Jones, MacKinnon highlight NHL Central Scouting ’13 Draft rankings

On Tuesday, the NHL’s Central Scouting Services unveiled its list of the top prospects of the 2013 Entry Draft and, to nobody’s surprise, Nathan MacKinnon and Seth Jones are at the top.

MacKinnon — a high-scoring center from the Halifax Mooseheads — is the top-ranked skater from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League while Jones, a physically-imposing defenseman from the Portland Winterhawks, is the No. 1 skater from the Western League.

It’s widely believed one of the two will go first overall when the 2013 draft takes place in Newark, N.J. on June 28.

Other noteworthy rankings from the CSS preliminary list:

– Ottawa’s Sean Monahan was the top-rated skater from the OHL.

“His production probably would be quite a bit more if he had somebody who could finish for him,” Central Scouting’s Chris Edwards told NHL.com. “He gets pucks through traffic, has real good hands, real good play-making ability. He’s got an excellent shot, gets it off real quick and gets himself involved in battles for pucks. He’s used in every situation, double- and triple-shifted at times.”

– JT Compher of the US U-18 team is the top-rated skater from the USHL. Compher is slated to play at the University of Michigan next fall, but has missed his last 15 USHL games with an undisclosed injury.

– Aleksander Barkov Jr. is the top-rated Finnish skater and arguably the top European prospect heading into the draft.

“He’s smart, cool, effective and creative,” Director of European Scouting Goran Stubb told NHL.com. “He’s a two-way strength, who sees the ice very well. His father was a great player, who played in Russia and then spent 10 years with Tappara. Aleksander Jr. plays the same style as his dad did.”

– Elias Lindholm is the No. 1 Swedish skater while Valeri Nichushkin, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound winger, is the No. 1 Russian skater.

Lindholm has drawn rave reviews by scoring 14 points in 22 Swedish Elite League games this year, while some are saying Nichushkin could be an Evgeni Malkin prototype given his combination of size and skill.