In anticipation of the 50th NHL Draft, The NHL’s Central Scouting just came out with its final rankings and six BCHL players made the top 200.
The draft goes June 22-23 at Pittsburgh’s Consol Energy Center and will see 211 players chosen by the league’s 30 teams -- and will be staged in front of thousands of fans and televised around the world.
Russian born Nail Yakupov of the Ontario Hockey Leagues’s Sarnia Sting led the rankings at number one, with Ryan Murray from the Western Hockey League’s Everett Silvertips predicted to go second. Mikhail Grigorenko another Russian-born entity, is a centreman for the Quebec Ramparts and is slotted in third spot.
Meanwhile, the Prince George Spruce Kings’ put two players in the top rankings of the world’s best 18-year-old skaters from junior, high-school and college teams across North America and Europe.
The Kings’ Jujhar Khaira is the highest ranked of BCHL players, moving into 74th spot from his mid-term rank of 80. Line-mate Paul De Jersey rocketed up the rankings, from 203rd at the midterm to 98th overall. De Jersey led the BCHL in scoring last season with 41 goals and 57 assists for 98 points, while Jujhar finished in 10th spot with 29-50-79.
Defenceman Reece Wilcox of the Merrit Centennials was the second highest BCHL ranked player at 90th while Morgan Zulinich from Salmon Arm ranked 126th.
Wade Murphy of the Victoria Grizzlies came in at 142nd and Alex Kerfoot from the Coquitlam Express had the biggest drop, going from an 81st ranking at the midterm to 165th in final Central Scouting polls.
The Edmonton Oilers will have the first pick in the NHL Draft followed by Columbus Blue Jackets and the Montreal Canadiens.