NHL Central Scouting’s midterm rankings

The NHL Central Scouting’s midterm rankings were released on Monday with many of the expected names at the top of their rankings. These rankings will most likely look different by the end of the season, but for right now let’s take a look at some of the high-end talent available in this year’s draft, as well as who the Flyers might be taking.

Although the clear number one in this year’s entry draft is atop the European skaters’ rankings, the battle for who will go second is at the top of the North American skaters’ rankings.

Despite missing nearly two months of games due to a hand injury, Andrei Svechnikov is ranked number one. Evgeny’s younger brother has 19 goals, 13 assists, and 92 shots on goal in 24 games this season as a right winger with the Barrie Colts in the Ontario Hockey League. At 6’2” and 186 pounds, the dynamic forward can produce shots and goals in a variety of ways. Whether it’s going to the dirty areas, using his speed and skating capabilities, or with his shot, he will find ways to produce.

So far this season, Svechnikov has six multi-goal games (two hat tricks), ten multi-point games, and eight games with five shots on goal or more (including a nine-shot performance on October 7th against the Saginaw Spirit). He also had five assists in five games for Russia at the World Junior Championship earlier this month.

Second is Filip Zadina, a 6’0” 196-pound right wing for the Halifax Mooseheads in the QMJHL. After being a part of Pardubice’s system over in the Czech Republic for several seasons, Zadina is seventh in QMJHL scoring with 27 goals and 26 helpers in 38 games in his first season in North America. With 162 shots so far this season, Zadina is also averaging 4.26 shots per game. He’s an elusive skater that can create space for himself and others. Along with his dynamic playmaking abilities, Zadina is considered to have great hockey sense and is sound defensively. He had seven goals and an assist in seven games for the Czech Republic at the WJC a few weeks ago.

It’s also worth mentioning that both Bill Placzek of Draft Site and Steve Kournianos of The Draft Analyst have the Orange and Black picking Quinn Hughes, a small and speedy left-handed blue liner who is currently a freshman at the University of Michigan, with their first first-round pick. Hughes, who has one goal and 13 assists with 55 shots on goal in 21 games this season, is regarded as ‘arguably the best skater in the draft class with incredible lateral agility’ and is an ‘ideal blue liner for the way the game is played now.’ I think Flyers’ fans would be alright with that pick in the first round.

It’s been his draft for a long time and the rankings yesterday don’t seem to disagree, as Rasmus Dahlin is listed as the top European skater available in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. He’s a gifted blue liner that is already showing signs of having elite-level skating and defensive abilities while receiving top pairing minutes as a 17-year-old with the Frolunda Indians in the SHL. He’s also capable of pulling of plays like this:

Dahlin has five goals and seven assists in 30 games this season.

The aforementioned Placzek and Kournianos may have agreed on who the Flyers will take with their first first-round pick, but the two disagreed on the second first-round pick. Placzek has Philly taking Finnish center Rasmus Kupari, while Kournianos has them taking Russian winger Grigori Denisenko. Kupari is a playmaker who uses his speed, great hands, and patience to create chances. The two-way forward has four goals and two helpers in 24 games with Karpat in Finland’s Liiga. Denisenko is able to successfully play in a high-pace game and uses his magnificent puck skills to create opportunities for his teammates. Kournianos also says Denisenko plays the game in the mold of William Nylander. The right-handed forward has four goals and 10 assists in 23 games for Loko Yaroslavl in Russia’s MHL.

The QMJHL has three of the top four ranked North American goalies on yesterday’s rankings. Alexis Gravel of the Halifax Mooseheads is number one with 11 wins in 24 games this season, as well as .896 save percentage and 3.28 goals against average. Olivier Rodrigue is second with 22 wins in 37 games, a .901 save percentage, and a 2.62 GAA with the Drummondville Voltigeurs this season. Kevin Mandolese is fourth among the 31-ranked North American goalies, as he has eight wins in 23 games with an .889 save percentage and a 3.61 GAA.

Considering how competitive the Flyers’ goaltending depth is across the organization, there’s a decent chance Ron Hextall may be picking one of these goalies in June due to fact he’d have the rights to these goaltenders for a longer time than North American goalies (this may be why he selected Kirill Ustimenko in last year’s draft). With a .900 save percentage and 2.60 goals against average in 18 games with HC Dukla Jihlava in the Czech Republic’s Tipsport Extraliga, perhaps Jakub Skarek could be the high-end European goaltending prospect the Flyers use a mid-round pick on later this year.