NHL Central Scouting, which analyzes and rates prospects for the the league's annual entry drat, has released its preliminary rankings for the top junior hockey players from across the globe.

On Tuesday, Central Scouting ranked the top 25 skaters and top six goaltenders for the Ontario Hockey League, Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Western Hockey League and United States Hockey League. It also released rankings for Europe and a "watch list" for the NCAA.

One of the biggest surprises was at the top of the OHL list. While Taylor Hall of the Windsor Spitfires is considered an early favorite to be picked first overall, Plymouth Whalers center Tyler Seguin took the top spot. Seguin is fourth in the league with 36 points, including 19 goals, in just 18 games this season. That's nine points behind Hall, who has 45 points in 25 games. He entered the season on a high, winning a gold medal with Team Canada in August at the 2009 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka Tournament in the Czech Republic. He led the tournament with four goals and six assists in four games.

"Tyler Seguin has had a great start to the season," Central Scouting's Chris Edwards told NHL.com. "He has been producing and playing consistently well. He makes things happen every time he is on the ice and he makes his teammates better."

Who is better could be a point of debate until the moment the first pick is announced. Hall's list of achievements includes being named MVP at last year's Memorial Cup, MVP of the OHL championship series, and rookie of the year in the Canadian Hockey League and OHL just two seasons ago. He has OHL-highs of 21 goals and 45 points.

"Hall is a proven player; he won the Memorial Cup MVP last year and for good reason," Edwards said. "Both of these players (Seguin and Hall) will be very good pros."

Coming in at No. 3 is Cam Fowler, Hall's Windsor teammate. A 17-year-old from Farmington Hills, Mich., Fowler is in his first OHL season and coming off an OHL Defenseman of the Month award in October. He leads OHL defenders with three goals and 29 points in 25 games for the Spitfires.

Niagara IceDogs netminder Mark Visentin was named the top OHL goaltending prospect. Playing for a young Niagara IceDogs squad, sharing netminding duties with Montreal Canadiens draft pick Petteri Simila, Visentin has seven wins and a 3.61 goals-against average.

"He's got good size, moves very well, got great quickness," Central Scouting's Al Jensen told NHL.com. "He's just very determined, got great butterfly, great net coverage. ... His push-offs are very strong and very quick. He's square to the puck, his glove hand is good. Huge improvement form the previous year. His confidence level is real high. He's got great size. He plays big in the net; very, very quick feet and pads. Very technically sound, as well."

Moncton Wildcats teammates defenceman Brandon Gormley and Russian forward Kirill Kabanov head the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League rankings.

Gormley has five goals and 16 points in 22 games, coming off a 34-point effort in 62 games during his rookie season last year.

"(Gormley) is what a lot of teams are going for," Central Scouting's Chris Bordeleau told NHL.com. "He's a good defenseman who can score and handle the puck; smart. ... Gormley has got the whole package."

Kabanov, a 6-foot-3, 176-pound winger from Moscow, has five goals and 14 points in 11 games this season. The 17-year-old was sidelined after undergoing corrective surgery this week to repair a wrist injury from late last season. He is expected to be out of the lineup for 10 to 12 weeks.

Another Moncton product, Louis Domingue, is the top-rated QMJHL netminder. Domingue, a 6-foot-3, 183-pound Quebec native, is 8-7 this season with a 2.50 goals-against average.

"He moves very well, technically he's very quick," Jensen said of Domingue. "He's big, big in the net, handles the puck well, quick feet and pads."

Prince George Cougars forward Brett Connolly sits atop the list of Western Hockey League skaters. The 6-foot-2, 181-pound left winger is currently battling a hip injury, but has four goals in seven games this season. He is coming off a season where he was named WHL and Canadian Hockey League rookie of the year last year.

Seattle Thunderbirds netminder Calvin Pickard is the top-rated WHL goaltender. The Manitoba native, whose brother Chet is considered by some as the Nashville Predators' top goaltending prospect, has just seven wins in 20 games this season, but boasts a 2.70 goals-against average and .922 save percentage. There is some debate, much like the Hall-Seguin situation, that second-ranked goaltender Kent Simpson of the Everett Silvertips could push Pickard for top spot.

Derek Forbort, a defenseman with the U.S. National Under-18 team, is the top-rated U.S. junior skater. The 6-foot-4 1/2 blueliner has eight assists and 12 penalty minutes in 18 games against a mix of college and USHL competition. Teammate Jack Campbell is the top choice in net. In 10 games, he is 5-4-1 with a 2.18 goals-against average and .921 save percentage. He helped the U.S. win gold at the Under-18 Four Nations Cup earlier this month.

NCAA WATCH LIST

There were just three players ranked as "A List" prospects in the NCAA.

Notre Dame freshman center Riley Sheahan has two goals and seven points in 11 games. He is coming off playing Junior B hockey in St. Catharines last season, where he had 27 goals and 73 points. Some consider Sheahan more talented than former St. Catharines teammate and current Michigan State Spartan Daultan Leveille, a first-round pick by the Atlanta Thrashers in 2007.

Harvard freshman defenseman Danny Biega also is an "A List" player. The 6-foot, 200-pounder from Quebec is pointless in five games. Six-foot-one, 194-pound Minnesota State freshman Tyler Pitlick is the third "A List" player. The center is the nephew of former NHLer Lance Pitlick and has two goals and five points in nine games.

EUROPEAN WATCH LIST

The top ranked players from European countries are defenseman Bohumil Jank and goalie Pavel Francouz (Czech Republic); defenseman Jesper Jensen (Denmark); forward Mikael Granlund and goalie Sami Aittokallio (Finland); forward Tom Kuhnhackel and goalie Lukas Steinhauer (Germany); goalie Lars Volden (Norway); forward Vladimir Tarasenko and goalie Dmitri Shikin (Russia); defenseman Martin Marincin and goalie Juraj Simboch (Slovak Republic); forward Ludvig Rensfeldt and goalie Johan Gustafsson (Sweden); and forward Joel Vermin and goalie Lukas Meili (Switzerland).

A full list of the top-ranked prospects is available online at Central Scouting's website, http://centralscouting.nhl.com. Rankings will be updated and released throughout the season.

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