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It’s been a while since our last 2019 NHL Draft rankings were released back in September. Our staff has seen a lot of hockey since that time. With many viewings under our belt, several changes appear this month.
One riser is Kirby Dach, he moves up from 11th to 3rd on our list. HP’s Director of Scouting, Mark Edwards, just returned from a trip out west where he saw Dach and several other first rounders. “Dach’s stock moved up for me. There wasn’t a ton of prospects on the ice in my most recent viewing and I was really able to key on him. He played a very smart and complete game. His skating is a bit better than I previously thought and he did a lot of little things the right way.”
Edwards also gave an overall update on this year’s draft. “There has been a change in our opinion (of this draft) since our September list. We were pretty upbeat back in September, but many players have been disappointing in our viewings so far. General consensus amongst our scouts is that there are twenty or so ‘A’ rated players. I knew Ontario was a weaker group this year, but it’s even weaker than I had expected. It’s the weakest class since I’ve personally seen and several NHL scouts have echoed that sentiment. That has led me to travel outside Ontario a bit more often than usual. The prospects are scattered around the teams in some of the other leagues. As an example, I’ll be going back to the QMJHL this weekend to see two teams I haven’t seen yet. Injuries have been a problem as well. I haven’t even seen Alex Turcotte yet this year and I know several scouts in the same boat.”
Leading the pack on our list again this month is Jack Hughes from the USNTDP. He’s got several of his teammates scattered across our top 62 as well, including goaltender Spencer Knight. Knight is one of three goalies in our top 31 this month, that hasn’t happened in a while. “I’ve seen Hunter Jones several times and he has been very solid, he was a big reason for the Petes fast start. I was also lucky enough to catch Mads Sogaard on my trip out west and he really impressed me. He’s 6’7 and he made several saves where he had to get across his net and he did it with ease. He was a nice surprise, I really enjoyed watching him.” Edwards explained.
The HockeyProspect.com staff will continue this seasons viewings and another rankings update will follow in several weeks.
HockeyProspect.com Top 31 NHL Draft Rankings, November, 2018.
RANK | PLAYER | TEAM | LEAGUE | BIRTH | HEIGHT | WEIGHT | POS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jack Hughes | USNTDP | USHL | 14-May-2001 | 5' 10.0'' | 168 | C |
2 | Kaapo Kakko | TPS | Liiga | 13-Feb-2001 | 6' 1.0" | 181 | RW |
3 | Kirby Dach | Saskatoon | WHL | 21-Jan-2001 | 6' 4.0" | 185 | C |
4 | Alex Turcotte | USNTDP | USHL | 26-Feb-2001 | 5' 11.0" | 189 | C |
5 | Vasili Podkolzin | SKA-1946 St. Pet | MHL | 24-Jun-2001 | 5' 11.0" | 165 | RW |
6 | Dylan Cozens | Lethbridge | WHL | 09-Feb-2001 | 6' 3.0" | 176 | C |
7 | Peyton Krebs | Kootenay | WHL | 26-Jan-2001 | 5' 11.0" | 181 | C |
8 | Matthew Boldy | USNTDP | USHL | 05-Apr-2001 | 6' 2.0" | 187 | RW |
9 | Alex Newhook | Victoria | BCHL | 28-Jan-2001 | 5' 11.0" | 183 | C |
10 | Trevor Zegras | USNTDP | USHL | 20-Mar-2001 | 6' 0.0" | 169 | C |
11 | Raphaël Lavoie | Halifax | QMJHL | 25-Sep-2000 | 6' 4.0" | 192 | RW |
12 | Victor Söderström | Brynäs IF J20 | SuperElit | 26-Feb-2001 | 5' 11.0" | 181 | D |
13 | Bowen Byram | Vancouver | WHL | 13-Jun-2001 | 6' 1.0" | 192 | D |
14 | Ryan Suzuki | Barrie | OHL | 28-May-2001 | 6' 0.0" | 172 | C |
15 | Spencer Knight | USNTDP | USHL | 19-Apr-2001 | 6' 3.0" | 197 | G |
16 | Cam York | USNTDP | USHL | 05-Jan-2001 | 5' 11.0" | 171 | D |
17 | Philip Broberg | AIK | Allsvenskan | 25-Jun-2001 | 6' 3.0" | 190 | D |
18 | Matthew Robertson | Edmonton | WHL | 09-Mar-2001 | 6' 3.0" | 196 | D |
19 | Pavel Dorofeyev | Stalnye Lisy Magnitogorsk | MHL | 26-Oct-2000 | 6' 0.0" | 184 | LW |
20 | Hunter Jones | Peterborough | OHL | 21-Sep-2000 | 6' 4.0" | 194 | G |
21 | Mads Sogaard | Medicine Hat | WHL | 13-Dec-2000 | 6' 7.0" | 190 | G |
22 | Vladislav Kolyachonok | Flint | OHL | 26-May-2001 | 6' 2.0" | 181 | D |
23 | Ryan Johnson | Sioux Falls | USHL | 24-Jul-2001 | 5' 11.0" | 169 | D |
24 | Lassi Thomson | Kelowna | WHL | 24-Sept-2000 | 6' 0.0" | 182 | D |
25 | Moritz Seider | Adler Mannheim | DEL | 06-Apr-2001 | 6' 4.0" | 183 | D |
26 | Bobby Brink | Sioux City | USHL | 08-Jul-2001 | 5' 9.0" | 159 | RW |
27 | Anttoni Honka | JYP | Liiga | 05-Oct-2000 | 5' 10.0" | 170 | D |
28 | Jakob Pelletier | Moncton | QMJHL | 07-Mar-2001 | 5' 9.0" | 159 | LW |
29 | Cole Caufield | USNTDP | USHL | 02-Jan-2001 | 5' 7.0" | 155 | C/RW |
30 | Alex Vlasic | USNTDP | USHL | 05-Jun-2001 | 6' 6.0" | 193 | D |
31 | John Beecher | USNTDP | USHL | 05-Apr-2001 | 6' 3.0" | 204 | C |