The final rankings are out from NHL Central Scouting, and even with his relatively unremarkable season, Shane Wright maintains his grip on the top spot. The Kingston Frontenacs captain leads all North American skaters and still figures to be the first-overall selection in 2022. Dan Marr, director of NHL Central Scouting, had this to say about the OHL forward:
Shane Wright is the complete package as an NHL prospect. He is a strong stride skater who possesses deceptive speed and quickness to beat defenders, evade checking or lead a rush. He has elite hockey sense with his vision, anticipation and composure to execute quickly on plays and has proven that he can carry the load and lead the way when it’s needed in game situations.
Just behind him is Logan Cooley, but after that, there is a bit of a surprise. Cutter Gauthier has climbed to the third spot on the North American chart ahead of players like Matthew Savoie and Conor Geekie, an impressive rise for the USNTDP product. Gauthier is committed to Boston College for next season and has continued to learn how to best utilize his 6’3″ frame to become one of the most dynamic forwards in the draft.
The top ten North American skaters are:
- Shane Wright, Kingston Frontenacs
- Logan Cooley, USNTDP
- Cutter Gauthier, USNTDP
- Matthew Savoie, Winnipeg Ice
- Conor Geekie, Winnipeg Ice
- Pavel Mintyukov, Saginaw Spirit
- Kevin Korchinski, Seattle Thunderbirds
- Luca Del Bel Belluz, Mississauga Steelheads
- Isaac Howard, USNTDP
- Owen Beck, Mississauga Steelheads
On the international side, Juraj Slafkovsky has climbed all the way to No. 1 after an incredible season that included winning MVP in the Olympics. The Slovakian forward also played well in Finland’s top league and should be selected in the first few picks of this summer’s draft. Marr had this to say about him:
Juraj Slafkovsky has that power winger element that NHL Clubs covet and his game has shown continual development this season while playing in the Pro Liiga in Finland and with the bronze medal-winning Team Slovakia at the Olympics. He is a smooth and agile skater for his size and has the strength, smarts and offensive tools to be productive. What has been most impressive is the ability he’s shown to learn and quickly adapt his play to get results at every level he’s competed this season.
Slafkovsky’s rise means Joakim Kemell dropped to second, despite recently playing extremely well at the U18 Worlds. He’s followed by other top talents including another Slovakian, Simon Nemec, in the third spot, who could easily be the first defenseman off the board this year.
The top ten international skaters are:
- Juraj Slafkovsky, TPS
- Joakim Kemell, JYP
- Simon Nemec, Nitra
- David Jiricek, Plzen
- Marco Kasper, Rogle
- Jonathan Lekkerimaki, Djurgardens
- Danila Yurov, Magnitogorsk
- Liam Ohgren, Djurgardens (Jr.)
- Lian Bichsel, Leksands
- Brad Lambert, Pelicans
The full rankings, including the goaltending lists, can be found here.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Pretty much since he got here, because he’s a great person who seeks to give back to the game, Sidney Crosby has given away 1,000 FREE sets of hockey equipment to young kids in the PGH area every year.
One of those kids was Logan Cooley.
What happened to Frank Nazar? He’s been projected to be a Top 10 draft pick and now he’s not even ranked in the top 10 North American skaters?
And he still should be – quite frankly, I can’t see any justification at the moment for having both Del Bel Belluz and Beck on this list ahead of him.
He fell to 21st in their rankings.