36 WHL’ERS NAMED TO FIRST NHL WATCH LIST

The Western Hockey League is proud to announce 36 WHL players have been named to NHL Central Scouting’s ‘Players to Watch’ List for the 2021 NHL Draft. The annual ‘Players to Watch’ list was issued Tuesday by the NHL Central Scouting Service.

NHL Central Scouting identifies players with a rating system that includes four categories. The ‘A’ rating indicates players projected to be first-round candidates. The ‘B’ rating indicates players projected to be second- or third-round candidates, and the ‘C’ rating indicates players projected to be fourth-, fifth-, or sixth-round candidates. Though no players received this designation, ‘LV’ represents a player who has not had sufficient viewings, due to injury.

Five WHL players were assigned ‘A’ ratings, including Edmonton Oil Kings forward Dylan Guenther, Moose Jaw Warriors forward Ryder Korczak, Winnipeg ICE defenceman Carson Lambos, Seattle Thunderbirds forward Conner Roulette, and Medicine Hat Tigers forward Cole Sillinger.

Four WHL players were given ‘B’ ratings, including Prince Albert Raiders defenceman Nolan Allan, Edmonton Oil Kings goaltender Sebastian Cossa, Portland Winterhawks forward Jack O’Brien, and Kamloops Blazers forward Logan Stankoven. A total of 27 WHL players earned ‘C’ ratings.

Overall, 18 of 22 WHL Clubs are represented in the preliminary ‘Players to Watch’ List. The Brandon Wheat Kings, Moose Jaw Warriors, Portland Winterhawks, Prince Albert Raiders, Red Deer Rebels, and Seattle Thunderbirds all boast three players each to lead WHL Clubs. Six other WHL Clubs each have two players listed. Another six WHL Clubs are represented by a single player on NHL Central Scouting’s preliminary list.

A total of 20 WHL forwards find themselves on the list, joined by 12 WHL defencemen, and four WHL goaltenders.

2021 NHL Central Scouting ‘Players to Watch’ – WHL Players

PTW	Last Name	First Name	Team	Height	Weight	Position
A	Guenther	Dylan	Edmonton	6’0”	166	RW
A	Korczak	Ryder	Moose Jaw	5’10”	164	C
A	Lambos	Carson	Winnipeg	6’0”	200	D
A	Roulette	Conner	Seattle	5’11”	161	LW
A	Sillinger	Cole	Medicine Hat	5’11”	194	LW
B	Allan	Nolan	Prince Albert	6’1”	174	D
B	Cossa	Sebastian	Edmonton	6’5”	207	G
B	O’Brien	Jack	Portland	6’0”	154	C
B	Stankoven	Logan	Kamloops	5’8”	170	C
C	Alarie	Eric	Moose Jaw	6’0”	197	LW
C	Bankier	Caedan	Kamloops	6’0”	164	C
C	Boyko	Talyn	Tri-City	6’6”	184	G
C	Busygin	Yaroslav	Brandon	6’2”	170	D
C	Chiasson	Jake	Brandon	6’1”	165	RW
C	Ciona	Lucas	Seattle	6’2”	201	LW
C	Dach	Colton	Saskatoon	6’2”	186	C
C	Englot	Drew	Regina	6’2”	194	RW
C	Grubbe	Jayden	Red Deer	6’2”	192	C
C	Iorio	Vincent	Brandon	6’2”	191	D
C	Jordan	Cole	Moose Jaw	6’0”	173	D
C	Knak	Simon	Portland	6’0”	185	RW
C	Kosior	Landon	Prince Albert	5’11”	190	D
C	Kozak	Tyson	Portland	5’10”	160	C
C	Krebs	Dru	Medicine Hat	5’11”	167	D
C	Lajoie	Marc	Tri-City	6’4”	226	D
C	Masters	Kyle	Red Deer	5’11”	155	D
C	Milne	Michael	Winnipeg	5’10”	182	LW
C	Ostapchuk	Zack	Vancouver	6’3”	187	C
C	Sedoff	Christoffer	Red Deer	6’1”	190	D
C	Serhyenko	Carter	Prince Albert	6’4”	193	G
C	Stringer	Zack	Lethbridge	6’0”	155	LW
C	Sward	Graham	Spokane	6’1”	169	D
C	Thomson	Bryan	Lethbridge	6’3”	179	G
C	Tschigerl	Sean	Calgary	6’0”	179	LW
C	Uchacz	Kai	Seattle	6’1”	190	C
C	Zellweger	Olen	Everett	5’8”	162	D

Players have been identified using the following criteria:

A Rating – Indicates a first-round candidate
B Rating – Indicates a second- or third-round candidate
C Rating – Indicates a fourth-, fifth-, or sixth-round candidate
LV (Limited Viewing) – Injured players who have not had sufficient viewings to be categorized

(WHL Communications)