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Michigan’s Landon DuPont, 17 NTDP players, and Lumberjacks and Firebirds prospects make Central Scouting’s 2027 watch list

Michigan freshman Landon DuPont earned an A rating as players from Michigan, the NTDP, Muskegon, and Flint landed on NHL Central Scouting’s preliminary 2027 draft list.

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Michigan freshman defenseman Landon DuPont received an A rating, and 17 players from the U.S. National Team Development Program’s Under-18 team were named as NHL Central Scouting released its Preliminary Players to Watch List for the 2027 NHL Draft on Monday, Oct. 26. The Muskegon Lumberjacks and Flint Firebirds also had players on the list, joining the seven Saginaw Spirit players Mitten Hockey reported on earlier.

Central Scouting grades players A (first-round candidate), B (second or third round), C (fourth or fifth round), or W (sixth or seventh round). Midterm rankings follow in January and final rankings in the spring.

Michigan

DuPont, widely projected as the top prospect in the 2027 class, is one of only three NCAA players on the list, along with Notre Dame forward Sammy Nelson and Nebraska Omaha goaltender William Lacelle. Central Scouting lists him with the WHL’s Everett Silvertips, his team before he joined the Wolverines this fall, so he is also one of 19 A-rated CHL-developed players.

NTDP

All 17 Plymouth-based players named are on the 2026-27 U18 team. None received an A rating; six earned B grades. Five other current U18 players are not eligible until 2028 because of the Sept. 15 birthdate cutoff.

  • B: defensemen Ben Geiger and Diego Gutierrez; forwards Nolan Fitzhenry, Sam Pandolfo, Freddie Schneider, and Finn Sears
  • C: Nate Chizik, Braden Horton, Rocco Pelosi, Jake Prunty, Carson Scott, and Eli Winters, a Muskegon native
  • W: Gerry DiCunzolo, Jackson Hendricks, Easton Johnson, and Charlie Mineman
  • Limited viewing: Hudson Salvador

Lumberjacks

Muskegon had four players with ties to the organization named. Slovak center Maxim Šimko, in his first USHL season, earned a C rating after an eight-point start (4-4—8) in 11 games, and forward Strider Carhart, a sixth-round pick in Muskegon’s 2026 Phase II draft, received a W after five points in 12 games. Coach Colten St. Clair described Carhart as “a true power forward.” Also named were Wisconsin commit Rylan Hanson and Slovak forward Jakub Šimončič, a Lumberjacks prospect who is playing in Slovakia this season.

Firebirds

Flint landed two C-rated forwards, right wing Simon Belohorsky and left wing Charles Murata. They are among 69 OHL players and 176 CHL-developed players on the list. The Firebirds, who have points in eight straight games, visit Kitchener on Friday.

Sources

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