• PROSPECT-UPDATE ARCHIVE
Wednesday was an off-day at the World Under-18 Hockey Championship in Russia, so there was very little action involving draft prospects. Fortunately, there was one top performance in the WHL that couldn't be ignored. You can read about it below.
The World Under-18 medal round is now under way with quarterfinal matchups on Thursday, semifinals on Saturday, and the medal games on Sunday. Hard to say who's going to win it all, but Sweden has been looking very good. In fact, expect to see a lot of Swedes drafted this year. In 2017, a record 32 Swedes were drafted. The final 2018 number should be close to that.
Finally, why does Central Scouting even bother with its midterm International rankings? Take a look at this year's final rankings, and notice how many midterm guys missed the cut. Not only that, but how did some of these higher-ranked Europeans totally miss out on the midterm rankings? With so little consistency between the two lists, you have to wonder if the scouts don't pay enough attention to Europe in the first half of the season. Just a thought as we turn to Wednesday's top performer:
CALEN ADDISON -- At the end of the regular season, this Lethbridge defenseman was looking like a lock to be taken in the second round. Given his playoff performance, he might actually be worth a late first-round pick despite being only 5-foot-10. Addison continued to prove himself in the postseason with two power-play goals in the Hurricanes' 5-2 win over Swift Current in Game 4 of their WHL semifinal series. The game's No. 1 star scored at 18:32 of the second period to stretch the lead to 4-1 and closed out the scoring at 6:57 of the third. He is now the league's leading playoff scorer among defensemen with six goals and 18 points in 14 playoff games. That includes six multi-point games and two No. 1 star selections. In addition, his big night pulled Lethbridge into a 2-2 series tie. (Note: Eighth appearance on this list in 2017-18)