Midseason NHL Central Scouting Rankings

Today, NHL Central Scouting released their midseason rankings for the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. These rankings are always mucho debated, and often times with good reason. But it's important to remember two things. 1) These are only one ranking and probably vastly differ from what certain NHL teams are thinking. Just because a player is high or low on this doesn't make them an automatic choice in that range. 2) NHL Central Scouting and E.J. McGuire know their stuff. They have their opinions, and they stick with their guns. They are very patient with trends and often can be a little slower to really raise or lower a player in their rankings. Just because you disagree with them, doesn't mean the rankings deserve to be printed off and used as BizNasty's favourite butt wipe.

Here's their list.

Skaters

1. Gabriel Landeskog - NA Ranking: 1
2. Dougie Hamilton - NA Ranking: 7
3. Brandon Saad - NA Ranking: 8
4. Ryan Murphy - NA Ranking: 10
5. Vladislav Namestnikov - NA Ranking: 17
6. Boone Jenner - NA Ranking: 18
7. Ryan Strome - NA Ranking: 19
8. Nicklas Jensen - NA Ranking: 20
9. Mark Scheifele - NA Ranking: 21
10. Matt Puempel - NA Ranking: 29
11. Rickard Rakell - NA Ranking: 34
12. Shane Prince - NA Ranking: 35
13. Vincent Trocheck - NA Ranking: 42
14. Daniel Catenacci - NA Ranking: 43
15. Lucas Lessio - NA Ranking: 44
16. Alexander Khokhlachev - NA Ranking: 45
17. Stefan Noesen - NA Ranking: 47
18. Stuart Percy - NA Ranking: 51
19. Brett Ritchie - NA Ranking: 57
20. Alan Quine - NA Ranking: 64
21. Scott Harrington - NA Ranking: 67
22. Joseph Cramarossa - NA Ranking: 68
23. Tobias Rieder - NA Ranking: 74
24. Andrei Pedan - NA Ranking: 75
25. Nick Cousins - NA Ranking: 76
26. David Broll - NA Ranking: 78
27. Garrett Meurs - NA Ranking: 79
28. Anthony Camara - NA Ranking: 86
29. Austen Brassard - NA Ranking: 88
30. Andrew Fritsch - NA Ranking: 96
31. Michael Curtis - NA Ranking: 100
32. Ben Thomson - NA Ranking: 104
33. Craig Duininck - NA Ranking: 116
34. Colin Suellentrop - NA Ranking: 117
35. Zach Bell - NA Ranking: 118
36. Keevin Cutting - NA Ranking: 122
37. Ryan Sproul - NA Ranking: 124
38. Dario Trutmann - NA Ranking: 126
39. Seth Griffith - NA Ranking: 157
40. Carter Sandlak - NA Ranking: 158
41. Steven Trojanovic - NA Ranking: 169
42. Barclay Goodrow - NA Ranking: 173
43. Michal Cajkovsky - NA Ranking: 181
44. Cody McNaughton - NA Ranking: 183
45. Colin Miller - NA Ranking: 191
46. Derek Mathers - NA Ranking: 197
47. Dylan DeMelo - NA Ranking: 199

Goaltenders:

1. Matej Machovsky - NA Ranking: 3
2. Jordan Binnington - NA Ranking: 7
3. Tadeas Galansky - NA Ranking: 10
4. Mike Morrison - NA Ranking: 11
5. Frank Palazzese - NA Ranking: 16
6. John Chartrand - NA Ranking: 19
7. Matt Mahalak - NA Ranking: 23
8. Michael Houser - NA Ranking: 26
9. Tyson Teichmann - NA Ranking: 28
10. Garret Sparks - NA Ranking: 30

You can view the full lists here

Also, in case you want to compare, here was CSS' Preliminary Rankings

Lastly, as another source of comparison, here was my midterm ranking.

Just some general comments.

1. I don't get what Ryan Strome has done to fall in their midseason ranking, from 4 to 7th in the OHL. He certainly hasn't slowed down any, with 13 goals and 24 points in his last 15 games (including a current 9 game point streak).
   
2. Another BIG faller was Tobias Rieder, who went from 6th to 23rd. Again, he's the same player he was back in November. His point production pace has slowed down, but he remains a quality offensive energy guy. I really hope his disappointing WJC performance isn't being held against him, as that tourney shouldn't be used to decrease a draft eligible player's stock (IMO).
3. People seem to be making a big deal out of the ranking of Matt Puempel. I disagree with the ranking, but I'm not surprised by it. I've heard E.J. McGuire talk about Puempel, and they've had concerns over whether he should be shouldering the blame for Peterborough's lackluster season. If the Petes can continue to play half decent hockey and earn a playoff birth, perhaps Puempel will get a bit more respect.
   
4. Interesting to see their list in comparison with my own. A lot of the same players in their top 20 (for the OHL) as me, just in different spots. Biggest discrepancy was their 9th ranking of Mark Scheifele and my 22nd ranking.
   
5. Also interesting to see a few defenders I had in my top 30, not being ranked at all. Frankie Corrado, Alex Basso, and Spencer Abraham.
   
6. I like the goaltender rankings, although I'd probably have Chartrand higher, as well as the draft re-entering Michael Houser.

What are your thoughts?