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News & Notes
NHL Central Scouting Midterm Rankings
On January 13th the NHL Central Scouting Service (NHL CSS) published their 2023 Draft Prospect Midterm Rankings. 3 players committed to the University of New Hampshire - Connor MacPherson (3/2/05), Ryan Conmy (10/23/04) and Ryan MacPherson (3/2/05) - were added to Central Scouting's pool of 2023 NHL prospects. Connor MacPherson's midterm rank is #134, his twin brother Ryan MacPherson is #223, and Ryan Conmy is #211.It's noteworthy that these players were not included on Central Scouting's 2023 NHL Draft Preliminary Players To Watch List released on October 22nd. Their outstanding performance since the 2022-23 season began has impressed the NHL scouting staff.
~ Connor MacPherson (DOB: 3/2/05), the 17-year-old, 6'0", 176 lbs., right-shot forward from Tecumseh, Ontario, has scored 20 goals, including 5 power play and 4 game-winning goals, and distributed 28 assists in 33 games with the Leamington Flyers. He's currently tied for 12th in Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League scoring. Here are a couple highlights from his last 2 seasons with Leamington:
Connor MacPherson sits at #134 on the 2022-23 North American Skaters Midterm Rankings. This Central Scouting list is divided into 7 rounds with 32 North American skater prospects per round. Connor MacPherson is near the top of the 5th Round (129-160).
Historically, the majority of prospects on the 5th-round list of North American skaters do not get drafted. For example, only 6 of 32 North American skaters ranked in the 5th Round on the 2021-22 North American Skaters Midterm Rankings were drafted by an NHL team in June, 2022. 1 in the 4th Round (100th overall), 2 in Round 5 (137th, 146th), 2 in Round 6 (177th, 193rd), and 1 in Round 7 (223rd). 26 North American skaters ranked in the 5th Round weren't selected in the 2022 NHL Draft.
One of the better scenarios for Connor MacPherson, and the UNH men's hockey program, would be to approximate former UNH star Angus Crookshank's career path. Coincidently, Crookshank ranked #139 on Central Scouting's 2017-18 Midterm Rankings for North American skaters and was drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the 5th Round (134th overall) of the 2018 NHL Draft. Across three seasons at UNH, Crookshank scored 35 goals, 28 assists in 90 games. He now plays for the Belleville Senators in the AHL. In 61 games, he's scored 18 goals and 21 assists.
~ Ryan Conmy (DOB: 10/23/04), the 18-year-old, 5'10", 188 lbs., right-shot forward from Alexandria, Virginia, has burst on the scene in his first season of junior hockey. He's scored 19 goals, including 6 power play and a game-winning goal, and 12 assists in 35 games with the Sioux City Musketeers. He's currently tied for 5th in United States Hockey League goal-scoring. Here are 3 of the goals Conmy scored in November, 2022:
Ryan Conmy is ranked #211 on the 2022-23 North American Skaters Midterm Rankings. Conmy is near the middle of the 7th Round (193-224) of the rankings.
Typically, only a few North American skaters ranked in the 7th Round of the midterm rankings get drafted. Last season, 4 of 32 North American skaters ranked in the 7th Round on the 2021-22 North American Skaters Midterm Rankings were drafted by an NHL team in June, 2022. 28 North American skaters ranked in the 7th Round were not chosen in the 2022 NHL Draft.
Interestingly, 3 of the 4, Round 7 North American prospects selected in the 2022 Draft have followed the NCAA Division I route. Cade Littler (Ranked #198; Drafted 7th Round, 219th overall) is a freshman at Minnesota State. Luke Devlin (Ranked #202; Drafted 6th Round, 182nd overall) plays for the West Kelowna Warriors (BCHL) and is committed to Cornell. Matthew Morden (Ranked #223; Drafted 5th Round, 131st overall) is a Harvard commit who plays for the Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL). Landon Sim (Ranked #213; Drafted 6th Round, 184th overall) plays for the London Knights in the Ontario Hockey League.
~ Ryan MacPherson (3/2/05), the 17-year-old twin brother of Connor, is a 6'0", 176 lbs., left-shot center from Tecumseh, Ontario. Ryan has scored 19 goals, including 3 power play and 4 game-winning goals, and added 29 assists in 38 Leamington Flyers' games. He's tied with Connor as the 12th leading scorer in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. Here are a couple highlights from his last 2 seasons with Leamington:
Occasionally, a North American prospect in Round 7 of Central Scouting's Midterm Rankings gets drafted by an NHL team and becomes a top player in Hockey East. A case in point is Gunnarwolfe Fontaine (9/16/00), a 5'8", 174 lbs., left-shot forward from East Greenwich, Rhode Island. Fontaine was ranked #212 on Central Scouting's 2019-20 North American Skaters Midterm Rankings. He was selected by the Nashville Predators in the 7th Round (202th overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft. Over the last 3 seasons, Fontaine has scored 21 goals, 41 assists in 84 games with Northeastern University.
To be included in the NHL Central Scouting Midterm Rankings is certainly an honor for a 17 or 18-year-old hockey player. Of course there is no way of knowing what the future holds for Ryan MacPherson, his brother Connor, or Ryan Conmy. But inclusion on NHL Central Scouting's Midterm Rankings is the first step in a potentially bright college hockey career.
2022-23 Statistics
| Player | NZ Stars** | Team | League | GP | Goals | Asst | Pts | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 Commits | |||||||||
| Brendan Fitzgerald* 3/6/03 (D) | 4.0 | Cedar Rapids RoughRiders | USHL | 20 | 2 | 15 | 17 | 55 | +7 |
| Nick Ring* 10/26/03 (F) | 3.75 | Sioux Falls Stampede | USHL | 36 | 9 | 22 | 31 | 12 | -7 |
| Jason Siedem 10/17/02 (F) | 3.75 | Blackfalds Bulldogs | AJHL | 46 | 16 | 36 | 52 | 18 | - |
| JP Turner* 1/31/03 (F) | 3.5 | Fargo Force | USHL | 35 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 16 | +6 |
| Ronan Walsh 5/3/02 (F) | 3.5 | Aberdeen Wings | NAHL | 37 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 69 | -6 |
| 2023 or '24 Commit | |||||||||
| Ryan Conmy* 10/23/04 (F) | 4.0 | Sioux City Musketeers | USHL | 35 | 19 | 12 | 31 | 4 | +8 |
| 2024 Commits | |||||||||
| Connor DeTurris 10/8/04 (F) | 3.75 | Janesville Jets | NAHL | 31 | 13 | 13 | 26 | 14 | +14 |
| Madison Capitols | USHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | ||
| Connor MacPherson* 3/2/05 (F) | 3.75 | Leamington Flyers | GOJHL | 33 | 20 | 28 | 48 | 27 | - |
| Ryan MacPherson* 3/2/05 (F) | 3.75 | Leamington Flyers | GOJHL | 38 | 19 | 29 | 48 | 16 | - |
| Ryan Philbrick* 6/20/04 (D) | 3.25 | Cushing Academy | NE Prep | 19 | 1 | 15 | 16 | - | - |
| Josh Player* 5/13/05 (D) | 3.5 | Green Bay Gamblers | USHL | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Bishop Kearney 18U | 18U AAA | 32 | 8 | 21 | 29 | 0 | - | ||
| NEPACK 18U | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | - | |||
| Luca Primerano 3/17/05 (F) | 3.75 | Prince George Spruce Kings | BCHL | 33 | 6 | 18 | 24 | 4 | - |
| 2024 or '25 Commit | |||||||||
| Conner de Haro 10/17/05 (D) | 3.75 | Janesville Jets | NAHL | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Youngstown Phantoms | USHL | 24 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 14 | +6 | ||
| Jack Sadowski 7/29/06 (F) | 3.75 | Kimball Union Academy | NE Prep | 20 | 14 | 11 | 25 | - | - |
| Islanders Hockey Club 18U Prep | EHF | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2025 Commits | |||||||||
| Price Grimes 1/28/06 (D) | 3.75 | Sioux Falls Power 16U | 16 AAA | 27 | 3 | 9 | 12 | - | - |
| T1EHL | 15 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 29 | - | |||
| Niko Tournas 2/17/06 (F) | 3.75 | New Jersey Rockets 16U | THF 16U | 10 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 2 | - |
| NEPACK 16U | 11 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 0 | - | |||
| * = Signed National Letter of Intent | |||||||||
| ** = Neutral Zone 5-Star Rating | |||||||||
The statistics for the commits, presented in the above table, are categorized by the projected year they will enroll in UNH. For example, the "2023 Commits" are projected to begin playing for UNH in the Fall of 2023. I have based these projections on the following factors:
~ Number of UNH players leaving the team at the end of the previous season and the position they played.
~ Number of incoming transfer players and the position they play.
~ If a National Letter of Intent has been signed.
~ The year the commit and UNH coaches originally targeted for enrollment in UNH.
~ How old the commit would be upon admission.
~ Number of years in junior hockey prior to admission.
~ The commit's performance in recent seasons as well as injuries.
~ Anticipated date of high school graduation.
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