On Tuesday morning NHL Central Scouting released its final rankings ahead of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.
A total of 57 players from the Western Hockey League players were listed including three Red Deer Rebels and two Central Albertans.
Red Deer Rebels goaltender Chase Wutzke was ranked ninth among North American goalies.
The 17-year-old jumped from the 13th spot in the midterm rankings after an elite second half to the season of his rookie WHL campaign. In the NHL Central Scoutings preliminary list, Wutzke wasn’t even listed.
This season Wutzke posted a 2.82 goals against average and a .904 save percentage for a 19-10-2 record. In seven games in the playoffs so far, he’s built on his success with a 2.48 GAA and a .924 save percentage.
However, fellow Rebels netminder Rhett Stoesser who was listed 28th in the midterm rankings was left off the final list.
Among North American skaters, Rebels forward Ollie Josephson moved up the list after a productive second year. The 17-year-old is ranked 40th among North American skaters after he was ranked 43rd in the midterm rankings.
This season he’s contributed 12 goals and 35 assists for 47 points in 68 games, which is good enough for second in team scoring.
Rebels forward Samuel Drancak also made a significant jump in the rankings. The 18-year-old from Czechia is now ranked 187th moving up from 221st among all North American skaters.
Last summer Drancak was drafted by the Rebels in the CHL Import and the rookie earned his way to a full-time roster spot. This season he scored 12 goals and 21 assists for 33 points in 68 games.
Other names from Central Alberta listed include Stettler’s Rhys Pederson (146) who played for the Edmonton Oil Kings and Sylvan Lake’s Caleb Hadland (212) from the Brandon Wheat Kings.