8 guys with RoughRiders ties ranked by NHL Central Scouting

CEDAR RAPIDS - A whopping eight players with Cedar Rapids RoughRiders ties are included in NHL Central Scouting's midterm rankings of 2015 National Hockey League draft-eligible players.

That list is topped by defenseman Ivan Provorov, who played last season with the Riders. The Russian is now with Brandon of the Major Junior Western Hockey League in Canada and is ranked the No. 10 draft-eligible North American skater, which makes him a probable first-round pick.

Four players on the 2014-15 RoughRiders team are in the midterm rankings: forwards Erik Foley, Jiri Fronk and Adam Gaudette, and goaltender Ryan Larkin.

Foley is ranked 57th among North American skaters, Fronk 85th and Gaudette 187th. Larkin is the 20th-ranked North American goaltender. Fronk, who leads the USHL in goals, went from not being rated in CSS's preseason rankings to the top 100.

Chris Birdsall, who spent two seasons in Cedar Rapids before being traded to the Youngstown Phantoms, comes in 11th among North American goalies. Affiliate list player Austin Cho, a defenseman playing prep hockey in canada, is 125th among North American skaters.

Defenseman McKay Flanagan, who played two games last season for the Riders, is 168th. The club dropped his USHL rights this past offseason, and he is playing prep school hockey in Connecticut.

Central Scouting ranks players in four categories: North American skaters, North American goalies, European skaters and goalies. CSS will release one final set of 2015 rankings before this summer's NHL draft.

Fourty-four players in the USHL this season are ranked.

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