FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CALGARY, AB — Auston Matthews of the ZSC Lions tops Future Considerations’ November ranking for the 2016 NHL Draft.
Matthews continues to claim the top spot in the ranking, having retained his position from Future Considerations’ Preliminary and October rankings. The 18-year-old Lions standout has seven goals and 17 points in just 14 games this season with Zurich in the Swiss league. He was also named to Team USA’s entry for the Deutschland Cup but has been unable to play after sustaining a back injury that continues to sideline him.
Jakob Chychrun of the Sarnia Sting trails Matthews. Chychrun, the highest ranked defenseman for the 2016 NHL Draft, has four goals and 12 points in 18 games this season. The 6-foot-2, 214-pound blueliner is also a plus-11 on the season.
Jesse Puljujarvi, third, also retains his ranking from October. Puljujarvi, a Swedish-born Finnish player, has five goals and nine points in 19 games for Karpat, and two goals and two assists in five games for Finland internationally. He also had three goals and five points in four games at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial in August.
Matthew Tkachuk of the London Knights sits fourth in the ranking. Tkachuk, the son of former NHLer Keith Tkachuk, has shredded the opposition in the Ontario Hockey League, amassing 23 assists and 30 points through the first 16 games of the season.
Patrik Laine of Tappara is fifth in the ranking. Laine has four goals and seven points in 13 games this season, and three goals and five points in four games in international competition for Finland.
Here are the top-30 ranked players in Future Considerations’ November ranking for the 2016 NHL Draft:
| Rank | Player | Team | League | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Auston Matthews | ZSC | NLA | C | 6'2" | 195 |
| 2 | Jakob Chychrun | Sarnia | OHL | D | 6'2" | 215 |
| 3 | Jesse Puljujarvi | Karpat | Liiga | RW | 6'4" | 195 |
| 4 | Matthew Tkachuk | London | OHL | LW | 6'1" | 195 |
| 5 | Patrik Laine | Tappara | Liiga | RW | 6'4" | 205 |
| 6 | Julien Gauthier | Val-d'Or | QMJHL | RW | 6'4" | 225 |
| 7 | Pierre-Luc Dubois | Cape Breton | QMJHL | LW | 6'3" | 200 |
| 8 | Alexander Nylander | Mississauga | OHL | RW | 6'1" | 180 |
| 9 | Max Jones | London | OHL | LW | 6'3" | 205 |
| 10 | Dante Fabbro | Penticton | BCHL | D | 6'0" | 190 |
| 11 | Olli Juolevi | London | OHL | D | 6'2" | 180 |
| 12 | Tyler Benson | Vancouver | WHL | LW | 6'0" | 205 |
| 13 | Logan Brown | Windsor | OHL | C | 6'6" | 225 |
| 14 | Mikhail Sergachyov | Windsor | OHL | D | 6'3" | 205 |
| 15 | Michael McLeod | Mississauga | OHL | C | 6'2" | 190 |
| 16 | Kieffer Bellows | U.S. National U18 | USHL | C | 6'0" | 195 |
| 17 | Tyson Jost | Penticton | BCHL | C | 5'11" | 190 |
| 18 | Charlie McAvoy | Boston University | NCAA | D | 6'0" | 210 |
| 19 | Clayton Keller | U.S. National U18 | USHL | C | 5'10" | 170 |
| 20 | Kale Clague | Brandon | WHL | D | 6'0" | 175 |
| 21 | Samuel Girard | Shawinigan | QMJHL | D | 5'10" | 160 |
| 22 | Sam Steel | Regina | WHL | C | 5'11" | 175 |
| 23 | Vitali Abramov | Gatineau | QMJHL | LW | 5'9" | 170 |
| 24 | Jake Bean | Calgary | WHL | D | 6'0" | 175 |
| 25 | Chad Krys | U.S. National U18 | USHL | D | 5'11" | 185 |
| 26 | Luke Kunin | University of Wisconsin | NCAA | C | 6'0" | 195 |
| 27 | Libor Hajek | Saskatoon | WHL | D | 6'2" | 190 |
| 28 | Alex DeBrincat | Erie | OHL | RW | 5'7" | 160 |
| 29 | Dmitri Sokolov | Sudbury | OHL | LW | 6'0" | 220 |
| 30 | Carl Grundstrom | MODO | SHL | LW | 6'0" | 195 |