Name: Colin White
Position: Center
Shoots: Right
Height/Weight: 6’0, 183 lbs
Born: January 30, 1997, Hanover, MA
Central Scouting Rankings (Prelim/Mid/Final): ”A“/ 27th NA / 29th NA
Summary: White is a very good skater with good speed, but he is strong on his skates and difficult to knock off the puck. He has excellent balance and footwork; can start and stop and start again very quickly in either direction. White is what you would call a “tough out” when attempts are made to separate him from the puck, as he is very crafty and dangerous during board battles – he can whip a hard pass or elevate a soft pass off his backhand off a scrum. He is a very intelligent playmaker in the mold of Dylan Larkin in that he does not shy away from shooting and is rarely guilty of overpassing. He played on a line with fellow draft-eligible Jeremy Bracco, who is an outstanding playmaker from the wing. The Boston College-bound duo complimented each other offensively and Bracco’s artistry with the puck enabled White to showcase a very good shot and touch around the net. Defensively, he’s outstanding on faceoffs and has been a go-to guy in almost all of Team USA’s critical defensive-zone draws. White is very much an all-around athlete, but he thinks the game extremely well and can even get physical when the situation warrants it.

Name: Gabriel Gagne
Position: Right Wing
Height/Weight: 6’5, 186 lbs
Shoots: Right
Born: November 11, 1996, Laval, QC
Central Scouting Rankings (Prelim/Mid/Final): “B”/ 48th NA/ 36th NA
Summary: Jeff Carter-like size and reach, Gagne is a goal scorer who looks awkward when he’s in motion, but he gets to where he needs to go and protects the puck in the process. He has underrated offensive skills in that he can also make plays around the net and has a soft touch when moving the puck around the offensive zone. But make no mistake; this kid loves to clean up in front of the net and the bigger he gets, the tougher he’ll be to contain. Sure, that’s stating the obvious, but in an era where it’s almost impossible to beat goalies from a distance, you need guys like Gagne who not only know how to gather loose pucks near the blue paint, but also finish plays as well. He’ll be an even tougher out once he hits 200+ pounds.

Name: Filip Chlapik
Position: Center
Height/Weight: 6’1, 196 lbs
Shoots: Left
Born: June 3, 1997, Brno, CZE
Central Scouting Rankings (Prelim/Mid/Final): ”A“/ 17th NA / 18th NA
Summary: Chlapik is a versatile playmaking center who moves the puck quickly and with accuracy. He is a very good skater with good balance and lateral movement who can move and carry the puck extremely well. His strength, however, lies in his ability to identify where both he and the puck need to be. If the puck is headed up the ice, you can be certain Chlapik is going to position himself towards an area where he can either lend puck support or create a quality chance. His elusiveness is more by design than reactionary in that he can read plays very well and get into open spaces quickly. He is also a devastatingly accurate passer off the rush, and can thread the needle through a maze of sticks and bodies. While he could top out with a power center’s build, it’s not the kind of player he’ll develop into. A fearless and imposing presence he is not, and it makes you wonder how many scoring chances he didn’t create by simply not being engaged. Defensively, he’s solid and aware in his own end. He could stand to work on faceoffs (49% — 41st among centers) but he is sound enough positionally to where his lack of involvement in defensive zone mucking and grinding works as an advantage. In other words, he’d rather wait for the puck to come lose and do something with it rather than get bogged down in a board battle.

Name: Christian Wolanin
Position: Defenseman
Height/Weight: 6’2, 186 lbs
Shoots: Left
Born: March 17, 1995, Quebec City, QC
Central Scouting Rankings (Prelim/Mid/Final): NR/ NR/ NR
Summary: Hard not to consider this an odd pick when Wolanin is a double overager and likely available in later rounds or as an undrafted camp invite. And while the son of former NHL’er Craig Wolanin put together a dominant wire-to-wire season for a surprising Muskegon team who made it to the USHL championship, he’s still a bit raw in maintaining his discipline but makes heady decisions when the puck is on is stick. Wolanin, who’ll be heading to North Dakota this coming season, should be pegged as the four-year type who may very well turn out to be a good two-way defenseman with some offensive potential good enough for a bottom pairing and second power play unit.

Name: Filip Ahl
Position: Right Wing
Height/Weight: 6’3, 211 lbs
Shoots: Left
Born: June 12, 1997, Jonkoping, SWE
Central Scouting Rankings (Prelim/Mid/Final):  ”B“/ 8th Eur / 9th Eur
Summary: Another player we felt would go much higher in the second or third round but likely slipped because of concerns over his skating (which we don’t consider a concern). Ahl is, in many ways, the prototypical power forward. Mammoth size, ridiculous reach, physical and aggressive, and difficult to tactically defend against. Plus, he’s got an excellent shot and displays a real desire to achieve his team’s objectives. So what’s not to like? Anything negative in our view up runs into the category of cliche’d nitpicking. Ahl is a tremendous talent who can play either wing position. He moves extremely well with a long, smooth stride and is very strong on his skates, which can really cause matchup problems during board battles and foot races to a loose puck. Once he collects it, good luck getting it away from him. He can take a hit and still maintain possession, and when he does go to the net, he can be very effective at screening the goalie and positioning himself for deflections or rebounds. Overall, he’s a hustler-type who creates scoring opportunities more from his size and shot than with skill and vision. Defensively, he’s a reliable backchecker and his wingspan provides a wide radius for interdicting passes and shots. You’d like to see him battle more during defensive-zone scrums, but that will eventually come with time and the proper mentorship.

Name: Christian Jaros
Position: Defenseman
Height/Weight: 6’3, 201 lbs
Shoots: Right
Born: April 2, 1996, Kosice, Slovakia
Central Scouting Rankings (Prelim/Mid/Final):  NR/ 50th Eur / 40th Eur
Summary: A big contributor to Slovakia’s surprising bronze medal finish at the 2015 WJC’s, Jaros is an overage shutdown defender who has a pretty good shot and can skate well, but for now  he’s comfortable keeping it simple. It’s going to take some serious coaxing and coaching to get this kid to break out of his shell, but there’s nothing wrong with what he provides at the moment. He is a very strong positional defender and rarely gets caught out of position, which is critical when you take into consideration how hard a hitter he is. This pick makes far more sense than the Wolanin pick, but I guess you can credit the Sens for grabbing two tough defensemen who can be a real pain to play against.

Name: Joel Daccord
Position: Goaltender
Height/Weight: 6’2, 197 lbs
Catches: Left
Born: August 19, 1996, Boston, MA
Central Scouting Rankings (Prelim/Mid/Final):  NR/ 29th NA / 10th NA
Summary: Arizona State-bound butterfly netminder who is simply a big-time project for a variety of reasons. While Cushing has a history of churning out some notables, the level of competition he’ll face at ASU may hurt him confidence-wise when it comes time to face stronger Division I competition. However, you can point to Oilers goalie Cam Talbot and his experience at Alabama-Huntsville as reasons not to be concerned with Small School Syndrome. Daccord is very quick and agile for a kid his size (and growing), but he’s yet to hone the butterfly and battles with positioning a ton. Tracking and reads are understandably marginal, but he’s an athletic kid who the Sens obviously think highly of. Normally, stuff like that sounds hollow, but take into consideration their track record (patiently) developing some pretty good NHL goalies.