A Saskatoon product is the highest-ranked W-H-Ler amongst North American skaters in the N-H-L Central Scouting Bureau’s mid-term rankings.
Brandon centre Roger McQueen is rated fifth amongst those eligible to be selected in the Entry Draft this coming summer. Among 65 other W-H-L players listed Tuesday are a pair of Saskatoon Blades skaters – left winger David Lewandowski (pictured) in 52nd spot and defenceman Jack Kachkowski in the 224th spot. Other W-H-L players with local connections on the list include Macklin product and Victoria centre Cole Reschny in 34th spot, Meadow Lake’s Dawson Gerwing – a left winger with Kelowna in 135th spot, at 174th is former Blades – now Prince George – centre Ben Riche of Bethune, Lloydminster product and Vancouver defenceman Mazden Leslie is ranked 196th while Prince Albert native and Victoria goaltender Jayden Kraus is ranked 11th amongst North American puck stoppers. Following is a news release from the W-H-L…..
SIXTY-SIX WHL PLAYERS NAMED TO 2025 NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING MIDTERM RANKINGS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE / TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2025
Calgary, Alta. – Sixty-six Western Hockey League players have been listed by NHL Central Scouting in the agency’s Midterm Rankings ahead of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft.
The latest rankings were released on Tuesday morning.
Six WHL skaters were ranked in the top 20 among North American skaters, including Roger McQueen (Brandon Wheat Kings), Radim Mrtka (Seattle Thunderbirds), Jackson Smith (Tri-City Americans), Carter Bear (Everett Silvertips), 2024 WHL Champion Lynden Lakovic (Moose Jaw Warriors) and Benjamin Kindel (Calgary Hitmen).
Prince George Cougars standout Joshua Ravensbergen has been ranked the top North American goaltender, while Ondrej Stebetak (Portland Winterhawks) is sixth.
Recent WHL signees Dominik Pavlik (Moose Jaw Warriors) and Max Psenicka (Portland Winterhawks) are listed among the top International Skaters ahead of their WHL debuts.
Twenty WHL clubs are represented in the Midterm Rankings. The Kelowna Rockets, Moose Jaw Warriors and Red Deer Rebels lead the pack with five ranked players each, while the Brandon Wheat Kings, Portland Winterhawks, Prince George Cougars, Swift Current Broncos, Tri-City Americans and Vancouver Giants all have four. Six WHL teams have three players ranked- the Calgary Hitmen, Edmonton Oil Kings, Everett Silvertips, Medicine Hat Tigers, Seattle Thunderbirds and the Spokane Chiefs.
The list includes 11 WHL players invited to compete at the first-ever CHL USA Prospects Challenge presented by Kubota Canada (Roger McQueen was invited but unable to participate due to injury). Lakovic and Cameron Schmidt (Vancouver Giants) each scored a goal and an assist in the two-game series, which the CHL swept. Cole Reschny (Victoria Royals) scored the game-winner in Game 2 and Kindel and Ravensbergen added an assist each at the event.
A total of 38 WHL forwards are listed, in addition to 21 defencemen and seven goaltenders.
Across the Canadian Hockey League, 174 players are listed, narrowly led by the Ontario Hockey League with 67, the WHL with 66 and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League with 41.
2024-25 NHL Central Scouting Midterm Rankings- WHL Skaters
| Rank | Last Name | First Name | Hometown | Team | H | W | Position |
| 5 | McQueen | Roger | Saskatoon, Sask. | Brandon | 6’5.25 | 197 | C |
| 6 | Mrtka | Radim | Havlickuv, Cze. | Seattle | 6’5.75 | 207 | D |
| 9 | Smith | Jackson | Calgary, Alta. | Tri-City | 6’3.25 | 195 | D |
| 11 | Bear | Carter | West St. Paul, Man. | Everett | 6’0 | 179 | LW |
| 12 | Lakovic | Lynden | West Kelowna, B.C. | Moose Jaw | 6’4.25 | 190 | LW |
| 20 | Kindel | Benjamin | Coquitlam, B.C. | Calgary | 5’10 | 176 | C |
| 21 | Cootes | Braeden | Sherwood Park, Alta. | Seattle | 5’11.25 | 183 | C |
| 24 | Fiddler | Blake | Frisco, Tex. | Edmonton | 6’4 | 209 | D |
| 26 | Kettles | Peyton | Winnipeg, Man. | Swift Current | 6’5.25 | 190 | D |
| 30 | Schmidt | Cameron | Prince George, B.C. | Vancouver | 5’7.25 | 161 | RW |
| 31 | Behm | Nathan | Calgary, Alta. | Kamloops | 6’1.5 | 192 | RW |
| 34 | Reschny | Cole | Macklin, Sask. | Victoria | 5’10.5 | 183 | C |
| 42 | Gard | Matthew | Winnipeg, Man. | Red Deer | 6’4.75 | 192 | C |
| 48 | Paupanekis | Hayden | Winnipeg, Man. | Kelowna | 6’4.25 | 196 | C |
| 52 | Lewandowski | David | Dusseldorf, Ger. | Saskatoon | 6’1.25 | 177 | LW |
| 65 | Sharpe | Will | Ladner, B.C. | Kelowna | 6’0 | 195 | D |
| 69 | Martin | Owen | Oakbank, Man. | Spokane | 5’11.75 | 185 | C |
| 70 | Lajoie | Jett | Winnipeg, Man. | Prince George | 5’11.5 | 178 | RW |
| 72 | Mistelbacher | Luke | Steinbach, Man. | Swift Current | 5’11.75 | 196 | RW |
| 73 | Pickford | Bryce | Chauvin, Alta. | Medicine Hat | 6’0.25 | 183 | D |
| 74 | Hamilton | Reese | Whitewood, Sask. | Regina | 6’0 | 172 | D |
| 81 | Gorzynski | Brandon | Scottsdale, Ariz. | Calgary | 6’1.5 | 185 | C |
| 86 | Lafreniere | Tommy | Hornby Island, B.C. | Kamloops | 5’11 | 172 | RW |
| 101 | McCann | Kadon | Cochrane, Alta. | Medicine Hat | 6’3 | 200 | C |
| 109 | Vlooswyk | Luke | Calgary, Alta. | Red Deer | 6’4.5 | 200 | D |
| 111 | McGregor | Josh | Brandon, Man. | Swift Current | 6’1.25 | 170 | D |
| 118 | Miller | Ryan | Medicine Hat, Alta. | Portland | 5’11.75 | 177 | C |
| 119 | Sawchyn | Lukas | Grande Prairie, Alta. | Edmonton | 5’9.75 | 168 | LW |
| 121 | Klippenstein | Carter | Lethbridge, Alta. | Brandon | 6’2.5 | 180 | C |
| 122 | Garland | Gavin | Calgary, Alta. | Tri-City | 5’9.5 | 183 | RW |
| 123 | Gavin | Jordan | Surrey, B.C. | Brandon | 5’11 | 187 | LW |
| 125 | Sarkenov | Asanali | Astana, Kaz. | Spokane | 6’3.5 | 203 | RW |
| 130 | Burzynski | Grayson | Winnipeg, Man. | Swift Current | 6’3.5 | 212 | D |
| 131 | Schoettler | Owen | Edmonton, Alta. | Spokane | 6’0 | 181 | D |
| 134 | Foster | Aiden | Lloydminster, Alta. | Prince George | 6’2 | 182 | C |
| 135 | Gerwing | Dawson | Meadow Lake, Sask. | Kelowna | 6’3 | 225 | LW |
| 142 | Bridgeman | Kolten | Regina, Sask. | Regina | 6’4 | 216 | D |
| 143 | Degenstein | Noah | Airdrie, Alta. | Moose Jaw | 6’3.75 | 206 | C |
| 144 | Mayes | Sawyer | Salmon Arm, B.C. | Seattle | 6’4 | 188 | C |
| 146 | Baumuller | Joby | Wilcox, Sask. | Brandon | 5’11.25 | 188 | RW |
| 147 | Woo | Jonas | Winnipeg, Man. | Medicine Hat | 5’8.75 | 165 | D |
| 150 | Obobaifo | Aaron | Calgary, Alta. | Vancouver | 5’9.5 | 183 | LW |
| 160 | Koch | Cassius | Calgary, Alta. | Tri-City | 5’11.25 | 197 | LW |
| 163 | MacKenzie | Ethan | Peachland, B.C. | Edmonton | 6’0 | 174 | D |
| 169 | Busch | Shea | North Vancouver, B.C. | Everett | 6’1.75 | 208 | LW |
| 170 | Fuder | Jaxon | Cold Lake, Alta. | Red Deer | 6’0 | 166 | C |
| 173 | Temple | Cole | Brandon, Man. | Everett | 5’9.25 | 166 | C |
| 174 | Riche | Ben | Bethune, Sask. | Prince George | 5’9.5 | 179 | C |
| 191 | Buttazzoni | Diego | Langley, B.C. | Portland | 5’9 | 183 | LW |
| 192 | Thurston | Derek | Delta, B.C. | Red Deer | 6’0.75 | 190 | D |
| 195 | Coupland | Ty | North Vancouver, B.C. | Red Deer | 5’10.25 | 165 | C |
| 196 | Leslie | Mazden | Lloydminster, Alta. | Vancouver | 6’0.25 | 200 | D |
| 206 | Schmidt | Connor | Sturgeon County, Alta. | Moose Jaw | 5’11.25 | 180 | D |
| 214 | Gudelj | Jake | Vancouver, B.C. | Tri-City | 6’1.75 | 198 | C |
| 221 | Ziprick | Aiden | Russell, Man. | Moose Jaw | 6’0.5 | 190 | D |
| 223 | Corbet | Nate | Calgary, Alta. | Kelowna | 6’1 | 171 | D |
| 224 | Kachkowski | Jack | St. Albert, Alta. | Saskatoon | 5’11.75 | 176 | D |
2024-25 NHL Central Scouting Midterm Rankings – International Skaters
| Rank | Last Name | First Name | Hometown | Team | H | W | Position |
| 8 | Psenicka | Max | Prague, Cze. | Portland | 6’4 | 176 | D |
| 60 | Pavlik | Dominik | Trutnov, Cze. | Moose Jaw | 6’0.75 | 197 | C |
2024-25 NHL Central Scouting Midterm Rankings – WHL Goaltenders
| Rank | Last Name | First Name | Hometown | Team | H | W | Position |
| 1 | Ravensbergen | Joshua | North Vancouver, B.C. | Prince George | 6’5.25 | 190 | G |
| 6 | Stebetak | Ondrej | Jihlava, Cze. | Portland | 6’1.5 | 173 | G |
| 11 | Kraus | Jayden | Prince Albert, Sask. | Victoria | 6’1.5 | 201 | G |
| 16 | Cleaver | Koen | Port Alberni, B.C. | Lethbridge | 6’1.5 | 188 | G |
| 19 | Miller | Anders | Anchorage, Alaska | Calgary | 6’2 | 190 | G |
| 23 | Pilon | Jake | Calgary, Alta. | Kelowna | 6’4.25 | 210 | G |
| 25 | Hood | Burke | Brandon, Man. | Vancouver | 6’2.75 | 197 | G |