Draft Preview: Ryan Bowen, Will He or Won’t He

As the hockey world fascinates and focuses on the National Hockey League Expansion Draft with the Vegas Golden Knights, we shift our focus to the NHL Entry Draft which is slated to take place this coming Friday and Saturday at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.

Our focus this week is on the three Lethbridge Hurricanes players that were ranked on the NHL’s Central Scouting Final Rankings that were released on April 11^th. The three include goaltender Stuart Skinner and forwards Jordy Bellerive and Ryan Bowen and today we will begin with #19.

Bowen, who wears #19 for the Hurricanes, was acquired in a blockbuster trade with the Moose Jaw Warriors in November that saw the ‘Canes trade away forward Brayden Burke for the aforementioned Bowen along with a pair of draft picks.

Bowen was a fifth round selection (95^th overall) by the Warriors in the 2013 Western Hockey League Bantam Draft. In his first year of WHL eligibility, Bowen played for his hometown Chilliwack Chiefs in the British Columbia Hockey League where he appeared in 53 games in 2014-2015 accumulating 28 points (10g-18a) along with 31 penalty minutes. That season, he also appeared in two games with the Warriors registering a minus-3 rating.

In 2015-2016, Bowen became a full-time WHLer as he dressed in 70 of Moose Jaw’s 72 games. In those 70 contests, Bowen collected 15 points (9g-6a) along with 19 penalty minutes and a minus-4 rating. He appeared in nine post-season games that year with Moose Jaw going pointless.

The 6’2”, 175-pound forward got off to a nice start in 2016-2017 with Moose Jaw racking up 12 points (5g-7a) in 18 games before being acquired by the Hurricanes. Bowen appeared in 40 games with the Hurricanes during the regular season where he registered 24 points (6g-18a) along with 19 penalty minutes and a plus-2 rating. In total, Bowen appeared in 58 games this season with the ‘Canes and Warriors while collecting 36 points (11g-25a) with 28 penalty minutes and a plus-7 rating while also suiting up in 14 of the ‘Canes 20 post-season games where he scored twice and added one assist.

Bowen finished the season ranked 204^th on the NHL Central Scouting Final Rankings after being ranked 112^th on the Midterm Rankings.

The last 10 players ranked 204^th on the CSS Final Rankings were:

While each of the last ten players ranked 204^th weren’t drafted in that particular draft year, one was drafted the following season. Zach Leslie was passed over in his first draft but was selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the sixth round (178^th overall) the year after in 2013. There have also been a lot of players that were ranked lower than 204 that were selected by NHL clubs.

Some of those players in the past ten years that were ranked lower than 204 but were drafted include:

Bowen has all the tools to hear his named called in the NHL Entry Draft. He’s got the frame (6’2″) with the skating ability and a good enough shot to be able to be a late round pick that may be able to develop the right way. If Bowen does get drafted, it will certainly a Day 2 draftee.