Last June after the NHL Draft finished up in Buffalo, we drove 15 minutes away to a local rink to begin scouting for the 2017 NHL Draft. It was our first look at prospects such as Ryan Poehling of the season. Eleven and a half months later we are releasing our final rankings for the 2017 NHL Draft.
It was a difficult choice at the very top of the draft. Nolan Patrick and Nico Hischier are both worthy of the top spot. We only confirmed our number one overall in a meeting a the day after the combine. It was tight and not a unanimous choice, but Nico Hischier is HockeyProspect.com’s top prospect for the 2017 NHL Draft.
Nico is a very complete player and got better and better as the season progressed. He showed himself to be a big game player and flashed his talent on big stages such as the World Junior Championship at Christmas.
Nolan Patrick held onto our top ranked spot up until our last list we released back in February. Miro Heiskanen won a tight battle to win out at the number three position and Cale Makar from the Brooks Bandits is ranked fourth overall.
It was very tight between several prospects in our top 10. We have included our Top 31 for FREE.
Our full list which includes our top 217 prospects for the 2017 NHL Draft and our top 31 for the 2018 NHL Draft in our 2017 NHL Draft Black Books.
HP | PLAYER | TEAM | LEAGUE | HEIGHT | WEIGHT | POS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | HISCHIER, NICO | HALIFAX | QMJHL | 6' 0.75" | 176 lbs * | C |
2 | PATRICK, NOLAN | BRANDON | WHL | 6' 2.0" | 198 lbs * | C |
3 | HEISKANEN, MIRO | HIFK | FINLAND | 6' 0.75" | 170 lbs * | D |
4 | MAKAR, CALE | BROOKS | AJHL | 5' 11.25" | 180 lbs * | D |
5 | PETTERSSON, ELIAS | TIMRA | SWEDEN-2 | 6' 2.0" | 161 lbs | C |
6 | GLASS, CODY | PORTLAND | WHL | 6' 1.75" | 178 lbs * | C |
7 | VILARDI, GABRIEL | WINDSOR | OHL | 6' 2.75" | 201 lbs * | C |
8 | MITTELSTADT, CASEY | EDEN PRAIRIE | HIGH-MN | 6' 0.75" | 201 lbs * | C |
9 | NECAS, MARTIN | BRNO | CZREP | 6' 0.5" | 167 lbs * | C |
10 | LILJEGREN, TIMOTHY | ROGLE | SWEDEN | 6' 0.0" | 191 lbs * | D |
11 | VAAKANAINEN, URHO | JYP | FINLAND | 6' 1.25" | 185 lbs * | D |
12 | ANDERSSON, LIAS | HV 71 | SWEDEN | 5' 11.25" | 198 lbs | C |
13 | RATCLIFFE, ISAAC | GUELPH | OHL | 6' 5.5" | 200 lbs * | LW |
14 | FOOTE, CALLAN | KELOWNA | WHL | 6' 3.75" | 212 lbs * | D |
15 | RASMUSSEN, MICHAEL | TRI-CITY | WHL | 6' 5.75" | 215 lbs * | C |
16 | BRANNSTROM, ERIK | HV 71 | SWEDEN | 5' 09" | 179 lbs * | D |
17 | VALIMAKI, JUUSO | TRI-CITY | WHL | 6' 1.75" | 204 lbs * | D |
18 | SUZUKI, NICK | OWEN SOUND | OHL | 5' 10.75" | 183 lbs * | C |
19 | KOSTIN, KLIM | DYNAMO MOSCOW | RUSSIA | 6' 3.0" | 196 lbs | C/LW |
20 | OETTINGER, JAKE | BOSTON UNIVERSITY | H-EAST | 6' 4.0" | 212 lbs * | G |
21 | POEHLING, RYAN | ST. CLOUD STATE | NCHC | 6' 1.75" | 183 lbs * | C |
22 | TIPPETT, OWEN | MISSISSAUGA | OHL | 6' 0.5" | 200 lbs * | RW |
23 | THOMAS, ROBERT | LONDON | OHL | 5' 11.5" | 188 lbs * | C |
24 | TOLVANEN, EELI | SIOUX CITY | USHL | 5' 10.5" | 170 lbs * | RW |
25 | LIND, KOLE | KELOWNA | WHL | 6' 1.25" | 178 lbs * | RW |
26 | BOWERS, SHANE | WATERLOO | USHL | 6' 1.25" | 183 lbs * | C |
27 | DAVIDSSON, MARCUS | DJURGARDEN | SWEDEN | 6' 0.0" | 191 lbs | C |
28 | CHYTIL, FILIP | ZLIN | CZREP | 6' 2.25" | 178 lbs * | C |
29 | JOKIHARJU, HENRI | PORTLAND | WHL | 5' 11.75" | 180 lbs * | D |
30 | BOQVIST, JESPER | BRYNAS | SWEDEN | 6' 0.0" | 179 lbs | C |
31 | ROBERTSON, JASON | KINGSTON | OHL | 6' 1.75" | 192 lbs * | LW |