Three Rockets rated for June’s NHL draft

Nothing is guaranteed at the NHL entry draft.

Players rise and fall before general managers of all 32 teams step up to the podium and with a quiet hush coming over the arena, they boldly state, ‘With the…….pick, the…..select…….’

With NHL Central Scouting releasing its final rankings for June’s draft in Nashville today, one thing is abundantly clear, Kelowna Rockets forward Andrew Cristall will be chosen in the opening round.

Suggesting it is a big deal would be an understatement.

Rated 15th among North American skaters, the 18-year-old could fall slightly from that position or even move up a few spots depending on the need of the team making the selection.

Cristall, who had an impressive 95 points in his sophomore season, including 39 goals, was rated 16th by NHLCS in the mid-term rankings in January, so the well-spoken forward with a Howdy Doody look to him, has moved up the rankings.

That is never a bad thing.

And again, this is the NHL Central Scouting’s rankings, which can often vary from other sources that rate Cristall even higher than that.

One site of a mock draft has Cristall going to the Vancouver Canucks with the 8th overall selection, so things are always unpredictable.

Teammate Caden Price is rated 47th by NHLCS in the final rankings, which is a drop of 17 spots from the 30th position he held in January.

Dropping is never a good thing, but again, this is only one draft list of many that NHL executives look at before making the bold step of taking a junior player with the hope the teenager pans out to be a solid pro.

Both Cristall and Price are overseas, playing for Canada at the U-18’s in Switzerland.

Captain Gabriel Szturc also dropped a few spots, going from 181 to 220 in the final rankings, but considering he has been passed over twice in the draft, there should be little concern.

The last Kelowna Rockets player to be chosen in the first round of the draft was forward Nolan Foote, taken 27th overall in 2019 by the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning.

Foote was then traded to the New Jersey Devils in February of 2020 for Blake Coleman.

June’s draft is in Nashville, Tennessee on the 28th and 29th.