Center Quinton Byfield (6-4, 215) of Sudbury is one of eight A rated players from the Ontario Hockey League: left wing William Cuylle (6-2, 204) and center Jean-Luc Foudy (5-11, 174) of Windsor, center Cole Perfetti (5-10, 177) of Saginaw, right wing Jacob Perreault (5-11, 200) of Sarnia, center Marco Rossi (5-9, 183) of Ottawa, left wing Antonio Strenges (5-10, 172) of London and defenseman Jamie Drysdale (5-11, 172) of Erie.
The Western Hockey League, who had seven players from the league taken in the first round of the 2019 NHL Draft, has four A rated players, right wing Justin Sourdif (5-11, 173) of Vancouver, and defensemen Kaiden Guhle (6-2, 188) of Prince Albert, Daemon Hunt (6-0, 198) of Moose Jaw and Braden Schneider (6-2, 202) of Brandon.
"There are a few North American prospects who are going to keep the field tight with Byfield, Perfetti, Drysdale, Lapierre, and Guhle leading the way," Marr said. "A preliminary glimpse of the 2020 draft indicates depth and a strong core of draft-eligible defensemen from all leagues. They're all skating, puck-moving, heads-up D-men who are expected to have impact seasons with their clubs."
Center Dylan Holloway (6-0, 192) of the University of Wisconsin is the only NCAA Division 1 player with an A rating. Holloway, a freshman from Calgary, is roommates with fellow freshman Alex Turcotte (Los Angeles Kings, 2019 NHL Draft, No. 5), who was one of a record eight players of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program Under-18 team chosen in the first round of the 2019 NHL Draft.
Center Ty Smilanic (6-1, 170) and defenseman Jake Sanderson (6-1, 186) of NTDP this season earned an A rating.
Among the seven A rated International players, left wing Lucas Raymond (5-11, 170) of Frolunda in the Swedish Hockey League, right wing Alexander Holtz (5-11, 192) of Djurgarden (SHL) and goalie Yaroslav Askarov (6-3, 176) of Neva St. Petersburg in Russia's minor league are the frontrunners.
Askarov could become the first goalie selected among the top five picks of the NHL draft since Carey Price was chosen No. 5 by the Montreal Canadiens in 2005. He has a 2.57 goals-against average and .903 save percentage in six games this season.
"There are a number of prospects who will look to challenge (Lafreniere) as the top prospect with Alexander Holtz and Lucas Raymond leading the way on the International stage," Marr said. "There is one goaltender (Askarov), who is well-known and highly respected. The sky is the limit when it comes to his potential and it wouldn't surprise me if his name is part of this conversation."
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