping at the chance to select Makar:

While he has a lot of developing left to do and is likely to play collegiate hockey next season, Makar has received comparisons to Ottawa Senators rearguard Erik Karlsson because of his offensive dynamism.

Getting Makar alone would've been big for Colorado, but it also came away with a potential steal with the first pick of the second round in defenseman Conor Timmins.

Timmins was considered a first-round prospect by many after putting up 61 points in 67 games for the OHL's Soo Greyhounds last season.

Both Makar and Timmins have a lot of developing to do, but Colorado may have left the draft with its top defensive pairing of the future.