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draft related stuff and central scouting info from the hockey news
http://www.thehockeynews.com/en/news...p?idNews=19887

Monday, January 16, 2006
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Phil Kessel was considered the runaway No. 1 pick for the 2006 NHL entry draft earlier this season, but his countryman, defenseman Erik Johnson, has overtaken the high-scoring center in the latest rankings.

Both members of the U.S. team that finished a disappointing fourth at the World Junior Championship in Vancouver, Johnson, a native of Bloomington, Minn., and Kessel, from Madison, Wis., sit one-two in North America in the mid-season ranking of draft-eligible players as compiled by the NHL's Central Scouting Service.

A record total of 12 players born in the U.S. are ranked in the first round.

The highest number of Americans ever drafted in the first round is eight, set in 2005. American-born players have never been selected one-two in NHL draft history. Brian Lawton and Pat LaFontaine were selected first and third overall by Minnesota and the New York Islanders in the 1983 draft.

Johnson is in his second season with the U.S. National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Mich., and was a dominant player at the WJC, scoring a goal and four points to go along with 18 penalty minutes. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound blueliner has three goals and eight points in seven games with the Under-18 team, which competes in the North American League.

Jonathan Bernier of the QMJHL's Lewiston MAINEiacs is the top-rated North American goaltender, while right winger Michael Frolik of the Czech Republic and goaltender Jhonas Enroth of the Swedish Junior league are the top-ranked skater and goalie in Europe.

The top-ranked Canadian-born skaters are Winnipeg's Jonathan Toews (currently playing at the University of North Dakota) at No. 3, and Thunder Bay's Jordan Staal, who plays for the OHL's Peterborough Petes and is the younger brother of Carolina Hurricanes star Eric Staal, at No. 4.

The 2006 draft will take place June 24 in Vancouver.

To view the full list of North American skaters, click HERE.

To view the full list of European skaters, click HERE.

To view the full list of North American goalies, click HERE.

To view the full list of European goalies, click HERE.