by Eldon MacDonald (edited by @ChrisRalphTHW)

2016 NHL Draft Notes from THW’s War Room

These are some things that you should be aware for this draft:

The Top Three

The top three are going to be stars in the NHL – Auston Matthews, Patrik Laine, and Jesse Puljujarvi. I expect all three to be in the NHL next year.

Centres Galore

Centres are the hardest commodity to obtain in the NHL by the draft or any other means. This is the year for your team to obtain a top six centre. Here are the main candidates that could be available for your team. I have included Jesse Puljujarvi in this list because he possesses all the qualities of a top centre except for face-off ability and the team most likely to draft him, the Columbus Blue Jackets, desperately needs a big number one centre. Others see him as a winger, and he would certainly excel if that’s the role chosen for him.

1. Auston Mathews

• 6’2, 210
• 1.3 PPG in the NLA (top Swiss pro league)
• E-Mac – 1; NHL Central Scouting Combined – 1

2. Jesse Puljujarvi

• 6’4, 203
• 0.6 PPG in the Liiga (top Finnish pro league)
• E-Mac – 3; NHL Central Scouting Combined – 3

3. Tyson Jost

• 5’11, 192
• 2.2 PPG in the BCHL
• E-Mac – 5; NHL Central Scouting Combined – 19

4. Logan Brown

• 6’6, 218
• 1.3 PPG in the OHL
• E-Mac – 6; NHL Central Scouting Combined – 10

5. Pierre-Luc Dubois

• 6’3, 203
• 1.6 PPG in the QMJHL
• E-Mac – 7; NHL Central Scouting Combined – 4

6. Michael McLeod

• 6’2, 187
• 1.1 PPG in the OHL
• E-Mac – 12; NHL Central Scouting Combined – 16

7. Clayton Keller

• 5’10, 165
• 1.7 PPG in the USHL & US NDTP
• E-Mac – 16; NHL Central Scouting Combined – 12

8. German Rubtsov

• 6’2, 178
• 0.9 PPG in the MHL (Russian junior league)
• E-Mac – 18; NHL Central Scouting Combined – 25

Goalies

This is a less than stellar year for goalies. The top rated goalies (Evan Fitzpatrick and Flip Gustavsson) for North America and Europe (by NHL Central Scouting and I) both have save percentages under .900.

Strong First Round

The fact that there are three likely stars and at least eight possible top six centres in the 2016 draft makes this a strong first round. Add in nine defensemen, all of whom have the possibility of being a top four, and you have a fine first round indeed.

Steep Dropoff

While the first round is great, the quality drops of significantly after the 45 to 50 range.

THW’s NHL Draft War Room May Rankings

In addition to NHL Central Scouting’s Combined Final Rankings, included in this ultimate 2016 NHL Draft spreadsheet are the latest THW War Room Rankings, which feature:

• E-Mac’s exclusive Top 210 prospects ranked, plus
• The Others, where other notable draft eligible prospects are highlighted (over 800 prospects in total are noted on the spreadsheet including all prospects ranked by NHL Central Scouting in their final rankings)

This is your quintessential 2016 NHL Draft resource.

The Rankings Spreadsheet Tabs

The THW War Room rankings are presented in the following formats in the accompanying spreadsheet.

• Tab 1: Sorted by THW’s War Room May 2016 Rankings (E-Mac)
  • Column #2 is NHL Central Scouting’s Combined Final Rankings (Combined)
• Tab 2: Sorted by NHL Central Scouting Combined Final Rankings (Combined)

Most prospects are also linked to their elite prospects profile as well.

Spreadsheet Notes

• Only a portion of the table displays by default; you can scroll over to see the rest of the player demographics and statistics or select View full-size workbook option, which is the icon in the bottom right-hand corner, to view the full table.
• The beauty of the above option is that you can then download the file to your computer and play with it or adjust it any way you like.
• The spreadsheet is searchable; simply click on the spreadsheet and utilize CTRL/Command “F

THW’s War Room Top 210 May Rankings

PDF Version

THW War Room 2016 NHL Draft May Rankings PDF

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Check out THW’s quintessential draft resource:

2016 NHL Draft Guide: The Next Ones