2012 NHL Entry Draft Fantasy-Based Top 100 Prospect Rankings

Click here for the Live Updated NHL 2012 Draft Preview Guide – The Next Ones – your quintessential draft resource.

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Made especially for fantasy hockey junkies, the following rankings are based on a prospect’s pure offensive potential.

Goalies get no love here. Apologies to vital guardians of the goal, but your potential is just too monumentally difficult to predict from a fantasy armchair GM’s point of view.

As THW former colleague Josh Deitell eloquently summed up comparing the actual NHL draft versus fantasy drafts:

Grit, work ethic, defensive-zone play, and personality: all intangibles that NHL teams consider when making their selections in the NHL Entry Draft that are not particularly relevant for fantasy hockey.

Yes, you do want to pick players who you think will make it to the NHL and contribute, so it’s important to consider bust potential and the fact that some European players take years to make their way across the pond and can easily make their way back, but first and foremost is offensive upside.

One will quickly notice some of the undersized forwards and blueliners creep up the rankings in comparison with my Final Top 150 Rankings. To reiterate, these rankings are focused on the pure offensive upside a prospect possesses. I tried to implement a healthy dose of realism as, as by strict use of my own definition, some of these diminutive players would have ranked even higher. I also took into account on some occasions that because of prospects solid all-around ability, may get more ice time which may translate in offensive output.

Notes:

• The table display approximately 50 of the prospects at a time; simply scroll down to view the other prospects.
• Only a portion of the table displays by default; you can scroll over to see the rest of the statistics or select “Full Screen View” option in upper right hand corner to view the full table.
• Ignore numbers on the very left side – this is simply the line number of the spreadsheet; it is not the rankings of the player.
• This is not a prediction of where a prospect will get drafted. This is my personal rankings of the prospects based on long-term offensive potential to perform at the NHL level and in fantasy hockey leagues. For a guesstimateof where prospects may land this weekend, check out my latest two round mock draft.
• NHL Central Scouting (CSB) rankings are segregated as North American and European skaters and goalies, respectively.
• Detailed prospect profiles in The Next Ones formatted are being compiled leading up to the draft. Stay tuned to The Next Ones 2012 NHL Draft Guide for over 70 detailed profiles completed thus far. (You’ll find detailed prospect profiles, interviews, mock drafts and other 2012 draft articles which will give the reader much perspective as to why many of the prospects are ranked {and chosen by NHL teams in the mock} where they are. Keep this page bookmarked and ready to lock and load for many of the updates and additions yet to come.)

• THW = My ranking from THW Final Rankings (Top 150)
• Off# = Ranking based on pure offensive fantasy potential

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Christopher Ralph is THW’s prospect and draft analyst

Follow ChrisRalphTHW on Twitter as I infiltrate, dissect and analyze happenings of hockey prospects and the NHL entry draft.

This document is the intellectual property of Christopher Ralph and cannot be used or duplicated in any way without expressed written consent. Any use of this document without the expressed written consent of Christopher Ralph will result in public exposure and legal prosecution.