Nov. 18, 2004
Toronto, Ont. – The National Hockey League’s (NHL) Central Scouting Service has listed current Notre Dame hockey player Evan Rankin (Fr., Portage, Mich.) among its top 35 U.S. college hockey players in its preliminary rankings for the 2005 NHL Entry Draft to be held at the Corel Centre in Ottawa, Ont., June 24-25.
Rankin, ranked 13th in the preliminary rankings, is one of 10 players from the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) on the 35-man list.
Rankin, a 6-1, 186-pound right-handed shooting forward, is 13th overall and fifth among CCHA skaters. In 10 games with the Irish this season, Rankin has three goals and two assists for five points and leads the team with a +3 plus/minus rating. He currently has a three-game point-scoring streak with two goals and two assists in the last three games.
Boston College’s Dan Bertram is the top-ranked collegiate skater. Michigan’s T.J. Hensick is second and tops among CCHA players. Among the 35 collegiate players scouted, 11 play in Hockey East, 10 in the CCHA, seven in the ECACHL and seven in the WCHA.
The NHL also ranked high school and junior hockey players in separate categories by league or division. Those players were given either an A-rating or a B-rating. An A-rated player has the potential to be a pick in rounds 1 through 4 while a B-rated player has the potential to be a late-round selection.
Three players who signed national letters-of-intent this week to attend Notre Dame were ranked in this classification. Included among the A-rated players were United States Hockey League (USHL) performers; center Christian Hanson (Venetia, Pa./Tri-City Storm) and goaltender Jordan Pearce (Anchorage, Alaska/Lincoln Stars).
A third player, defenseman Kyle Lawson (New Hudson, Mich./U.S. Under-18 Team), received a B-rating. He signed a letter-of-intent this week but is deferring until the 2006-07 season.