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The final draft rankings from Central Scouting are out and Auston Matthews tops the list. From the NHL's press release:
"Auston Matthews is an extraordinary prospect with NHL size, speed and smarts combined with an exceptional work ethic and a relentless compete level," said Director of Central Scouting Dan Marr. "The other players in the mix for the top five selections have all improved their stock, but Matthews is our clear choice as the top prospect available for the 2016 NHL Draft."
Having played in Zurich this season, Matthews is ranked as the top European skater in this year's draft class. He is followed on that list by two players from the Finnish Elite League, Patrik Laine and Jesse Puljujarvi, numbers two and three on the list, respectively. If the pre-draft rankings are to be believed it'll be these three players that go to the three lottery winning teams at this summer's draft.
The rest of the European top ten and the entire North American top ten can be found in the tables below. For the complte rankings you can visit the NHL website.
| Final Rank | Midterm Rank | Player | Position | Last Amateur Club | League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Auston Matthews | Center | Zurich | SWISS |
| 2 | 3 | Patrik Laine | Right Wing | Tappara | FINLAND |
| 3 | 2 | Jesse Puljujarvi | Right Wing | Karpat | FINLAND |
| 4 | 4 | Rasmus Asplund | Center | Farjestad | SWEDEN |
| 5 | 6 | German Rubtsov | Center | Team U18 | RUSSIA-JR. |
| 6 | 5 | Carl Grundstrom | Right Wing | Modo | SWEDEN |
| 7 | 7 | Yegor Korshkov | Right Wing | Yaroslavl | RUSSIA |
| 8 | 10 | Filip Hronek | Defenseman | HR. Kralove | CZREP |
| 9 | 11 | Henrik Borgstrom | Center | HIFK Jr. | FINLAND-JR. |
| 10 | 8 | Linus Lindstrom | Center | Skelleftea Jr. | SWEDEN-JR. |
Must Reads
| Final Rank | Midterm Rank | Player | Position | Last Amateur Club | League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Pierre-Luc Dubois | Left Wing | Cape Breton | QMJHL |
| 2 | 1 | Matthew Tkachuk | Left Wing | London | OHL |
| 3 | 3 | Alexander Nylander | Left Wing | Mississauga | OHL |
| 4 | 2 | Jakob Chychrun | Defenseman | Sarnia | OHL |
| 5 | 5 | Olli Juolevi | Defenseman | London | OHL |
| 6 | 9 | Charles McAvoy | Defenseman | Boston University | H-EAST |
| 7 | 14 | Logan Brown | Center | Windsor | OHL |
| 8 | 10 | Mikhail Sergachev | Defenseman | Windsor | OHL |
| 9 | 8 | Clayton Keller | Center | USA U-18 | USHL |
| 10 | 12 | Kieffer Bellows | Left Wing | USA U-18 | USHL |