What better way to open 2024 than with NHL Central Scouting's Midterm Rankings, right?
The scouting service released its rankings on Friday morning, giving the public an idea of how prospects stack up against one another ahead of June's NHL Draft.
New Englanders did well, as 18 locals made the list, including two goalies.
NHL Central Scouting released four sections: North American skaters, North American goalies, international skaters and international goalies. For the skaters, the service ranked players by projected round.
For example, Cole Eiserman (Newburyport, Mass.) was the No. 8-ranked North American skater in the first round. Teddy Stiga (Sudbury, Mass.) was the No. 72-ranked skater, placing him in the third round.
It's a good showing for New England, which only had four players drafted last year.
Before we get into what this all means, here is the full list of locals in the rankings. Players are listed with current team, projected round and hometown.
New England skaters ranked
- 8. Cole Eiserman, U.S. NTDP | First round | Newburyport, Mass.
- 72. Teddy Stiga, U.S. NTDP | Third round | Sudbury, Mass.
- 75. Elliott Groenewold, Cedar Rapids RoughRiders | Third round | Bellows Falls, Vt.
- 103. Ben Merrill, St. Sebastian's | Fourth round | Hingham, Mass.
- 122. Owen Keefe, Muskegon Lumberjacks | Fourth round | Saugus, Mass.
- 131. Joe Connor, Muskegon Lumberjacks | Fifth round | Amherst, N.H.
- 153. Gio DiGiulian, Kent | Fifth round | South Burlington, Vt.
- 160. JJ Monteiro, Salmon Arm Silverbacks | Fifth round | Hudson, Mass.
- 167. Caeden Herrington, Holderness | Sixth round | Manchester, Vt.
- 183. Landan Resendes, Cedar Rapids RoughRiders | Sixth round | Marlboro, Mass.
- 193. Jack Sadowski, Kimball Union | Seventh round | Arlington, Mass.
- 196. Will Felicio, Waterloo Black Hawks | Seventh round | Holden, Mass.
- 201. Cooper Cleaves, Brunswick | Seventh round | Riverside, Conn.
- 209. Ethan Gardula, Sioux City Musketeers | Seventh round | Princeton, Mass.
- 217. Jack Galanek, Muskegon Lumberjacks | Seventh round | Hopkinton, Mass.
- 222. Kole Hyles, Cushing | Seventh round | Newfields, N.H.
PRELIMINARY LIST: Check out how many locals made NHL Central Scouting's list back in October
New England goalies ranked
- 11. Thatcher Bernstein, Dubuque Fighting Saints | Brookline, Mass.
- 32. Sam Caulfield, Milton Academy | Needham, Mass.
Now, let's dive into some takeaways.
1. So, what are the chances those ranked actually get drafted? In last season's midterm rankings, only 11 locals made it. Of the nine skaters ranked, four were selected. Sean Keohane (Milton, Mass.) was the lowest-ranking player (No. 109) to be drafted and he went in the sixth round to the Buffalo Sabres. The only local ranked higher than him who wasn't selected was Connor, who was ranked at No. 71. This season, he's at No. 131.
Former Taft goalie Rudy Guimond is an interesting case. The Yale commit was ranked No. 16 among North American goalies at the halfway point last season but was drafted in the sixth round by the Detroit Red Wings.
When looking at these rankings, it also must be considered that there are 135 more players ranked and ready to be drafted internationally, making it all the more difficult to get taken.
NHL Central Scouting isn't the end-all be-all of rankings, either. The service still has one more rankings to release, which should come out in April. NHL teams have their own internal rankings too, with some teams valuing players more than others.
2. The biggest surprise is Eiserman going down to No. 8 for North American skaters, which is the lowest I've seen him ranked anywhere. The Boston University commit has long been thought of as a surefire top-three pick in this draft. It's not for lack of production, as Eiserman has 30 goals and 51 points in 28 games for the USNTDP's U18 team.
3. Groenewold as a third-round candidate makes sense. The Quinnipiac commit has all the tools NHL teams look for when they draft a defenseman. He has size (6-foot-2, 201 pounds) and he can perform at both ends of the ice, which is exactly the direction the NHL is going in terms of defensemen.
4. Prep hockey has nine candidates represented. Along with the seven locals, Cushing's Luke Goukler is No. 159 (fifth round). The Merrimack commit is known for his high level of speed. Cushing goalie Marko Bilic ranks No. 15 for North American goalies and former Avon Old Farms goalie Stephen Peck isn't far behind at No. 19.
5. There are three players who, in my opinion, are ranked too low: Connor, Felicio and Gardula. Connor's fall from being ranked No. 71 a year ago to No. 131 now doesn't make sense given his 23 points in his first 21 USHL games. Succeeding in the USHL usually means a boosted draft stock. The same can be said for Gardula, who was also passed over a season ago. Coming in at No. 209 is a shocker, considering he has 10 goals and 26 points in 33 USHL games and has improved in his first season of junior hockey. And while Felicio is undersized for a defensemen at 5-foot-10 and 161 pounds, I would have assumed the offensive and puck-moving abilities would've led to a higher ranking.
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6. In my eyes, the sure bets to get drafted are Eiserman, Stiga, Groenewold and Merrill. Eiserman is obvious, Stiga has drastically improved in his second year at the USNTDP, Groenewold has the size and skills to be a solid NHL defenseman, and Merrill, at 6-foot-4 and 194 pounds, has a perfect blend of size, hands and vision to be a prospect with a high ceiling.
