Photo: Ottawa 67's forward Sean Monahan has been a bright spot in what has otherwise been a tough season for the 67's franchise (courtesy of Terry Wilson/OHL Images)
It isn't a major surprise that 2013 NHL Draft prospects Nathan MacKinnon and Seth Jones have been named captains of the two squads of draft hopefuls taking part in the 2013 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game. The two players hold the #1 and #2 positions in the December rankings released by International Scouting Services, as they have for each of the rankings reports released this season by ISS.
The top five in this month's rankings remain unchanged from last month, with just one new addition in the bottom half of the top 10. Big Russian center Valeri Nichushkin moved back among the top 10 prospects for the first time this season after having been ranked among the top five prospects in ISS's final 2013 prospect rankings from last season.
In addition to providing the ISS top 30 skaters, we'll also be showing the top five goaltenders as ranked by this scouting service this month and going forward.
Here, then, is the ISS top 30 skaters for the 2013 NHL Draft for the month of December.
%
| Name | Position | Birthdate | Shot | H | W | Team | League | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nathan MacKinnon | C | 09/01/95 | R | 6.00 | 182 | Halifax | QMJHL |
| 2 | Seth Jones | D | 10/03/94 | R | 6.03.5 | 208 | Portland | WHL |
| 3 | Aleksander Barkov | F | 09/02/95 | L | 6.02 | 205 | Tappara | FinE |
| 4 | Jonathan Drouin | LW | 03/27/95 | L | 5.10.75 | 185 | Halifax | QMJHL |
| 5 | Sean Monahan | C | 10/12/94 | L | 6.02 | 186 | Ottawa | OHL |
| 6 | Elias Lindholm | C | 12/02/94 | R | 5.11.75 | 181 | Brynas | SweE |
| 7 | Valeri Nichushkin | C | 03/04/95 | L | 6.04 | 196 | Chelyabinsk | RusS |
| 8 | Hunter Shinkaruk | LW | 10/13/94 | L | 5.11 | 175 | Medicine Hat | WHL |
| 9 | Darnell Nurse | D | 02/04/95 | L | 6.03.5 | 189 | S.S. Marie | OHL |
| 10 | Rasmus Ristolainen | D | 10/27/94 | R | 6.04 | 207 | TPS Turku | FinE |
| 11 | Nikita Zadorov | D | 04/15/95 | L | 6.05.25 | 230 | London | OHL |
| 12 | Curtis Lazar | C | 02/02/95 | R | 5.11.75 | 193 | Edmonton | WHL |
| 13 | Ryan Pulock | D | 10/06/94 | R | 6.00.5 | 211 | Brandon | WHL |
| 14 | Andre Burakowsky | LW | 02/09/95 | L | 6.01 | 176 | Malmo | SweAl |
| 15 | Jason Dickinson | LW | 07/04/95 | L | 6.01.25 | 179 | Guelph | OHL |
| 16 | Steve Santini | D | 03/07/95 |
