NHL Central Scouting released its initial Players to Watch list ahead of the 2022 NHL Entry draft and there are seven current BCHL players on the list.
Michael Abgrall (Surrey), Eli Barnet (Victoria), Ethan Bono (Alberni Valley), Emanuelson Charbonneau (Alberni Valley), Ryan Hopkins (Penticton), Tyson Jugnauth (West Kelowna) and Joshua Niedermayer (Penticton) were listed as C Prospects, which is defined as a potential fourth, fifth or sixth-round prospect.
Michael Abgrall (F) – Surrey Eagles
The 17-year-old from Richmond, B.C. is in his second season with the Eagles and has four points in four games to start the year. In his first campaign with the team, Abgrall put up eight goals and eight assists for 16 points in 18 games during the pod season. Prior to joining the Eagles, he played one full season with the Powell River Kings as a 16-year-old rookie.
Over his BCHL career, he has amassed 59 points in 84 games. He is committed to the University of Nebraska-Omaha.
Eli Barnett (D) – Victoria Grizzlies
Barnet is in his first season with the Grizzlies and has contributed two assists through his team’s first five games. In 2020-21, the Riverview, N.B. native suited up for the South Shore Lumberjacks of the Maritime Hockey League where he put up six assists in 22 games played.
Prior to embarking on his junior career, Barnet spent two years playing for the Selects Academy in South Kent, Conn. He is committed to play at the University of Vermont.
Ethan Bono (F) – Alberni Valley Bulldogs
Bono made played his rookie year in the BCHL during the pod season last spring and made an impact right away. He put up three goals and 13 assists for 16 points in 18 games during his freshman campaign. So far this season, he has a goal and an assist through four games.
Prior to his time in the BCHL, Bono played at the Pacific Coast Academy program in the CSSHL. In 2019-20, he led their Elite 15s team in scoring with 59 points and goals with 33. He is committed to Merrimack College.
Emanuelson Charbonneau (D) – Alberni Valley Bulldogs
Charbonneau joined the Bulldogs for the pod season last year. He played 19 games and scored one goal and added seven assists for eight points. Through four games this season, he has one assist.
Prior to making the jump to the BCHL last year, Charbonneau played for Collège Charles-Lemoyne Riverains in Ste. Catherine, Que. Over his two seasons there, he put up 30 points in 81 games. He has a scholarship to the University of Nebraska-Omaha.
Ryan Hopkins (D) – Penticton Vees
Hopkins has yet to play for the Vees after joining the team this offseason as he has been out with an injury. He also missed all of last season at Stanstead College because of COVID-19 shutdowns. He most recently played for Stanstead in 2019-20 where he finished second on the team in scoring by defencemen with 31 points in 58 games.
He is committed to the University of Maine.
Tyson Jugnauth (D) – West Kelowna Warriors
Jugnauth was a standout rookie for the Warriors during the pod season last year. He led all BCHL rookie defencemen in scoring with 17 points in 20 games and finished tied for fourth among all blueliners in the league. So far this year, he has zero points through the first four games.
The 17-year-old is a product of the Okanagan Rockets program where he played from 2018 to 2020. He was also an invite to Team Canada’s U17 virtual camp in the summer of 2020. Jugnauth is committed to the University of Wisconsin.
Joshua Niedermayer (D) – Penticton Vees
Niedermayer is in his second full season with the Vees after skating as a rookie during the pod season last year. In his rookie campaign, he had 11 points in 18 contests to finish tied for second on the team in points from the back end and his 10 assists were most among all Vees defencemen. In three games this year, he has two goals.
Like Jugnauth, Niedermayer was also an invite to Team Canada’s U17 virtual camp in 2020. He is a product of the Okanagan Hockey Academy where he spent two seasons from 2018 to 2020. He is the son of Hockey Hall of Famer and four-time Stanley Cup champion Scott Niedermayer.
