2022 NHL Central Scouting Midterm Rankings

NHL Central Scouting has released their first official draft ranking for 2022. Let's see how the OHL players were ranked. In total, 62 were listed (plus one limited viewing). I'll be releasing my own midseason rankings very shortly (likely in the next week). See below for some commentary on these rankings.

Skaters

1. Shane Wright (1)

2. Pavel Mintyukov (5)

3. Luca DelBellBelluz (11)

4. Matyas Sapovaliv (13)

5. Owen Beck (19)

6. Matthew Poitras (23)

7. Ty Nelson (25)

8. Danny Zhilkin (27)

9. Bryce McConnell-Barker (28)

10. Paul Ludwinski (29)

11. David Goyette (35)

12. Michael Buchinger (36)

13. Spencer Sova (38)

14. Jorian Donovan (39)

15. Isaiah George (42)

16. Vinzenz Rohrer (46)

17. Hunter Haight (47)

18. Servac Petrovsky (52)

19. Jake Karabela (61)

20. Ruslan Gazizov (62)

21. Liam Arnsby (66)

22. Gavin Hayes (68)

23. Jackson Edward (75)

24. Cedrick Guindon (76)

25. Pano Fimis (77)

26. Evan Konyen (88)

27. Kirill Kudryavtsev (103)

28. Lucas Edmonds (107)

29. Tucker Robertson (109)

30. Samuel Mayer (120)

31. Vsevolod Gaidamak (121)

32. Zak Lavoie (124)

33. Colton Smith (129)

34. Rodwin Dionicio (132)

35. Beau Jelsma (137)

36. Brady Stonehouse (138)

37. Stuart Rolofs (142)

38. Tnias Mathurin (152)

39. Aidan Castle (155)

40. Gavin Bryant (160)

41. Brice Cooke (163)

42. Christian Kyrou (179)

43. Kyle Jackson (182)

44. Tyler Savard (183)

45. Brody Crane (188)

46. Sam Alfano (190)

47. Roberto Mancini (195)

48. Kirill Steklov (196)

49. Kocha Delic (200)

50. James Hardie (204)

51. Ryan Abraham (210)

52. Landon Sim (213)

53. Braeden Bowman (217)

54. Max Namestnikov (219)

55. Nolan Dann (224)

LV. Simon Slavicek

Goaltenders

1. Andrew Oke (8)

2. Nolan Lalonde (10)

3. Charlie Schenkel (12)

4. Domenic DiVincentiis (14)

5. Jacob Oster (15)

6. Brett Brochu (16)

7. Patrick Leaver (29)

Comments

1. In terms of comparing NHL Central Scouting with my own rankings, here are some of the larger discrepancies (the order of my rankings is finalized, but the write ups are still being completed). Keep in mind that I rank re-entry candidates separately.  

Higher in Brock's Rankings:

1. Jonathan Melee + Infinity (Not Ranked vs. 33rd)

2. Dalyn Wakely + Infinity (Not Ranked vs. 38th)

3. Ryan Abraham +21 (51st vs. 30th)

4. Beau Jelsma - +13 (35th vs. 22nd)

5. Brady Stonehouse - +13 (36th vs. 23rd)

6. Kocha Delic - +12 (49th vs. 37th)

7. Sam Alfano - +10 (46th vs. 36th)

8. Tnias Mathurin - +10 (38th vs. 28th)

9. Aidan Castle - +8 (39th vs. 31st)

10. Kirill Kudryavtsev - +7 (27th vs. 20th)

11. Ruslan Gazizov - +6 (20th vs. 14th)

12. Gavin Hayes - +6 (22nd vs. 16th)

Majority of the discrepancies there are for players ranked further down in the draft. 

Lower in Brock's Rankings:

1. Jackson Edward (-16) - (23rd vs. 39th)

2. Michael Buchinger (-13) - (12th vs. 25th)

3. Jake Karabela (-8) - (19th vs. 27th)

4. Cedrick Guindon (-8) - (24th vs. 32nd)

5. Brice Cooke (-8) - (41st vs 49th)

6. Luca DelBelBelluz  (-7) - (3rd vs. 10th)

7. Servac Petrovsky (-6) - (18th vs. 24th)

8. Spencer Sova (-6) - (13th vs. 19th)

2. Really, nothing too shocking from an OHL perspective for me. Their rankings fall closely in line with my own overall. The variance on these players is going to be wide this year because a) it's not the best overall draft year and b) because scouts are still learning a lot about these players as they grow in their (mostly) first years in the CHL.

3. Also not shocking to see so many second/third year eligible players listed. We knew that this would happen given the layoff last season. I think the OHL largely got it correct here with how they ranked those players.

4. Great to see Mintyukov get more love. The quote from NHL Central Scouting calling him perhaps the best defender in the draft is something I can get on board with too. I honestly don't believe that there is another defender out there with as much upside as him. He deserves lottery consideration.

 

For more information, including the full rankings, see here.