CSB Winners and Losers

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The final ranking for NHL Central Scouting was released today and the list has a number of players vaulting up the charts with others tumbling as a result. The 2010 Draft is very strong and unless you're Toronto, Philly or Calgary (barring a trade), teams have a chance to strike it rich through he first couple of rounds.

Here's a quick rundown of some of the names that jumped out at me, both risers and fallers for this June's big event.

The first thing people will notice when they check out the new rankings (Here) is that Tyler Seguin has claimed the #1 spot ahead of Taylor Hall. Are we surprised? Nope. Dean and I have had Seguin #1 for the last few months and things we've heard lately have only cemented that opinion for both of us (more on that later today).

RISING

#3 Brett Connolly - He ended the year with 5 points in 2 games and now has a great chance at the U18s to really get his name into the conversation to go this high. The Prince George native missed so much time this year but he's so talented that he wasn't hurt by the long layoff.

#4 Erik Gudbranson - He's now the top ranked blueliner. Like Connolly he missed a lot of time this year and will look to make a big statement at the U18s.

#7 Mark Pysyk - Is it a trend? Pysyk's season ending injury is going to keep him out of the U18s and yet he still moves up a couple of spots. Maybe that's more a result of guys coming out of the top 10 but still, great to see for the Oil Kings d-man.

#8 - Emerson Etem - The Medicine Hat power forward hasn't slowed down in the WHL playoffs and has forced his way up from the 13 spot into the top 10. He's starting to remind some of Kyle Okposo.

#10 Ryan Johansen - He's now the top rated player coming from the Portland Winterhawks which will raise some eyebrows but he's been THE guy for that club so far in the playoffs.

#14 Austin Watson - A big jump up from 25th to 14th for the American power forward. Watson is the only CHL player going to the U18s for USA and this lofty ranking is bound to draw even more attention from scouts.

#17 Dylan McIlrath - A 10-spot jump for the big tough blueliner from Moose Jaw. He showed me some skill and finesse in the playoffs when I had really only considered him to be a premiere tough guy. I think I've underrated him for most of the year.

#19 - Quinton Howden - Another Moose Jaw player making a move here is the big, talented forward who missed most of the WHL playoffs due to injury but will play for Canada at the U18s.

#23 Petr Straka - From outside the top-30 at the mid-term mark to a potential 1st round pick. The import plays for the Rimouski Oceanic in the QMJHL.

#28 Jaden Schwartz - He won the USHL scoring title with 83 points in 60 games. His appearance on TPS awhile ago suggested he would consider the WHL next year instead of Colorado College. NHL teams will explore that for sure.

#30 Jordan Weal - Up from 45th spot thanks to a 102 point season, the first time a 17-year-old has done that in the WHL since Pavel Brendl in 1998-99. Under the microscope at the U18s for sure.

#32 Beau Bennett - The BCHL scoring champ this year is headed to Denver next season and really played well and put up points in the second half of the year. I won't be stunned if he doesn't make it out of the 1st round. (Photo: BCHL)

#40 Patrick McNally - A high school defenceman from Massachusetts has vaulted from 84th spot.

#41 Brock Beukeboom - The Soo Greyhounds rearguard jumps up from the 63rd spot and is headed to Belarus for Canada.

#59 Brad Ross - A modest bump up from the 69th spot but I still think the Portland pepper pot is going to be gone before the end of the second round. Disappointing production so far in the playoffs though.

FALLING

#5 Cam Fowler - Not only has he slipped from the #3 spot but he's also no longer the top ranked blueliner according to Central Scouting. Still considered a potential franchise player though.

#11 Alex Burmistrov - This one surprised me but the Russian import has slipped out of the top 10 despite having a tremendous year with the Barrie Colts.

#22 Riley Sheahan - The Notre Dame forward has tumbled from the 5th position all the way down to a late 1st round spot according to Central Scouting.

#24, 25 and 26 - Charlie Coyle, Brock Nelson and Kevin Hayes have all dropped from their late teens ranking at the mid-way point of the year. The high schoolers would have benefited from a U18 appearance but none got the call from USA Hockey.

#31 Kirill Kabanov - No surprise that the former Moncton Wildcats import's stock has plummeted but this is even farther down the list than I had expected. What a horrible second half for the talented kid previously ranked in the top 10.

#46 Danny Biega - The Harvard defenceman slips 15 positions.

The European List is noteworthy for Calle Jarnkrok who leaps from 21st to 4th. Maxim Kitsym slips from 3rd to 6th. German Tom Kuehnhackl moves up slightly from 10th to 8th.

The Goalie List has Calvin Pickard retaining the top spot with Jack Campbell right behind him. Interesting to see that Edmonton Oil Kings 17-year-old netminder Cam Lanigan goes from 23rd up to 9th thanks to a ton of starts in the second half of the WHL season. Everett's Kent Simpson moves from 7th up to 3rd. (Photo: Andy Devlin/Edmonton Oil Kings)

The goalie that has slid a bit is Halifax starter Mathieu Corbeil-Theriault who drops from 3rd to 7th. German Philipp Grubauer might be playing well for Windsor but he's now 15th instead of 9th.