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2011 NHL Central Scouitng Preliminary November Rankings

The NHL released their preliminary rankings for players playing Tier I junior hockey, which includes the three Canadian Hockey League leagues and the USHL. They also released a watch list for draft eligible NCAA players. You can view it here.

From the college ranks, Michigan's Phil DiGiuseppe and Wisconsin's Jake McCabe were both rated as 'A' prospects. PDG has played his way into being a late first round pick, so his inclusion is no surprise. McCabe is closer to the 2nd-3rd round range, though these preliminary letter grades tend to err towards the generous. Notre Dame's Austin Wuthrich, who missed a lot of time last year due to injury, and Wisconsin's Brendan Woods get 'B' ratings, while St. Cloud defenseman Jarrod Rabey earned a 'C' rating.

I can't see too many surprises in the USHL list. Both AJ Michaelson and Cliff Watson have struggled a bit in their transition from high school hockey to the USHL and have fallen significantly from the beginning of the year. It's a little tough to see where everyone fits in when there isn't the context of how they rank compared to the other leagues.