When the Central Scouting Midterm Rankings for the 2024 NHL Draft came out the other day, USNTDP winger Cole Eiserman was ranked 8th among North American Skaters. That caught me off-guard. I wasn't sure if he'd be second after Macklin Celebrini because defenseman Zeev Buium and several others have had outstanding seasons, but I certainly didn't expect to see Eiserman down so many spots from where he was predicted to be this year.

I asked an old friend who scouts for an Eastern Conference club what's up. Is Eiserman falling THAT short of where he was expected to be? The reply: "When you've been on the radar for as long as he has, the hype can lead to a pushback if there's any inconsistency. Flaws get magnified. In this case, I think there's a little overreaction by people. There's a long way to go this season. He's not Cole Caufield in his Draft year but he's still shown he's a good young goal scorer. More than anything else, I think other guys have stepped up and there's a little more depth at the top of the Draft than people thought before. We'll see how the second half and U18s go before the final rankings. I think there will be some wider differences anyway between Central Scouting and where teams have different players. I don't see this as any big deal."

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