NHL Central Scouting released on Tuesday its latest ‘Players to Watch’ list for the 2016 NHL Draft and it is packed with current college players and future recruits.
The players are given A, B or C ratings – an A is a first-round candidate, a B is a second- or third-round candidate and a C is a fourth-, fifth- or sixth-round prospect.
An ‘LV’ rating means that player has had limited viewing by NHL Central Scouting.
The list is in alphabetical order by league:
| Player's Name | Position | 2015-16 Team | Rating | Commitment (2016 unless noted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brinson Pasichnuk | D | Bonnyville (AJHL) | C | Vermont |
| Taden Rattie | F | Whitecourt (AJHL) | C | Western Michigan (2017) |
| Justin Young | F | Whitecourt (AJHL) | C | Alaska |
| Dennis Cholowski | D | Chilliwack (BCHL) | B | St. Cloud State (2017) |
| Kohen Olischefski | F | Chilliwack (BCHL) | C | Wisconsin (2017) |
| Dante Fabbro | D | Penticton (BCHL) | A | Boston University |
| Tyson Jost | F | Penticton (BCHL) | A | North Dakota |
| Matthew Freytag | F | Wisconsin (Big 10) | C | |
| Matthew Jurusik | G | Wisconsin (Big 10) | C | |
| Luke Kunin | F | Wisconsin (Big 10) | A | |
| Owen Grant | D | Carleton Place (CCHL) | C | Vermont (2017) |
| Brett Murray | F | Carleton Place (CCHL) | C | Penn State (2017) |
| Colton Point | G | Carleton Place (CCHL) | C | Colgate (2017) |
| Casey Fitzgerald | D | Boston College (Hockey East) | C | |
| Charles McAvoy | D | Boston University (Hockey East) | A | |
| Ethan Spaxman | D | Merrimack (Hockey East) | C | |
| Vincent Desharnais | D | Providence (Hockey East) | C | |
| Joseph Masonius | D | Connecticut (Hockey East) | C | |
| Tage Thompson | F | Connecticut (Hockey East) | B | |
| Callum Fryer | D | Massachusetts (Hockey East) | C | |
| Mikael Hakkarainen | F | Brookings (NAHL) | C | Providence (2017) |
| Brian Hurley | D | Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL) | C | Ohio State |
| Rourke Russell | D | Wichita Falls (NAHL) | C | Miami (2018) |
| Dylan Gambrell | F | Denver (NCHC) | C | |
| Matthew Cairns | D | Georgetown (OJHL) | C | Cornell (2017) |
| Matthew Thom | D | Georgetown (OJHL) | C | Princeton (2017) |
| Matt Filipe | F | Cedar Rapids (USHL) | C | Northeastern |
| Matt Gosiewski | F | Cedar Rapids (USHL) | C | Harvard (2017) |
| Ryan Larkin | G | Cedar Rapids (USHL) | LV | Miami |
| Sam Sternschein | F | Cedar Rapids (USHL) | C | Cornell |
| Grant Gabrielle | D | Chicago (USHL) | C | Western Michigan |
| Matt Kiersted | D | Chicago (USHL) | C | North Dakota |
| Tanner Laczynski | F | Chicago (USHL) | C | Ohio State |
| Max Zimmer | F | Chicago (USHL) | B | Wisconsin (2017) |
| William Knierim | F | Dubuque (USHL) | B | Miami |
| Michael O'Leary | F | Dubuque (USHL) | C | Cornell |
| Cameron Lee | D | Green Bay (USHL) | C | Providence |
| John Leonard | F | Green Bay (USHL) | C | Massachusetts |
| Andrew Peeke | D | Green Bay (USHL) | B | Notre Dame |
| Zachary Berzolla | D | Muskegon (USHL) | C | Colorado College |
| Derek Daschke | D | Muskegon (USHL) | C | Western Michigan |
| Mitch Eliot | D | Muskegon (USHL) | C | Michigan State |
| William Fallstrom | F | Omaha (USHL) | C | Minnesota |
| Michael Boyle | D | Sioux City (USHL) | B | Denver (2017) |
| Christopher Dodero | F | Sioux City (USHL) | C | Colorado College |
| Jackson Keane | F | Sioux City (USHL) | C | North Dakota |
| Jake Ryczek | D | Sioux City (USHL) | C | Providence (2017) |
| Justin Wells | D | Sioux Falls (USHL) | C | Bowling Green (2017) |
| Joey Anderson | F | U.S. NTDP (USHL) | B | Minnesota-Duluth |
| Kieffer Bellows | F | U.S. NTDP (USHL) | A | Boston University |
| Michael Campoli | D | U.S. NTDP (USHL) | C | Boston College |
| Adam Fox | D | U.S. NTDP (USHL) | C | Harvard |
| Trent Frederic | F | U.S. NTDP (USHL) | B | Wisconsin |
| Keeghan Howdeshell | F | U.S. NTDP (USHL) | C | Ferris State |
| Clayton Keller | F | U.S. NTDP (USHL) | A | Boston University |
| Chad Krys | D | U.S. NTDP (USHL) | A | Boston University |
| Ryan Lindgren | D | U.S. NTDP (USHL) | B | Minnesota |
| William Lockwood | F | U.S. NTDP (USHL) | C | Michigan |
| Griffin Luce | D | U.S. NTDP (USHL) | B | Michigan |
| Graham McPhee | F | U.S. NTDP (USHL) | C | Boston College |
| Nick Pastujov | F | U.S. NTDP (USHL) | C | Michigan |
| James Sanchez | F | U.S. NTDP (USHL) | C | Michigan |
| Keenan Suthers | F | U.S. NTDP (USHL) | C | Western Michigan |
| Zach Walker | F | U.S. NTDP (USHL) | C | Boston College |
| Joseph Woll | G | U.S. NTDP (USHL) | C | Boston College |
| Sam Rossini | D | Waterloo (USHL) | B | Minnesota |
| Garrett Wait | F | Waterloo (USHL) | C | Minnesota |
| Kevin Conley | F | Youngstown (USHL) | C | Denver |
| Luke McInnis | D | Youngstown (USHL) | C | Boston College |
| Cameron Morrison | F | Youngstown (USHL) | C | Notre Dame (2017) |
| Jacob Schmidt-Svejstrup | F | Boston Jr. Bruins (USPHL) | C | Maine (2017) |
| Liam Darcy | D | Islanders (USPHL) | C | New Hampshire |
| Robert Hampton | F | North Jersey (Midget AAA) | C | Northeastern (2017) |
| Jamie Armstrong | F | Avon Old Farms (US High School) | C | Northeastern |
| Patrick Harper | F | Avon Old Farms (US High School) | C | Boston University (2017) |
| Adam Karashik | D | Avon Old Farms (US High School) | C | Connecticut |
| Matt Ladd | G | Avon Old Farms (US High School) | C | Niagara (2018) |
| Marshall Rifai | D | Hotchkiss School (US High School) | C | Harvard (2017) |
| Carter Long | D | South Kent (US High School) | C | Vermont (2018) |
| Greg Printz | F | South Kent (US High School) | C | Providence (2017) |
| Brian Matthews | D | Belmont Hill (US High School) | C | Yale (2017) |
| Jacob Kamps | D | Cushing Academy (US High School) | C | Vermont (2017) |
| Riley Tufte | F | Blaine (US High School) | A | Minnesota-Duluth |
| Michael Graham | F | Eden Prairie (US High School) | B | Notre Dame (2017) |
| Mitchell Mattson | F | Grand Rapids (US High School) | B | North Dakota |
| Scott Perunovich | D | Hibbing/Chisholm (US High School) | C | Minnesota-Duluth (2018) |
| Casey Staum | D | Hill-Murray (US High School) | C | Nebraska-Omaha (2017) |
| Kenneth Johnson | D | Shattuck-St. Mary's (US High School) | C | Michigan |
