The NHL’s Central Scouting released its final ratings list of draft-eligible players for 2016 on April 12 and Merritt’s Centennials’ forward Colin Grannary was one of six British Columbia Hockey League players who made the grade.
The six-foot, 170-pound Grannary, from Delta, is ranked 178th amongst North American skaters. Other BCHL players listed were Tyson Jost (forward, 18th) and Dante Fabbro (defenceman, 18th), both from the Penticton Vees, Chilliwack Chiefs’ blueliner Dennis Cholowski (23rd), Kyle Betts from the Powell River Kings (forward, 147th) and Chiefs’ forward Kohen Olischefski (178th).
Also rated was former Salmon Arm forward Chase Priskie, who has just completed his freshman season with the NCAA Division 1 Quinnipiac University Bobcats. The 2016 NHL entry draft will be held June 24 and 25 at the First Niagara Centre in Buffalo, N.Y. Jost and Fabbro are projected first-round selections. Should that happen, it would be the first time since 2004 that two BCHLers from the same team went in the first round.
In 2004, Salmon Arm’s Travis Zajac went 20th overall to New Jersey and teammate Kris Chucko was selected 24th overall by the Calgary Flames. The only other time two BCHL players were selected in the first round was in 2007, when Kyle Turris of the Burnaby Express went 3rd overall to the then Phoenix Coyotes and Salmon Arm’s Riley Nash was picked 21st by the Edmonton Oilers.
In two seasons with the Centennials, the 18-year-old Grannary has scored 47 goals and added 67 assists for 115 points in 114 games. This past season, Grannary was selected a BCHL second-team all-star. He was also chosen the Player of the Game for team West at the 2016 NHL Junior A Top Prospects Game.
