Four Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) Players have been identified in the NHL Central Scouting Final Rankings released today in preparation for the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. The list is a compilation of top prospects from all the major development leagues throughout North America and Europe.
Included in the rankings is forward Carter Savoie and defenceman Michael Benning of the Sherwood Park Crusaders, Spruce Grove Saints rookie defenceman Ethan Edwards and Canmore Eagles forward Alex Young.
The top ranked Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) player is Crusaders forward Carter Savoie at #50. A total of 15 players from the CJHL cracked the list with the top three ranked players representing the AJHL. Savoie?s Sherwood Park teammate, Michael Benning, is second at #57. The the third-ranked CJHL NHL prospect on the list, at 77, is Ethan Edwards of the Spruce Grove Saints.
Alex Young is ranked at #145 after being left off the Mid-Term Rankings in early January. Young scored a pair of goals, along with two assists, to help lead Team West to a 6-4 victory at the 2020 CJHL Prospects Game on January 14th and was named Player of the Game. All four AJHL ranked players participated in the 2020 CJHL Prospects Game.
In the Mid-Term Rankings prior to the 2020 CJHL Prospects Game, Carter Savoie ws listed at #53 with Michael Benning close behind at #60 and Ethan Edwards at #85 among North American skaters. The three NHL prospects of St. Albert, AB all moved up in ranking during the final months of the season.
Former Okotoks Oilers forward, Dylan Holloway, is a freshman at the University of Wisconsin and is No. 12 on the list as the highest-ranked NCAA Division I skater.
The 2020 NHL Draft was scheduled for June 2020 in Montreal, with a new date and time for the event still to be announced by the National Hockey League.
Ninety players have been selected directly from the Alberta Junior Hockey League in the NHL Entry Draft and 21 AJHL Alumni have went on to win the Stanley Cup. Brooks Bandits defenceman Cale Makar made history as the highest drafted AJHL Player when the Colorado Avalanche selected him 4th overall in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.