By Warren Kozireski —
The list of five New Yorkers listed in the NHL Central Scouting midterm rankings for the 2020 NHL Entry Draft has expanded to six as the final rankings were released April 8th. The bad news is that four players from that list saw their ranking drop from January.
Baldwinsville native Luke Tuch was slotted 35th overall and is now 40th among North American skaters and projected to go in the second or third round. The 6’2”, 203 lb. left wing and brother of Las Vegas Knights forward Alex Tuch played this past season for the U.S. National Team Development Program in Michigan. The Fall 2020 Boston University commit didn’t maintain the offensive pace of the first half of the season and finished with 15 goals and 30 points over 47 games.
Fellow NTDP product Eamon Powell dropped two slots from 49th to 51st among North American skaters. The 5’11”, 165 lb. offensive defenseman and Marcellus native registered 14 points over 43 games in this abbreviated season. He is scheduled to join Boston College this fall.
Williamsville’s Trevor Kuntar is listed 143rd falling eight slots. The 5’11”, 197 lb. center was in his third season with Youngstown in the USHL where he put up a career-best 28 goals and 53 points in 44 games. He is committed to Harvard in 2020.
Lake View native Declan McDonnell spent four seasons in the Buffalo Jr. Sabres system before jumping to the OHL with Kitchener this year. Unranked at midterm, he jumped onto the radar of many scouts as the 5’9”, 160 lb. right wing scored 21 goals with 21 assists over his 63 games.
Christian Jimenez from Yorktown Heights saw his ranking drop 12 spots from 172nd to 184th as a 5’8”, 180 lb. blueliner for Sioux City in the USHL. Also headed to Harvard next fall, he registered 21 assists and 28 points over 42 games in his first full USHL campaign after coming through the Westchester Express and P.A.L. Islanders systems.
Boston College bound Grant Riley fell from 11th among North American goaltenders to 21st for the draft. Standing 6’4” and 190 lb. already, he is manning the crease for Janesville in the North American Hockey League. The former Aquinas High and Rochester Coalition product struggled a bit in the second behind a middling team and finished with a 3.15 GAA and .911 save percentage in 37 games played with 15 victories to his credit.
In addition, Colgate commit Ryan McGuire jumped from 139th to 105th as a 6’0”, 176 lb. center played his senior season with Belmont Hills High School in Connecticut netting 22 goals with 16 assists in 30 contests.
Future Cornell defenseman Hank Kempf fell to 204th from 186th among North American skaters. The 6’1”, 180 lb. defenseman had 17 assists over 49 games with Muskegon of the USHL.
Buffalo Jr. Sabres 5’11”, 173lb. center Matteo Costantini came in ranked 96th among North American skaters after his 36-goal, 68-point 50 game campaign.
And former Buffalo Sabres and Rochester Americans head coach Ron Rolston’s nephew Ryder entered the draft rankings 102nd. The Notre Dame commit scored 16 goals with 17 assists in 42 games as the former USNTDP product spent an extra year in junior hockey with Waterloo.
The draft scheduled for June 26-27 in Montreal has been officially postponed with speculation in could be conducted completely online. Further details to come.
