KANATA, ONTARIO – JANUARY 2: Canada’s Gavin McKenna #9 shoots the puck during warm-up prior to Quarterfinal Round action against Czechia at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship at Canadian Tire Centre on January 2, 2025 in Kanata, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Andr Ringuette/IIHF)
It is time for the first ranking of the season for McKeen’s Hockey; this is our preliminary Top 32 with a few honorable mentions.
Gavin McKenna occupies the top spot after a strong start with Penn State. He’s the top scoring freshman in the NCAA, with his creativity and skill translating rather seamlessly to the college level thus far. That said, we’d be lying if we didn’t have concerns over the lack of development in his overall game, in combination with his smaller frame. Does that leave the door open for someone later this season to emerge as a first overall candidate?
The way we see it, the next grouping has a tier of four players, all who could be equally as effective as pros in comparison to McKenna. Keaton Verhoeff has had an equally strong start in the NCAA, producing offensively for North Dakota and playing big minutes on the back end. Ivar Stenberg has been producing at a clip historically similar to other Swedish stars in the SHL. Ethan Belchetz is a potential unicorn with a size and skill package that all NHL teams crave. Lastly Tynan Lawrence is an intelligent and mature two-way center who projects as an NHL captain who can play in any situation. All four are drastically different players, but who have separated themselves from the pack in a second tier close behind McKenna.
Six intriguing defenders are part of the next grouping, all positioning themselves to be in contention to be the second-best defender behind Verhoeff. Xavier Villeneuve, Chase Reid, Daxon Rudolph, and Ryan Lin are all offensive standouts with varying levels of defensive ability. While Albert Smits and Carson Carels are more two-way defenders who project as minute eaters. Smits, in particular, is quickly becoming a staff favourite at McKeen’s. The Latvian defender’s rapid progression into a Liiga (Finland) standout has him rocketing up draft boards.
Another interesting name worth discussing is Oscar Hemming, who has yet to play this season due to a contract dispute with his Finnish club. His transfer to the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL was blocked. His signing with the BCHL was voided thanks to IIHF suspension threats. He is now apparently looking at other options like the NCAA as he awaits closure involving his court case in Finland over the dispute. Hemming was outstanding as a power winger at the summer’s Hlinka/Gretzky, so it’s a real shame that his development has been halted. Hopefully he can get back on the ice soon. As of now, we felt his upside was too significant to leave off this list despite the unique circumstances.
You can expect our next list after the World Junior Championships, where we will expand our ranking to a Top 64.
RANK
PLAYER
POS
TEAM
HT/WT
DOB
GP
G
A
PTS
PIM
1
Gavin McKenna
LW
Penn State (NCAA)
5-11/170
20-Dec-07
14
4
11
15
4
2
Keaton Verhoeff
D
North Dakota (NCAA)
6-4/210
19-Jun-08
12
4
4
8
4
3
Ivar Stenberg
LW
Frolunda (SHL)
5-11/185
30-Sep-07
19
4
11
15
0
4
Ethan Belchetz
LW
Windsor (OHL)
6-5/225
30-Mar-08
21
16
11
27
20
5
Tynan Lawrence
C
Muskegon (USHL)
6-0/185
3-Aug-08
2
1
1
2
4
6
Xavier Villeneuve
D
Blainville-Boisbriand (QMJHL)
5-11/160
29-Sep-07
21
5
20
25
25
7
Chase Reid
D
Soo Greyhounds (OHL)
6-2/185
30-Dec-07
24
9
18
27
20
8
Alberts Smits
D
Jukurit (Fin-Liiga)
6-3/205
2-Dec-07
21
6
5
11
10
9
Mathis Preston
RW
Spokane (WHL)
5-11/175
21-Jul-08
19
8
9
17
16
10
Daxon Rudolph
D
Prince Albert (WHL)
6-2/205
6-Mar-08
20
6
10
16
16
11
Ryan Lin
D
Vancouver (WHL)
5-11/175
18-Apr-08
21
3
21
24
14
12
Viggo Bjorck
C
Djurgardens (SHL)
5-9/175
12-Mar-08
17
2
4
6
4
13
Elton Hermansson
RW
MoDo Hockey (Allsvenskan)
6-1/180
5-Feb-08
10
4
3
7
10
14
Carson Carels
D
Prince George (WHL)
6-2/195
23-Jun-08
21
5
16
21
18
15
Ryan Roobroeck
C
Niagara (OHL)
6-3/215
25-Sep-07
20
11
10
21
10
16
Adam Novotny
LW
Peterborough (OHL)
6-1/205
13-Nov-07
21
11
10
21
4
17
Oliver Suvanto
C
Tappara (Fin-Liiga)
6-3/210
3-Sep-08
22
2
3
5
10
18
Nikita Klepov
RW
Saginaw (OHL)
6-0/180
27-Jun-08
22
14
18
32
12
19
Malte Gustafsson
D
HV 71 (Swe J20)
6-4/200
11-Jun-08
13
3
6
9
12
20
Giorgos Pantelas
D
Brandon (WHL)
6-2/215
24-Apr-08
20
2
13
15
18
21
Brooks Rogowski
C
Oshawa (OHL)
6-6/225
28-Jun-08
19
5
10
15
6
22
Caleb Malhotra
C
Brantford (OHL)
6-0/170
2-Jun-08
21
8
17
25
16
23
William Hakansson
D
Lulea (SHL)
6-4/205
8-Oct-07
20
0
2
2
8
24
JP Hurlbert
LW
Kamloops (WHL)
6-0/185
11-Apr-08
23
16
24
40
10
25
Juho Piiparinen
D
Tappara (Fin-Liiga)
6-2/200
10-Aug-08
18
0
2
2
4
26
Egor Shilov
C
Victoriaville (QMJHL)
6-1/180
30-Apr-08
21
11
20
31
12
27
Oscar Hemming
LW
Sherwood Park (AJHL)
6-4/195
13-Aug-08
–
–
–
–
–
28
Ilia Morozov
C
Miami (NCAA)
6-3/195
3-Aug-08
10
6
5
11
21
29
Beckham Edwards
C
Sarnia (OHL)
6-1/180
6-Jan-08
21
9
10
19
8
30
Jack Hextall
C
Youngstown (USHL)
6-0/190
23-Mar-08
19
6
9
15
8
31
Marcus Nordmark
LW
Djurgardens (Swe J20)
6-1/180
4-May-08
14
7
16
23
36
32
Tomas Chrenko
C
HK Nitra (Slovakia)
5-11/170
2-Nov-07
19
3
10
13
2
HM
Adam Valentini
LW
Michigan (NCAA)
5-11/185
11-Apr-08
14
4
9
13
14
HM
Luke Schairer
D
USN U18 (USDP)
6-3/195
30-Jan-08
20
0
5
5
39
HM
Jaxon Cover
LW
London (OHL)
6-2/175
13-Feb-08
20
5
11
16
16
HM
Olivers Murnieks
C
Saint John (QMJHL)
6-1/190
31-Jul-08
18
2
9
11
10
HM
Alexander Command
C
Orebro (Swe J20)
6-1/185
16-Jun-08
14
11
11
22
12
HM
Vilho Vanhatalo
RW
Tappara (Fin-U20)
6-4/195
18-Jan-08
19
9
6
15
6
HM
Yaroslav Fedoseyev
D
Traktor Chelyabinsk (KHL)
6-1/180
5-Nov-07
6
1
0
1
2
