Last night Prince Albert secured a spot in the WHL Finals versus Everett, beating Medicine Hat 4 games to 2 to wrap up the Eastern Conference Championship. Top draft prospect Daxon Rudolph’s (5th-ranked North American skater) clutch performance in this series strengthened his status as perhaps the best d-man in this draft class. He registered 9 points (4G 5A) in 6 conference championship games, including 3 points (1G 2A) in last night’s series-clinching win versus the Tigers. Rudolph leads the WHL in playoff scoring with 23 points, and is third in both goals (9) and assists (14).
In NHL Central Scouting’s Final Rankings, Rudolph climbed one spot from his #6 position in the Mid-Terms with respect to North American skaters. However, in a draft filled with top d-men prospects, in these Rankings he still trails the OHL Soo’s Chase Reid (#2), WHL Prince George’s Carson Carels (#3), and NCAA North Dakota’s Keaton Verhoeff (#4) as the top North American. DEL Munchen’s Albert Smits (#2 International skater) also is considered as being among the top d-men draft prospects. Therefore, Rudolph’s performance in the WHL Finals will be closely scrutinized to determine his landing spot among these players.