The 2019-20 hockey season is in full swing, which means that the time has come to reveal our second 2020 NHL Draft Ranking of the campaign. Although it’s been a mere month since we last convened, there has been a great deal of change within our ranking — particularly in the 11-25th overall range. While some prospects have slipped slightly, others have risen owing to their red-hot starts or consistency at both ends of the ice.

At the top of the board, however, there was no change since our September Ranking was released. For the time being, Alexis Lafreniere of the Rimouski Oceanic holds down the top spot — although Quinton Byfield of the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves doesn’t trail far behind. Following Lafreniere and Byfield are a pair of lethal Swedish forwards in Lucas Raymond and Alexander Holtz — one a playmaker and the other a pure sniper who can both change the course of any given game. Seizing the fifth-overall spot in the month’s ranking is Anton Lundell, a fiery Finnish forward whose strength lies in his on-ice versatility.

Quinton Byfield exploded out of the gate to begin his 2019-20 OHL season, a major reason why he’s going to challenge Alexis Lafreniere for first overall in the 2020 NHL Draft. (Photo Credit: CHL Images)

New to October’s Ranking is the introduction of an additionally ranked 32 prospects — each of which coming together to form our projected second-round of the 2020 NHL Draft at this point of the season. Continuing on with the trend set by those ranked in the top-31, you’ll find that a large number of prospects ranked in the 31-62nd overall range compete in the CHL’s Quebec Major Junior League. With this being said, the 2020 NHL Draft could come to be regarded as one of the QMJHL’s strongest prospect classes in recent history, as the league will put forth a deep arsenal of players home to different positions and potentials on the ice.

In all, the 2020 NHL Draft remains poised to present one of the deepest and most highly skilled classes of prospects that we have seen in quite some time. With players of first-round talent surely to be selected in the second-round and beyond, each and every NHL organization will truly hold the ability to acquire a game-changing player when they take to the stage on draft night in Montreal, Quebec.

The Top-62 Prospects

As mentioned above, we’ve expanded our top-31 ranking into a top-62 version, as we are now incorporating the players we’re projecting to be chosen in the second-round of the 2020 NHL Draft. For ease of reading, we’ve separated the first and second rounds into two separate tables. If you’d like to cross-reference October’s Draft Ranking with our initial top-32 ranking released in September, be sure to follow the link below.

• 2020 NHL Draft: September’s Top-31

And now, without any further ado, here is our 2020 NHL Draft Ranking for the month of October. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments section below!

Round One

Round Two