Freshman right wing Austin Wuthrich is ranked 94th in NHL Central Scouting's Final Rankings.

One Current Player And Three Future Irish Ranked In NHL Central Scouting's Final Ratings

April 10, 2012

Toronto, Ont. – The National Hockey League’s (NHL) Central Scouting Service has listed four players with ties to Notre Dame among the top 245 North Americans eligible for the NHL Entry Draft scheduled for June 22-23 at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pa. The list includes 210 skaters and 35 goaltenders.

The group of four players includes one current Notre Dame skater, two who play in the United States Hockey League (USHL) and one who is a member of the U.S. National Team Development Program.

The current Notre Dame player is right wing Austin Wuthrich (Anchorage, Alaska) who spent the 2011-12 season with the Irish. Born August 11, 1993, Wuthrich joined the Irish in the spring signing period in April of 2011. In his first season at Notre Dame, Wuthrich finished fifth on the team in scoring with seven goals and 10 assists for 17 points. He picked up 13 penalties for 34 minutes and was second on the team with a +4 plus/minus. He saw action in 36 of the team’s 40 games. The 6-1, 196-pound Wuthrich was ranked 94th among North American skaters in the final ratings.

The highest ranked player for the Irish was forward Thomas DiPauli (Woodridge, Ill.) who spent the past two seasons as a member of the U.S. National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Mich. The 5-11, 188-pound forward was ranked 81st among North American skaters. The talented playmaker has an April 29, 1994 birthdate and is an alternate captain on the Under-18 team that will begin play in the Under-18 World Championships on April 12 in Brno-Znojmo, Czech Republic. With the Under-18 team this season, DiPauli has played in 48 games with 10 goals and 10 assists for 20 points and 22 penalty minutes. He scored one power-play goal, two short-handed markers and one game winner.

Following DiPauli and Wuthrich in the rankings is center Vince Hinostroza (Bartlett, Ill.) who is ranked 115th overall. A member of the USHL’s Waterloo Black Hawks, the 5-10, 170-pounder is currently second on the team in scoring with 20 goals and 23 assists for 43 points. Among his 20 goals are six power-play tallies, two short-handed goals and three game winners. An April 3, 1994 birthdate, Hinistroza and the Black Hawks are third in the USHL’s Western Division with a 33-19-6 record, good for 72 points and are just four points out of first place with two regular-season games left to play.

Rounding out the group of Notre Dame players is defenseman Justin Wade (Aurora, Ill.) who is currently in his second season with the Fargo Force of the USHL. Born April 13, 1994, Wade is a 6-2, 210-pound blue liner who has played in 55 games this season with two goals and five assists for seven points. He has 38 penalty minutes and leads Fargo with a +17 on the season. A prototypical shutdown defenseman, Wade is ranked 144th among North American skaters. The Force is currently fourth in the USHL’s Western Division with a 31-21-6 record, good for 68 points on the year.

DiPauli, Hinistroza and Wade all signed national letters-of-intent to play hockey at Notre Dame in the early-signing period during November of 2011.