In preparation for the NHL season starting next week, ISS Hockey releases its initial rankings for the 2017 NHL Draft. Brandon Wheat Kings centre Nolan Patrick starts the season at the #1 rank, with Rogle BK’s right defensemen Timothy Liljegren at #2.
October 05, 2016 [Waterloo, ON] ISS Hockey has released its monthly ranking of the top prospects eligible for the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. This month’s rankings include the top 200 skaters, along with the top 20 goaltenders, as evaluated and ranked by ISS Hockey’s worldwide network of scouts.
Below is the ISS Top 30, highlighting the rankings for the top 30 prospects. An interactive page where the ISS Top 30 can be viewed, sorted, commented on, and where users can interact with our scouts can be viewed at: http://ISStop30.com
ISS Hockey Top 30 Ranked Prospects For 2017 NHL Draft
| Rank | Player | Position | Birth | Shot | Height | Weight | Team | League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Patrick, Nolan | C | 9/19/1998 | R | 6.02.5 | 190 | Brandon | WHL |
| 2 | Liljegren, Timothy | RD | 4/30/1999 | R | 6.00 | 191 | Rogle | SweJE |
| 3 | Vilardi, Gabe | C | 8/16/1999 | R | 6.03 | 201 | Windsor | OHL |
| 4 | Kostin, Klim | C | 5/5/1999 | L | 6.03.5 | 183 | Dynamo | KHL |
| 5 | Comtois, Maxime | LW | 1/8/1999 | L | 6.02.25 | 199 | Victoriaville | QMJHL |
| 6 | Vesalainen, Kristian | LW | 6/1/1999 | L | 6.04 | 202 | Frolunda | SweJE |
| 7 | Tolvanen, Eeli | LW | 4/22/1999 | L | 5.11.75 | 181 | Sioux City | USHL |
| 8 | Chmelevski, Sasha | C | 6/9/1999 | R | 5.11.25 | 191 | Ottawa | OHL |
| 9 | Rasmussen, Michael | C | 4/17/1999 | L | 6.05.75 | 215 | Tri-City | WHL |
| 10 | Foote, Callan | RD | 12/13/1998 | R | 6.03 | 200 | Kelowna | WHL |
| 11 | Tippett, Owen | RW | 2/16/1999 | R | 6.01.5 | 202 | Mississauga | OHL |
| 12 | Popugaev, Nikita A. | LW | 11/20/1998 | R | 6.04.5 | 191 | Moose Jaw | WHL |
| 13 | Mittelstadt, Casey | C | 11/22/1998 | L | 5.11.5 | 192 | Green Bay | USHL |
| 14 | Hague, Nicolas | RD | 12/5/1998 | L | 6.05.5 | 206 | Mississauga | OHL |
| 15 | Poehling, Ryan | C | 1/3/1999 | L | 6.01.75 | 183 | St. Cloud State | NCHC |
| 16 | Necas, Martin | RW | 1/15/1999 | R | 6.00.5 | 167 | Brno Kometa HC | CzeE |
| 17 | Slepets, Kirill | LW | 4/6/1999 | L | 5.10 | 144 | Yaroslavl | MJU17 |
| 18 | Valimaki, Juuso | LD | 10/6/1998 | L | 6.01.5 | 200 | Tri-City | WHL |
| 19 | Martin, Luke | RD | 9/20/1998 | R | 6.02.5 | 207 | Michigan | BigTen |
| 20 | Rubinchik, Mark | LD | 3/21/1999 | L | 6.01 | 183 | Saskatoon | WHL |
| 21 | Vaakanainen, Urho | LD | 1/1/1999 | L | 6.01 | 187 | JYP Jyvaskyla | FinE |
| 22 | Bowers, Shane | C | 7/30/1999 | L | 6.01.25 | 178 | Waterloo | USHL |
| 23 | Andersson, Lias | LW | 10/13/1998 | L | 5.11.5 | 198 | HV71 | SweJE |
| 24 | Mattheos, Stelio | C | 6/14/1999 | R | 6.00.75 | 192 | Brandon | WHL |
| 25 | Davis, Brett | C | 6/1/1999 | L | 6.00.75 | 178 | Lethbridge | WHL |
| 26 | Hischier, Nico | RW | 1/4/1999 | L | 6.00 | 174 | Halifax | QMJHL |
| 27 | Strome, Matthew | LW | 1/6/1999 | L | 6.03.5 | 206 | Hamilton | OHL |
| 28 | Salo, Robin | LD | 10/13/1998 | L | 6.00.5 | 187 | Sport Vaasa Jr. | FinJrA |
| 29 | Studnicka, Jack | C | 2/18/1999 | R | 6.01 | 171 | Oshawa | OHL |
| 30 | Morand, Antoine | C | 2/18/1999 | L | 5.10 | 178 | Acadie-Bathurst | QMJHL |
Franchise centre who does everything well…that is just one key element that our elite ISS Scouting staff has labelled on #1 rank Nolan Patrick of the Brandon Wheat Kings. Patrick can beat players off the rush or make plays with his teammates. He is unselfish and has a killer instinct at the net. ISS ranked Timothy Liljegren at #2 owns elite defensive skills and is an excellent skater. Rounding out the ISS Top 3 is Windsor Spitfires centre Gabe Vilardi, who is a consistent and smart player that has excelled at protecting and controlling the puck down low.
“Patrick is an elite talent”, says ISS Hockey Director of Scouting Dennis MacInnis. “He has pro level instincts when creating separation from defenders and making his teammates better when putting plays in motion.”
The complete ISS Hockey rankings, evaluations, game reports, player reports, player profiles and more are exclusively available to hockey professionals through RinkNet, ISS parent company HockeyTech’s Scouting and Player Information System. To find out more about RinkNet, please visit http://HockeyTech.com/RinkNet
About ISS Hockey
ISS Hockey (International Scouting Services) is the world’s leading independent scouting and information provider on hockey prospects. Founded in 2002, ISS is a division of HockeyTech, a worldwide leader in hockey technology, analytics and information services. ISS scouts, evaluates, analyzes and ranks players internationally on behalf of its many clients. ISS data is widely utilized in the hockey world, building an industry leading reputation for the best and most comprehensive scouting information. The key to the success of ISS is the incredible worldwide network of ISS Hockey scouts. ISS scouts are within reach of every young hockey player in the world, and attend every major hockey tournament, in addition to thousands of league games. All players that we rank will have been seen and evaluated many times by several ISS scouts.
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