Saturday, October 11, 2014

Top 30 for the 2015 NHL Draft

October is finally here and with that comes my updated list of 2015 draft prospects. I have added another 10 to my list bringing the total to a nice round 30. New features to this list include a stats tracker for each player. For players who play on multiple teams/leagues I will only include the stats for the team they played the most games with.
*Stats as of October 10, 2014*


1.Conner McDavid – C Erie Otters
September Stats: 3 GP | 3G | 5A | 8P
Season to Date: 5 GP | 7G | 9A | 16P

2.Jack Eichel – C Boston University
September Stats: N/A
Season to Date: 1 GP | 2G | 2A | 4P

3.Oliver Kylington – LD Farjestad
September Stats: 6 GP | 0G | 0A | 0P
Season to Date: 9 GP | 0G | 0A | 0P

4.Noah Hanifin – LD Boston College
September Stats: N/A
Season to Date: 1 GP | 0G | 0A | 0P
       
5.Travis Konecny – C Ottawa 67’s
September Stats: 1 GP | 0G | 0A | 0P
Season to Date: 5 GP | 1G | 3A | 4P

6. Mitchell Marner – C London Knights
September Stats: 2 GP | 0G | 1A |1P
Season to Date: 5 GP | 0G | 3A | 3P

7. Mathew Barzal – C Seattle Thunderbirds
September Stats: 3 GP | 0G | 2A | 2P
Season to Date: 6 GP | 2G | 4A | 6P

8. Daniel Sprong – RW Charlottetown Islanders
September Stats: 7 GP | 3G | 5A | 8P
Season to Date: 11 GP | 4G | 5A | 9P

9. Kyle Conner – C Youngstown Phantoms
September Stats: 1 GP | 1G | 0A | 1P
Season to Date: 4 GP | 1G | 4A | 5P

10. Dylan Strome – C Erie Otters
September Stats: 3 GP | 1G | 9A | 10P
Season to Date: 5 GP | 1G | 15A | 16P

11. Colin White – RW/C USNDP
September Stats: 7 GP | 4G | 4A | 8P
Season to Date: 9 GP | 7G | 9A | 16P

12. Jermey Bracco – C/RW USNDP
September Stats: 7 GP | 4G | 8A | 12P
Season to Date: 10 GP | 6G | 13A | 19P

13. Pavel Zacha – LW Sarnia Sting
September Stats: 2 GP | 0G | 1A | 1P
Season to Date: 6 GP | 1G | 2A | 3P

14. Jeremy Roy – RD Sherbrooke Phoenix
September Stats: 6 GP | 0G | 4A | 4P
Season to Date: 10 GP | 1G | 7A | 8P

15. Nick Merkley – C Kelowna Rockets
September Stats: 3 GP | 1G | 5A | 6P
Season to Date: 7 GP | 3G | 11A | 14P

16. Paul Bittner – LW Portland Winterhawks
September Stats: 3 GP | 2G | 0A | 2P
Season to Date: 7 GP | 3G | 0A | 3P

17. Zack Werenski – LD Michigan
September Stats: N/A
Season to Date: 1 GP | 0G | 1A | 1P

18. Rasmus Andersson – RD Barrie Colts
September Stats: 2 GP | 0G | 1A | 1P
Season to Date: 6 GP | 2G | 3A | 5P

19. Nicolas Roy – RW Chicoutimi Sagueneens
September Stats: 7 GP | 1G | 1A | 2P
Season to Date: 10 GP | 2G | 2A | 4P

20. Dante Salituro – C Ottawa 67’s
September Stats: 1 GP | 0G | 0A | 0P
Season to Date: 5 GP | 3G | 0A | 3P

Previous write-ups can be found here, here and here.

No movement yet from my original list. It’s still too early to be making changes and flip flopping guys. Most seasons are just getting underway.

A few of the newcomers I have written about recently so their write-ups here will be shorter than usual. 

The Newcomers

21. Evgeny Svechnikov – LW Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
September Stats: 7 GP | 5G | 9A | 14P
Season to Date: 11 GP | 5G | 12A | 17P

He is one the players I have covered recently. My thoughts remain the same. Svechnikov is an extremely skilled player. His 17 points rank 8th in the QMJHL. If he can remain in the top of the Q scoring race he's very likely to climb up these rankings.

22. Anthony Richard – C Val-d’Or Foreurs
September Stats: 7 GP | 1G | 3A | 4P
Season to Date: 11 GP | 7G | 9A | 8P

Another player who I recently covered, Richard is off to a slower start than many of the players on this list. He has 8 points in 11 games which is still good just doesn’t blow you away. He needs to put up some big point this season if he hopes to stay in the top 30. He has to show that he can still produce without Anthony Mantha.

23. Jakub Zboril – LD Saint John Sea Dogs
September Stats: 6 GP | 1G | 3A | 4P
Season to Date: 9 GP | 1G | 5A | 6P

Off to a good start registering 6 points in 9 games. He is only getting second unit power play time which makes his point totals look a little more impressive. He played quite well at the Ivan Hlinka tournament putting up 6 points in 5 games for the Czech Republic. He also played well last season in the Czech U20 league. He put up 21 points in 36 games, which ranked 8th among defencemen.

24. Vince Dunn – LD Niagara Ice Dogs
September Stats: 2 GP | 0G | 0A | 0P
Season to Date: 4 GP | 1G | 1A | 2P

I wrote up Dunn’s case a potential first rounder over the summer. Not much has changed since then for me to alter my stance on him.

25. Ryan Pilon – LD Brandon Wheat Kings
September Stats: 4 GP | 2G | 4A | 6P
Season to Date: 6 GP | 2G | 5A | 7P

Another player off to a great start, Pilon currently ranks fourth in WHL in defencemen scoring with 7 points in 6 games. While unlikely to keep this pace up he has shown a good ability in his two previous WHL season to put up points. As a rookie he had 28 points in 57 games which was good for third among rookie defencemen behind Seth Jones and Mirco Mueller. His sophomore campaign he put up 36 points in 66 games which ranked 36th among defencemen.

26. Mikko Rantanen – C TPS
September Stats: 6 GP | 0G | 3A | 3P
Season to Date: 10 GP | 0G | 4A | 4P

Has the size (6’3) that the scouts love. He played with men in the Finnish Elite League this past season, suiting up for 37 games; second most for a U18 player behind Kasperi Kapanen. What keeps Rantanen lower on this list for me in that he didn’t put up that great offensive numbers relative to other U18 players.

27. Jansen Harkins – C Prince George Cougars
September Stats: 5 GP | 1G | 5A | 6P
Season to Date: 9 GP | 2G | 11A | 13P

The second overall pick in 2012 WHL Bantam draft, Harkins had a very successful rookie season with the Prince George Cougars. He faced some of the toughest competition and was still able to put up 34 points in 67 games. He likely was carried a bit by veterans Troy Fiddler and Klarc Wilson. With those players having graduated, Harkins hasn't missed a beat, currently siting fourth in the WHL scoring race with 13 points in 8 games.

28. Ivan Provorov – LD Brandon Wheat Kings
September Stats: 4 GP | 1G | 3A | 4P
Season to Date: 6 GP | 2G | 5A | 7P

Defence partner of Ryan Pilon in Brandon, Provorov has an identical stat line so far this season registering 7 points in 6 games. What keeps Provorov three spots below Pilon is that there is a bit more certainty in what Pilon is as a player, as he is currently in his third WHL season whereas Provorov is a rookie. Provorov the 30th overall selection in the CHL import draft spent last season in the USHL. He was solid putting up 19 points in 56 games which put him third among U17 D in the USHL behind Noah Hanifin and Zach Werenski.

29. Nikita Korostelev – RW Sarnia Sting
September Stats: 2 GP | 1G | 1A | 2P
Season to Date: 6 GP | 1G | 4A | 5P

He played on a very poor team in Sarnia team in the OHL last season. Korostelev played some of the toughest competition on the team. He likely spent some time with Nikolay Goldobin who basically carried the entire load offensively for the Sting. With Goldobin leaving to go play in Europe Korostelev is an easy candidate to fill some of those minutes. That alone will lead to a scoring boost, not to mention development and the chance to play with Pavel Zacha. He had 38 points in 60 games last season and he could be over a point per game player this season.

30. Ryan Gropp – LW Seattle Thunderbirds
September Stats: 3 GP | 2G | 0A | 2P
Season to Date: 6 GP | 3G | 3A | 6P

As a 1996 birthday, last season should have been Gropp’s second in the WHL. However he spent a season in the BCHL after being selected 6th overall in the Bantam draft. He played 59 games last season for the Thunderbirds putting up 42 points. He played a relatively sheltered role which is to be expected for a rookie. I would expect him to take on a larger role this season and thus far he is playing on the top line with Matthew Barzal.

Disagree with my top 30? Leave a comment below or find me on twitter @PaulBerthelot

Stats from eliteprospects, the OHL, QMJHL, WHL, Finnish Elite League, SHL, USNDP, USHL league sites, as well as College Hockey Inc.

Line combinations from Dub From Above

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