NHL Draft Big Board 2016: Ranking Top 50 Prospects From All Positions

The 2016 NHL Draft is fast approaching.

The first round begins Friday, with rounds two through seven taking place Saturday. Beyond the top three picks — which likely will feature Auston Matthews, Patrik Laine and Jesse Puljujarvi in some order — it’s been difficult to predict which prospects will round out the top 10. This adds plenty of excitement to a week that’s already had a few big trades go down.

Jakob Chychrun was the top-rated defenseman prospect and ranked second in most mock drafts before the 2015-16 season, but he’s slid a bit to the bottom of the top 10 overall. We might go more than five picks without hearing a blueliner’s name called, and that hasn’t happened since 2003.

The top 15 is pretty forward-heavy, which is great news for teams lacking scoring depth throughout their organization. We could see 11 or 12 forwards taken in the top 15.

Here’s our top 50 NHL Draft Big Board for the 2016 class.

1. Auston Matthews, C, ZSC Lions (SWI)
2. Patrik Laine, RW, Tappara (FIN)
3. Jesse Puljujarvi, RW, Karpat (FIN)
4. Matthew Tkachuk, LW, London (OHL)
5. Pierre-Luc Dubois, C/LW, Cape Breton (QMJHL)
6. Alexander Nylander, RW/LW, Mississauga (OHL)
7. Jakob Chychrun, D, Sarnia (OHL)
8. Olli Juolevi, D, London (OHL)
9. Mikhail Sergachyov, D, Windsor (OHL)
10. Logan Brown, C/LW, Windsor (OHL)
11. Tyson Jost, C/RW, Penticton (BCHL)
12. Clayton Keller, LW, US-NTDP
13. Michael McLeod, C, Mississauga (OHL)
14. Jake Bean, D, Calgary (WHL)
15. Kieffer Bellows, C/LW, US-NTDP
16. Dante Fabbro, D, Penticton (BCHL)
17. Luke Kunin, C/RW, Wisconsin (NCAA)
18. Logan Stanley, D, Windsor (OHL)
19. Julien Gauthier, RW, Val-D’Or (QMJHL)
20. Charlie McAvoy, D, Boston University (NCAA)
21. Max Jones, LW, London (OHL)
22. Riley Tufte, LW, Fargo (USHL)
23. Boris Ktchouk, LW, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)
24. Alex DeBrincat, RW, Erie (OHL)
25. Kale Clague, D, Brandon (WHL)
26. German Rubtsov, C, Russia U-18
27. Tage Thompson, RW, Connecticut (NCAA)
28. Pascal Laberge, C, Victoriaville (QMJHL)
29. Markus Niemelainen, D, Saginaw (OHL)
30. Carl Grundstrom, LW, Modo Hockey (Sweden)
31. Samuel Girard, D, Shawinigan (QMJHL)
32. Filip Gustavsson, G, Lulea HF (SHL)
33. Dennis Cholowski, D, Chilliwack (BCHL)
34. Lucas Johansen, D, Kelowna (WHL)
35. Brett Howden, LW, Moose Jaw (WHL)
36. Cliff Pu, C, London (OHL)
37. Nathan Bastien, C, Mississauga (OHL)
38. Rasmus Asplund, C, Farjestad (SWE)
39. Cameron Morrison, LW, Youngstown (USHL)
40. Will Bitten, C, Flint (OHL)
41. Sam Steel, C, Regina (WHL)
42. Taylor Raddysh, RW, Erie (OHL)
43. Carter Hart, G, Everett (WHL)
44. Adam Mascherin, C, Kitchener (OHL)
45. Vitali Abramov, RW, Gatineau (QMJHL)
46. Ryan Lindgren, D, USA U-18 (USNTDP)
47. Dillon Dube, C, Kelowna (WHL)
48. Jacob Moverare, D, HV71 (SHL)
49. Victor Mete, D, London (OHL)
50. Libor Hajek, D, Saskatoon (WHL)