NHL Central Scouting released its preliminary rankings on Tuesday and to no surprise, centre Nathan MacKinnon of the Halifax Mooseheads and defenceman Seth Jones of the Portland Winterhawks top the 2013 list in their respective leagues.
MacKinnon, who leads the Mooseheads with 19 goals and 37 points in 22 games, heads an impressive list of prospects from the QMJHL this season.
MacKinnon is followed on the QMJHL list by teammate Jonathan Drouin of Halifax, who sits second behind MacKinnon with 35 points despite playing six fewer games. Drouin has recorded 10 goals and 20 points in nine games since his return from a foot injury on Oct. 24.
Jones is the top-ranked player in the WHL. The son of former NBA forward Popeye Jones has produced six goals, 14 points and has a plus- 14 rating in 21 games for the Winterhawks.
Hunter Shinkaruk of the Medicine Hat Tigers sits at No. 2 in the WHL with 35 points this season, which is sixth in the league.
The No. 1 player from the OHL is forward Sean Monahan of the Ottawa 67's. Monahan has produced 11 goals and 33 points in 23 contests with the 67's this season.
Darnell Nurse of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds is No. 2 on the OHL list. The defenceman has four goals, 17 points and a plus- 6 rating in 23 games this season.
J.T. Compher, who plays for the U.S. NTDP's U-18 team, is the top-rated junior skater in the United States Hockey League. Sidelined the past 15 games with an undisclosed injury, Compher has two goals and three points in six games.
The top two European prospects are forwards Alexander Barkov of Finland and Elias Lindholm of Sweden.
17-year-old Barkov has 12 goals and 24 points in 23 games with Tappara in SM-liiga, while Lindholm has five goals and 14 points in 22 games with Brynas in Sweden's top league.
Check out the full rankings on TSN.ca's DraftCentre page.
