New York Rangers: Some changes looming for the Entry Draft

Prospect uncertainties

The biggest issue facing NHL teams as they get into the draft will be incomplete scouting.  When hockey ground to a halt, it put an end to a series of events that play a huge role in determining where players will end up in the draft rankings.

All NHL teams have their draft targets and have been following the careers of players for years. NHL Central Scouting has their mid-season rankings along with all of the hockey mavens who follow prospects to the draft.

However, most teams wait until the final postseason for draft eligible players to make their final decisions.  That means the CHL playoffs, the NCAA Conference championships and the NCAA Tournament , the European league championships and most important, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Under 18 World Championship.   That U18  tournament was scheduled for April 16-26 in Plymouth, Michigan and was cancelled on March 13.

The U18 World Championship is the final opportunity for NHL scouts to see the top international prospects born after 2002 in action.  The top ten international U18 teams would have participated and nearly all of the players  can be found in the NHL Central Scouting’s midterm rankings.

A good example of a player affected by the cancellation would be Hendrix Lapierre, cited by Blue Line Station’s Brett Schultz as a potential first round target for the Blueshirts.

Lapierre had an outstanding showing at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup last summer, leading all players in assists and points.  Projected to be a top ten draft pick, he had an injury ridden season with the Chicoutimi Saguenéens of the QMJHL, playing only 19 games.  A shoulder injury and a concussion has dropped him to 13th place among North American Skaters by Central Scouting.

If Lapierre had made it back for the QMJHL playoffs and the U18 Championship, it could have raised his draft profile.  Now, he would regarded as  a huge question mark.

It’s especially a problem for many European prospects.  The U18 Tournament is the showcase of draft eligible players, far more than the U20 World Championships held in January.  Many of the draft eligible players in the U20 tournament play second fiddle to top prospects who have already been drafted by NHL teams.

Considering that no one could anticipate this shutdown and that it happened so quickly, the grounding of all scouting will force teams to rely on earlier assessments, anecdotal information from sources familiar with the players and videos.