Prospect Notes: Draft Rankings, Foote, Brodeur

The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler has released his midseason draft prospect ranking (subscription required), where he takes a detailed look at the top 31 prospects while also ranking the second round. It won’t surprise you that Alexis Lafreniere is at the top, though the rest of his first round comes with some surprises.

One of those may be Jake Sanderson, who is the lone American-born player in the top-31. Sanderson sits at No. 25, making it quite a weak draft for the United States (especially compared to last year’s loaded class). The piece has enough information for you to spend an afternoon picking apart, especially as draft picks are swapped over the next several days.

• The Kelowna Rockets of the WHL have made a change behind the bench, releasing former NHL defenseman Adam Foote from his duties as head coach. This is almost unheard of for a team to do just before they host the Memorial Cup, but with Kelowna sitting with a losing record obviously they felt a change should be made. Foote’s son, Nolan Foote, just had a big change in his career path as well after being traded from the Tampa Bay Lightning to the New Jersey Devils. He’ll have to chase that Memorial Cup without his dad looking over his shoulder.
• Another famous hockey name is in the news today, as Jeremy Brodeur has signed with the Sheffield Steelers of the EIHL. Son of legendary NHL goaltender Martin Brodeur, the 23-year old netminder went undrafted and played last season in the ECHL.