NHL Central Scouting Releases Preliminary Rankings
NHL Central Scouting released their Preliminary Draft Rankings on Tuesday for the 2011 NHL Entry Draft to be held in Minnesota this June.
The rankings include a list of the top 25 draft eligible skaters in the Ontario Hockey League, as well as the top eight goaltenders.
Gabriel Landeskog of the Kitchener Rangers is the top ranked skater ahead of Brandon Saad of the Saginaw Spirit who is ranked second.
A pair of Niagara IceDogs also appear in the top five with defenceman Dougie Hamilton ranked third, and forward Ryan Stome at fourth. Spirit forward Vincent Trocheck rounds out the top five. Jordan Binnington of the Owen Sound Attack is the top ranked goaltender.
Landeskog, a 17-year-old from Stockholm, Sweden, is currently 10th in OHL scoring with 31 points in 20 games as captain of the Rangers. Saad, is an 18-year-old from Gibsonia, PA, playing in his first OHL season with Spirit and has 23 points in his first 20 games.
Eight of the 25 ranked skaters competed in the 2010 SUBWAY Super Series including Hamilton, Strome, Boone Jenner, Ryan Murphy, Matt Puempel, Vladislav Namestnikov, Scott Harrington, and Lucas Lessio.
Top 25 Draft Eligible OHL Skaters:
1. Gabriel Landeskog, Kitchener Rangers (LW)
2. Brandon Saad, Saginaw Spirit (LW)
3. Dougie Hamilton, Niagara IceDogs (D)
4. Ryan Strome, Niagara IceDogs (C)
5. Vincent Trocheck, Saginaw Spirit (C)
6. Tobias Rieder, Kitchener Rangers (C)
7. Boone Jenner, Oshawa Generals (C)
8. Ryan Murphy, Kitchener Rangers (D)
9. Nicklas Jensen, Oshawa Generals (LW)
10. Matt Puempel, Peterborough Petes (LW)
11. Vladislav Namestnikov, London Knights (C)
12. Alexander Khokhlachev, Windsor Spitfires (C)
13. Stefan Noesen, Plymouth WHalers (RW)
14. Rickard Rakell, Plymouth Whalers (RW)
15. Scott Harrington, London Knights (D)
16. Daniel Catenacci, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (C)
17. Lucas Lessio, Oshawa Generals (LW)
18. Shane Prince, Ottawa 67’s (C)
19. Mark Scheifele, Barrie Colts (C)
20. Nick Cousins, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (C)
21. Garrett Meurs, Plymouth Whalers (C)
22. Anthony Camara, Saginaw Spirit (LW)
23. Michael Curtis, Belleville Bulls (LW)
24. David Broll, Erie Otters (LW)
25. Austen Brassard, Belleville Bulls (RW)
Top 8 Draft Eligible OHL Goaltenders:
1. Jordan Binnington, Owen Sound Attack (G)
2. Matt Mahalak, Plymouth Whalers (G)
3. Matej Machovsky, Guelph Storm (G)
4. Michael Morrison, Kitchener Rangers (G)
5. Tadeas Galansky, Saginaw Spirit (G)
6. John Chartrand, Niagara IceDogs (G)
7. Tyson Teichmann, Belleville Bulls (G)
8. Frank Palazzese, Kingston Frontenacs (G)
Please visit www.nhl.com for a complete listing of all 2011 NHL Entry Draft rankings
