NHL Entry Draft Top-Heavy With Centers, According To Prominent Insider
Photo credit: Neutral Zone
The top-line center position is not an easy one to fill. It requires a level of skill that only few players acquire over the course of their junior careers. According to Craig Button, this year's crop of draft-eligible players comes loaded with top centers.
Director Of Scouting at TSN, Button has ranked 13 centers from the top 32 potential draft positions, and an astonishing 7 centers from the top 11.
Craig's highest-ranked center is Saginaw's Michael Misa (2), whose 134 points led the OHL, and could easily be selected number 1 at the draft, according to many experts.
Djurgarden's Anton Frondell is ranked 3. Of the next 11, 5 are centers: Branden's Roger McQqueen (5), S. S. Marie's Brady Martin (6), Moncton's Caleb Desnoyers (7), Boston College's James Hagens (8) and Bradford's Jake O'brien (11).
Craig Button's top prospects
One of the biggest leaps in Button's ranking was Brady Martin, who went from number 20 in March, to number 6.
Martin helped Canada win its second-straight Gold Medal at the U18's, scoring 3 goals and 11 points, and had 33 goals and 73 points in 57 games for the Greyhounds.
"The hallmark of his game is his skating and determination are excellent," Button said of Martin. "His willingness to use those two things to impact the game significantly is tremendous and in so many areas."
The other center to rise in Craig Button's list was Ivan Ryabkin of the USHL's Lumberjacks, from 27 to 19.
Ivan arrived in the USHL at the end of December from the KHL's Dynamo Moscow. As an eighteen year old for the Lumberjacks, he had 19 goals and 30 points in 27 games.
Two of Button's ranked centers hail from the WHL, Victoria's Cole Reschny (13), and Braeden Cootes (21).
Reschny had 26 goals and 92 points in 62 games in the regular season, and 9 goals and 25 points in 11 playoff games.
Cootes, Captain of the Thunderbirds, had 26 goals and 63 points in 60 regular season games. Both these players contributed in helping Canada win the U18 Gold Medal.
Craig Button's new, top-ranked goaltender is Brampton's Jack Ivankovic, rising to 24 from 37. He was Canada's U18 goalie, sporting a save % of .961, and a 1.95gaa.
The top five players from Craig's List are as follows: D Matthew Schaefer (1), C/LW Michael Misa (2), C Anton Frondell (3), RW Porter Martone (4), and C Roger McQueen (5).
| POLL | ||
MAI 24 | 30 ANSWERS NHL Entry Draft Top-Heavy With Centers, According To Prominent Insider Do you believe Matthew Schaefer will be selected 1st over-all in this year's NHL Draft? | ||
| Yes | 19 | 63.3 % |
| No | 11 | 36.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
