Drumheller Dragon Ty Daneault keeps turning heads in hockey circles and this week was identified in the NHL Central Scouting Midterm rankings.
Before Christmas, Daneault, who has committed to Merrimack College in the NCAA for the coming season, was named to the Team Canada West Roster for the World Junior A Hockey Challenge. He played in six games and scored four goals and notched two assists in the international tournament.
This week, he was one of eight AJHL players to be identified in the NHL Rankings. The mid-season rankings feature the top 224 skaters and 32 goaltenders in North America as well as the top 130 skaters and 12 goaltenders internationally. Daneault made the cut with a 222 ranking.
There are currently 21 AJHL alumni on 2022-23 NHL team rosters. Cale Makar of the Brooks Bandits is the highest AJHL player to be selected in the draft, and was chosen fourth overall by the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the 2017 NHL Draft. A total of 98 players have been drafted directly from the Alberta Junior Hockey League since 1980.
The 2023 NHL Draft is scheduled from June 28-29 and will be hosted by the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.