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Scout
04-09-2008, 07:15 PM
I have released our newest rankings for the 2008 NHL Entry Draft in Ottawa (listed at the bottom of this blog) but I also want to focus on next year’s draft that will be held in Montreal.

Much like this year, it should be a deep and solid draft that has big names at the top. I’ll be doing another blog in a couple days that will be addressing a comment that I made a couple months ago about how it can be risky for teams to take players out of the USHL, the NAHL, U.S. High School or Canadian Jr. A.

I feel my opinion needs much more explanation and I think my perspective might be interesting for readers.

2009 NHL Entry Draft Rankings

#1 – Victor Hedman – D - 6’7, 220 Lbs – Modo (SWE)
As much as everyone has called the 2009 NHL Entry Draft the coming out party for OHL phenom John Tavares, at NACS, we currently have Victor Hedman as the best available prospect. He is a 6-foot-7 behemoth with very good feet for his size, a huge wingspan and a little bit of nastiness that keeps his opponents on the wary side. He has developed a booming shot from the point and continued to develop to the point that he is no longer the next Zdeno Chara (which we label every defenseman over 6-foot-6 who has distinct deficiencies in their game) but rather his height is just another plus in a long list of excellent skills and traits that make him a sure-fire NHL stud defender.

#2 – John Tavares – C - 6’1, 205 Lbs. – Oshawa Generals
Some will question our ranking of Tavares because we have been such huge fans of Tavares since his entry into the OHL, but much like in years past, we feel strongly that the opportunity to add a franchise defenseman is far more valuable than a franchise center. His game has been critiqued more than any prospect to ever play the game, but in our eyes, he will become an offensive superstar who will both score and create chances at a high level. His biggest weakness is his skating, but we feel increased leg strength will continue to have him improve to the point where it will be a non-factor. His vision, creativity, hand/eye coordination and imagination will be so good that, much like Crosby and Ovechkin, he will become a marketing centerpiece for whatever team drafts him.

#3 – Jared Cowen – D - 6’5, 215 Lbs. – Spokane Chiefs
Another franchise defenseman who has the whole range of skills is Jared Cowen of the Spokane Chiefs. The former first overall pick in the WHL Draft has developed very nicely and in other years, he could easily be the first overall pick if Hedman and Tavares weren’t late born ‘89s. It is easy to assume at his size he will be very good defensively, but his offensive game has really advanced, which reminds us of Jay Bouwmeester (without quite the foot speed) when he was terrorizing opponents in the WHL. Needless to say, Cowan will have quite the challenge ahead of him if he wants to move up in the rankings, but even if he doesn’t, these three are quite the trifecta to start the ’09 draft.

#4 – Matt Duchene – C - 5’11, 190 Lbs. – Brampton Battalion
The next Stan Butler-coached star heading into the NHL will be Matt Duchene of the Brampton Battalion. The new NHL is very focused on speed and creativity and this kid has these qualities in spades. He is one of the rare young athletes who has the ability to do creative things at full speed, which is very difficult for defensemen of any age to handle. Although the Battalion was ousted in the first round of the OHL playoffs, it wasn’t for the lack of effort of Duchene or his highly coveted teammate for this year’s draft, Cody Hodgson. It should be interesting to watch these two weave their magic over the next couple years.

#5 – Jordan Schroeder – 5’10 – RW, 175 Lbs. – U.S. Under-18s
The first American product in the draft will be the small but supremely talented Jordan Schroeder of the US Under 18 NTDP. Those who watched the World Junior Championship were treated to this kid’s offensive prowess and it was all the more impressive when you factor in he had just turned 17 a few months before heading overseas. In the tourney, he only trailed James van Riemsdyk, the second overall pick last year, and Nikita Filatov, this year’s highly coveted Russian superstar, in scoring. Although his offense is certainly impressive, his competitiveness and grit are also through the roof, which make a great combination for this future Minnesota Golden Gopher.

#6 – Brayden Schenn – F - 6’1, 195 Lbs. – Brandon Wheat Kings
The younger brother of this year’s top 10 pick, Luke Schenn, was the WHL’s leading scorer among rookies this season and his performance at the World Under-17’s was so dominant that it reminded us of Jonathan Toews’ performance during the 2005 championship in Lethbridge. Schenn is talented in the offensive end and he has enough grit from getting beat up by his older brother over the years. That combination will see him become a sure-fire top 10 pick and he has the abilities to certainly jump into the top five before next year’s draft.

#7 – Magnus Svensson-Paajarvi – 6’1 - LW, 195 Lbs. – Timra (SWE)
Another youngster who opened some eyes at this year’s World Junior Championship was the 16-year-old phenom from Sweden. Much has been written over the years about Svensson-Paajarvi and he certainly needs to put on some muscle, but much like Schroeder, he has tremendous offensive abilities. Some have suggested he may be interested in coming to play in the CHL and we would certainly encourage that move because his toughness has been a question mark surrounding him. We feel that he will be fine and the CHL is the league in which he can show it.

#8 – Landon Ferraro – 6’0 – C, 170 Lbs. – Red Deer Rebels
The highly talented son of former NHLer Ray Ferraro is the next in a long line of second-generation stars who grew up around the game and a high hockey IQ is the result. Although Ferraro is talented offensively, it’s the intangibles, competitiveness and leadership of the Red Deer Rebel that is what is most attractive about him as a prospect. His ice time in Red Deer wasn’t as high as he was accustomed to, but we see a lot of Mike Richards in this kid and although we are positive he’ll have a much better statistical season next year, it’s the intangibles that we feel will separate him from the pack as next season progresses.

#9 – Tomas Vincour – 6’2 – RW, 205 Lbs. – Edmonton Oil Kings
The former first overall pick in the 2007 CHL European Import Draft, Vincour had a solid, if not spectacular, rookie season in the WHL. The Oil Kings had a long year and were outgunned most nights, but the big, lanky center led the team in scoring while becoming acclimated to the North American game. We feel he has all of the tools to put it together and have a great sophomore season out west.

#10 – Jimmy Bubnick – 6’2 – C, 195 Lbs. – Kamloops Blazers
We have to admit we had Jimmy Bubnick a little higher in our rankings until we watched him play in the playoffs this year when he struggled noticeably. We knew the Blazers as a whole were severely overmatched by Tri City, but Bubnick looked lost at times. His rookie season was good in general and his highlight of the year would have to have been the Under-17 Championship, where he dominated at times and was a leader on a good Team West. He has a great frame and some good hands and despite a tough orientation into playoff hockey in the Dub, we still feel he will be a top 10 pick in next year’s NHL draft.



NACS 2008 NHL Draft Rankings Rk Name Height Weight Position Team Birthdate
1 Steven Stamkos 6'1 183 RC Sarnia Sting Feb-90
2 Alex Pietrangelo 6'4 202 RD Niagara IceDogs Jan-90
3 Drew Doughty 6'1 209 LD Guelph Storm Dec-89
4 Nikita Filatov 6'0 170 LW CSKA May-90
5 Zach Bogosian 6'2 202 RD Peterborough Petes Jul-90
6 Luke Schenn 6'2 210 RD Kelowna Rockets Nov-89
7 Kyle Beach 6'3 205 LW Everett Silvertips Jan-90
8 Colten Teubert 6'3 197 RD Regina Pats Mar-90
9 Zach Boychuk 5'10 190 LC Lethbridge Hurricanes Nov-89
10 Colin Wilson 6'1 200 LC Boston University Oct-89
11 Josh Bailey 6'1 190 LC Windsor Spitfires Oct-89
12 Cody Hodgson 5'11 185 RC Brampton Battalion Feb-90
13 Colby Robak 6'3 195 LD Brandon Wheat Kings Apr-90
14 Michael Del Zotto 6'0 190 LD Oshawa Generals Jun-90
15 Mikkel Boedker 5'11 200 RW Kitchener Rangers Dec-89
16 Tyler Cuma 6'1 190 LD Ottawa 67's Jan-90
17 Tyler Myers 6'7 205 RD Kelowna Rockets Feb-90
18 Mikhail Stefanovich 6'2 200 RW Quebec Remparts Nov-89
19 Luca Sbisa 6'2 190 LD Lethbridge Hurricanes Jan-90
20 Jared Staal 6'3 200 RW Sudbury Wolves Aug-90
21 Mattias Teddenby 5'9 170 LW HV 71 Jrs. Feb-90
22 James Livingston 6'2 200 RW Sault Ste. Marie Mar-90
23 Brandon Burlon 6'1 190 LD St. Mikes Buzzers Mar-90
24 Phillippe Cornet 6'0 180 LC Rimouski Mar-90
25 Cody Goloubef 6'1 180 RD University of Wisconsin Nov-89
26 Mitch Wahl 5'11 195 RC Spokane Chiefs Jan-90
27 Harri Sateri 6'0 190 G Tappara Dec-89
28 Kirill Petrov 6'2 220 LW Ak Bars Kazaan Apr-90
29 A.J. Jenks 6'2 205 LW Plymouth Whalers Jun-90
30 Philip McRae 6'2 195 LC London Knights Mar-90
31 Patrice Cormier 6'2 200 LC Rimouski Jun-90
32 Josh Brittain 6'4 210 LW Kingston Jan-90
33 Evgeni Grachev 6'4 217 RW Yaroslavl Feb-90
34 Tyler Beskorawany 6'4 205 G Owen Sound Attack Apr-90
35 Yann Sauve 6'2 215 LD Saint John Seadogs Feb-90
36 Kristoffer Berglund 5'10 180 LD Bjorkloven Aug-88
37 James Wright 6'3 185 LC Vancouver Giants Mar-90
38 Eric O'Dell 5'11 165 RC Sudbury Wolves Aug-90
39 Chris Carrozzi 6'3 190 G St. Michaels Majors Mar-90
40 Greg Nemisz 6'3 200 RC Windsor Spitfires Jun-90
41 Kevin Poulin 6'1 205 G Voctoriaville Apr-90
42 Peter Delmas 6'2 175 G Lewiston Maineiacs Feb-90
43 Corey Trivino 6'1 170 LC Stouffville Spirit Jan-90
44 Viktor Tikhonov 6'2 190 RW/C Cherepovets May-88
45 Johan Motin 6'1 205 RD Bofors Oct-89
46 Shawn Lalonde 6'1 175 RD Belleville Bulls Mar-90
47 Eric Doyle 6'4 190 RD Swift Current Broncos Apr-89
48 Roman Josi 6'0 186 LD SC Bern Jun-90
49 Robbie Czarnik 6'1 175 RW US Under 18's Jan-90
50 John Carlson 6'2 215 RD Indiana Jan-90
51 Jordan Eberle 5'10 175 RC Regina Pats May-90
52 Thomas McCollum 6'2 205 G Guelph Storm Dec-89
53 Mark Barberio 6'1 210 LD Moncton Wildcats Mar-90
54 Tomas Kundratek 6'1 185 RD Trinec Dec-89
55 Tyler Ennis 5'9 160 LC Medicine Hat Oct-89
56 David Toews 5'11 180 LW Shattuck St. Mary's Jun-90
57 Geordie Wudrick 6'2 200 LW Swift Current Broncos Apr-90
58 Jimmy Hayes 6'5 215 RW US Under 18's Nov-89
59 Grant Scott 6'4 210 RW US Under 18's Jan-90
60 Jamie Arniel 5'11 185 RC Sarnia Sting Nov-89
61 Robert Mayer 6'2 195 G Saint John Oct-89
62 Joe Colborne 6'5 190 LC Camrose Kodiaks Jan-90
63 Nathan Moon 6'0 185 RW Kingston Jan-90
64 Philip Larsen 6'1 180 RD Frolunda Jrs. Dec-89
65 Steven Delisle 6'6 210 RD Gatineau Jul-90
66 Steven West 6'0 195 RD US Under 18's Feb-90
67 Jake Gardiner 6'1 175 LD Minnetonka Jul-90
68 Milan Doczy 6'5 210 RD Owen Sound Jan-90
69 Michael Stone 6'2 190 RD Calgary Hitmen Jun-90
70 Justin Florek 6'5 195 LW US Under 18's May-90
71 Cody St. Jacques 6'0 185 G Guelph Storm May-90
72 Vyacheslav Voinov 5'11 200 RD Chelyabinsk Jan-90
73 Lukas Stoop 6'0 180 RD Davos Mar-90
74 Maxime Sauve 6'0 175 LC Val D'Or Jan-90
75 Anton Gustafsson 6'3 205 LC Frolunda Jrs. Feb-90
76 Matt Zarbo 6'2 190 LW Boston Jr. Bruins May-90
77 Nate Condon 6'0 180 LC Wassau West May-90
78 Vinny Saponari 6'0 180 RW US Under 18's Apr-90
79 Stefan Della Rovere 6'0 200 LW Barrie Colts Feb-90
80 Chet Pickard 6'2 210 G Tri-City Dec-89
81 Adam Henrique 6'0 185 LC Windsor Spitfires Feb-90
82 Michael D'Orazio 6'0 205 RD Owen Sound Aug-89
83 Eric Mestery 6'5 200 RD Tri-City May-90
84 Joel Champagne 6'3 215 LC Chicoutimi Jan-90
85 Chris Doyle 6'0 200 LC PEI Rocket Mar-90
86 Nicolas Deschamps 6'1 175 LC Chicoutimi Jan-90
87 Jacob Markstrom 6'3 180 G Brynas Jan-90
88 Danny Kristo 5'11 175 RW US Under 18's Jun-90
89 Eddie Lack 6'4 192 G Leksand Jan-88
90 Kruise Reddick 5'9 170 LC Tri-City Jul-90
91 Mark Cundari 5'11 200 LD Windsor Spitfires Apr-90
92 Anders Lindback 6'6 195 G Brynas Apr-88
93 Dmitri Kugryshev 5'10 190 LW CSKA 2 Jan-90
94 Emil Bejmo 6'0 170 LC Farjestad Oct-89
95 Aaron Ness 5'11 190 LD Roseau HS May-90
96 Brian Lashoff 6'3 195 LD Barrie Colts Jul-90
97 Harry Young 6'5 210 LD Windsor Spitfires Nov-89
98 Tomas Kubalik 6'3 190 RW Plzen May-90
99 Andrei Loktionov 6'0 190 LW/C Yaroslavl May-90
100 Jordan Southorn 6'2 190 LD PEI Rocket May-90

Mark Seidel is the chief scout for North American Central Scouting

Some_Arrogant_Jerk
04-09-2008, 08:01 PM
Those rankings are horrible.

HURRICANE'S ROCK
04-10-2008, 03:57 PM
Those rankings are horrible.

Why? Because Eberle is 51st.

TriFan2005
04-10-2008, 04:26 PM
i tought pickard was the #1 ranked goalie prospect in N.A.? what happened.... after a great year he managed to slip? hmm sounds fishy too me.

WHL Crazy
04-10-2008, 04:34 PM
Seems a bit strange to see no Jyri Niemi on the list. Those rankings are way off, I wouldn't put any stock into those at all.

Some_Arrogant_Jerk
04-10-2008, 04:50 PM
Why? Because Eberle is 51st.

No, Im not like that...though Eberle is a top 20 player, and even you know that.

- Ennis is even lower than Eberle, and should be at least in the top 40. Teddenby(21) is just the same size, I doubt he is that much more skilled that Tyler

- Teubert is too high, and James wright is way too high.

- 6'5 offensive center Colborne is a consensus first rounder, yet he is 62nd on this list.

- As mentioned, Pickard is too low.

- The doyles on this list (eric and Chris (OHL)) are way off. Eric has been passed over already, so he has no business being that high, and chris doyle has been thought to as a second rounder, and will not go that low. Eric might be a 4th rounder at best on the principle that he has been passed over.

- Staal is WAY to high.

- Reddick is small, but isnt that far off from Ennis, yet is way lower.

- Niemi isnt even on the list, when he should be a 2nd rounder at least, and probably higher than Sbisa, who is 19th. Both should be in the 30s.

- Both those 2 are better than Robak, who is WAAY too high at 13.

I can go on and on...this list is just terrible, not just because Eberle is 20-30 positions too low.

hobster
04-10-2008, 07:32 PM
Thats the worst list i have ever seen, my 3 year old nephew could do a better job picking names out of a hat. No Niemi are you kidding me. vci11

HURRICANE'S ROCK
04-10-2008, 07:33 PM
I was not knocking you. I was just shocked to see Eberle at 51. What did he get 42-44 goals or something. How many other WHL , 17 18 or 20 yr olds for that matter got 44 goals. His skating seemed fine to me when he played here this year. Not Boychuk type speed but good enuff. Me, I hate to say this but earlier I tought Boychuk would go quite a bit later in the first round than he has been rated. If he and the Canes keep up there great playoff run he may stay where he is. Don't be surprised to see Sbisa go where is at. Look at the stats in the playoffs, plus his "improvement" from day one. His potential if he keeps improving (which he does by the day it seems) are gonna be hard to pass on. Robak can't compare to him based on the playoffs I saw. Cody Hodgson, based on the few times I saw him play, should go higher. He was magic with the puck. Was Boychuk's center in the prospects game and I thought "he" was player of the game. This list is an outline only. Some top 30 and later players won't go till way way later and some not on here will go like 2nd or 3rd round. Ennis should go higher based on his speed alone, never mind he finished 4th in scoring. His size of course hurts for a GM to be brave enuff to take him really high though.

Scout
04-10-2008, 07:51 PM
Remember this list is made up by a very well respected scouting agency named Central Scouting which is used as a guide and only a guide come draft day. Their percent of accuracy is very high. Mark Seidel is the chief scout for North America for Central Scouting, so to say he is off his rocker is wrong. Also remember this is not North American players only but world. I agree, i also don't agree with their finding on alot of players as in Neimi but how can i argue with the largest scouting agency in the world. Will there be changes before the draft? You bet. Is Central Scouting always 100% correct? Never but their record of accuracy speaks for itself. Each N.H.L. team has their own full time and part time scouts who comb every corner of the globe for players but they do use Central Scoutings rankings as a guide as to who to watch and compare with the players on their list.

Scout