Froese, Tochkin, Maxwell hit NHL radar

Published 2:24 pm Monday, January 12, 2009

Everett’s young offensive standouts have finally been acknowledged by the NHL scouting community.

Sort of.

Byron Froese, Kellan Tochkin and Tyler Maxwell each cracked the NHL Central Scouting Bureau’s mid-term rankings for the upcoming NHL draft, which were released today. None of the three 17-year-old forwards, who have been offensive revelations for the Tips this season, had been listed in any scouting service to this point. Froese was ranked 102nd among North American skaters, Tochkin 105th and Maxwell 152nd.

But what does this mean? This list does not include goaltenders or European players. So if Central Scouting’s rankings are accurate — and Central Scouting is by no means the be-all and end-all of player evaluations — it means Froese and Tochkin are kind of on the fringe of getting drafted, while Maxwell is probable on the outside looking in.

However, none of the three were anywhere to be found before the season began, so it didn’t take them long to get noticed. All three re trending upwards, and if they keep producing it wouldn’t be surprising to see them ranked higher in Central Scouting’s final rankings.