Seth Jones of the Portland Winterhawks has successfully defended his crown – for now.

The six-foot-four defenseman, overtaking Halifax Mooseheads forward Nathan MacKinnon for top spot a month ago, remains as Future Considerations’ top prospect for the 2013 NHL Draft. Jones continues to impress scouts with the combination of size, speed and skill that he showcased in January at both the World Junior Championship and CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game. In other words, Jones has continued his high compete level and strong play on through.

That’s not to say MacKinnon is devalued, though. The 17-year-old is no less impressive than he has all season, though an injury currently keeps him out of the Mooseheads lineup. Aleksander Barkov remains third while Jonathan Drouin and Elias Lindholm round out the top-five.

Rank / Pos. / Name / Team / League / Ht / Wt /

1). D Seth Jones, Portland, WHL, 6-4, 205
2). RW/C Nathan MacKinnon, Halifax, QMJHL, 6-0, 180
3). C Aleksander Barkov, Tappara, SM-liiga, 6-2, 205
4). C/LW Jonathan Drouin, Halifax, QMJHL, 5-11, 175
5). C Elias Lindholm, Brynas, Elitserien, 6-0, 185
6). C Sean Monahan, Ottawa, OHL, 6-2, 195
7). D Darnell Nurse, Sault Ste. Marie, OHL, 6-4, 185
8). D Rasmus Ristolainen, TPS, SM-Liiga, 6-3, 205
9). LW Hunter Shinkaruk, Medicine Hat, WHL, 5-11, 175
10). D Nikita Zadorov, London, OHL, 6-4, 225
11). LW/C Valeri Nichushkin, Traktor Chelyabinsk, KHL, 6-3, 175
12). D Ryan Pulock, Brandon, WHL, 6-1, 210
13). C Frederik Gauthier, Rimouski, QMJHL, 6-5, 215
14). C/LW Max Domi, London, OHL, 5-10, 195
15). LW Valentin Zykov, Baie-Comeau, QMJHL, 6-0, 210
16). D Robert Hägg, Modo J20, SuperElit, 6-2, 200
17). D Josh Morrissey, Prince Albert, WHL, 6-0, 185
18). LW Alexander Wennberg, Djurgården, Allsvenskan, 5-11, 160
19). LW Anthony Mantha, Val-d ‘Or, QMJHL, 6-3, 185
20). RW Artturi Lekhonen, KalPa, SM-liiga, 5-10, 160
21). C Bo Horvat, London, OHL, 6-0, 195
22). C Morgan Klimchuk, Regina, WHL, 5-11, 180
23). C Curtis Lazar, Edmonton, WHL, 6-0, 190
24). LW Kerby Rychel, Windsor, OHL, 6-1, 200
25). RW Adam Erne, Quebec, QMJHL, 6-0, 200
26). D Keaton Thompson, US NTDP U18, 6-1, 175
27). C Connor Hurley, Edina, USHS, 6-1, 175
28). C J.T. Compher, US NTDP U18, USHL, 6-0, 165
29). LW André Burakovsky, Malmo, Allsvenskan, 6-1, 175
30). RW Ryan Hartman, Plymouth, OHL, 5-11, 185