Many WHL'ers In Latest List of NHL Central Scouting Mid-Term Draft Rankings

The Western Hockey League announced today 48 WHL players have been listed by NHL Central Scouting in its midterm rankings in advance of the 2019 NHL Draft, scheduled for June 21-22 in Vancouver, B.C.

Headlining the list are three WHL players among the top four skaters in North America, led by forward Kirby Dach (Fort Saskatchewan, Alta. / Saskatoon Blades) who is ranked second. Joining Dach in the top four are forward Dylan Cozens (Whitehorse, Yukon / Lethbridge Hurricanes), and defenceman Bowen Byram (Cranbrook, B.C. / Vancouver Giants). Joining the trio in the top 10 list of North American skaters is Kootenay ICE captain Peyton Krebs (Okotoks, Alta. / Kootenay ICE), who is ranked eighth. Mads Sogaard (Aalborg, Denmark / Medicine Hat Tigers) is the highest-ranked WHL net minder, ranked third among North American goaltenders.

Including, Dach, Cozens, Byram, and Krebs, nine WHL players are ranked inside the Top 31, including defenceman Lassi Thomson (14^th – Tempere, Finland / Kelowna Rockets), forward Brett Leason (17^th – Calgary, Alta. / Prince Albert Raiders), defenceman Matthew Robertson (18^th – Sherwood Park, Alta. / Edmonton Oil Kings), forward Nolan Foote (26^th– Engelwood, Colo. / Kelowna Rockets), and defenceman Kaedan Korczak (31^st – Yorkton, Sask. / Kelowna Rockets).

The Kelowna Rockets lead all WHL clubs with six players ranked. In addition to Thomson, Foote, and Korczak, forwards Kyle Topping (195^th – Salt Spring Island, B.C.), Alex Swetlikoff (217^th – Kelowna, B.C.), and goaltender Roman Basran (11^th – Vancouver, B.C.) find a place on the NHL radar. The Edmonton Oil Kings sit just behind the Rockets with five players named in the NHL Central Scouting midterm rankings. Four teams have a trio of players on the rankings while 10 more have a pair of players featured in the rankings.

Overall the list includes 27 forwards, 14 defencemen, and seven goaltenders from the WHL, representing 20 of the 22 WHL member Clubs. The Central Division leads all divisions with 17 players appearing on the list, while the 48 prospects are split evenly between the conferences, each claiming 24 as their own.

Of the 48 players listed in the NHL Central Scouting midterm rankings, 15 will participate at the 2019 Top Prospects game in Red Deer on January 23  


2019 NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING MIDTERM RANKINGS (NORTH AMERICA) – WHL SKATERS

Midterm Rank	Player	Height	Weight	Position	Amateur Club
2	Kirby Dach	5’10.25”	199	Centre	Saskatoon
3	Dylan Cozens	6’3.0”	181	Centre	Lethbridge
4	Bowen Byram	6’0.5”	194	Defenceman	Vancouver
8	Peyton Krebs	5’11.25”	180	Centre	Kootenay
14	Lassi Thomson	6’0”	188	Defenceman	Kelowna
17	Brett Leason	6’3.75”	200	Centre	Prince Albert
18	Matthew Robertson	6’3.0”	201	Defenceman	Edmonton
26	Nolan Foote	6’3.5”	190	Left Wing	Kelowna
31	Kaedan Korczak	6’2.75”	192	Defenceman	Kelowna
37	Oleg Zaytsev	6’0.75	186	Centre	Red Deer
44	Adam Beckman	6’0.5”	168	Left Wing	Spokane
66	Reece Newkirk	5’10.75”	172	Centre	Portland
67	Josh Williams	6’1.0”	194	Right Wing	Edmonton
71	Quinn Schmiemann	6’1.75”	185	Defenceman	Kamloops
73	Brayden Tracey	6’0”	177	Left Wing	Moose Jaw
77	Aliaksei Protas	6’4.75”	205	Centre	Prince Albert
78	Jake Lee	6’1.75”	216	Defenceman	Seattle
81	Sasha Mutala	6’0.5”	195	Right Wing	Tri-City
82	Luke Toporowski	5’10.75”	179	Centre	Spokane
85	Gianni Fairbrother	5’11.75”	194	Defenceman	Everett
122	Luka Burzan	6’0”	184	Right Wing	Brandon
128	Mitchell Brown	6’3.0”	205	Defenceman	Tri-City
129	Henrik Rybinski	6’0.5”	176	Right Wing	Seattle
132	Krystof Hrabik	6’4.25”	218	Centre	Tri-City
144	John Ludvig	6’0.5”	196	Defenceman	Portland
145	Jackson Van De Leest	6’6.25”	222	Defenceman	Calgary
151	Vladimir Alistrov	6’1.75”	175	Left Wing	Edmonton
156	Brett Kemp	6’0.5”	162	Centre	Medicine Hat
159	David Kope	6’3.75”	170	Right Wing	Edmonton
160	Cole Muir	6’2.5”	205	Centre	Kootenay
162	Martin Lang	5’10.75”	163	Right Wing	Kamloops
172	Connor Horning	6’2.75”	188	Defenceman	Swift Current
175	Cole Moberg	6’2.5”	187	Defenceman	Prince George
182	Alex Morozoff	5’11.75”	184	Centre	Red Deer
195	Kyle Topping	5’11.25”	185	Centre	Kelowna
196	Mark Kastelic	6’3.5”	213	Centre	Calgary
209	Emil Malysjev	6’3.0”	187	Defenceman	Saskatoon
211	Logan Barlage	6’3.75”	202	Centre	Lethbridge
217	Alex Swetlikoff	6’2.5”	188	Centre	Kelowna
LV	Jacson Alexander	5’9.25”	178	Defenceman	Edmonton
LV	Dillon Hamaliuk	6’2.75”	190	Left Wing	Seattle

For the complete list, CLICK HERE.

2019 NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING MIDTERM RANKINGS (NORTH AMERICA) – WHL GOALTENDERS

Midterm Rank	Player	Height	Weight	Position	Amateur Club
3	Mads Sogaard	6’6.75”	192	Goaltender	Medicine Hat
5	Taylor Gauthier	6’1.0”	193	Goaltender	Prince George
6	Trent Miner	6’0.5”	182	Goaltender	Vancouver
11	Roman Basran	6’1.5”	195	Goaltender	Kelowna
13	Ethan Anders	6’0.75”	172	Goaltender	Red Deer
17	Dustin Wolf	5’11.5”	156	Goaltender	Everett
21	Jesse Makaj	6’2.75”	209	Goaltender	Kootenay