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Rockets shutout at draft

Three members of the Kelowna Rockets, listed in rankings compiled by NHL Central Scouting, were left without an NHL dance partner Saturday.

Forwards Kyle Topping and Lief Mattson and defenceman Libor Zabransky were all ranked, however none of the three were selected during the seven-round NHL draft which concluded Saturday afternoon.

Topping and Zabransky had the best chance of going sometime during the final six rounds.

Topping, was the top-rated draft-eligible Rocket, ranked as the 59th North American skater by Central Scouting.

Zabransky, in his first year with the Rockets, was ranked 115th, while Mattson was the 157th rated North American skater.

Those rankings did not include those playing in Europe or goaltenders.

It was a down year in general for the Western Hockey League in terms of the NHL draft. Only 20 players were taken over the seven rounds. It's the lowest number in several years.

Over the past 10 years, the league has averaged nearly 35 players per draft. The lowest over that span was 31 in 2009.



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