Nine players from New England landed on the final 2023 NHL Central Scouting Draft Prospect Rankings that were released by the organization on Tuesday.
Two of those players, USA Hockey NTDP U18 forwards Will Smith (Lexington, Mass.) and Ryan Leonard (Amherst, Mass.) landed inside of the top 10 for North American skaters. The local duo were among four Boston College recruits inside the top 10 at their respective position. NTDP teammate Gabriel Perrault and Youngstown Phantoms goaltender Jacob Fowler joined them at the top of their respective lists.
NHL Central Scouting divides their rankings into four lists: North American skaters, North American goaltenders, international skaters, and international goaltenders. The rankings try to give a glimpse into how the NHL draft might unfold, but individual teams could view the field differently.
One thing that does seem certain is that Regina Pats center Connor Bedard will be the first player taken in the NHL draft this June in Nashville. The projected first player off the board with local ties is former Kimball Union star Adam Fantilli, now a center with the University of Michigan. He had a monster freshman campaign for the Wolverines that culminated in him winning the Hobey Baker Memorial Award as college hockey’s top player.
Smith and Leonard led the locally grown contingent by being ranked third and eighth, respectively, among North American skaters. The top native New Englander who competed in the region this past year was Avon Old Farms center and Northeastern recruit Joseph Connor (Amherst, N.H.) who came in at 74th on the list.
Boston College topped all local colleges with seven recruits on the NHL Central Scouting Final Rankings. Next up were Harvard, Northeastern and UMass with five each. The Minutemen lay claim to the second-ranked North American goaltender, Michael Hrabal, of the USHL’s Omaha Lancers.
Boston University and UConn each placed four current or future players on the list. UConn freshman Matthew Wood was the second-highest-ranked current college hockey player on the list, coming in at No. 4 among North American skaters.
As Maine head coach Ben Barr looks to turn around the Black Bears, the school posted three players on the list, including Penticton Vees star center Bradley Nadeau, ranked 17th among North American skaters.
NEW ENGLAND DISTRICT SELECT FESTIVAL: 16 standouts from the '06 group
Coming off one of the best seasons in program history, Merrimack had three current or future Warriors on the list. Sophomore center Matt Copponi (Mansfield, Mass.) came in at 98th while two recruits followed him later in the rankings.
Mount Saint Charles had an incredible five former players and two current forwards named to the final rankings. It speaks volumes to the program’s ability to attract top talent to Woonsocket, R.I.
The NHL draft takes place June 28-29 at the Bridgestone Arena, home of the Nashville Predators. The first round is set for Friday night with rounds two through seven the following day.
Here's how players with New England ties fared in the final NHL Central Scouting Rankings.
North American Skaters
- 2. Adam Fantilli, C, Michigan (Kimball Union alum)
- 3. Will Smith, C, Lexington, Mass./NTDP U18 (Boston College)
- 4. Matthew Wood, RW, UConn
- 8. Ryan Leonard, RW, Amherst, Mass./NTDP U18 (Boston College)
- 10. Gabriel Perrault, RW, NTDP U18 (Boston College)
- 17. Bradley Nadeau, LW, Penticton (Maine)
- 40. Aydar Suniev, LW, Penticton (UMass)
- 52. Gavin McCarthy, D, Muskegon (Boston University)
- 60. Drew Fortescue, D, NTDP U18 (Boston College) (Mid Fairfield product)
- 66. Brandon Svoboda, C, Youngstown (Boston University)
- 73. Larry Keenan, D, Culver (UMass)
- 74. Joe Connor, LW, Amherst, N.H./Avon Old Farms (Northeastern)
- 78. Aram Minnetian, D, NTDP U18 (Boston College) (Mid Fairfield product)
- 80. Ben Poitras, C, Sioux City (Northeastern) (Salisbury alum)
- 90. Francesco Dell’Elce, D, St. Andrew’s (UMass)
- 65. Hudson Malinoski, C, Brooks (Providence)
- 98. Matt Copponi, C, Mansfield, Mass./Merrimack
- 101. Tanner Adams, RW, Tri-City (Providence) (Mount Saint Charles alum)
- 103. Michael Hagens, D, Chicago (Harvard) (Mount Saint Charles alum)
- 109. Eli Sebastian, C, Green Bay (Northeastern)
- 112. Ryan Conmy, RW, Sioux City (New Hampshire)
- 120. Alex Weiermair, C, NTDP U18 (Denver) (Seacoast Performance Academy product)
- 127. Chris Pelosi, C, Sioux Falls (Quinnipiac) (Mount Saint Charles alum)
- 128. Connor MacPherson, RW, Leamington (New Hampshire)
- 140. Aiden Celebrini, D, Brooks (Boston University)
- 145. Will Vote, RW, Arlington, Mass./NTDP U18 (Boston College)
- 146. Jack Harvey, C, Chicago (Boston University)
- 149. Kaden Shahan, RW, Sioux City (UConn)
- 159. Sean Keohane, D, Milton, Mass./Dexter Southfield (Harvard)
- 164. Nicholas Vantassell, RW, Green Bay (UMass)
- 170. Ethan Gardula, RW, Princeton, Mass./Cushing (UConn)
- 179. Charles Alexis Legault, D, Quinnipiac
- 183. Dan Harkimo, RW, South Kent U18
- 189. Chase Pirtle, RW, Mount Saint Charles (Cornell)
- 192. Sam Court, D, Brooks (Avon Old Farms alum)
- 193. Ben Robertson, D, Waterloo (Mount Saint Charles alum) (Cornell)
- 194. Sebastian Bradshaw, LW, Elite Hockey Academy U18 (New Hampshire)
- 195. Ty Daneault, RW, Drumheller (Merrimack)
- 196. Salvatore Guzzo, RW, NTDP U18 (Harvard)
- 199. Ryan Hopkins, D, Penticton (Maine)
- 200. Ryan Fine, C, NTDP U18 (Harvard)
- 201. Giacamo Martino, LW, St. Michael’s (Northeastern)
- 204. Kevin Fitzgerald, D, Sioux City (UConn)
- 207. Lucas St. Louis, D, Riverside, Conn./Dubuque (Harvard)
- 211. Ryan MacPherson, C, Leamington (New Hampshire)
- 218. Blake Montgomery, LW, Mount Saint Charles U18
- 219. Seth Constance, D, Tri-City (Northeastern) (Mount Saint Charles product)
North American Goaltenders
- 2. Michael Hrabal, Omaha (UMass)
- 5. Jacob Fowler, Youngstown (Boston College) (South Kent product)
- 7. Stephen Peck, Avon Old Farms
- 18. Max Lundgren, Des Moines (Merrimack)
- 17. Rudy Guimond, Taft (Yale)
- 21. Daniel Heroux, Kimball Union (Vermont)
- 21. Thomas Kiesewetter, Plymouth, Mass./Corpus Christi (Princeton)
- 22. Patriks Berzins, Danbury (Maine)
* Bold indicates New England natives
