Shane Wright has long been regarded the crown jewel of this year’s prospect class, but teams looking for help up front have plenty of intriguing players to monitor this season.

The Kingston Frontenacs centre continues to be the clear leader of what is shaping up to be a forward-heavy top 10 in the November edition of Craig’s List ahead of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.

Wright has six goals and 18 points through the first 14 games of the Ontario Hockey League season and remains hockey’s the best all-around prospect.

“Precision is the word that comes to mind when I watch Wright play,” said TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button. “He has all the tools to be a Patrice Bergeron-type at the next level.”

Logan Cooley of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program Under-18 team, another centre known for his play at both ends of the ice, sits second on the November list.

“Cooley is a terrific two-way centre who combines high-end skill with a high motor,” Button said of the Notre Dame commit.

Finnish right wing Joakim Kemell has jumped up to third in our rankings (up from No. 7 in September) after rocketing out of the gate with 12 goals and 18 points in the first 16 games of JYP’s SM Liiga season.

“He was off to the kind of start you just don’t see from a 17-year-old player in that league,” Button said. “He was leading the scoring race before he got injured. He’ll be out for a few weeks, but he is a dynamic offensive winger.”

Hulking Slovakian centre Juraj Slafkovsky (6-foot-4, 216 pounds) sits fourth, while diminutive Winnipeg Ice forward Matt Savoie (5-foot-9, 177 pounds) is up to fifth after sitting at No. 8 in September.

“Slafkovsky is an imposing centre with skill and will who is only getting better,” Button said.

Savoie has been unstoppable early this season, tied for the scoring lead in the Western Hockey League with 29 points (eight goals, 21 assists) in 18 games for a Winnipeg team that is 17-1-0.

“He’s just so dynamic offensively,” Button said of Savoie. “He continues to progress in a lot of areas of the game where his impact and contributions are becoming greater.”

The first defenceman on the board is No. 6 Simon Nemec, a 6-foot-1, 192-pound right-shot blueliner who plays for HK Nitra of the Slovak Extraliga. He’s followed by a pair of Russian wingers – No. 7 Danila Yurov, a right wing for Stalnye Lisy Magnitogorsk of the MHL, and No. 8 Ivan Miroshnichenko, a left wing who is playing for Omskie Krylia in Russia’s VHL. 

Rounding out Button’s top 10 are Swedish right wing Jonathan Lekkerimaki of Djurgårdens IF J20 (No. 9) and Canadian defenceman Ty Nelson of the North Bay Battalion (No. 10).

One highly touted player absent from the top group is Finnish right wing Brad Lambert, who was fourth in the first edition of Craig’s List but has dropped to No. 17. Lambert, the son of Canadian former minor-league player Ross Lambert, was the youngest member of Finland’s entry at last year’s World Juniors.

Button attributes the drop of the JYP forward to this being a more comprehensive scouting year after COVID-19 impacted so many leagues around the globe last season.

“This cohort and the potential of the individual players in this class was unknown to a large extent because of the pandemic,” Button said. “What is clear to me is that there are a lot of players with greater potential than Brad that we were previously unaware of.”

 

Craig's List - November 16

 
RK Player Team POS HT WT GP G P
1 Shane Wright Kingston (OHL) C 6'0 185 14 6 18
2 Logan Cooley USA U-18 (USHL) C 5'10 174 15 9 20
3 Joakim Kemell JYP (SM Liiga) RW 5'11 ¾ 171 16 12 18
4 Juraj Slafkovsky TPS (SM Liiga Jr.) C/LW 6'3 ½ 218 9 6 17
5 Matt Savoie Winnipeg (WHL) C/RW 5'9 179 18 8 29
6 Simon Nemec Nitra (SVK) D 6'0 190 15 0 8
7 Danila Yurov Magnitogorsk (KHL) RW 6'1 178 6 3 12
8 Ivan Miroshnichenko Omsk (VHL) LW 6'1 185 20 4 9
9 Jonathan Lakkerimaki Djurgardens (SWE J-20) RW 5'10 ½ 165 16 16 25
10 Ty Nelson North Bay (OHL) D 5'9 ½ 195 16 4 15
11 Conor Geekie Winnipeg (WHL) C 6'3 193 18 6 23
12 Liam Öhgren Djurgardens (SWE J-20) LW 6'0 187 8 7 13
13 David Jiricek Plzen (CZE) D 6'3 189 20 4 9
14 Frank Nazar USA U-18 (USHL) C/RW 5'9 ¾ 175 18 7 20
15 Alexander Perevalov Yaroslavl (MHL) LW 6'0 191 23 17 34
16 Jimmy Snuggerud USA U-18 (USHL) RW 6'1 ¼ 186 18 9 19
17 Brad Lambert JYP (SM Liiga) RW 6'0 ½ 175 15 1 4
18 Rutger McGroarty USA U-18 (USHL) C 6'0 ¾ 203 12 8 18
19 Nathan Gaucher Quebec (QMJHL) C/RW 6'3 208 17 7 15
20 Filip Mesar Poprad (SVK) RW 5'10 167 13 4 7
21 Cutter Gauthier USA U-18 (USHL) LW 6'2 189 18 8 17
22 Arseni Koromyslov St. Petersburg (MHL) D 6'3 180 14 0 5
23 Calle Odelius Djurgardens (SWE J-20) D 5'11 ¼ 185 17 3 14
24 Bryce McConnell-Barker Sault Ste. Marie (OHL) C 6'1 187 16 8 12
25 Danny Zhilkin Guelph (OHL) C/LW 6'0 ½ 183 16 6 15
26 Aleksanteri Kaskimaki HIFK (SM Liiga Jr.) C 5'11 ½ 181 17 14 25
27 Kevin Korchinski Seattle (WHL) D 6'1 ¼ 185 14 0 8
28 Isaac Howard USA U-18 (USHL) LW 5'9 ¾ 182 18 8 20
29 Marco Kasper Rögle (SHL) C 6'1 183 16 4 6
30 Matthew Poitras Guelph (OHL) C 5'11 173 16 4 13
31 Simon Forsmark Orebro (SWE J-20) D 6'2 191 19 3 21
32 Jack Hughes Northeastern (NCAA) C 5'11 165 12 3 5
                 
33 Rieger Lorenz Okotoks (AJHL) LW 6'1 ½ 184 22 12 32
34 Gleb Trikozov Omsk (MHL) RW 6'1 185 8 7 11
35 Jiří  Kulich Karlovy (CZE) C 5'11 ½ 172 20 6 9
36 Jani Nyman Ilves (SM Liiga Jr.) RW 6'2 ¾ 212 3 2 4
37 Alexander Suzdalev HV 71 (SWE J-20) LW 6'2 172 21 8 23
38 Lane Hutson USA U-18 (USHL) D 5'8 148 18 1 15
39 Jordan Gustafson Seattle (WHL) C/LW 5'10 ½ 178 14 8 15
40 Seamus Casey USA U-18 (USHL) D 5'9 ¾ 162 18 5 13
41 Paul Ludwinski Kingston (OHL) LW 5'11 172 14 3 10
42 Artyom Duda Moskva (MHL) D 6'1 180 30 10 26
43 Tristan Luneau Gatineau (QMJHL) D 6'1 ½ 175 13 1 7
44 Ryan Chesley USA U-18 (USHL) D 6'0 ¼ 187 17 1 4
45 Antonin Verreault Gatineau (QMJHL) LW 5'8 162 16 3 13
46 Hunter Haight Barrie (OHL) C/RW 5'10 ½ 173 14 4 8
47 Elias Salomonsson Skellefteå (SWE J-20) D 6'0 172 14 5 10
48 Filip Bystedt Linköping (SWE J-20) C 6'2 ½ 187 14 6 17
49 Maverick Lamoreux Drummondville (QMJHL) D 6'6 ¾ 196 17 0 5
50 Ruslan Gazizov London (OHL) RW 5'11 185 4 0 7
51 Mats Lindgren Kamloops (WHL) D 5'10 ¾ 173 15 1 9
52 Colton Smith London (OHL) LW 6'2 ½ 207 13 8 13
53 Luca Del Bel Belluz Mississauga (OHL) C 6'0 ½ 178 13 7 15
54 Julian Lutz München (DEL) LW 6'1 ¾ 185 0 0 0
55 Jorian Donovan Hamilton (OHL) D 6'1 182 15 1 5
56 Jake Karabela Guelph (OHL) C/LW 5'10 ½ 165 16 3 13
57 Devin Kaplan USA U-18 (USHL) RW 6'2 ¼ 199 18 4 14
58 Brandon Lisowsky Saskatoon (WHL) C/LW 5'8 ¼ 171 18 9 12
59 David Goyette Sudbury (OHL) C 5'10 ½ 172 15 4 12
60 Mathew Ward Swift Current (WHL) C 5'7 ½ 156 16 7 19
61 Denton Mateychuk Moose Jaw (WHL) D 5'11 188 16 2 9
62 Spencer Sova Erie (OHL) D 6'0 185 13 1 5
63 Tyler Brennan Prince George (WHL) G 6'4 180 9 2.64 .919
64 Owen Beck Mississauga (OHL) C 5'11 190 13 5 10