The NHL released Central Scouting's final rankings prior to the 2010 NHL Entry Draft on Wednesday and Plymouth Whalers' forward Tyler Seguin has overtaken Windsor Spitfires' sniper Taylor Hall as the top North American skater.
"Tyler Seguin makes things happen every time he is on the ice and he makes his teammates better," said NHL Central Scouting's Chris Edwards in a statement.
While Seguin captured the OHL scoring title, Hall so far holds the advantage in the playoffs with nine goals and seven assists in seven games, while Seguin has scored five times and added five assists in eight playoff games. Hall's Spitfires currently hold a three games to none advantage over Seguin's Whalers in their OHL Western Conference semifinal matchup.
With no first round draft picks on the Whalers' roster, Seguin has nearly single-handedly dragged Plymouth into the playoffs; meanwhile the Spitfires roster is loaded with talent including three first-round NHL draft picks.
The rankings, which feature the top 210 skaters and 30 goaltenders in North America as well as the top 150 skaters and 10 goaltenders from Europe, had some movement at the top of the list as Hall's Spitfires teammate Cam Fowler dropped from third overall among North American skaters to fifth. He was leapfrogged by Prince George Cougars forward Brett Connolly and Kingston Frontenacs blueliner Erik Gudbranson.
Peterborough Petes playmaker Austin Wilson was one of the biggest movers as he vaulted 11 spots up to 14th in the rankings, while the University of Notre Dame's Riley Sheahan free fell from fifth all the way down to 22nd.
Finland's Mikael Granlund remains the top rated European skater, just ahead of Russians Vladimir Tarasenko and Evgeny Kuznetsov. Sweden's Calle Jarnkrok made a huge leap, up 17 spots to fourth overall while Czech defenceman Jank Bohumil dropped 12 spots to 24th.
The Seattle Thunderbirds' Canadian netminder Calvin Pickard is still on top of the North American goaltenders' rankings, followed closely by Jack Campbell who helped lead the USA to gold at the IIHF World Junior hockey championship in January. Finland's Sami Aittokallio has overtaken countryman Fredrik Petterson-Wentzel to claim top honours among European ‘keepers.
The NHL Draft Lottery will be held live on TSN on April 13th at 8pm et/5pm pt. The Edmonton Oilers will finish last overall in the NHL and have a 48% chance of securing the first overall pick in the draft.
The 2010 NHL Entry Draft will take place on June 25th and 26th from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. TSN will broadcast the first round live on Friday, June 25th at 7pm et/4pm pt.
