The Ontario Hockey League's Barrie Colts have three players listed among scores of players eligible for this summer's NHL Draft.
The Canadian Hockey League (CHL) announced today that 147 CHL players have been listed in NHL Central Scouting’s Midterm Rankings ahead of the 2024 NHL Draft, which is scheduled to take place June 28-29 in Las Vegas.
Among North American skaters, Barrie centre Cole Beaudoin is ranked 31st, followed by fellow centre Riley Patterson at 116th and left-winger Bode Stewart at 147th. All three players are 17 years old.
The CHL has 12 players ranked among the top-20, with Cayden Lindstrom from the Western Hockey League's Medicine Hat Tigers leading the way at No. 3. The top OHL prospect is London Knights defenceman Sam Dickinson at No. 7.
The top prospect heading into the draft is Vancouver native Macklin Celebrini, who plays for Boston University in the NCAA. He was recently a member of Team Canada at the IIHF world junior tournament in Sweden. Canada did not medal at this year's tournament, after being knocked out in the quarter-finals by Czechia on a last-minute goal. Celebrini had four goals and four assists in five games.
Defenceman Artyom Levshunov, who hails from Belarus and also plays in the NCAA, with the Michigan State Spartans, is ranked No. 2.
Many CHL players who are included in the draft rankings, including Beaudoin, will play in the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game, which will be held at the Avenir Centre in Moncton, N.B., on Wednesday, Jan. 24.
Beaudoin, a native of Kanata, Ont., sits second on the Colts in scoring with 16 goals and 15 assists in 36 games. He is listed at six-foot-two and 206 pounds and is in his second season with Barrie.
Patterson, who hails from Burlington, Ont., is right behind Beaudoin in scoring with 12 goals and 14 assists in 36 games. Listed at six feet tall and 194 pounds, Patterson is in first OHL season, after playing last year with the North York Rangers of the Ontario Junior Hockey League.
Stewart, who's six-foot-one and 169 pounds, has two goals and nine assists in 25 games. This is his first year in Barrie after coming over from the Saginaw Spirit.
The final NHL Draft Rankings are released in April.
