Three members of the Prince Albert Raiders remain in the same spot in the second edition of NHL Central Scouting’s players to watch list, which came out last Friday.
Defenceman Nolan Allan kept his ‘B’ rating, which projects him as a potential second to third round pick in the 2021 National Hockey League Entry Draft, while blueliner Landon Kosior and netminder Carter Serhyenko still have ‘C’ ratings and are possible picks in the fourth to sixth round.
Allan, who is 17-years-old and calls Davidson home, had eight points in 58 games for the Raiders last year and also recorded an assist for Canada Red at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.
In addition to earning an invitation to the cancelled summer camp for this year’s Hlinka Gretzky Cup squad, Allan suited up in five games for the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s La Ronge Ice Wolves in November and had two goals and three assists.
Kosior was a potential late round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft but was not selected in October despite being ranked 98th overall among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting.
Like Allan, Kosior started this season in the SJHL and had a goal and five assists in six games for the Melville Millionaires.
The 18-year-old from Regina was second in defensive scoring for the Raiders last year with 23 points in 64 games, which also put him in third place among first year blueliners in the Western Hockey League.
Serhyenko, who missed last year’s draft by nine days, has yet to play a competitive game during the 2020-21 campaign.
The 18-year-old from Saskatoon had 7-5-1 record with a 2.21 goals against average and a .916 save percentage during his rookie campaign with the Raiders.
A former Raiders draft pick also received recognition from NHL Central Scouting.
Hunter Strand, who was a sixth round selection by the Raiders in 2017 but was dealt to the Victoria Royals in Jan. 2018 as part of the Regan Nagy trade, received a ‘B’ rating.
The 18-year-old from Anchorage, Alaska, who is committed to the NCAA’s Notre Dame Fighting Irish, has 18 points in 20 games this season for the United States Hockey League’s Tri-City Storm following two campaigns with the United States National Team Development Program.
Calgary Canucks forward and Wisconsin Badgers committed player Brett Moravec, who was a fifth round pick by the Raiders in 2018, was not ranked this month after receiving a ‘C’ rating in October.
The Western Hockey League once again had 36 players named to the list, with Edmonton Oil Kings goaltender Sebastian Cossa, Oil Kings forward Dylan Guenther, Moose Jaw Warriors forward Ryder Korczak, Winnipeg Ice defenceman Carson Lambos, Seattle Thunderbirds forward Conner Roulette and Medicine Hat Tigers forward Cole Sillinger earning first round grades.
Cossa and Swedish netminder Jesper Wallstedt, who was selected by the Warriors in the 2019 CHL Import Draft but elected to stay in his home country, are the only goaltenders to receive an ‘A’ rating.
Other players with WHL ties that are projected first round picks are Brooks Bandits defenceman Corson Ceulemans (Moose Jaw draft pick – committed to Wisconsin), SKA St. Petersburg forward Nikita Chibrikov (Lethbridge Hurricanes import draft pick), Michigan Wolverines forward Kent Johnson (Everett Silvertips draft pick), US NTDP forward Chaz Lucius (Portland Winterhawks draft pick – committed to the Minnesota Golden Gophers), Lulea HF forward Fabian Lysell (Vancouver Giants import draft pick) and HC Kometa Brno defenceman Stanislav Svozil (Regina Pats import draft pick).
Michigan Wolverines defenceman Owen Power is currently considered to be the top prospect in a wide-open draft, which is currently scheduled to be held on July 23 and 24 in a yet to be determined location.
