Pike’s Picks: 2019 NHL Draft Rankings – January Edition

For scouts and prospect prognosticators, the month of January is when a draft class begins to stabilize and it becomes easier to project players. Not only does January represent the midway point of the hockey season, but it also sees the completion of the annual World Junior Championship tournament. Given the amount of hockey that’s come to pass, and the upcoming Canadian Hockey League Top Prospects Game looming on the horizon, we present the latest edition of my 2019 NHL Draft rankings.

This is the third edition of my annual NHL Draft rankings here at The Hockey Writers. Roughly every other month, I will attempt to rank the top players in this year’s draft class as if I were drafting a team from scratch, based upon their accumulated body of work. My main proviso? I want to draft players that will help my team win consistently – when in doubt, I tend to err on the side of players who have a larger sample size of excellence.

The usual disclaimers apply: I live in Western Canada so I see Western Hockey League players the most often, followed by the remainder of Canada’s prospects – especially those affiliated with Hockey Canada. I have to rely on video for players in the United States and Europe for the most part. I’m also hesitant to draft goalies early due to the sheer number of weird things that can go wrong and derail their development.

For another point of video, check out rankings from colleague Larry Fisher (from January).

As always, your mileage may vary.

The January Top 75

As with the previous edition of this ranking, it’s become very clear that this class has a very well-defined top six group. Functionally, there are Hughes and Kakko clustered together after strong performances at the World Juniors, then the remaining four from the top six. Beyond them there’s a drop-off after the 16th-ranked player. There’s decent depth within the late first round, though; it’s probable that anyone from 36th on this list and up could go in the first round, as well as perhaps a handful of players dipping down to 45th depending on organizational need.

Positionally, forwards dominate the top 75 but the first round is fairly packed with defensemen. The projected first round features 19 forwards, 11 defensemen and one goaltender. The projected top 75 has 48 forwards, 24 defensemen and three goaltenders.

League-by-league, the first round and top 75 are both packed full of American talent. The United States Hockey League leads with 17 players (9 in the first round), followed by the Ontario Hockey League’s 15 (four first rounders), Western Hockey League’s 14 (six first rounders), the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s six (four first rounders), Finland’s SM-Liiga with four (three first rounders), the junior-A British Columbia Hockey League with four (one first rounder), and Russia’s junior Major Hockey League with four (one first rounder).

Compared to 2018’s class, it’s a stronger year for the WHL and the U.S. National Development team. It’s a weaker year for the OHL, the remainder of the USHL, and European prospects playing in pro leagues. There’s talent in this class, but it’s rawer and less high-end than 2018’s group – you could say there’s a first round, then three third rounds that follow it.

The Next Dozen: Honourable Mentions

These next 12 players could creep into the top 75 in the next update if they continue to perform at a high level.

• RW Mikhail Abramov – Victoriaville Tigres (QMJHL)
• C Logan Barlage – Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)
• RW Alex Beaucage – Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (QMJHL)
• D Roman Bychkov – Loko Yaroslavl (MHL)
• C Samuel Fagemo – Frolunda HC (SHL)
• C Vladislav Firstov – Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL)
• LW Ethan Keppen – Flint Firebirds (OHL)
• RW Nolan Legare – Baie-Comeau Drakkar (QMJHL)
• RW Cole MacKay – Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds (OHL)
• C Reece Newkirk – Portland Winterhawks (WHL)
• C Shane Pinto – Lincoln Stars (USHL)
• G Mads Soegaard – Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)