Three Vernon Vipers are rated in NHL Central Scouting’s final list of the top North American skaters and goaltenders, revealed today.
Centre Brett Stapley, 19, is the highest-ranked Viper, at 177th. The 5-foot-10, 173-pound Campbell River product rang up 27 goals and 59 points in his third B.C. Hockey League season. Stapley will play for the NCAA Division 1 Denver Pioneers next season.
Viper rookie centre Josh Prokop, who missed the playoffs with injury, is pegged at 197th. The 18-year-old Edmonton native compiled 21 goals and 36 points in 48 games. The 5-foot-10, 170-pound Prokop has a scholarship with the Ohio State Buckeyes for the 2019-20 season.
Ty Taylor of the Vipers is No. 25 ranked North American goalie. The Richmond resident won the league’s Top Goalie award after going 23-5 with a 1.87 GAA and .931 save percentage. The 18-year-old tied a league record with seven shutouts. Taylor, at 6-foot-3 and 196 pounds, will be a crease cop with the New Hampshire Wildcats next year.
The 2018 NHL Entry Draft will be held at American Airlines Center in Dallas on June 22-23.
Penticton Vees’ defenceman Jonny Tychonick is the top BCHL player on the Central Scouting bird-dog list, at No. 36. Tychonick, a Penticton minor hockey grad, amassed 9-38-47 in his second season. He’s a North Dakota commit.
Wenatchee Wild d-man Stanislav Demin comes in at No. 40. The Californian posted nine goals and 45 points. He will play for Denver in the 2019-20 season.
Kelowna’s Seth Barton, a blueliner with the Trail Smoke Eaters, is ranked 94th. Barton bagged six goals and 33 points this season. He’s headed to the UMass Lowell River Hawks in 2019.
BCHL MVP and leading scorer Jasper Weatherby is rated 198th after a 74-point season with Wenatchee. The power forward from Lummi Island, Wa., has a scholarship to North Dakota for next fall.
Wenatchee centre Sam Morton is listed at No. 212. The Colorado product pocketed 29 goals and 54 points and is headed to the Union Dutchmen in New York next season.
Defenseman Rasmus Dahlin of Frolunda in Sweden is No. 1 on the final ranking of International skaters.
Dahlin (6-foot-2, 181 pounds), a left-handed shot, could become the first Sweden-born player chosen No. 1 since Mats Sundin by the Quebec Nordiques in 1989. He would be the first defenceman chosen No. 1 since Aaron Ekblad by the Florida Panthers in 2014.
“Dahlin is an exceptionally talented prospect who will be able to contribute, influence and impact a team’s fortunes much in the way that defensemen Erik Karlsson (Ottawa Senators) and Victor Hedman (Tampa Bay Lightning) have in the NHL,” said Dan Marr, director of NHL Central Scouting, to NHL.com. “If you wanted to pick one player from the 2018 draft who could potentially be viewed as a generational talent, Rasmus would be the only candidate. There is that much respect for him and his abilities.”
Dahlin, who turned 18 on Friday, had 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists), a plus-4 rating, 30 hits, 36 blocked shots and 84 shots on goal while averaging 19:02 of ice time in 41 games in the Swedish Hockey League. He had three points (one goal, two assists) and a plus-3 rating in six SHL playoff games.
He was named the best defenceman at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship after he had six points, all assists, 25 shots on goal and a plus-7 rating while averaging 23:08 of ice time in seven games to help Sweden win the silver medal. He also was the youngest player on Sweden’s roster for the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics by seven years.
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