BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — NHL Central Scouting released on Tuesday its final rankings for the 2017 NHL Draft, a list that included current Bloomington Thunder forward Vlad Dzhioshvili and three future Thunder players.

Thunder affiliate Nick Leivermann was the highest ranked of the four, checking in at No. 119, while affiliate Skyler Brind’Amour was ranked No. 157, Dzhioshvili was ranked at No. 196, and affiliate Bram Scheerer was ranked just outside the top 200.

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Dzhioshvili, who had not been listed in NHL CSS’s Midterm Rankings, played his way into the NHL Draft projections with a breakout second full season with the Thunder. After tallying 21 points in his first full year with Bloomington last season, the University of Vermont commit doubled his point total and led Bloomington with his 19 goals and 42 points during the 2016-17 regular season. 

A native of Moscow, Russia, Dzhioshvili was named to the USHL/NHL Top Prospects game last season. That contest is reserved for the USHL’s top draft-eligible players, and Dzhioshvili recorded an assist in the game.

After finishing his season with Eden Prairie High School (MN) in early March, Leivermann joined the Thunder for the season’s final month and played in eight games. With his final draft ranking, the 5-foot-10, 180-pound defenseman could potentially be selected in the late third round, which would make him the highest drafted player in Thunder history. A University of Notre Dame commit, Leivermann scored his first career USHL goal on March 18 against Lincoln. He was named a finalist for the Minnesota Mr. Hockey award after posting 34 points for Eden Prairie this past season.

Brind’Amour jumped almost 50 spots in the final rankings after he was listed at No. 202 in the midterm rankings. A Michigan State commit, Brind’Amour was called up to Team USA’s Under-17 team this season and played eight games for the National Team Development Program, including six in the month of March. The son of former Carolina Hurricanes captain Rob Brind’Amour, he coincidentally scored his first career goal against Bloomington on March 24.

Scheerer, a native of Edina, Minnesota, has received attention for the NHL Draft throughout this season and was ranked No. 184 on the midterm list. A Colorado College commit, Scheerer posted 15 goals and 36 points for Edina High School (MN) this past season. Selected in the eighth round of the 2015 USHL Phase II Draft, Scheerer averaged almost a point per game in his three-year high school career, posting 75 points in 74 games.

Bloomington had its first two NHL draft picks in team history during the 2016 NHL Draft. Current Thunder forward Mitchell Mattson was selected in the fifth round by the Calgary Flames and former defenseman Jeremy Davies went in the seventh round to the New Jersey Devils. The Thunder could double last year’s haul if all four projected draft picks are selected at this year’s draft, which will take place June 23-24 in Chicago.

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