Nov 10, 2015
Forwards dominate top of 2016 NHL prospect race
Get used to seeing Auston Matthews’ name at the top of this list all season long. As TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button notes in this month's Craig's List, the young American will have his name called first at the 2016 NHL Draft.
By Craig Button

Get used to seeing Auston Matthews’ name at the top of this list all season long. An elite, complete centre, the young American will have his name called first at the 2016 NHL Draft.
Three dynamic forwards find themselves in the second to fourth spots this month. The two Finnish wingers, Jesse Puljujarvi and Patrik Laine are high-end offensive players who generate a significant amount of scoring chances and have the skill to complete them.
London Knights forward Matthew Tkachuk has all the elements of a top-end winger. The son of former NHLer Keith is able to play in all situations and is comfortable playing any style of game. Exceptional hockey sense and competitiveness, plus a high skill level, make him a player all NHL teams would like in their lineup.
Jakob Chychrun of the OHL’s Sarnia Sting rounds out the top five. A well-rounded defenceman, the 6-foot-2, 215-pound Chychrun might not have elite offensive ability, but he does have all the elements teams look for in a steady number two defenceman.
What would a draft ranking be without a smaller, skilled forward? Clayton Keller of USA Hockey's under-18 team is a very gifted player with excellent hockey sense, great hands, terrific quickness and an agility and elusiveness that makes it extremely difficult for opponents to check him.
He’s only 5-foot-9 and 168 pounds, but Keller’s on-ice vision allows him to see all his options and create scoring chances. He had seven goals and 12 points in four games to help the United States win the recent Five Nations Tournament in Switzerland.
As a centre - and I have a bias towards centres over wingers when it’s close - he may be the second-best player in the draft. I will allow some more time for evaluation, but he’s certainly right in the discussion.
Craig's List - November Ranking
RK | PLAYER | TEAM | POS | HT | WT | GP | G | P |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Auston Matthews | Zurich (Suisse A) | C | 6'1½ | 194 | 14 | 10 | 14 |
2 | Jesse Puljujärvi | Karpat (SM-Liiga) | RW | 6'3½ | 203 | 19 | 5 | 9 |
3 | Matthew Tkachuk | London (OHL) | LW | 6'1 | 195 | 16 | 7 | 30 |
4 | Patrik Laine | Tappara (SM-Liiga) | RW | 6'4 | 206 | 12 | 4 | 7 |
5 | Jakob Chychrun | Sarnia (OHL) | D | 6'2 | 215 | 17 | 4 | 12 |
6 | Clayton Keller | USA NTDP (USHL) | C | 5'9½ | 168 | 16 | 11 | 29 |
7 | Alexander Nylander | Mississuaga (OHL) | RW | 6'0½ | 179 | 19 | 10 | 24 |
8 | Dante Fabbro | Penticton (BCHL) | D | 6'0 | 189 | 14 | 5 | 24 |
9 | Pierre-Luc Dubois | C. Breton (QMJHL) | LW | 6'2½ | 202 | 23 | 13 | 28 |
10 | Tyson Jost | Penticton (BCHL) | C | 5'11 | 191 | 20 | 17 | 41 |
11 | Kieffer Bellows | USA NTDP (USHL) | LW | 6'0 | 196 | 16 | 15 | 22 |
12 | Samuel Girard | Shawinigan (QMJHL) | D | 5'9½ | 160 | 22 | 3 | 30 |
13 | Mikhail Sergachyov | Windsor (OHL) | D | 6'2½ | 206 | 19 | 4 | 8 |
14 | Olli Juolevi | London (OHL) | D | 6'2½ | 179 | 16 | 3 | 12 |
15 | Michael McLeod | Mississuaga (OHL) | C | 6'2 | 188 | 19 | 5 | 19 |
16 | Julien Gauthier | Val d'Or (QMJHL) | RW | 6'3½ | 225 | 21 | 18 | 22 |
17 | German Rubtsov | Russia U-18 (MHL) | C | 6'2 | 176 | 9 | 6 | 10 |
18 | Charlie McAvoy | Boston U (NCAA) | D | 6'0 | 208 | 8 | 1 | 5 |
19 | Kale Clague | Brandon (WHL) | D | 6'0 | 177 | 18 | 0 | 7 |
20 | Dillon Dube | Kelowna (WHL) | LW | 5'10 | 180 | 16 | 10 | 24 |
21 | Jake Bean | Calgary (WHL) | D | 6'0 | 173 | 18 | 7 | 15 |
22 | Tyler Benson | Vancouver (WHL) | LW | 6'0 | 201 | 7 | 1 | 2 |
23 | Vitali Abramov | Gatineau (QMJHL) | LW/RW | 5'9 | 172 | 21 | 11 | 30 |
24 | Alex DeBrincat | Erie (OHL) | C/RW | 5'7 | 163 | 15 | 22 | 32 |
25 | Logan Brown | Windsor (OHL) | C | 6'6 | 222 | 13 | 2 | 18 |
26 | Riley Tufte | Blaine (USHSW) | LW | 6'5 | 205 | 12 | 5 | 6 |
27 | Brett Howden | Moose Jaw (WHL) | C | 6'2 | 193 | 18 | 9 | 20 |
28 | Logan Stanley | Windsor (OHL) | D | 6'7 | 220 | 19 | 1 | 7 |
29 | Taylor Raddysh | Erie (OHL) | RW | 6'2 | 203 | 16 | 6 | 25 |
30 | Max Jones | London (OHL) | LW | 6'3 | 205 | 14 | 9 | 13 |
31 | Libor Hájek | Saskatoon (WHL) | D | 6'2 | 185 | 18 | 2 | 12 |
32 | Luke Kunin | Wisconsin (NCAA) | C/RW | 6'0 | 193 | 10 | 3 | 7 |
33 | Markus Niemeläinen | Saginaw (OHL) | D | 6'5 | 189 | 18 | 0 | 13 |
34 | James Greenway | USA NTDP (USHL) | D | 6'5 | 213 | 16 | 1 | 2 |
35 | Mitchell Mattson | G. Rapids (USHSW) | C | 6'4 | 186 | 14 | 1 | 1 |
36 | Will Bitten | Flint (OHL) | C/RW | 5'10 | 167 | 17 | 10 | 23 |
37 | Filip Gustavsson | Lulea (SWE J-20) | G | 6'1½ | 184 | 10 | 3.41 | 0 |
38 | Sam Steel | Regina (WHL) | C | 5'11 | 177 | 16 | 5 | 15 |
39 | Luke Green | Saint John (QMJHL) | D | 6'0 | 189 | 17 | 2 | 10 |
40 | Jacob Moverare | HV 71 (SHL) | D | 6'2½ | 198 | 13 | 4 | 9 |
41 | Chad Krys | USA NTDP (USHL) | D | 5'11 | 185 | 16 | 1 | 13 |
42 | Vojtěch Budík | Prince Albert (WHL) | D | 6'1 | 189 | 19 | 1 | 4 |
43 | Max Lajoie | Swift Current (WHL) | D | 6'1 | 183 | 18 | 2 | 10 |
44 | Keaton Middleton | Saginaw (OHL) | D | 6'5½ | 233 | 18 | 1 | 3 |
45 | Janne Kuokkanen | Karpat U20 (FIN Jr) | LW | 6'1 | 175 | 13 | 6 | 14 |
46 | Dmitri Sokolov | Sudbury (OHL) | C | 6'0 | 220 | 18 | 6 | 11 |
47 | Carter Hart | Everett (OHL) | G | 6'0½ | 177 | 13 | 1.98 | 2 |
48 | Dylan Wells | Peterborough (OHL) | G | 6'1½ | 187 | 8 | 4.31 | 0 |
49 | Noah Gregor | Moose Jaw (WHL) | C | 5'11 | 180 | 18 | 8 | 22 |
50 | Otto Somppi | Halifax (QMJHL) | C | 6'1 | 179 | 22 | 3 | 21 |
51 | Otto Mäkinen | Tappara (FIN Jr) | C | 6'1 | 178 | 14 | 2 | 6 |
52 | Jacob Cederholm | HV71 (SHL) | D | 6'3½ | 187 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
53 | Tarmo Reunanen | TPS (FIN Jr) | D | 6'0 | 178 | 11 | 2 | 6 |
54 | Maxime Fortier | Halifax (QMJHL) | RW | 5'10 | 177 | 22 | 11 | 24 |
55 | Andrew Peeke | Green Bay (USHL) | D | 6'3 | 209 | 12 | 2 | 8 |
56 | Jonathan Dahlén | Timra IK (SWE-Als) | C | 5'11 | 176 | 18 | 5 | 7 |
57 | Adam Mascherin | Kitchener (OHL) | LW | 5'9½ | 206 | 14 | 7 | 18 |
58 | Trent Frederic | USA NTDP (USHL) | C | 6'2 | 203 | 16 | 7 | 9 |
59 | Carl Grundström | Modo (SWE-SHL) | RW | 6'0 | 194 | 15 | 1 | 3 |
60 | Lucas Johansen | Kelowna (WHL) | D | 6'2 | 174 | 18 | 2 | 11 |
61 | Joey Anderson | USA NTDP (USHL) | RW | 5'11 | 192 | |||
62 | Rasmus Asplund | Farjestad (SWE-SHL) | C | 5'11 | 176 | |||
63 | Brandon Gignac | Shawinigan (QMJHL) | C | 5'11 | 173 | |||
64 | Connor Bunnaman | Kitchener (OHL) | C | 6'1 | 207 | |||
65 | Boris Katchouk | SS Marie (OHL) | LW | 6'1 | 181 | |||
66 | Cameron Morrison | Youngstown (USHL) | LW | 6'2 | 205 | |||
67 | Tim Gettinger | SS Marie (OHL) | LW | 6'5 | 206 | |||
68 | Cliff Pu | London (OHL) | C/RW | 6'1½ | 192 | |||
69 | Jesper Bratt | AIK (SWE - Als) | RW | 5'10 | 171 | |||
70 | Keenan Suthers | USA NTDP (USHL) | LW | 6'8 | 223 | |||
71 | Victor Mete | London (OHL) | D | 5'10 | 174 | |||
72 | Ryan Lindgren | USA NTDP (USHL) | D | 5'11½ | 198 | |||
73 | Oliver Felixson | Saint John (QMJHL) | D | 6'6 | 220 | |||
74 | Tage Thompson | Connecticut (NCAA) | C | 6'5 | 185 | |||
75 | Nathan Bastian | Mississauga (OHL) | RW | 6'4 | 208 | |||
76 | Frédéric Allard | Chicoutimi (QMJHL) | D | 6'1 | 179 | |||
77 | David Quenneville | Medicine Hat (WHL) | D | 5'8 | 182 | |||
78 | Sam Rossini | Waterloo (USHL) | D | 6'3 | 197 | |||
79 | Jack Kopacka | SS Marie (OHL) | LW | 6'2 | 190 | |||
80 | Linus Weissbach | Frolunda (FIN Jr) | LW | 5'9 | 156 | |||
81 | Jonathan Ang | Peterborough (OHL) | C/RW | 5'11 | 165 | |||
82 | Joshua Mahura | Red Deer (WHL) | D | 6'0 | 178 | |||
83 | William Knierim | Dubuque (USHL) | RW | 6'2½ | 207 | |||
84 | Alexander Yakovenko | Russia U18 (MHL) | D | 5'11 | 172 | |||
85 | Evan Sarthou | Tri-City (WHL) | G | 6'1 | 186 | |||
86 | Jordan Kyrou | Sarnia (OHL) | C/RW | 6'0 | 178 | |||
87 | Brett Murray | Carleton Pl. (CJHL) | LW | 6'4 | 190 | |||
88 | Ginvani Smith | Guelph (OHL) | RW | 6'1 | 194 | |||
89 | Travis Barron | Ottawa (OHL) | LW | 6'1 | 195 | |||
90 | Evan Cormier | Saginaw (OHL) | G | 6'3 | 202 | |||
91 | Ondrej Vala | Kamloops (WHL) | D | 6'4½ | 207 | |||
92 | Sean Day | Mississauga (OHL) | D | 6'2 | 244 | |||
93 | Simon Stransky | Prince Albert (WHL) | LW | 6'0 | 171 | |||
94 | Veini Vehviläinen | Jyvaskala (SM-Liiga) | G | 6'0½ | 180 | |||
95 | Cam Dineen | North Bay (OHL) | D | 5'11 | 183 | |||
96 | Brayden Burke | Lethbridge (WHL) | LW | 5'10 | 160 | |||
97 | Trent Fox | Hamilton (OHL) | C | 6'3 | 200 | |||
98 | Jake Kryski | Kamloops (WHL) | C/LW | 5'11 | 175 | |||
99 | Cole Candella | Hamilton (OHL) | D | 6'1 | 189 | |||
100 | Jalen Smereck | Oshawa (OHL) | D | 6'0 | 185 |