Just over a month into the OHL season, and there are very few surprises atop the OHL Draft Eligible Power Rankings.
When NHL Central Scouting announced their Players to Watch list at the beginning of October, 44 OHL names made the cut. Just two earned themselves an ‘A’ rating.
They were Arthur Kaliyev of Hamilton and Ryan Suzuki of the Barrie Colts.
Not surprisingly, they kick off our first in-season edition of the Power Rankings.
2019 NHL Draft OHL Prospect Power Rankings: October
1) Ryan Suzuki, Barrie Colts, C – TI Score: 36.5
2) Arthur Kaliyev, Hamilton Bulldogs, RW – TI Score: 32
| Prospect | GP | G | A | PPP | SHP | +/- | TI Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Suzuki, Barrie | 15 | 6 | 18 | 7 | 2 | +10 | 36.5 |
| Arthur Kaliyev, Hamilton | 17 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 0 | -1 | 36.5 |
The Bulldogs and Colts both sit fourth in their respective divisions. It isn’t for lack of trying by their two draft eligible stars, though.
Arthur Kaliyev is tops in terms of goals among players with first time eligibility. He’s also the only player who qualifies for the list with double-digits in power play points. He’s second on Hamilton in scoring (27 points) and first in shots (77).
Ryan Suzuki meanwhile, is tied for first on the Colts in points (24). While his faceoff percentage (42.7 on 246 draws) leaves something to be desired, he’s shown off his game-breaking scoring ability so far. He leads his draft class in assists, shorthanded points, and plus/minus.
To no one's surprise, Ryan Suzuki and Arthur Kaliyev lead my preliminary draft rankings for 2019. https://t.co/8LbDOYnYVk
— Brock Otten (@BrockOtten) October 29, 2018
3) Nathan Dunkley, London Knights, C – TI Score: 22.5
4) Connor McMichael, London Knights, C – TI Score: 21
5) Keean Washkurak, Mississauga Steelheads, C – TI Score: 20.5
| Prospect | GP | G | A | PPP | SHP | +/- | TI Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nathan Dunkley, London | 16 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 0 | +10 | 22.5 |
| Connor McMichael, London | 16 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 1 | +5 | 21 |
| Keean Washkurak, Mississauga | 17 | 5 | 12 | 4 | 0 | +3 | 20.5 |
After the top two, it’s pretty tight across the Power Rankings. Two London Knights are trying to separate themselves from the pack however.
Both Nathan Dunkley (17 points) and Connor McMichael (15 points) trail Cole Tymkin for the lead in Knights scoring. Dunkley exploded for three assists in his first game of the season, but has just two multi-point games since then (15 games). McMichael has been a bit more hit-and-miss. He’s got three three-point games so far this year, but also has eight scoreless games. It will be interesting to see the impact the returning Evan Bouchard and Alex Formenton have on the pair.
Connor McMichael gets his tenth goal of the year with just over a minute left. 6-2 Knights. pic.twitter.com/cYlwu8pfoa
— Mike Stubbs (@stubbs980) November 3, 2018
Keean Washkurak is the surprise here. After just 15 points in 61 games last year, the former second round pick has settled in. He’s already surpassed last year’s assist total (nine) and is one off of matching 2017/18’s goal production. There’s a good veteran presence in Mississauga to insulate him as well.
6) Cole Schwindt, Mississauga Steelheads, C – TI Score: 20
7) Kyen Sopa, Niagara IceDogs, RW – TI Score: 19.5
8) Billy Constantinou, Niagara IceDogs, D – TI Score: 18.5
| Prospect | GP | G | A | PPP | SHP | +/- | TI Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cole Schwindt, Mississauga | 17 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 1 | +8 | 20.5 |
| Kyen Sopa, Niagara | 17 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 0 | +10 | 19.5 |
| Billy Constantinou, Niagara | 17 | 4 | 8 | 3 | 0 | +10 | 20.5 |
Staying with sophomore surprises from Mississauga, Cole Scwindt has had a good start as well. He is just shy of last year’s totals (eight goals, 10 assists), but boasts a bit of versatility. Despite being listed as a winger, he’s taken the third-most face-offs on the Steelheads this year, clicking at a clip of 51.3.
Next up it’s a pair of IceDogs. Kyen Sopa, a late birthday, had 56 points in 41 games for Bern U20 in Switzerland last year. His nine goals are second on Niagara, and he has three multi-point games to his credit so far. Billy Constantinou meanwhile, is first among Draft eligible defencemen in goals and plus/minus, and second in points.
9) Danil Antropov, Oshawa Generals, LW – TI Score: 18
10) Thomas Harley, Mississauga Steelheads, D – TI Score: 16.5
| Prospect | GP | G | A | PPP | SHP | +/- | TI Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Danil Antropov, Oshawa | 17 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 0 | +3 | 36.5 |
| Thomas Harley, Mississauga | 17 | 3 | 10 | 6 | 0 | +1 | 36.5 |
Late birthday Danil Antropov is in line for his best OHL season to date. After a seven goal, 10-point improvement over his rookie year, Antropov has put up 0.82 points-per-game to this point. That has him on pace for a 56 point regular season. He should be able to set a new career high in assists (16) before December.
Danil Antropov, who has been uninspiring to date in his OHL career, has scored again tonight for Oshawa up to 6 points in not yet 5 games. Has first round upside if he can put it all together.
— Scott Wheeler (@scottcwheeler) October 6, 2018
Thomas Harley is actually the leader among 2019 defencemen in assists, points and power play points. It’s the plus/minus that has Constantinou ahead. Harley is the seventh-leading scorer on the Steelheads, but tops among defencemen on his roster. League-wide he’s ninth, nine points behind Guelph’s Ryan Merkley.
Honourable Mention: Nicholas Porco of Saginaw is actually tied with Harley in TI Score. He’s third on the Spirit in scoring but one of three players with eight goals. Ottawa’s Gareme Clarke just missed out with a 15.5 score. His nine goals this year are tied for third among Draft Eligibles.
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