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WHL Spokane Chiefs

Sward and Swetlikoff Crack Final NHL Scouting Rankings

May 27, 2021 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Spokane Chiefs News Release


The final 2021 NHL Central Scouting Service Draft Rankings were announced on Thursday, and a pair of Chiefs were among those listed with defenseman Graham Sward ranked at 117th and rookie winger Blake Swetlikoff checking in at 160th.

The annual list provides insight and projects ahead to the NHL Entry Draft, held each summer. This year's draft is set to take place virtually July 23-24, delayed by one month from its normally scheduled June date due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the later-than-normal finish of the 2020-21 NHL season.

Sward, who was selected by Spokane 17th overall in the 2018 bantam draft, put himself on the map during the 2019-20 season, when he recorded 17 points (2G-15A) and a +12 rating in 55 games as a 16-year-old rookie. The Abbotsford, BC native missed a stretch of the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season, appearing in just 11 games.

Swetlikoff, who was recently named the Chiefs' 2020-21 Scholastic Player of the Year, is coming off of a breakout 2021 campaign during which he scored six goals, tying him for 8th among all WHL first year players and ranking first among Chiefs' rookies. The 2018 third-round bantam selection recorded the second-most faceoff attempts on the team with 396.

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