2013 ISS Draft Rankings: Status quo as Seth Jones leads unchanged top five

Photo: After sliding very slightly in the rankings the past couple of months, Halifax Mooseheads forward Nathan MacKinnon, shown here taking part in the 2013 CHL Top Prospects Game, has settled into the third slot in the ISS rankings (courtesy of Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images)

While the previous two months of International Scouting Services' 2013 NHL Draft rankings featured some significant change at the top of the ranks, the March edition instead looks a good bit like the February rankings.

For starters, the same 15 players that populated the top 15 slots in February remain in the top 15 this time around. In terms of the order of those 15 players, very little has changed from last month other than a handful of players flipping places. There is no change in the order of the top five players.

For the third consecutive month, Portland Winterhawks defenseman Seth Jones holds down the top spot in the ISS rankings. Sitting in second for the second consecutive month is Russian forward Valery Nichushkin. The two Halifax Mooseheads' forwards, Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin, hold the third and fourth slots while Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds' defender Darnell Nurse hangs onto the fifth position.

In the lower reaches of the top 30, Ryan Hartman, Anthony Mantha and Ian McCoshen moved into the first round grouping after being on the outside in February. Sliding into the 31-60 group were Adam Erne, Artturi Lehkonen and Keaton Thompson. Lehkonen suffered his second concussion of the season which, given his small size, may cause some concerns over his durability.

The same five goaltenders held the top spots in the rankings for that position, with the only change being a flip in positions for Tristan Jarry and Eric Comrie.

Although playoff competition could alter the rankings somewhat in April, the greatest change isn't likely to happen until the May rankings, after the 2013 U-18 World Junior Championship wrap up in late April.

Here, then, is the top 30 skaters for the 2013 NHL Draft as ranked by ISS.

The top five goaltenders for March according to ISS are the following: