The New York Rangers announced some exciting news, as they have signed a couple of top prospects in their system, coming over from Russia. Most notably, their 2018 1st round draft pick, forward Vitali Kravtsov inked his 3-year entry-level deal and then 2014 4th round pick, goalie Igor Shesterkin got his 2-year entry-level deal.As a 19-year old, Kravtsov played in his 2nd full season in the KHL, suiting up with Traktor Chelyabinsk and this season he posted 8 goals and 21 points in 50 games, but really made his mark with his international service, 6 points in seven games at the World Juniors for Russia this past holiday season.
The 23-year old goalie has been posting some great numbers in the KHL, going 24-5 with St. Petersburg SKA with a 1.11 GAA and .953 save percentage in the 2019 regular season. There will certainly be a lot of eyes on him in training camp, as the Rangers may be looking to pass the torch before too long in their crease.
It will be interesting to see if either or both of these guys can crack the Rangers' roster out of camp next fall, so they'll be a couple of players to keep an eye on.
The Detroit Red Wings signed 2018 1st round pick Joe Veleno on Wednesday after completing a very successful season with the Drummondville Voltigeurs in the QMJHL in 2019, where he scored 104 points in 59 games and he also represented Canada at the World Juniors this year as well, picking up a couple of assists in five games played. The Red Wings are trying to quickly overhaul their roster with some more youth, after a solid spring of signing NCAA talent as well.
The Edmonton Oilers also put pen to paper with a 2018 draft pick, a 2nd rounder in forward Ryan McLeod, who split time with Mississauga and Saginaw in the OHL this season, finishing off a playoff run with the Spirit this week. The Oilers signed the 40th overall pick to an NHL deal and sent him directly to their AHL affiliate for their playoff run, hoping that he can help provide a bit of a boost to their Calder Cup hopes.
This past week, the Dallas Stars locked up one of their top prospects for the start of next season, 2016 1st round draft pick Riley Tufte. Tufte and the Stars agreed upon a 3-year entry-level deal, which will start next season and work the rookie maximum cap hit of $925,000, but doesn't have a great deal, in terms of performance bonuses, according to CapFriendly.
The Vegas Golden Knights finally lured Russian forward Nikita Gusev over to North America, as he had been playing in the KHL since he was drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning back in 2012. Gusev was dealt to the Golden Knights prior to the expansion draft, as part of a deal that would see the Golden Knights play ball and claim the right player in the draft. Nevertheless, Gusev has joined the Golden Knights for the playoff run, signing a deal that goes through to the remainder of the playoffs and he will be a restricted free agent come July 1st.
One day after falling just short of a national championship at the NCAA Frozen Four, University of Massachusetts standout defenseman Cale Makar has indeed signed with the Colorado Avalanche. The 4th overall pick in the 2017 entry draft has really made some waves at the college level and the international level, playing for Canada, and he will be looked upon as a cornerstone player for the Avalanche for a long, long time.
Kind of dropped the ball on a couple of key top prospect signings, starting with the Nashville Predators signing 2016 1st round draft pick Dante Fabbro to his entry-level deal yesterday. The 20-year old defenseman finished his college season with Boston University this week and decided to forego another season at the NCAA level to go pro and get some time in with the Predators. Fabbro has been a productive offensive blueliner at the college level, represented Canada at the World Juniors and could be a guy to help eat up some minutes at the pro level. It doesn't look like he'll be the greatest offensive threat, but he could be a reasonable add at a Waiver Draft in the hockey pool, if push came to shove and his full rookie campaign next season goes well.
The New York Islanders also pulled from the college ranks, getting forward Oliver Wahlstrom to commit out of college really early, as the 2018 1st round pick said that he was ready to join the pro ranks and he'll get some time in at the AHL level this season and he might make a quality push for a roster spot on an Islanders team that will reward some hard work. Wahlstrom is coming out of Boston College this season, where he had 19 points in 36 games, but the Islanders are pretty high on this 18-year old, convincing him to turn pro and sign his deal right away this spring. He's already got some size, but he will likely need some time to develop, but it's certainly going in the right direction for him.
The Vancouver Canucks got a late season gift to their season, as they will be looking to debut their 1st round pick from this past summer, defenseman Quinn Hughes, as he has finished his college season with the Michigan Wolverines and he has signed his entry-level deal, making things official with the club on Tuesday, after his physical. 
The Washington Capitals may have already sent defenseman Alexander Alexeyev back to junior from training camp already, but that doesn't mean they were through showing their appreciation for his hard work in camp this summer/fall. The Capitals signed their top pick in last year's draft, the 31st overall selection, to his 3-year entry-level deal on Monday, a deal that is expected to slide through into next year, but they now have him locked down within the organization.
On Sunday, the Winnipeg Jets announced that they came to terms with their 2017 1st round draft pick, forward Kristian Vesalainen, inking him to his entry-level deal. The 19-year old was taken with the 24th overall pick and played in Finland's top league last season, picking up 43 points in 49 games, playing with men. 
The New Jersey Devils announced on Monday afternoon, that they signed their top pick in the 2018 entry draft, defenseman Ty Smith. Smith was the 17th overall selection, scouted as one of the top skaters in his draft class and now becomes the 23rd player in the class to sign his entry-level deal.
I counted, at this time last year, that there were 254 rookies to appear in at least one NHL game in the 2017 season, but only 28 of them were pool worthy players: 15 forwards, 10 defensemen and three goalies. In the 2018 season, there were 240 players, qualified as rookies, to appear in at least one NHL game and 27 of them were considered to be pool worthy: 15 forwards, eight defensemen and four goalies.
With that being said, one of our pool worthy goalies from last season, Vegas' Malcolm Subban still qualifies as a rookie for this season, as he has only appeared in a total of 24 NHL games in three seasons and is still only 24 years old.
The Islanders were not the only team signing a top prospect, as the Ottawa Senators have convinced their top pick, Brady Tkachuk, the 4th overall selection, to forego college and turn pro right away. On Monday, they made it official with the 3-year entry-level deal signed and he will participate in training camp in September.
The Anaheim Ducks are very high on their 1st round draft pick from June's entry draft, forward Isac Lundestrom, and they took the necessary step to see him in a Ducks jersey before too long, signing him to his 3-year entry-level deal. Lundestrom is a centre by trade and it is believed that his strong skating and hockey instincts could project him into the roster before too long.
The Columbus Blue Jackets announced on Monday that they have signed their top pick from the 2018 entry draft, forward Liam Foudy, giving him his 3-year entry-level deal. Foudy was taken with the 18th overall selection after a decent season, numbers-wise, with the OHL's London Knights, picking up 40 points in 65 games with the club. Foudy is listed as a centre and the premium that was put on the pivot position in this draft was pretty high, so the Jackets were able to snag him with their mid-round pick and signing him straight away means that they have some high expectations for him off the hop.
There was sure a lot of talk about how far defenseman Ryan Merkley could slide down the draft rankings, just before the entry draft had started. The kid had carried a reputation of being a selfish player that is hard to manage, but the San Jose Sharks felt strongly about him. They took him with their 1st round pick, 21st overall, and not only that, signed him to his 3-year entry-level deal on Wednesday as well.
It was leaked on Sunday night and formally announced on Monday morning, that Toronto Maple Leafs 1st round pick in June, defenseman Rasmus Sandin, signed his 3-year entry-level deal. It has been reported that Sandin will earn the rookie maximum cap hit of $925,000 in each of his three seasons, assuming that he plays right away, but there won't be any performance bonuses to speak of. Sandin was taken with the 29th overall pick, so there is a significant difference between the top end picks and the lower end picks, even in the 1st round.
On Friday, the Los Angeles Kings inked their top pick in the 2018 entry draft, Finnish forward Rasmus Kupari, the 20th overall selection. The 18-year old signed his 3-year entry-level deal, which will give him a salary cap hit of $925,000 before his performance bonuses.
The St. Louis Blues signed their 1st round pick in June's entry draft, 18-year old German forward Dominik Bokk, giving him his 3-year entry-level deal. Bokk is likely to play in Sweden in the 2019 season, but he does have some sparkling scouting reports under his name, suggesting that he has some very good offensive upside, which will eventually find its way over to the North American game. The Blues now have him locked up, with his contract likely to slide with the assignment back over to Sweden, so he'll be under their roof for the next four seasons.