37 QMJHLers on NHL Central Scouting’s Final Players to Watch List

By David Brien April 8, 2020

The National Hockey League Central Scouting’s final rankings have been released and the list contains the top players to watch ahead of the 2020 NHL Draft, including a total of 37 players who suited up in the QMJHL this past season.

The selection process, which was originally scheduled for June 26-27 in Montreal, has been postponed due to the ongoing uncertainty resulting from the coronavirus. The details regarding location, timing and format of the 2020 NHL Draft have yet to be announced by the NHL.

Of the 37 QMJHL players who garnered the attention of the scouting experts, there are 32 skaters and five goaltenders whose names appear on the North American lists. Among the group, six skaters are projected as first round selections, including potential first overall pick, Alexis Lafrenière.

Among the QMJHLers on the list are 20 forwards, 12 defensemen and the aforementioned five netminders. The list also features 10 European-born players who are playing in the Q.

A total of 16 out of the 18 QMJHL franchises have at least one of their players ranked on the list. The Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, Cape Breton Eagles and Saint John Sea Dogs lead the way with four representatives apiece, while the Chicoutimi Saguenéens, Drummondville Voltigeurs, Quebec Remparts and Shawinigan Cataractes have three players each.

Here are the QMJHL skaters on the final NHL CSS list:

1	LAFRENIÈRE	Alexis	RIMOUSKI	LW
10	MERCER	Dawson	CHICOUTIMI	C
13	LAPIERRE	Hendrix	CHICOUTIMI	C
16	BARRON	Justin	HALIFAX	D
18	POIRIER	Jérémie	SAINT JOHN	D
22	BOURQUE	Mavrik	SHAWINIGAN	C
–
32	CORMIER	Lukas	CHARLOTTETOWN	D
48	PONOMAREV	Vasiliy	SHAWINIGAN	C
55	FRANCIS	Ryan	CAPE BRETON	RW
–
69	DUFOUR	William	DRUMMONDVILLE	RW
73	SOKOLOV	Egor	CAPE BRETON	LW
74	NICKL	Thimo	DRUMMONDVILLE	D
89	ROCHETTE	Théo	QUEBEC	C
–
99	VILLENEUVE	William	SAINT JOHN	D
100	ANSONS	Raivis	BAIE-COMEAU	RW
101	PEETERS	Senna	HALIFAX	RW
112	RASKA	Adam	RIMOUSKI	RW
118	CREVIER	Louis	CHICOUTIMI	D
–
133	DEMCHENKO	Valentin	BAIE-COMEAU	RW
134	CORMIER	Cole	QUEBEC	C
135	IVAN	Ivan	CAPE BRETON	C
–
164	GUAY	Patrick	SHERBROOKE	C
172	LIKHACHEV	Yaroslav	BLAINVILLE-BOISBRIAND	LW
173	PÉPIN	Marc-Antoine	SHAWINIGAN	D
175	DESNOYERS	Elliot	MONCTON	LW
177	BYKOV	Maxim	BLAINVILLE-BOISBRIAND	LW
179	DESROCHES	Charlie	SAINT JOHN	D
183	TOURIGNY	Miguel	BLAINVILLE-BOISBRIAND	D
–
198	SAVOIE	Nicolas	QUEBEC	D
202	DION	Jacob	DRUMMONVILLE	D
207	BURNS	Brady	SAINT JOHN	C
209	BIAKABUTUKA	Jérémie	VAL-D’OR	D
–