The NHL Central Scouting Service released its final rankings for the 2012 NHL draft, and two Silvertips were among the 247 North American players rated.
Tips captain and star defenseman Ryan Murray is considered one of the premier players in this year’s draft, and CSS concurs, ranking Murray second among North American skaters. The only player ranked ahead of Murray is Russian winger Nail Yakupov, who plays for Sarina in the OHL. Interestingly, both Murray and Yakupov are late 1993 birthdates. This ranking reinforces the idea that Murray will be among the top five selections in the draft. One would have to think that the higher Murray is drafted, the less likely he will be returned to Everett next season.
The other Everett player ranked was defenseman Nick Walters, who was rated 67th among North Americans skaters. CSS’s list puts Walters in the third round of the NHL draft. However, the list doesn’t include European-based skaters or any goaltenders, so that 67th ranking probably equates more to the fifth round, if he’s ultimately taken around where he’s ranked.
A couple other Everett-related observations: Former Tips list player Miles Koules just squeezed onto the list at 201st among North American skaters. The Tips traded the winger, who spent the past two seasons with the U.S. NTDP and is committed to the University of North Dakota, to Medicine Hat at this year’s trade deadline in exchange for center Reid Petryk. Former Everett draft pick Austin Wuthrich, who never attended training camp with the Tips and was passed over in last year’s draft, was ranked 94th among North American skaters following his freshman year at Notre Dame.
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