Portland Winterhawks defenseman Seth Jones is the top-ranked North American skater heading into this summer’s draft, according to Central Scouting.
After Jones, it’s Halifax Mooseheads center Nathan MacKinnon in second and MacKinnon’s teammate, winger Jonathan Drouin, in third.
“These are players you can build your team around, so what kind of player do you want to build with?” NHL Director of Central Scouting Dan Marr said. “Do you want to build from the back-end out, or do you want to build up the middle? There’s no steadfast answer, so the projection is what the player will mean to the team.
“We think Seth’s game is still going to develop, as are MacKinnon and Drouin, but we had no reason to remove Seth from that No. 1 spot. We do feel Nathan will get stronger and continue to develop.”
North American skaters (list)
North American goalies (list)
International skaters (list)
International goalies (list)
The NHL’s draft lottery is set for Monday. And remember, this year every team that misses the playoffs has a shot to get the first overall pick.