Not surprisingly, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League portion of the rankings was dominated by Saint John Sea Dogs players. A total of seven players appeared on the list of the league’s top 25 skaters entering draft eligibility with five of them being placed in the top 10.
"It's going to be a better year than the past couple, but I've seen some of the kids in Ontario and they're looking pretty good, too," Central Scouting's Chris Bordeleau, who scouts the QMJHL, told NHL.com. "We can't get too overly excited. I'm kind of prudent, because it's happened before. I don't want to get too excited too early, but the top 15 players out of the 'Q' are looking all decent."
Drummondville Voltigeurs forward Sean Couturier, who many have pegged as the first overall pick in this June’s draft in Minnesota, was the top ranked QMJHL skater.
In the #2 slot was Sea Dogs leading scorer Jonathan Huberdeau. The second year forward has 15 goals and 15 assists in 23 games this season while playing most of the year on a line with Tomas Jurco and Zach Phillips.
Third-year defenseman Nathan Beaulieu came in at #3. The yet-to-turn-18-year-old has three goals and nine assists in 23 matches with the league leading Sea Dogs. The offensive d-man sits third on the team in points by defenseman.
Jurco, probably the most well known Sea Dog player after his appearance on TSN, has had a hot-and-cold season so far and finds himself ranked 6th. He is fourth on the team in points with 23 (12 goals and 11 assists) but has been a bit inconsistent at times.
There were some significant surprises as the top 10 came to a close. Rookie forward Scott Oke came in at #9 while fellow rookie forward Ryan Tesink was ranked 10th. Both players came ahead of second year forward Zach Phillips, who has been on the draft radar for a year now.
Oke has three goals and one assist in 20 games while Tesink has five goals and 10 assists in as many tilts. Both have been solid this season playing on the fourth line, especially Tesink who has been mentioned in the draft equation over the past couple of weeks. This is the first time Oke has made an appearance that we know of.
Nothing against Oke or Tesink, but to have the two placed ahead of Phillips is puzzling. The Fredericton native sits third in team scoring with 13 goals and 11 assists while being able to keep up on one of the most talented lines in the league with Huberdeau and Jurco. The majority of draft rankings/articles released so far this season have him going mid-to-late second round this summer.
Central Scouting doesn’t give reasoning behind their placement of players.
The only other Sea Dog listed was rookie defenseman Guillaume Cloutier who was ranked 16th. Cloutier, drafted by Saint John in this past summer’s QMJHL Entry Draft, has one goal, three assists, and an impressive +14 rating in 21 games.
"This is our first list in which we assign numbers to players and are forced to get off the fence and decide who is No. 1 and No. 2, No. 17 and No. 18," Director of Central Scouting E.J. McGuire told NHL.com. "There's a little bit of fun pressure involved, but the purpose of these lists hasn't changed. We're out to serve the 30 NHL teams. And as much as this process has evolved into a news event, we're not trying to make that much of a splash. We've also put the disclaimer out that our mid-term release (Jan. 10) and even this list, is subject to refinement."
McGuire will be appearing on The Pipeline Show tonight.
Only one Sea Dog player has ever been selected in the first round of the NHL Draft - Simon Despres in 2009 when he went 30th overall to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
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