Merkley, Stephens, Gatenby, Among 56 WHL Players Make NHL Central Scouting Final Rankings
April 8, 2015 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Kelowna Rockets News Release
CALGARY, AB - The Western Hockey League announced today that 56 WHL players have been listed on NHL Central Scouting's final rankings ahead of the 2015 NHL Draft.
Kelowna Rockets players Nick Merkley (23), Devante Stephens (116) and Joe Gatenby (174) were all listed in the final rankings.
Nine of the top-30 North American skaters are WHL players while three WHL netminders finished in the top-10 amongst North Americans. In total, the 56 WHL products that were identified by Central Scouting for the final rankings are more than any other league in the world.
Ivan Provorov (Yaroslavl, Russia / Brandon Wheat Kings) jumped into the seventh spot in the final rankings while Mathew Barzal (Coquitlam, BC / Seattle Thunderbirds) came in at 11th. Rounding out the top-30 were Jansen Harkins (#15 - North Vancouver, BC / Prince George Cougars), Jake DeBrusk (#19 - Edmonton, AB / Swift Current Broncos), Noah Juulsen (#22 - Abbotsford, BC / Everett Silvertips), Nick Merkley (#23 - Calgary, AB / Kelowna Rockets), Ryan Pilon (#24 - Duck Lake, SK / Brandon Wheat Kings), Brandon Carlo (#25 - Colorado Springs, CO / Tri-City Americans), and Paul Bittner (#26 - Crookston, MN / Portland Winterhawks).
Adin Hill (Calgary, AB / Portland Winterhawks) topped WHL goaltenders at fourth on the list while Nick McBride (Maple Ridge, BC / Prince Albert Raiders) came in at seventh. Nick Schneider (Leduc, AB / Medicine Hat Tigers) also hit the top-10 at ninth.
Last year, 37 WHL players were selected in the 2014 NHL Draft including nine in the first round.
WHL Skaters - NHL Central Scouting Final Rankings (North America):
Final Name Team Pos Height Weight
7 PROVOROV, IVAN BRANDON D 6' 0.5" 201
11 BARZAL, MATHEW SEATTLE C 5' 11.25" 175
15 HARKINS, JANSEN PRINCE GEORGE C 6' 1.25" 182
19 DeBRUSK, JAKE SWIFT CURRENT LW 5' 11.75" 174
22 JUULSEN, NOAH EVERETT D 6' 1.5" 174
23 MERKLEY, NICHOLAS KELOWNA RW 5' 10.5" 191
24 PILON, RYAN BRANDON D 6' 2.0" 206
25 CARLO, BRANDON TRI-CITY D 6' 5.0" 196
26 BITTNER, PAUL PORTLAND LW 6' 4.0" 204
35 WAGNER, AUSTIN REGINA LW 6' 1.0" 178
43 WOTHERSPOON, PARKER TRI-CITY D 6' 0.25" 171
52 NIELSEN, ANDREW LETHBRIDGE D 6' 3.0" 207
56 GUHLE, BRENDAN PRINCE ALBERT D 6' 1.75" 184
59 GAWDIN, GLENN SWIFT CURRENT C 6' 0.5" 191
61 MUSIL, ADAM RED DEER C 6' 2.75" 202
65 KOLESAR, KEEGAN SEATTLE RW 6' 1.25" 217
71 GROPP, RYAN SEATTLE LW 6' 2.0" 187
72 HOBBS, CONNOR REGINA D 6' 0.5" 187
73 GABRIELLE, JESSE REGINA LW 5' 10.75" 205
78 SOY, TYLER VICTORIA C 5' 11.5" 172
82 REDDEKOPP, CHAZ VICTORIA D 6' 3.25" 219
97 BEAR, ETHAN SEATTLE D 5' 11.0" 200
101 STRAND, AUSTIN RED DEER D 6' 3.25" 194
103 ZBOROVSKIY, SERGEY REGINA D 6' 3.0" 198
111 HUNT, DRYDEN MEDICINE HAT LW 6' 0.0" 199
116 STEPHENS, DEVANTE KELOWNA D 6' 1.25" 171
118 KARNAUKHOV, PAVEL CALGARY LW 6' 2.5" 194
124 MORRISON, BRAD PRINCE GEORGE C 5' 11.5" 154
126 BRADLEY, MATTHEW MEDICINE HAT C 5' 11.25" 187
127 GENNARO, MATTEO PRINCE ALBERT C 6' 2.25" 187
134 SIDEROFF, DEVEN KAMLOOPS RW 5' 11.0" 171
135 PFEIFER, TRISTEN EVERETT D 6' 4.0" 180
143 TEXEIRA, KEONI PORTLAND D 5' 11.75" 208
144 ESTEPHAN, GIORGIO LETHBRIDGE C 6' 0.0" 188
146 OLSON, TATE PRINCE GEORGE D 6' 2.25" 174
161 WEINGER, EVAN PORTLAND RW 5' 11.25" 184
162 GARDINER, REID PRINCE ALBERT C/RW 5' 10.5" 187
163 DAVIS, KEVIN EVERETT D 5' 11.75" 183
165 MCGAULEY, TIM BRANDON C 6' 0.0" 175
169 PAWLENCHUK, GRAYSON RED DEER LW 5' 11.5" 183
172 PHILP, LUKE KOOTENAY C 5' 9.25" 180
174 GATENBY, JOE KELOWNA D 6' 0.25" 176
176 BROOKS, ADAM REGINA C 5' 9.75" 169
177 HEBIG, CAMERON SASKATOON C 5' 10.75" 178
184 JENSEN, KADE LETHBRIDGE D 6' 1.5" 191
189 ZIPP, MICHAEL CALGARY D 6' 1.0" 192
197 POLEI, EVAN RED DEER LW 6' 1.5" 216
205 FORA, MICHAEL KAMLOOPS D 6' 2.5" 210
WHL Goaltenders - NHL Central Scouting Final Rankings (North America):
Final Name Team Catches Height Weight
4 HILL, ADIN PORTLAND L 6' 3.5" 198
7 MCBRIDE, NICK PRINCE ALBERT L 6' 3.5" 179
9 SCHNEIDER, NICK MEDICINE HAT R 6' 1.75" 160
14 TOTH, RYLAN RED DEER L 6' 1.5" 195
17 PARENTEAU, RYLAN PRINCE ALBERT L 6' 0.5" 191
19 INGRAM, CONNOR KAMLOOPS L 6' 0.5" 212
28 PAPIRNY, JORDAN BRANDON L 6' 0.5" 173
30 BOW, LANDON SWIFT CURRENT L 6' 4.0" 214
• Discuss this story on the Western Hockey League message board...
Western Hockey League Stories from April 8, 2015
- Merkley, Stephens, Gatenby, Among 56 WHL Players Make NHL Central Scouting Final Rankings - Kelowna Rockets
- Rockets, BrainTrust Canada, M & M Performance Fundraiser Winner - Kelowna Rockets
- Weekly Ice Report - Kootenay Ice
- Ice Name Top Playoff Performer - Kootenay Ice
- Kyle Burroughs Signs Entry Level Deal with New York - Medicine Hat Tigers
- Four Hawks Named to NHL Central Scouting Final Rankings - Portland Winterhawks
- 56 WHL Players Make NHL Central Scouting Rankings - WHL
- Six Pats Named in Final CSS Rankings - Regina Pats
- Sideroff, Fora, Ingram in NHL CS Final Rankings - Kamloops Blazers
- Hitmen Pavel Karnaukhov and Micheal Zapp Crack NHL Central Scouting's Final Rankings - Calgary Hitmen
- Three Blazers in NHL Central Scouting Final Rankings - Kamloops Blazers
- 5 Raiders in CSB Final Rankings - Prince Albert Raiders
- Schmidli Signs in Switzerland - Prince Albert Raiders
- Three Hurricanes on Final Draft Rankings - Lethbridge Hurricanes
- Silvertips Clinch Series Win in Triple Overtime - Everett Silvertips
- Chiefs Battle to the End But Fall Short in Triple Overtime - Spokane Chiefs
- Winterhawks Announce Second Round Playoff Schedule - Portland Winterhawks
- T-Birds Season Comes to a Close with 5-3 OT Loss - Seattle Thunderbirds
- Nic Petan's OT Winner Punches Hawks' Ticket to Second Round - Portland Winterhawks
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
