Nurse ranked by NHL Central Scouting

NHL Central Scouting released its preliminary ranking of draft eligible players on Tuesday and Soo Greyhounds defenceman Darnell Nurse was among the top rated Ontario Hockey League players.

Nurse was ranked second behind Ottawa 67’s forward Sean Monahan in the OHL rankings.

Nurse currently has four goals and 17 points in 23 games and had taken on a bigger role in recent weeks after injuries left Ryan Sproul and Colin Miller and a suspension to Chris Buonomo left the trio out of the lineup for extended period.

There is also another Sault Ste. Marie tie in the rankings as Sault native Jake Patterson, who is currently with the London Knights, was ranked fifth among OHL goaltenders eligible for the draft.

In the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Halifax forward Nathan MacKinnon was the top ranked player while defenceman Seth Jones of the Portland Winterhawks topped the Western Hockey League rankings. MacKinnon and Jones have been widely considered the top two players available for the NHL Entry draft.