Center Tyler Seguin Surpasses Winger Taylor Hall as Top-Ranked North American Skater

by John Beattie on Wed, Apr 7, 2010 at 2:15PM

Throughout the 2009-10 season, the Ontario Hockey League’s Tyler Seguin and Taylor Hall have been battling for the title of the NHL Central Scouting Bureau’s top-ranked North American player for the 2010 NHL entry draft.

The hockey world found out on Wednesday that the Seguin of the Plymouth Whalers leaped Hall of the Windsor Spitfires in the rankings with less than a week to go until the NHL draft drawing on April 13.

How close was the race? Consider this: not only did they finish the OHL regular season tied for most points (106 apiece), but Seguin ranked third in the OHL with 48 goals, while Hall led the league with 66 assists. Additionally, the two future NHL stars are fighting for OHL playoff bragging rights as Hall’s Spitfires hold a 3-0 lead on Seguin’s Whalers in the best-of-seven series entering Game 4 Wednesday night.

Rounding out the top six North American skaters are:

No. 3: Left winger Brett Connolly (British Columbia) of the Western Hockey League’s Prince George Cougars.
No. 4: Defenseman Erik Gudbranson (Ontario) of the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs.
No. 5: Defenseman Cam Fowler (Northville, Michigan) OHL’s Windsor Spitfires.
No. 6: Defenseman Brandon Gormley (Prince Edward Island) of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Moncton Wildcats.

For the first time in its 46-year history, the NHL entry draft will be held in California. The Los Angeles Kings and STAPLES Center are set to host the two-day event on June 25-26 with Friday’s first round to air live on Versus at 7 p.m. ET. The NHL Network will carry Rounds 2-7 on Saturday, June 26, beginning at 1 p.m. ET.