It’s crazy how quickly this summer is going. Usually, I put out three different draft rankings in an offseason. However, with the trade talk, I’ll only be posting two. I put my initial top 10 rankings a month ago and now I’ll dive right into my final top 32 rankings.

I’m not going to lie to you and say that I’ve watched every one of these players extensively. While I’ve seen a lot of these players in some capacity, those that I haven’t I’m relying on conversations from contacts I’ve established around the world to finalize these rankings.

The 2021 NHL Draft is upon us and the Buffalo Sabres currently hold the first overall pick. There’s a chance that they’ll own at least one more pick in the top 10.

I’m going to do this a little differently than in the past due to some time constraints. I’ll be breaking my rankings into tiers and then I’ll add some comments on each tier.

Tier 1

1. Matty Beniers | F | University of Michigan (NCAA)

2. William Eklund | F | Djurgardens IF (SHL)

3. Owen Power | LD | University of Michigan (NCAA)

This shouldn’t come as a surprise for those of you that follow me, but Beniers remains the top player on my board. The expectation is that he goes no later than the third overall pick in this draft. He’s a natural centerman that I believe is ready to step right into the NHL. His defensive game is polished and has that offensive upside that is underrated by some, in my opinion.

He’s too much of a well-rounded player for me to move him from the top spot on my board.

As was the case in my initial top 10, William Eklund holds the second spot. The Swedish winger is dynamic and should be another lock to be selected in the top three of this draft.

Eklund has the potential of a play-driving winger at the NHL level. His offensive upside is off the charts with shooting, passing, and vision in the offensive zone. He’s also a threat in transition, which is a great fit for today’s NHL. He’s not going to beat a defender with speed. He’s strong on his feet and reads the play well to find the openings in the defense.

This is my first change from my initial rankings. After some internal debate between two players, I decided to move Power up from third to fourth. The big defender has become the consensus top pick in the draft over the last month.

As time has gone along here I feel like Power is getting some unfair criticism. While there are some things he needs to improve upon, he’s still a great prospect. The team that selects him will need to take it slow and allow him to develop properly. There’s no reason that he should not return to the University of Michigan next season.

If he can get on a good development path, he’ll be a stud defenseman in the NHL for many years.

Tier 2

4. Brandt Clarke | RD | Barrie Colts (OHL)

5. Jesper Wallstedt | G | Lulea HF (SHL)

6. Dylan Guenther | F | Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL)

7. Mason McTavish | F | Peterborough Petes (OHL)

8. Kent Johnson | F | University of Michigan (NCAA)

Clarke falls behind Power and is my second-highest-rated defenseman in this class. The Canadian defender has high-end potential as a two-way blueliner. His dynamic offensive ability is what makes him such an interesting prospect. He’s excellent in transition and combines his offense with a good defensive game. He does a good job defending opponents one on one and uses his speed to maintain his gaps. The one critique you will see with Clarke is to improve some areas of his skating. It’s not his speed and acceleration. The concern is about his edge work.

I always make it clear when ranking goaltenders that I’m not going to pretend I know how to evaluate this position. What I’m going off of to rank him in this spot is the sentiment from others I’ve spoken to in the scouting community. There are some that believe that Wallstedt is a better prospect than Spencer Knight and may even be the best player available in this draft. He performed well playing against his peers in the World Juniors playing for the Swedes with a .923 save percentage in two appearances. It’s also impressive that he was able to put up a .908 save percentage in 22 games at 18-years-old playing in the SHL playing for Lulea.

Guenther is another high-end scoring threat in this draft. He projects as one of the top scoring wingers in this draft. He has one of the best shots in this draft and can be a threat off the rush as well. He showcased this well playing for Canadians in the U18’s against his peers. He recorded four goals and seven points in seven games.

My top 10 is going to be dominated by forwards outside of the non-forwards I’ve already listed. The next forward up is Canadian-born forward Mason McTavish. He spent this season playing in the pro league in Switzerland for EHC Olten. McTavish has moved up draft boards over the last few months. He made a statement when scored five goals and registered 11 points in seven games for Canada in the U18 World Championship. He has a good two-way game and isn’t afraid to go to the net in the offensive zone. McTavish’s strong forechecking game makes him difficult to play against as well.

Johnson has a lot of flash in his game and was fun to watch this season with all of that talent on the Wolverines roster. It was a shame that they didn’t have the opportunity to compete in the NCAA Tournament this year due to Covid-19. This may be a case of over-scouting for me with Johnson because of how much I’ve watched Michigan. There’s no denying his offensive upside. I do have some concerns with his turnovers and decision-making at times. He can be careless with the puck on his stick.

Tier 3

9. Fyodor Svechkov | F | SKA St. Petersburg (KHL)

10. Luke Hughes | LD | U18 US National Development Program

11. Cole Sillinger | F | Siuox Falls Stampede (USHL)

12. Chaz Lucius | F | U18 US National Development Program

13. Fabian Lysell | F | Lulea HF (SHL)

14. Simon Edvinsson | LD | Frolunda (SHL)

This may be a little higher than you’ll see Svechkov ranked at other places. The Russian forward is one of my prospects of this draft. He may be one of the most complete two-way players in this class.

This also may be low by most accounts for Luke Hughes and Simon Edvinsson. Hughes is a fun player with his skating and offensive upside. I have some serious doubts on both of these players with parts of their game defensively.

After this section It’ll just be a listing of the rankings.

Tier 4

15. Matthew Coronato | F | Chicago Steel (USHL)

16. Logan Stankoven | F | Kamloops Blazers (WHL)

17. Sebastian Cossa | G | Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL)

18. Brennan Othmann | F | Flint Firebirds (OHL)

19. Carson Lambos | LD | Winnipeg Ice (WHL)

20. Aatu Raty | F | Karpat (Liiga)

21. Corson Ceulemans | RD| Brooks Bandits (AJHL)

Tier 5

22. Mackie Samoskevich | F | Chicago Steel (USHL)

23. Simon Robertsson | F| Skelleftea (SHL)

24. Isak Rosen | F | Leksands IF (SHL/J20)

25. Zachary Bolduc | F | Rimouski Oceanic (QMJHL)

26. Francesco Pinelli | F | Kitchener Rangers (OHL)

27. Zachary L’Heureux | F | Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)

28. Samu Tuomaala | F | Karpat (Liiga)

29. Xavier Bourgault | F | Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL)

30. Dylan Duke | F | U18 US National Development Program

31. Ville Koivunen | F | Karpat (Liiga)

32. Daniil Chayka | LD | CSKA Moskva (KHL)

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