What many believed would be a two-horse race for the number one pick in the 2013 NHL draft (a la Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin in 2010) may not be turning out that way.
The International Scouting Services released its latest list of the top 30 draft prospects today, and while American defenseman Seth Jones is still at the top, Canadian forward Nathan MacKinnon has dropped to third, replaced in second by Russian forward Valery Nichushkin.
It’s not clear why exactly ISS made the change in the rankings, but there’s a lot of buzz about Nichushkin following the recent Five Nations tournament, which he led in scoring with 11 points in four games.