Columnist image

TSN Director of Scouting

| Archive

By Craig Button, TSN Director of Scouting - 

Connor McDavid stands alone at No. 1.

While that may not come as a surprise to many, what may is that it is not a leap ahead of Jack Eichel but a step ahead. 

Why a separation now after three months tied at the top of our draft ranking? 

It has come down to this; the speed at which McDavid plays may well be unprecedented. It's not about skating speed it's about overall speed and how that speed can threaten and intimidate in multiple ways. Lots of players can skate fast but the ability to execute at high speed, process what is unfolding in front of him at high speed and then seemingly move past defenders with ease, makes him unique. 

His ability to also slow down a game may be the opposite of fast but it's speed that affords him the opportunity to manipulate the pace and tempo of the game to his advantage. He's like an F1 driver in that when it's a straightaway, he opens up the engines but when a tight turn is necessary, his maneuverability is every bit as effective. 

Eichel, meanwhile, has done absolutely nothing to diminish his draft value, leading the NCAA in points – and is doing this as the 4th youngest player in U.S. college hockey.

Two players from the USHL move ahead a few notches.

Kyle Connor of the Youngstown Phantoms leads the league in scoring, is a dynamic offensive player and moves from No. 9 to No. 7.  Brock Boeser of the Waterloo BlackHawks has continually shown that he has a well rounded game and he has been a big mover in the ranking – going from No. 28 n September to No. 9 in March . Boeser plays a straight ahead game and can beat you with skill or power. He understands the game and responds with appropriate plays in all situations. He can play along the boards and in traffic to create advantages or get himself open for a scoring opportunity. He has an excellent release and gets his hands set to shoot and beat a goalie in multiple ways, either from 30 feet out or in tight around the net. 

 

CRAIG'S LIST - MARCH RANKING

 
RK Player Team POS HT WT GP G P
1 Connor McDavid Erie (OHL) C 6'0  195 42 40 109
2 Jack Eichel Boston U (NCAA) C 6'2 195 32 18 55
3 Dylan Strome Erie (OHL) C 6'3 187 62 39 116
4 Mitch Marner London (OHL) RW 5'11 160 59 44 123
5 Ivan Provorov Brandon (WHL) D 6'0 193 55 14 57
6 Zach Werenski Michigan (NCAA) D 6'1 201 30 8 23
7 Kyle Connor Youngstown (USHL) LW/C 6'1 170 45 25 61
8 Noah Hanifin Boston C (NCAA) D 6'2 201 33 4 21
9 Brock Boeser Waterloo (USHL) RW 6'0  187 46 28 51
10 Timo Meier Halifax (QMJHL) RW 6'1 208 56 42 86
11 Lawson Crouse Kingston (OHL) LW 6'4 211 51 27 45
12 Mikko Rantanen TPS (SM Liiga) RW 6'3 211 55 7 25
13 Jansen Harkins Prince George (WHL) C 6'0  181 64 20 78
14 Nick Merkley Kelowna (WHL) C 5'10  188 66 18 85
15 Thomas Chabot Saint John (QMJHL) D 6'1  181 61 10 35
16 Anthony Beauvillier Shawinigan (QMJHL) LW 5'10  171 63 42 90
17 Evgeni Svechnikov Cape Breton (QMJHL) RW 6'1 180 50 27 66
18 Mathew Barzal Seattle (WHL) C 5'11  178 38 12 48
19 Thomas Novak Waterloo (USHL) C 6'0  174 45 14 48
20 Jakub Zboril Saint John (QMJHL) D 6'0  184 39 9 26
21 Jeremy Roy Sherbrooke (QMJHL) D 5'11  189 46 5 43
22 Jake Debrusk Swift Current (WHL) LW 5'11  171 66 36 68
23 Travis Konecny Ottawa (OHL) C 5'9  173 60 29 68
24 Paul Bittner Portland (WHL) LW 6'4 206 58 32 63
25 Daniel Sprong Charlottetown (QMJHL) RW 6'1 189 63 35 78
26 Nicolas Meloche Baie Comeau (QMJHL) D 6'2  199 44 10 34
27 Colin White USA NTDP (USHL) C 6'0  183 39 14 37
28 Pavel Zacha Sarnia (OHL) C 6'3 210 34 16 32
29 Oliver Kylington Farjestad (SHL) D 6'0  180 18 2 5
30 Filip Chlapik Charlottetown (QMJHL) C 6'0 194 59 30 69
31 Mitchell V. Sompel Oshawa (OHL) D 5'10  182 54 11 59
32 Rasmus Andersson Barrie (OHL) D 6'0 210 62 12 62
33 Erik Foley Cedar Rapids (USHL) LW 5'11  185 46 21 43
34 Ryan Pilon Brandon (WHL) D 6'1  212 63 10 51
35 Brandon Carlo Tri-City (WHL) D 6'4  198 57 3 26
36 Gustav Bouramman S.S. Marie (OHL) D 5'11  184 62 5 38
37 Roope Hintz Ilves (SM Liiga) C/LW 6'2  185 41 5 17
38 Andrew Mangiapane Barrie (OHL) RW 5'10 170 63 40 99
39 Travis Dermott Erie (OHL) D 5'11  197 55 7 42
40 Jack Roslovic USA NTDP (USHL) C 6'0  182 51 16 57
41 Vladislav Gavrikov Lokomotiv (KHL) D 6'2  205 16 0 1
42 Jacob Larsson Frolunda (SHL) D 6'2 191 22 1 3
43 Parker Wotherspoon Tri-City (WHL) D 6'0  171 66 9 36
44 Christian Fischer USA NTDP (USHL) RW 6'1 212 51 23 45
45 Noah Juulsen Everett (WHL) D 6'1  175 62 7 49
46 Felix Sandstrom Brynas Jr. (SWE J20) G 6'2 191 7 2.07 0
47 Jens Looke Brynas (SHL) RW 6'0 180 43 2 6
48 Conor Garland Moncton (QMJHL) RW 5'8  163 63 31 117
49 Jeremy Bracco USA NTDP (USHL) RW 5'9  173 50 22 64
50 Blake Speers S.S. Marie (OHL) C 5'11 177 52 22 57
51 Vince Dunn Niagara (OHL) D 5'11 182 62 15 48
52 Guillaume Brisebois A. Bathurst (QMJHL) D 6'1 170 58 3 24
53 Brendan Guhle Prince Albert (WHL) D 6'1  184 66 3 26
54 Jakob F-Karlsson Omaha (USHL) C/RW 6'0  192 48 14 50
55 Brendan Warren USA NTDP (USHL) LW 6'0  191 46 16 30
56 Dryden Hunt Medicine Hat (WHL) C/LW 6'0 199 65 35 75
57 Ethan Bear Seattle (WHL) D 5'11  202 63 12 36
58 Sebastian Aho Karpat (SM Liiga) RW 5'11  172 26 4 9
59 Nathan Noel Saint John (QMJHL) C 5'10  170 63 22 56
60 Mackenzie Blackwood Barrie (OHL) G 6'4 215 47 3.21 1
61 Nicolas Roy Chicoutimi (QMJHL) C 6'4 202      
62 Denis Guryanov Togilatti 2 (MHL) RW 6'2  183      
63 Callum Booth Quebec (QMJHL) G 6'2  199      
64 Tyler Soy Victoria (WHL) C/LW 5'11  172      
65 Zachary Senyshyn S.S. Marie (OHL) RW 6'1 192      
66 David Kase Chomutov (Czech B) C 5'11 169      
67 Giorgio Estephan Lethbridge (WHL) C 6'0 188      
68 Yakov Trenin Gatineau (QMJHL) LW/C 6'1 192      
69 Nikita Korostelev Sarnia (OHL) RW 6'1  195      
70 Adam Marsh Saint John (QMJHL) LW 6'0 160      
71 Jordan Greenway USA NTDP (USHL) LW 6'4  222      
72 Adam Musil Red Deer (WHL) C/RW 6'2  206      
73 Jonas Siegenthaler GCK Zurich (Swiss 2) D 6'2  220      
74 Dennis Yan Shawinigan (QMJHL) LW 6'1  180      
75 Kyle Capobianco Sudbury (OHL) D 6'1 178      
76 Samuel Montembeault Armada (QMJHL) G 6'2  164      
77 Ziyat Paygin Ak Bars Kazan (KHL) D 6'5 209      
78 Michael Spacek Pardubice (Czech Jr.) RW 5'11 187      
79 Tate Olson Prince George (WHL) D 6'2  174      
80 Ryan Gropp Seattle (WHL) LW 6'2 184      
81 Spencer Smallman Saint John (QMJHL) RW 6'0  184      
82 Aleksi Saarela Assat Pori (Finland Jr.) C 5'10  198      
83 Brent Gates Green Bay (USHL) C 6'1  196      
84 Dmitri Zhukenov Omsk (MHL) C 5'11  169      
85 Julius Nattinen JYP (Finland Jr.) C 6'1 191      
86 Pavel Karnuakhov  Calgary (WHL) C/LW 6'2  194      
87 Christian Jaros Lulea Jr. (Sweden J20) D 6'3 201      
88 Dmitri Yudin St. Peterbsburg (KHL) D 6'2 185      
89 Alexander Dergachyov St.Petersburg (MHL) RW 6'4 200      
90 Gabriel Carlsson Linkoping (Sweden J20) D 6'4 183      
91 Daniel Vladar Kladno (Czech Jr.) G 6'5  185      
92 Yegor Rykov St. Peterbsburg (MHL) D 6'1  216      
93 Alexandre Goulet Charlottetown (QMJHL) C 5'11  195      
94 Erik Cernak Kosice (Slovak Extra) D 6'3 203      
95 Matthew Spencer Peterborough (OHL) D 6'1  200      
96 Adam Gaudette Cedar Rapids (USHL) C 6'0  170      
97 Brad Morrison Prince George (WHL) LW/C 5'11  154      
98 Samuel Dove-McFalls Saint John (QMJHL) C/LW 6'2 207      
99 Alexandre Carrier Gatineau (QMJHL) D 5'11 174      
100 Mathieu Joseph Saint John (QMJHL) LW 6'0  166