Three more valuable pieces to the scouting puzzle have been completed with the World Junior A Challenge, the World Junior Championship and the USHL Top Prospects Game in the rearview mirror.
All three events had their own storylines. At the WJAC a second tier of US-born players took gold in Bonneyville, AB. We saw draft eligibles Jack Hughes, Vasili Podkolzin and gold medal winner Kaapo Kakko take centre stage in Vancouver/Victoria at the WJC. And in the USHL Top Prospects Game, Robert Mastrosimone earned the East’s top player award as he continues to battle for first round attention.
In a time span stretching from the world juniors through the Sherwin Williams CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in Red Deer on Jan. 23, NHL teams will meet with their scouts to come up with their mid-term lists and set a plan for whom to key-in on in the second half of the season.
While there are a few players who have shifted inside the top 15 this month, there have also been some who have broken into the first round. Here’s a look at our January rankings.