Russian blueliner Ivan Provorov (Brandon) and Swiss forward Timo Meier (Halifax) continued to climb the McKeen's Top 30 rankings for March - identifying the top-eligible players for the 2015 NHL Draft.
Provorov moved up three spots to No. 5 overall - behind a top four that remains unchanged in Connor McDavid (Erie), Jack Eichel (Boston University), Noah Hanifin (Boston College), and Mitchell Marner (London).
Meier has also been on a steady upward trajectory, bolstered by steady improvements in skating. Having entering his second year in the QMJHL as a top 40 draft prospect, the native of Herisau, Switzerland caught stride in November leading into a strong performance at the Under-20 World Juniors.
Meier has been ripping up the Q since the World Juniors - scoring at a near goal-a-game pace (23-21-19-40) to surpass the 40-goal mark (56-42-44-86).
He climbs 11 spots to No. 13 overall - two back of another significant riser in Ottawa forward Travis Konecny.
Following a quiet start (15-2-9-11), the Clachan, Ontario native has grown increasingly sharper as the season goes on - buoyed by a spectacular showing at the CHL Top Prospects Game.
Another big riser this month is Farjestad forward Joel Ek Eriksson who vaults into the top 20 after putting on a convincing show at last month's Five Nations Tournament in the Czech Republic.
The native of Karlstad, Sweden scored 18 goals to tie for the lead in the J20 SuperElit - earning a promotion to the SHL where he has dressed for 34 games for the senior Farjestad team (34-4-2-6).
However, it was his performance at the Five Nations (4-4-0-4) that made believers of the NHL scouts. Ek Eriksson stood out among his peers at a tournament that included a number of disappointing performances from the likes of Swedish teammates Oliver Kylington and Filip Ahl, as well as Michael Spacek (Czech Republic), Jeremy Bracco (USA), and Brendan Warren (USA).
Russia won the tournament - backstopped by outstanding goaltending from Ilya Samsonov, who joins Ek Eriksson, Jacob Larsson (Frolunda), Jonas Siegenthaler (Zurich), and Jack Roslovic (NTDP) as newcomers to the first round.
Here is a look at the McKeen's Top 30 Rankings for the 2015 NHL Draft.
| RANK | PREV | PLAYER | POS | TEAM | HT/WT | DOB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Connor McDavid | C | Erie (OHL) | 6-1/195 | 13-Jan-97 |
| 2 | 2 | Jack Eichel | C | Boston University (HE) | 6-2/195 | 28-Oct-96 |
| 3 | 3 | Noah Hanifin | D | Boston College (HE) | 6-3/205 | 25-Jan-97 |
| 4 | 4 | Mitchell Marner | C | London (OHL) | 5-11/160 | 5-May-97 |
| 5 | 8 | Ivan Provorov | D | Brandon (WHL) | 6-0/195 | 13-Jan-97 |
| 6 | 5 | Lawson Crouse | LW | Kingston (OHL) | 6-4/210 | 23-Jun-97 |
| 7 | 7 | Zach Werenski | D | Michigan (B1G) | 6-2/205 | 19-Jul-97 |
| 8 | 6 | Dylan Strome | C | Erie (OHL) | 6-3/190 | 7-May-97 |
| 9 | 9 | Pavel Zacha | C | Sarnia (OHL) | 6-3/210 | 6-Apr-97 |
| 10 | 12 | Mathew Barzal | C | Seattle (WHL) | 5-11/175 | 26-May-97 |
| 11 | 16 | Travis Konecny | C | Ottawa (OHL) | 5-10/175 | 11-Mar-97 |
| 12 | 11 | Mikko Rantanen | RW | TPS Turku (Fin) | 6-3/210 | 29-Oct-96 |
| 13 | 24 | Timo Meier | RW | Halifax (QMJHL) | 6-1/210 | 8-Oct-96 |
| 14 | 14 | Kyle Connor | C | Youngstown (USHL) | 6-1/185 | 9-Dec-96 |
| 15 | 20 | Thomas Chabot | D | Saint John (QMJHL) | 6-1/180 | 30-Jan-97 |
| 16 | 21 | Jakub Zboril | D | Saint John (QMJHL) | 6-1/185 | 21-Feb-97 |
| 17 | 10 | Nick Merkley | RW | Kelowna (WHL) | 5-11/190 | 23-May-97 |
| 18 | NR | Joel Ek Eriksson | C | Farjestads (Swe) | 6-2/180 | 29-Jan-97 |
| 19 | 18 | Colin White | C | NTDP (USA) | 6-0/185 | 30-Jan-97 |
| 20 | 19 | Paul Bittner | LW | Portland (WHL) | 6-4/210 | 4-Nov-96 |
| 21 | 25 | Brandon Carlo | D | Tri-City (WHL) | 6-5/200 | 26-Nov-96 |
| 22 | 13 | Jeremy Roy | D | Sherbrooke (QMJHL) | 6-0/190 | 14-May-97 |
| 23 | 15 | Evgeni Svechnikov | LW | Cape Breton (QMJHL) | 6-2/200 | 31-Oct-96 |
| 24 | 23 | Jake DeBrusk | LW | Swift Current (WHL) | 5-11/170 | 17-Oct-96 |
| 25 | 32 | Jacob Larsson | D | Frolunda (Swe) | 6-2/190 | 29-Apr-97 |
| 26 | 36 | Jonas Siegenthaler | D | ZSC Zurich (Sui) | 6-2/220 | 6-May-97 |
| 27 | 17 | Oliver Kylington | D | Farjestads (Swe) | 6-0/185 | 19-May-97 |
| 28 | 29 | Brock Boeser | RW | Waterloo (USHL) | 6-0/195 | 25-Feb-97 |
| 29 | NR | Ilya Samsonov | G | Magnitogorsk (Rus) | 6-3/200 | 22-Feb-97 |
| 30 | NR | Jack Roslovic | C | NTDP (USA) | 6-0/185 | 29-Jan-97 |