The NHL Central Scouting Mid-Season Rankings were released by the league on Monday morning with 15 players from New England getting the nod.
Numerous other players from outside of the region, who are committed to a New England college or playing at or an alum of a local prep school, also made the list.
As usual, NHL Central Scouting breaks players into four categories: North American Skaters, North American Goaltenders, International Skaters, and International Goaltenders.
Rimouski Oceanic left Alexis Lafreniere, the projected first overall pick, topped the list of North American Skaters. Sudbury Wolves center Quinton Byfield and Erie Otters defenseman Jamie Drysdale rounded out the top three.
The top ranked local skater was Chicago Steel right wing Sam Colangelo, a Northeastern commit from Stoneham, Mass. He has 18 goals and 18 assists in 25 games, which puts him in second in the USHL in points per game.
Quinnipiac commit Ty Smilanic was the top player with ties to the New England region. The USA Hockey NTDP center came in as the 18th best North American skater.
Headlining the list of locals on the North American Goaltenders list is Norwell, Mass., native Drew Commesso, a St. Sebastian’s alum who is in his second season with USA Hockey’s NTDP.
New England colleges were well represented on the NHL Central Scouting Mid-Season Rankings. Leading the way as Harvard with eighth recruits on the list. A surprising entry, Merrimack, had three current players and two commits on the list. Boston College (5), Northeastern (4), Boston University (4), and Providence (4) were the other leaders in terms of recruits making the cut.
Here’s a look at all the players from New England and those with ties to the region who made the NHL Central Scouting Mid-Season Rankings:
North American Skaters
18. Ty Smilanic, C, USA U-18 (Quinnipiac)
28. Yan Kuznetsov, D, UConn
33. Sam Colangelo, RW, Chicago Steel/Stoneham, Mass. (Northeastern)
34. Dylan Peterson, C, USA U-18 (Boston University)
35. Luke Tuch, LW, USA U-18 (Boston University)
36. Brett Berard, LW, USA U-18/East Greenwich, R.I. (Providence)
49. Eamon Powell, D, USA U-18 (Boston College)
53. Sean Farrell, C, Chicago Steel/Hopkinton, Mass. (Harvard)
57. Ian Moore, D, St. Mark’s/Concord, Mass. (Harvard)
62. Senna Peeters, RW, Halifax Mooseheads (South Kent Selects Academy alum)
63. Ilya Usau, C, Prince Albert Raiders (Salisbury alum)
68. Alex Laferriere, RW, Des Moines Buccaneers (Harvard)
72. Ruben Rafkin, D, Windsor Spitfires (South Kent Selects Academy alum)
75. Carsen Richels, LW, Blaine High School (New Hampshire)
82. Colby Ambrosio, C, Tri-City Storm (Boston College)
83. Zachary Uens, D, Merrimack
88. Chase Yoder, C, USA U-18 (Providence)
98. Alex Jefferies, RW, Gunnery/Lunenburg, Mass. (Merrimack)
102. Ben Meehan, D, Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (UMass Lowell)
110. Luke Reid, D, Chicago Steel (New Hampshire)
112. Artem Shlaine, C, Shattuck-St. Mary’s (Boston University)
116. Danny Weight, C, Penticton Vees (Boston College)
122. Ryan Tverberg, C, Toronto Jr. Canadians (Harvard)
127. Kyle Aucoin, D, Tri-City Storm (Harvard)
129. Aidan Thompson, C, Berkshire (Denver)
133. Noah Ellis, D, Des Moines Buccaneers (UMass)
135. Trevor Kuntar, C, Youngstown Phantoms (Harvard)
139. Ryan McGuire, C, Belmont Hill/New Canaan, Conn. (Colgate)
142. Riley Duran, RW, Lawrence Academy/Woburn, Mass. (Providence)
145. Lucas Mercuri, C, Salisbury (Vermont)
150. Parker Ford, C, Providence/Wakefield, R.I.
161. Mason Langenbrunner, D, Eden Prairie High School (Harvard)
166. Cole O’Hara, RW, North York Rangers (UMass)
169. Charlie Desroches, D, Saint John Sea Dogs (South Kent Selects Academy alum)
172. Christian Jimenez, D, Sioux City Musketeers (Harvard)
175. David Sacco, C, Lawrence Academy/Middleton, Mass. (New Hampshire)
179. Timothy Lovell, D, Des Moines Buccaneers/Hingham, Mass. (Boston College)
191. Paul Dore, RW, Kimball Union
193. Bayard Hall, D, Salisbury (Yale)
196. Matt Choupani, Des Moines Buccaneers (Northeastern)
197. Mark Hillier, C, St. Andrew’s (Merrimack)
205. Jake Flynn, D, UConn/Milton, Mass.
207. Carl Berglund, C, UMass Lowell
209. Declan Carlile, D, Merrimack
210. Philip Tresca, C, Rivers/Newton, Mass. (Yale)
212. Gunnarwolfe Fontaine, LW, Chicago Steel/East Greenwich, R.I. (Northeastern)
North American Goaltenders
2. Drew Commesso, USA U-18/Norwell, Mass. (Boston University)
6. Colin Purcell, Youngstown Phantoms (UMass)
11. Grant Riley, Janesville Jets (Boston College)
17. Devon Levi, Carleton Place (Northeastern)
18. Gabriel Carriere, Waterloo Black Hawks (Vermont)
20. Gustave Bylin, Selects Academy 18-U
26. Jere Huhtamaa, Merrimack
