NHL Central Scouting: Biggest observations from midterm rankings
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The latest NHL Central Scouting rankings were released on Friday, featuring rankings for 398 prospects ahead of the 2023 NHL Draft in Nashville this June.
The rankings are broken into four categories: top North American skaters and goalies, and the same for the rest of the world. You’ll see a lot of European-born players on the North American side – that’s because they take into account where you play, not where you’re from.
There weren’t many surprises near the top. Connor Bedard was the obvious top prospect from North America, while Leo Carlsson holds the top spot over Matvei Michkov on the international rankings. I don’t totally agree with the European goaltending rankings, but more on that in the future.
There are always significant hot takes online. Rankings are subjective, and everyone who’s engrained in the prospect world will have their opinions. And so will I, and that’s why I’m working on finishing my Top 64 prospect rankings to be released sometime in the not-too-distant future.
With that said, here are some of my thoughts on the midterm rankings:
NHL Central Scouting released their latest rankings.
Here are the top 32 NA skaters, 32 EU skaters and top goalies from both. #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/QxtEfe84vy
World Juniors goaltending stars aplenty
One of the biggest themes from the WJC was the rise of undrafted goaltenders. After getting passed over previously – twice in some cases – Slovakia’s Adam Gajan, Czechia’s Tomas Suchanek, Latvia’s Patriks Berzins and Canada’s Thomas Milic all appear on the North American list. Gajan is the highest at fourth, while Suchanek sits eighth. Gajan’s 6-foot-3 frame, mixed in with his excellent performances leading into and during the world juniors, quickly shot him up the ranks for a goaltending draft class that’s bound with opportunities, with no standout No. 1 options.
The other three are all 2003-born players, so they’re going into their final year of eligibility. All are undersized by NHL standards, so it’ll be interesting to see if they all end up going. Suchanek, by far, has the best odds after giving Czechia a fighting chance in two straight WJCs and earning top goaltending honors earlier this month.
Andrew Cristall seems highly undervalued
The public scouting community loves Cristall, and when you see how consistently he puts points on the board, it’s easy to understand why. But while many expect him to be a top 10 pick, the NHL’s CSS has him listed in 16th among North Americans. The biggest knock? He’s 5-foot-9. It’s easy to point towards some of the smaller players that have thrived in the NHL, like Martin St. Louis, Brayden Point and Cole Caufield. But, realistically, that’s not the norm. The game is still much more skilled than it used to be and smaller players do have more opportunities, but there’s no shortage of high-scoring offensive figures that went nowhere once turning pro.
That being said, Cristall’s body of work is so hard to ignore. He has 62 points in 36 games, showing value equally as a shooter and a playmaker. He was tremendous at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, and even when Kelowna is struggling to rack up wins, he’s finding a way to stay effective. Cristall’s ceiling is high, and, just like with Logan Stankoven, I’m worried teams are going to make a huge mistake passing on him.
It’s going to be a forward-heavy draft
Every few years, you’ll have drafts where the defensemen are the star of the show. That’s not the case this year, with the highest-ranked North American blueliner being Lukas Dragicevic at No. 12, with No. 18’s Oliver Bonk being the only other one inside the top 20. A trio of centermen – Connor Bedard, Adam Fantilli and Will Smith – open up the list, while Leo Carlsson – also a center – took the top spot in the international skater’s list.
Personally, I think the best chance at landing a top-pairing defenseman is Axel Sandin Pellikka. He’s a small defender at 5-foot-10, but he moves the puck so well and acts as a fourth forward at points. I still think there’s room to grow in his own zone – something that’s somewhat important for a defenseman – but I’ve enjoyed watching him with Skelleftea and think he has a solid future ahead of him.
WHL, USNTDP well represented near the top
Of the top 10 North American skaters, four come from the WHL and another three come from the United States National Team Development Program. Among goaltenders, top-ranked Carson Bjarnason hails from the WHL, while fellow top-five puckstoppers Trey Augustine and Carsen Musser play with the USNTDP.
The top name, obviously, is Bedard, perhaps the best prospect to come out of the WHL in decades – if not ever. Fantilli, an NCAA forward, is the lone player outside of the WHL or USNTDP in the top five, with Smith and Ryan Leonard representing the program and Yager out of Moose jaw closing out the top five. The USNTDP, in particular, had a few players creeping around the top 15 originally, but excellent seasons for the team’s top players have really spiked them up. Of note, Owen Sound’s Colby Barlow (10th,) is the lone OHL representative in the top 10, while the highest-ranked QMJHLer is the electric Ethan Gauthier, sitting 14th out of Sherbrooke.
Czechia continues to rise
A total of 31 Czechian players were featured on the four lists, an incredible number after the team just came a goal short of winning gold at the World Junior Championship. For reference, just nine were drafted last year, eight were taken in 2021 and 2020 and seven were selected in 2019. Obviously, not all 31 players will be selected, but after 20 were taken in 2003, they might have a chance to come close, or even surpass that this year.
Eduard Sale, the fifth-ranked International forward, is the highest-profile Czech prospect this season. Some believe he can go in the top five, but a top 10 spot seems like a lock at this point. Michael Hrabal, the second-ranked goalie playing in North America, has a realistic shot at going late in the first round, too. Other notables include goaltenders Adam Dybal and Tomas Suchanek, defenseman Jakub Dvorak and forwards Jakub Stancl and Jan Sprynar.