Former Edina star forward Kieffer Bellows leads more than a dozen Minnesotans ranked in the NHL Central Scouting's final rankings of players eligible for the 2016 draft.
Bellows, a current member of the U18 National Team, is projected as a possible first-round pick and ranked No. 10 among all North American skaters. He jumped two spots into the top 10 from his No. 12 midterm ranking in January.
Bellows is the son of former NHl player Brian Bellows, who was taken by the North Dtars with the second pick of the 1982 draft.
Blaine forward Riley Tufte, the reigning boys' hockey Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year, maintained his No. 17 ranking and the possibility to be an early pick in June's draft.
Two Gophers recruits are ranked among the North American top 100 skaters. Defenseman Ryan Lindgren (U18 National Team) is No. 49 and forward Rem Pitlick (Muskegon) is No. 94 after improving from his No. 141 midterm ranking. Future Gophers defenseman Samuel Rossini (Waterloo) is ranked No. 195 and current Gophers goaltender Eric Schierhorn is ranked 26th among North American goaltenders.
Other Minnesotans ranked among North American top 100 skaters are forward Joey Anderson (U18 National Team) at No. 52 and forward Mitch Mattson (Grand Rapids High School) at No. 61.
Eden Prairie forward Michael Graham dropped from No. 85 at the midterm to No. 128 in the final rankings. Shattuck-St. Mary's defenseman Kenneth Johnson is ranked No. 117 after falling from his No. 97 midterm standing.
Check out the rest of the top prospects and Minnesotans listed in Central Scouting's rankings.
