NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING NAMES WHL TOP 10

By Mike G. Morreale – NHL.com Staff Writer / Prospecting with Central Scouting

It’s early Sunday morning and the men of NHL Central Scouting have returned to the hotel conference room here in Vaughan, Ont., to continue ranking the top North American prospects eligible for the 2012 NHL Draft.

The scouts currently are 50 players deep and into the heart of the second round. We’re at a point now where it could be time to find those diamonds in the rough. That’s precisely what Central Scouting is paid to do.

As promised, here are the top 10 players Central Scouting ranked in each league. In order to maintain some level of confidentiality, the players are listed in alphabetical order.

Keep in mind, this is the closest thing you’ll get to a finalized list until the actual release of the “Big Chart”, tentatively scheduled for April 9. The number beside each league represents the projected amount of first-round picks from that league’s top 10.

Can you predict what the actual top 10 for each league might look like?

Western Hockey League (7)
Mathew Dumba, D, Red Deer
Ryan Murray, D, Everett
Derrick Pouliot, D, Portland
Griffin Reinhart, D, Edmonton
Morgan Rielly, D, Moose Jaw
Colton Sissons, C, Kelowna
Chandler Stephenson, C/LW, Regina
Lukas Sutter, C, Saskatoon
Dalton Thrower, D, Saskatoon
Mike Winther, C, Prince Albert

Ontario Hockey League (10)
Cody Ceci, D, Ottawa
Radek Faksa, C, Kitchener
Matthew Finn, D, Guelph
Alex Galchenyuk, C, Sarnia
Brendan Gaunce, C, Belleville
Slater Koekkoek, D, Peterborough
Scott Kosmachuk, RW, Guelph
Olli Maatta, D, London
Thomas Wilson, RW, Plymouth
Nail Yakupov, RW, Sarnia

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (2)
Francis Beauvillier, C/LW, Rimouski
Matej Beran, C, Prince Edward Island
Ryan Culkin, D, Quebec
Martin Frk, RW, Halifax
Mikhail Grigorenko, C, Quebec
Charles Hudon, LW, Chicoutimi
Tomas Hyka, RW, Gatineau
Christophe Lalancette, RW, Acadie-Bathurst
James Melindy, D, Moncton
Andrew Ryan, LW, Halifax