DobberProspects releases early top-100 rankings for 2021 NHL Entry Draft
With a decision looming on whether or not the upcoming NHL Entry Draft will be rescheduled (at this point it looks like it will not), DobberProspects has released its early top-100 rankings for the 2021 draft-eligible players.
As with any draft rankings, things are definitely subject to change based on individual player performance between now and the draft, but as far as the actual players within the top-10, I wouldn't expect too many outliers to leapfrog into the discussion, pushing anyone out into the 11-20 range, save maybe Aatu Räty, who currently sits at #11 in DP's rankings. Most any movement within the top-10 will most likely just be jockeying for position.
DobberProspects rankings:
1. Matthew Beniers - C (6'2, 174lbs)
2. William Eklund - LW (5'10, 172 lbs)
3. Fabian Lysell - RW (5'10, 176 lbs)
4. Jesper Wallstedt - G (6'3, 214 lbs)
5. Luke Hughes - LD (6'2, 176 lbs)
6. Brandt Clarke - RD (6'1, 181 lbs)
7. Simon Edvinsson - LD (6'4, 185 lbs)
8. Simon Robertsson - RW (6'0, 181 lbs)
9. Owen Power - LD (6'5, 209 lbs)
10. Kent Johnson - C (6'1, 168 lbs)
While it would be fairly easy to see a player like Nepean, Ontario native Brandt Clarke jump up into the top-5 or even the top-3, due to his being a right-shot defenseman with a very high skill cap, it's not exactly easy to pick a player to bump from DobberProspects' existing top-5. I suppose the easiest bump would probably be Wallstedt, given the extreme difficulty of predicting the development curve of a young goaltender.
At first glance, University of Michigan defenseman and Mississauga, Ontario native Owen Power seems quite low at 9, however, when you consider that both Luke Hughes (5) and Simon Edvinsson (7) play the same position (LD), with each seeiming slightly ahead in terms of their overall impact, there is definite competition, but the divide is not wide by any stretch of the imagination.
This draft is probably more of an enigma than previous drafts, due to prospects having played much less during the pandemic, thus decreasing the overall quality of what would otherwise have been fulsome, extremely detailed scouting reports - so ultimately, we may some wild reaches in the bottom half of the first round and into the second and third rounds.
At the end of the day, this draft has the potential to yield more late-round steals than any draft in recent memory - maybe ever, and that is exciting.
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Taylor Hall | 3 | - | 3 | |
| Brayden Point | 3 | - | 3 | |
| Brock Nelson | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Bryan Rust | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Pavel Zacha | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Quinn Hughes | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Carter Verhaeghe | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Erik Karlsson | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Elias Lindholm | - | 3 | 3 | |
| David Pastrnak | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Tim Stutzle | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Adam Gaudette | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Dylan Holloway | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Brad Marchand | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Aleksander Barkov | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Sam Bennett | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Sean Couturier | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Alex DeBrincat | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jack Drury | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Cutter Gauthier | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 23 | 18 | 5 | - | 36 | |
Hurricanes | 22 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 33 | |
Wild | 22 | 14 | 4 | 4 | 32 | |
Devils | 25 | 15 | 8 | 2 | 32 | |
Capitals | 22 | 15 | 6 | 1 | 31 | |
Golden Knights | 23 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 31 | |
Maple Leafs | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 28 | |
Flames | 23 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 28 | |
Panthers | 23 | 13 | 9 | 1 | 27 | |
Kings | 23 | 12 | 8 | 3 | 27 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||