The 2021 NHL Draft will run Friday night (Round 1) and Saturday morning (Rounds 2-7), held remotely. The 2021 draft class is a unique one, scouted during a year where the vast majority of viewings – mine included – were done remotely via video.

After many hours hemming, hawing, and shifting names around, here’s my final personal ranking for this year’s draft.

The logic behind my ranking is pretty simple: if I was drafting a team from scratch, with zero players on my roster whatsoever, this is who I would choose in what order. As such, I tend to skew towards so-called “high floor” players if all else fails, in the sense that at the very least I want players that can contribute. After floors, I look for ceiling and consistency.

Most years, I see all key WHL prospects in-person and supplement my rankings with live Hockey Canada events and video. Obviously, my live viewings didn’t happen this past season – thanks COVID-19 – so this list relies heavily on video. I also researched extensively and chatted with friends in the scouting community to get a feel for players I had fewer video viewings on.

This is, at the end of the day, my opinion based on the information I’ve had access to. As always, your mileage may vary.

The projected first round – 31 players, because Arizona forfeited their pick – is a pretty good mix of players, but not a great one. The first eight-or-so players are really good, but nobody’s a franchise-altering talent. The balance of the first round are pretty good players, though a lot of them have high-end sample size questions given the odd nature of the past season.

(This draft may set some sort of record for players who played in Slovenia’s AlpsHL or Sweden’s third-tier HockeyEttan in their draft year. Similarly, it might set a record for players chosen that played zero games in their draft year.)

The second round group is pretty good, though some players have question marks. Daniil Chayka (40) has been in the first round grouping on some rankings, but he didn’t do much at the World Juniors and I’ve heard some questions about his consistency. Logan Stankoven (39) could slide into the first round given his playing style – he plays big – but some share my quibbles about his size (he’s 5’8″) and how transferable his game is to the higher levels.

Scott Morrow (64) is kind of a polarizing player, perhaps even more than Chayka (40). Morrow’s been in the first round mix on some rankings, but I have concerns about his higher-end sample size – I get nervous about taking high school players too early. Marcus Almquist (71) is one of my favourite sleeper players; he’s great offensively but he’s small (strike one) and a good chunk of his season was played in Danish pro hockey (strike two), which could cause him to slide down many rankings. Sean Tschigerl (93) is another personal favourite, as he really blossomed for the Hitmen this season in a year where they desperately needed a player like him to step up.

Scouting pals rave about Joel Nystrom (109), as he’s an overage defender who really blossomed offensively. He could go earlier than I have him ranked. Kirill Gerasimyuk (105) had a rough Under-18s and there may be some sample size questions regarding him against higher-end talent, but he played well otherwise. Aku Koskenvuo (123) is another mid-to-late round goaltending option for teams that may be nervous about taking goalies early and doesn’t mind a project.