2013 NHL Draft Rankings – War Room April Edition (Round 1: 1-30)

Guest post by Eldon MacDonald (edited by @ChrisRalphTHW)

Hunter Shinkaruk (Shoot the Breeze Photography)

This is the last of four posts highlighting the top 120 prospects for this year’s entry draft in June in Newark, New Jersey – the NHL 2013 Draft Rankings: War Room April Edition.

Gangs of New Jersey

Here are some of the interesting stories and races to report on.

1. Movements

Well, there has been little movement in round one (compared with March Rankings) with the remainder of the playoffs and the World U18 Tournament in Sochi, Russia left in the season.

Hunter Shinkaruk moved from 11th to 9th with a fine March: 7g 13pts -6
Anthony Mantha went up two spaces to 16^th following his excellent playoff run so far: 7g 12pts +2
Ian McCoshen climbed three slots to 23^rd as he rounds out the season in top form: Mar-13: 9g 7pts +1

2. The Race for Number One

Well, the race for number one is not over but that big horse on the blueline, Seth Jones, has a commanding lead coming around the final turn. However, those two young colts, Jonathan Drouin and Nathan MacKinnon, are trying to claw at his lead by putting up two points per game in the playoffs so far. I think it will take an MVP performance and a Memorial Cup for one of the two main contenders to win the race. Keep your popcorn handy because the race is not over yet.

3. The Race to Be the Top London Knight

Max Domi had been in a race with Bo Horvat to see who was the top London Knight forward, but Max’s superior offensive skills and tenacity allowed him to gradually pull away from Bo. Now Max has pulled up just behind Nikita Zadorov who has started to slow in the stretch. Is there enough race left for Max to overtake him? Stay tuned to London Knights hockey for the results.

4. The Race for Promotion to Round One

Last month, I had expected there would be quite a race for promotion to round one from those players I had ranked 31 to 40. However, that has proved not to be the case.

Morgan Klimchuck, Mirco Muller, Jason Dickinson and Keaton Thompson all are likely headed to the U18’s so still have a chance to make a big run for it on the world stage.
Madison Bowey, Chris Bigras and Anthony Duclair are still in the playoffs, but do not appear to have elevated their game enough to warrant promotion to round one at this time.
William Carrier and Eric Comrie are still injured and out for the season.
Zach Fucale is a goalie who I have not included in round one due to the glut of goalies in the NHL and those already in the pipeline. However, if he keeps performing like he has so far, he will likely rise to round one – Playoffs: 6g 0.67 GAA .961 SV%.

The player most likely to move up to round one seemed to move into the stretch out of nowhere (in fact, he just returned from injury) and wowed everyone with his playoff performance – the 6’7 behemoth blueliner, Samuel Morin of Rimouski, who looked positively Charaesque on the blueline, even on the powerplay. Samuel will likely be on Team Canada’s squad in Sochi. The other dark horse candidate to be in round one is Shea Theodore who is also headed to Sochi – gotta love the U18 Tournament.

5. The Un-Race for Relegation to Round Two

The three most likely candidates for relegation to round two are:

Artturi Lehkonen – The issue here is size as Artturi is only 5’10, 163 lb. So far, I have been able to talk myself into the fact that Artturi has not had the same off ice weight and strength regimens that North American players usually have so he is likely to be a late bloomer in terms of strength development. However, I could waver if three players from my round two rankings press real hard. Being able to tell which of the smaller players have what it takes to make it in the NHL is one of the most difficult assignments in terms of evaluating players. The fact that I am wavering means I am not certain I have got it right.
Andre Burakovsky – The issue here is results. Andre appears to have all the skills needed to be a first rounder but has not been able to translate those skills into results so far this year. A strong U18s could change that and a not so strong U18s will likely relegate him to round two in my rankings.
Justin Bailey – This is my outlier choice who I believe will have a Brandon Saad like rejuvenation next year. Justin had a concussion earlier in the year and has not played to his skill level for the most part this year.

Historic Success Rate

The historic success rate for players ranked 1 to 15 is around 82% while rankings 16 to 30 carry a 76% success rate.

Other Rankings:

NHL – Combined rankings of the NHL’s mid-season 4 lists at the TheHockeyWriters.com
Bob MacKenzie – Mid-season poll of NHL scouts at TSN
Chris Ralph – The Next Ones Top 100 Midterm Rankings at THW

Previous Posts in This Series

Round 2: 31-60

Round 3: 61-90

Round 4: 91-120

NHL 2013 Draft War Room Top 120 March Rankings (Round1 : 1-30)

(Stats as of April 9th, 2013)

1. Jones, Seth

Congrats to my little bro @Jones4Caleb on making the US National Development Team. #USAHockey #greatprogram

— Seth Jones (@seth_jones3) March 26, 2013

Portland, WHL, D, R, 6’4, 206 lb.
1^st year draft eligible – 2013
Other rankings – NHL 1, Bob MacKenzie 1, Chris Ralph 3
Playoffs: 8g 6pts +5
YTD: 61g 56pts +46
Mar-13: 6g 8pts +7
Feb-13 14g 10pts +7
Jan-13: 10g 10pts +5
WJC U20: 7g 7pts +8
Video: Courtesy of NHL.com.

2. Drouin, Jonathan

Halifax, QMJHL, LW, L, 5’11, 190 lb.
1^st year draft eligible – 2013
Other rankings: NHL 3, Bob MacKenzie 3, Chris Ralph 1
Playoffs: 6g 12pts +9
YTD: 49g 105pts +48
Mar-13: 6g 11pts +5
Feb-13: 11g 28pts +11
Jan-13: 8g 18pts +11
WJC U20: 6g 4pts +4

· Video: The Human Hockey Highlight Film

3. MacKinnon, Nathan

@jodrouin27 @Mackinnon9 @AbeltshauserK @Frky91 Best picture around #Theunit pic.twitter.com/KUjZyM4pxx

— Stefan Fournier (@Sfournier74) April 7, 2013

Halifax, QMJHL, C, R, 6’0, 182 lb.
1^st year draft eligible – 2013
Other rankings – NHL 2, Bob MacKenzie 2, Chris Ralph 2
Playoffs: 6g 12pts +7
YTD: 44g 75pts +40
Mar-13: 3g 6pts +3
Feb-13: 3g 4pts +1
Jan-13: 8g 13pts +8
WJC U20: 6g 1pt -1
Video: Courtesy of NHL.com.

4. Barkov, Aleksander

Please check out Aleksander Barkov, Top5 draft pick next summer going Datsyuk: http://t.co/psm5z8sD

— Vesa Rantanen (@vrantanen) February 17, 2013

Tappara, Sm-liiga, C, L, 6’2, 205 lb.
1^st year draft eligible – 2013
Other rankings – NHL 4, Bob MacKenzie 4, Chris Ralph 4
Playoffs: 5g 4pts +3
YTD: 53g 48pts +18
WJC U20: 6g 7pts +2
Video: Courtesy of NorthernHockey.

5. Lindholm, Elias

Brynas, Elitserien, C, R, 6’0, 192 lb.
1^st year draft eligible – 2013
Other rankings – NHL 5, Bob MacKenzie 5, Chris Ralph 6
Playoffs: 4g 0pts -5
YTD: 48g 30pts +1
WJC U20: 6g 4 pts -1
Video: Courtesy of bigwhite06.

6. Monahan, Sean

2013 NHL Draft: @Ottawa67sHockey Top prospect Sean Monahan Interview – http://t.co/dOLIRF0a #2013NHLDraft

— HockeyProspect.com (@ScoutingService) January 29, 2013

Ottawa, OHL, C, L, 6’2, 193 lb.
1^st year draft eligible – 2013
Other rankings – NHL 6, Bob MacKenzie 6, Chris Ralph 7
YTD: 58g 78pts -18
Mar-13: 7g 8pts -3
Feb-13: 11g 16pts -4
Jan-13: 12g 13pts -12
Video: Courtesy of NHL.com.

7. Nurse, Darnell

#THW Darnell Nurse Towers Among OHL Draft-Eligibles http://t.co/txAbLf6chz

— The Hockey Writers (@TheHockeyWriter) February 26, 2013

Sault Ste. Marie, OHL, D, L, 6’5, 184 lb.
1^st year draft eligible – 2013
Other rankings – NHL 13, Bob MacKenzie 12, Chris Ralph 19
Playoffs: 6g 4pts -1
YTD: 68g 41pts +15
Mar-13: 8g 5pts -4
Feb-13: 11g 6pts +5
Jan-13: 11g 6pts +6
Video:

8. Nichushkin, Valeri

Chelyabinsk, KHL, C/W, L, 6’4, 196 lb.
1^st year draft eligible – 2013
Other rankings – NHL 11; Bob MacKenzie 10, Chris Ralph 10
Playoffs: 19g 8pts +5
YTD: 18g 6pts +6
WJC U20: 6g 2pts +5
5 Nations: 4g 11pts
Video: Courtesy of hockeysemin.

9. Shinkaruk, Hunter

Medicine Hat, WHL, LW, L, 5’11, 175 lb.
1^st year draft eligible – 2013
Other rankings – NHL 7, Bob MacKenzie 8, Chris Ralph 5
Playoffs: 5g 4pts +3
YTD: 64g 86pts -13
Mar-13: 7g 13pts -6
Feb-13: 10g 11pts -1
Jan-13: 14g 17pts +0
Video:

10. Ristolainen, Rasmus

TPS, SM-liiga, D, R, 6’3, 205 lb.
1^st year draft eligible – 2013
Other rankings – NHL 8, Bob MacKenzie 7, Chris Ralph 15
YTD: 50g 32pts -7
WJC U20: 6g 6pts +5
Video: via Youtube

11. Zadorov, Nikita

London, OHL, D, L, 6’5, 1230 lb.
1^st year draft eligible – 2013
Other rankings – NHL 42, Bob MacKenzie 9, Chris Ralph 20
YTD: 63g 25pts +33
Playoffs: 6g 1pt +2
Mar-13: 8g 2pts -1
Feb-13: 11g 6pts +4
Jan-13: 10g 4pts +5
Video: Courtesy of NHL.com.

12. Domi, Max

Max Domi with an absolute clinic on a London power play. Played pretty much the entire 2 minutes and was simply brilliant. Still scoreless.

— Mike Farwell (@farwell_ohl) April 7, 2013

London, OHL, C, L, 5’10, 194 lb.
1^st year draft eligible – 2013
Other rankings – NHL 31, Bob MacKenzie 18, Chris Ralph 13
Playoffs: 5g 8pts +6
YTD: 64g 87pts +33
Mar-13: 7g 11pts +7
Feb-13: 14g 19pts +10
Jan-13: 13g 26pts +11
Video: Courtesy of: nhlgirlxo.

13. Pulock, Ryan

Brandon, WHL, D, R, 6’1, 211 lb.
1^st year draft eligible – 2013
Other rankings – NHL 9, Bob MacKenzie 15, Chris Ralph 8
YTD: 61g 45pts -7
Mar-13: 8g 2pts +0
Feb-13: 12g 12pts -7
Jan-13: 8g 2pts -12
Video: Courtesy of sisch713.

14. Wennburg, Alexander

Djurgården, Allsvenskan, C, L, 6’1, 183 lb.
1^st year draft eligible – 2013
Other rankings – NHL 34, Bob MacKenzie 11, Chris Ralph 23
YTD: 43g 32pts +10
WJC U20: 6g 3pts +2
Video: Courtesy of bigwhite06.

15. Erne, Adam

Quebec, QMJHL, RW, L, 6’1, 198 lb.
1^st year draft eligible – 2013
Other rankings – NHL 18, Bob MacKenzie 16, Chris Ralph 12
Playoffs: 8g 9pts +3
YTD: 68g 72pts +11
Mar-13: 8g 6pts +4
Feb-13: 12g 7pts +0
Jan-13: 10g 9pts -3
Video: Courtesy of NHL.com.

16. Mantha, Anthony

Val d’Or, QMJHL, RW, L, 6’3, 200 lb.
1^st year draft eligible – 2013
Other rankings – NHL 14, Bob MacKenzie 17, Chris Ralph 11
Playoffs: 7g 12pts +2
YTD: 67g 89pts +21
Mar-13: 7g 7pts +2
Feb-13: 12g 23pts +1
Jan-13: 11g 14pts +4
Video: Courtesy of 7johnmoore.

17. Gauthier, Frederik

Rimouski, QMJHL, C, L, 6’4, 215 lb.
1^st year draft eligible – 2013
Other rankings – NHL 10, Bob MacKenzie 13, Chris Ralph 25
Playoffs: 6g 2pts +1
YTD: 62g 60pts +22
Mar-13: 7g 4pts -1
Feb-13: 12g 5pts -1
Jan-13: 10g 14pts +7
Video:

18. Zykov, Valentin

Baie-Comeau, QMJHL, RW, R, 6’1, 215 lb.
1^st year draft eligible – 2013
Other rankings – NHL 12, Bob MacKenzie 27, Chris Ralph 17
Playoffs: 7g 6pts +6
YTD: 67g 75pts +29
Mar-13:7g 5pts +6
Feb-13: 11g 8pts +0
Jan-13:12g 26pts +9
Video: via Youtube

19. Horvat, Bo

ISS Top 30 Roundup
#24 Bo Horvat @BoHorvat
Gritty and intelligent 2-way presence has really allowed London to smother opponents.

— ISS Hockey (@ISShockey) April 10, 2013

London, OHL, C/LW, L, 6’0, 203 lb.
1^st year draft eligible – 2013
Other rankings – NHL 20, Bob MacKenzie 19, Chris Ralph 21
Playoffs: 7g 4pts +5
YTD: 67g 61pts +3
Mar-13: 7g 3pts -3
Feb-13: 11g 11pts +2
Jan-13: 10g 13pts +3
Video: Courtesy of bigwhite06.

20. Lazar, Curtis

Edmonton, WHL, C/RW, R, 6’0, 198 lb.
1^st year draft eligible – 2013
Other rankings – NHL 36, Bob MacKenzie 25, Chris Ralph 14
Playoffs: 7g 4pts +1
YTD: 72g 61pts +25
Mar-13: 7g 9pts +3
Feb-13: 13g 14pts +4
Jan-13: 14g 11pts +8
Video: Courtesy of by NHL.com.

21. Morrissey, Josh

Congratulations to Josh Morrissey on being invited back to Team Canada's Under-18 World Championship Camp!… http://t.co/GyGcOrSD6M

— Prince Albert Raiders (@PARaidersHockey) April 5, 2013

Prince Albert, WHL, D, L, 6’0, 185 lb.
1^st year draft eligible – 2013
Other rankings – NHL 15, Bob MacKenzie 20, Chris Ralph 9
Playoffs: 4g 1pt -3
YTD: 70g 47pts +14
Mar-13: 8g 4pts +2
Feb-13: 13g 8pts -2
Jan-13: 12g 10pts -1
Video:

22. Rychel, Kerby

Windsor, OHL, LW, L, 6’1, 200 lb.
1^st year draft eligible – 2013
Other rankings – NHL 26, Bob MacKenzie 23, Chris Ralph 33
YTD: 60g 87pts -31
Mar-13: 7g 9pts -4
Feb-13: 12g 25pts -3
Jan-13: 11g 15pts -2
Video: Courtesy of JimKorn20.

23. McCoshen, Ian

Waterloo, USHL, D, L, 6’3, 207 lb.
1^st year draft eligible – 2013
Other rankings – NHL 29, Bob MacKenzie 32, Chris Ralph 36
YTD: 51g 42pts +32
Mar-13: 9g 7pts +1
Feb-13: 10g 8pts +3
Jan-13: 10g 9pts +4
Video: Courtesy of NHL.com.

24. Lehkonen, Artturi

KalPa, SM-liiga, LW, L, 5’10, 163 lb.
1^st year draft eligible – 2013
Other rankings: NHL 37, Bob MacKenzie 40, Chris Ralph 28
Playoffs: 4g 3pts -2
YTD: 45g 30pts +12
5 Nations: 4g 5pts
WJC U20: 6g 4pts +5
Video: Courtesy of ThePullaboy.

25. Burakovsky, Andre

Malmo, Allsvenskan, LW, L, 6’1, 176 lb.
1^st year draft eligible – 2013
Other rankings – NHL 16, Bob MacKenzie 14, Chris Ralph 18
YTD: 43g 11pts -2
5 Nations: 4g 3pts
Video: Courtesy of Frederik Arvebratt.

26. De La Rose, Jacob

Leksand, Elitserien, C/LW, L, 6’2, 183 lb.
1^st year draft eligible – 2013
Other rankings – NHL 21, Bob MacKenzie 26, Chris Ralph 43
YTD: 38g 12pts +8
5 Nations: 4g 4pts
WJC U20: 6g 0pts +1
Video: Courtesy of bigwhite06.

27. Hartman, Ryan

Plymouth, OHL, RW, R, 5’11, 182 lb.
1^st year draft eligible – 2013
Other rankings – NHL 35, Bob MacKenzie 28, Chris Ralph 38
Playoffs: 6g 4pts +3
YTD: 56g 60pts +29
Mar-13: 4g 3pts +6
Feb-13: 13g 16pts +15
Jan-13: 7g 12pts +4
Dec-12: 7g 5pts -2
WJC U20: 7g 3pts +4
Video:

28. Compher, JT

JT Compher named #USHL Forward of the Week after registering 2G 7P in two weekly games #2013NHLDraft #FantasyHockey http://t.co/xx5EooKJ5s

— DobberProspects (@DobberProspects) March 12, 2013

USA NDP U18, USHL, C, R, 5’10, 179 lb.
1^st year draft eligible – 2013
Other rankings – NHL 28, Bob MacKenzie 30, Chris Ralph 26
YTD: 47g 42pts +9
Mar-13: 11g 14pts +0
Feb-13: 7g 7pts +1
Jan-13: 10g 11pts +3
Dec-12: 8g 3pts +2
5 Nations: 4g 5pts +0
Video: Courtesy of USHL interactive.

29. Hagg, Robert

MODO, Elitserien, D, L, 6’2, 201 lb.
1^st year draft eligible – 2013
Other rankings – NHL 25, Bob MacKenzie 29, Chris Ralph 16
Playoffs: 1g 0pts +0
YTD: 27g 1pt -3
5 Nations: 4g 3pts
WJC U20: 5g 2pts -1
Video: Courtesy of bigwhite06.

30. Bailey, Justin

Kitchener, OHL, C/RW, R, 6’3, 190 lb.
1^st year draft eligible – 2013
Other rankings – NHL 50; Bob MacKenzie 37, Chris Ralph 40
Playoffs: 8g 2pts -2
YTD: 57g 36pts +22
Mar-13: 8g 1pt -1
Feb-13: 11g 11pts +7
Jan-13: 12g 11pts +10
Video: Courtesy of Karen Buscaglia.

Previous Posts in This Series

Chris is THW’s senior draft/prospect analyst and a Managing Editor. Watch for “The Next Ones” Prospect Profile series, exclusive rankings, mock drafts, as well as the annual THW NHL Entry Draft Guide. Follow @ChrisRalphYQ on Twitter as he infiltrates, dissects and analyzes all happenings of hockey prospects and the NHL entry draft. Email: cralph[at]thehockeywriters[dot]com