Tuesday, January 20, 2015
NCAA Fills Midterm Draft Rankings
Three of top six North American skaters are playing college hockey, leading 95 total NCAA players in rankings.
Current and future college players fill NHL Central Scouting’s midterm rankings for the 2015 NHL Draft, released Tuesday. Jack Eichel (Boston University), Noah Hanifin (Boston College) and Zach Werenski (Michigan) give NCAA schools two of the top three players in the North American rankings and three of the top six.
In all, 95 current or future NCAA players are featured in the rankings, representing nearly half of all Division I programs (27 of 59).
Sortable: NCAA Players in Midterm Rankings | NHL.com Story
Seven of those 95 players are currently playing college hockey, led by Eichel, Hanifin and Werenski. Twenty-three of the 95 are currently playing in NCAA-eligible junior or high school leagues, but have yet to commit to a school.
A few more notes on the 95 players in the rankings:
- 78 are forwards or defensemen; 17 are goaltenders
- 37% of ranked North American skaters are current or future NCAA players; 48.6% of ranked North American goalies are
- Michigan and North Dakota lead all schools with seven representatives each, followed closely by Boston College and Boston University with six each
- Eight of the top 29 players in the North American skaters list are current or future NCAA players
Eichel, Hanifin and Werenski have a chance to become the highest drafted players from the college ranks since Rick DiPietro and Dany Heatley went 1-2 in the 2000 NHL Draft. Erik Johnson (No. 1 in 2006) and James van Riemsdyk (No. 2 in 2007) are the most recent NCAA representatives among the top two selections, though both were taken out of the U.S. National Team Development Program.
Each of the last 13 NHL Drafts has seen at least 60 current or future NCAA players selected, a trend that certainly seems likely to continue based upon these rankings. This year’s NHL Draft will take place June 26-27 in Sunrise, Fla.