Here it is, our final draft list for 2016-17.

Thanks for being with us all season long as we build up to the NHL Draft in Chicago June 23-24. We’ll still feature more coverage leading up to the draft and continue to profile and get you acquainted with the prospects whose names you’ll hear called next month.

Look for mock drafts, player profiles, interviews, video highlights and stories as we sharpen our focus on the draft as the NHL playoffs wind down.

A couple of things first.

As we always point out, this list is compiled based on personal viewings along with conversations with scouts, managers, coaches and others who follow the prospects game closely. We’ve also looked at underlying numbers for as many prospects as we can focusing on even strength production and the ability to drive possession in his league.

The Nolan vs. Nico debate

We still have Nolan Patrick listed as our top prospect in this year’s draft, but as teams started finalizing their lists we saw more and more with Nico Hischier’s name on top, over Patrick.

As we know, New Jersey holds all the cards and they’ll decide not only who they’ll select, but probably who Philadelphia does as well. Paul Castron is the head of scouting for the Devils, but he’s not on an island with this pick. As New Jersey GM Ray Shero recently told us on Hockey Central at Noon he’s been on the road looking at prospects since the Devils seriously started to stumble. He knows these players well by now and I’d expect his voice to carry a lot of influence at the Devils’ table in Chicago.

As we’ve been saying for a while, you can make a solid case for both Patrick and Hischier and we don’t really have much indication yet which way the Devils are leaning. Tough call for them. The pressure is off Philadelphia here — that is unless they decide to move the pick. Either way this is a legit race for top spot at the draft.

As we speculated after the draft lottery, Dallas’ third overall pick is in play and they could very well end up being the team to watch June 23. If I’m a team that wants to start to shore up the back end (and there are many) I’m calling Dallas ASAP to try to get in position to guarantee a shot at one of the blueliners in the top 10. Also, don’t be surprised if Dallas moves the third overall selection to try to gather up more picks in next year’s draft, which features some real high end talent and is already being considered a much better draft class.

NHL Top 10 Draft Order 1. New Jersey

2. Philadelphia

3. Dallas

4. Colorado

5. Vancouver

6. Vegas

7. NY Rangers

8. Buffalo

9. Detroit

10. Florida



We should note who the risers were throughout the season, with Hischier topping that list. He’s followed by defenceman Miro Heiskanen who took over the top blueliner spot for most scouts as the season wore on. Cody Glass of Portland was a fringe first-rounder to start the season, but has worked his way nicely into the top 10, as have Brooks Bandits defenceman Cale Makar who some NHL teams have listed as their No. 1 blueliner.

As usual, goaltenders are a wild card and once one goes there tends to be a run on the position. We don’t expect one to go in the first round, the second is usually where teams line up at the goalie buffet.

As we’ve had all season, Jake Oettinger of Boston University remains our top choice for goaltenders, followed by Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Michael DiPietro. But don’t sleep on Kirill Ustimenko, who played on the Russian team at the U-18 in Slovakia. He seems to be an unknown to many and has been a little hidden all season.

Here is the top 100:

1. Nolan Patrick – C, Brandon Wheat Kings, WHL

2. Nico Hischier – C, Halifax Mooseheads, QMJHL

3. Miro Heiskanen – D, HIFK, Liiga

4. Owen Tippett – RW, Mississauga Steelheads, OHL

5. Cody Glass – C, Portland Winterhawks, WHL

6. Gabriel Vilardi – C, Windsor Spitfires, OHL

7. Timothy Liljegren – D, Timra, Allsvenskan

8. Casey Mittelstadt – C, Eden Prairie, Minnesota High School

9. Cale Makar – D, Brooks Bandits, AJHL

10. Martin Necas – C, Brno, Czech Extraliga

11. Lias Andersson – C, HV71, SHL

12. Eeli Tolvanen – LW, Sioux City, USHL

13. Juuso Valimaki – D, Tri-City, WHL

14. Erik Brannstrom – D, HV71 U-20, SuperElit

15. Elias Pettersson – C, Timra, Allsvenskan

16. Cal Foote – D, Kelowna, WHL

17. Nicholas Hague – D, Mississauga, OHL

18. Klim Kostin – C, Dynamo, KHL

19. Nick Suzuki – C, Owen Sound, OHL

20. Kailer Yamamoto – RW, Spokane, WHL

21. Kristian Vesalainen – RW, Frolunda, SHL

22. Michael Rasmussen – C, Tri-City, WHL

23. Ryan Poehling – C, St. Cloud State, NCAA

24. Maxime Comtois – LW, Victoriaville, QMJHL

25. Robert Thomas – C, London, OHL

26. Urho Vaakanainen – D, JYP, Liiga

27. Isaac Ratcliffe – LW, Guelph, OHL

28. Jason Robertson – RW, Kingston, OHL

29. Kole Lind – C, Kelowna, WHL

30. MacKenzie Entwistle – C, Hamilton, OHL

31. Jake Oettinger – G, Boston University, NCAA

32. Shane Bowers – C, Waterloo, USHL

33. Joshua Norris – C, USNTDP

34. Marcus Davidsson – C, Djurgarden, SHL

35. Filip Chytil – C, ZPS Zlin, Czech Extraliga

36. Matthew Strome – LW, Hamilton, OHL

37. Nikita Popugaev – LW, Prince George, WHL

38. Stelio Mattheos – C, Brandon, WHL

39. Pierre-Olivier Joseph – D, Charlottetown, QMJHL

40. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen – G, HPK U20, Jr. A SM-liiga

41. Michael DiPietro – G, Windsor, OHL

42. Grant Mismash – LW, USNTDP

43. Henri Jokiharju – D, Portland, WHL

44. Jesper Boqvist – LW, Brynas, SHL

45. Conor Timmins – D, Sault Ste Marie, OHL

46. Zach Gallant – C, Peterborough, OHL

47. Scott Reedy – C, USNTDP

48. Stuart Skinner – G, Lethbridge, WHL

49. Ivan Lodnia – C, Erie, OHL

50. Morgan Frost – LW, Sault Ste. Marie, OHL

51. Jaret Anderson-Dolan – C, Spokane, WHL

52. Robin Salo – D, Sport, Liiga

53. Max Gildon – D, USNTDP

54. Alexei Lipanov – C, HK MVD, MHL

55. Sasha Chmelevski – C, Ottawa, OHL

56. Alex Formenton – LW, London, OHL

57. Jarret Tyszka – D, Seattle, WHL

58. Jake Leschyshyn – C, Regina, WHL

59. Aleksi Heponiemi – C, Swift Current, WHL

60. Ostap Safin – LW, Sparta Prague, Czech U20

61. Joni Ikonen – C, Frolunda, SHL

62. Antoine Morand – C, Acadie-Bathurst, QMJHL

63. Jack Studnicka – C, Oshawa, OHL

64. Mason Shaw – C, Medicine Hat, WHL

65. Jonah Gadjovich – LW, Owen Sound, OHL

66. Eemeli Rasanen – D, Kingston, OHL

67. Markus Phillips – D, Owen Sound, OHL

68. Ian Mitchell – D, Spruce Grove, AJHL

69. Alex D’Orio – G, Saint John, QMJHL

70. Artyom Minulin – D, Swift Current, WHL

71. Josh Brook – D, Moose Jaw, WHL

72. Cameron Crotty – D, Brockville, CCHL

73. Ian Scott – G, Prince Albert, WHL

74. David Farrance – D, USNTDP

75. Luke Martin – D, Michigan, NCAA

76. Joel Teasdale – LW, Blainville-Boisbriand, QMJHL

77. Noel Hoefenmayer – D, Ottawa, OHL

78. Dylan Samberg – D, Hermantown, Minnesota High School

79. Filip Westerlund – D, Frolunda, SHL

80. Adam Ruzicka – C, Sarnia, OHL

81. Fabian Zetterlund – RW, Farjestad, SuperElit

82. Dmitri Samorukov – D, Guelph, OHL

83. Maksim Zhukov – G, Green Bay, USHL

84. Nate Schnarr – C, Guelph, OHL

85. Nick Henry – RW, Regina, WHL

86. Evan Barratt – C, USNTDP

87. Ivan Chekhovich – LW, Baie-Comeau, QMJHL

88. Michael Pastujov – RW, USNTDP

89. Keith Petruzzelli – G, Muskegon, USHL

90. Lukas Elvenes – RW, Rogle, SuperElit

91. Antoine Crete-Belzile – D, Blainville-Boisbriand, QMJHL

92. Kirill Ustimenko – G, MHK Dynamo St. Petersburg, MHL

93. Cale Fleury – D, Kootenay, WHL

94. Alexandre Texier – C, Grenoble, France

95. Tobias Geisser – D, EV Zug, Switzerland

96. Aleksey Toropchenko – RW, Balashikha, MHL

97. Kalle Miketinac – C, Frolunda HC J20, SuperElit

98. Linus Weissbach – LW, Tri-City, USHL

99. Cayden Primeau – G, Lincoln, USHL

100. Jakub Galvas – D, HC Olomouc, Czech Extraliga