Wheat Kings forward Nolan Patrick named top draft-eligible skater for 2017 Draft

NEW YORK — Brandon Wheat Kings forward Nolan Patrick was named the top North American draft-eligible skater for the 2017 Draft by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau on Wednesday.

He has 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in eight games this season. Patrick has missed most of the campaign due to an upper-body injury.

Patrick was named MVP of the Western Hockey League playoffs last year after helping Brandon win its first championship in 20 years. The Winnipeg native could be the first WHL player drafted No. 1 overall since Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was selected first by the Edmonton Oilers in 2011.

Swiss centre Nico Hischier of the Halifax Mooseheads was ranked second on the mid-season list while Russian forward Klim Kostin of Dynamo Moscow and Sweden’s Elias Pettersson of Timra held the top two spots among international skaters.

American netminder Keith Petruzzelli of the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks is the top-ranked North American goaltender while Finland’s Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen of HPK’s junior team topped the list of international netminders.

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The Canadian Press