Leading the way are Aleksander Barkov of Tappara in Finland and Elias Lindholm of Brynas in Sweden. While there's a good chance several top players currently starring overseas will hear their name announced during the opening round of the draft in June, Director of European Scouting Goran Stubb feels Barkov and Lindholm are the surefire standouts.

Tuesday, NHL Central Scouting revealed its preliminary rankings for the top levels of North American junior hockey and Europe. Barkov was the No. 1-rated skater in Finland. Lindholm was tops among skaters in Sweden.

Many consider Halifax Mooseheads Zachary Fucale to be the obvious choice for first goaltender chosen in the 2013 Draft. (Courtesy: Halifax Mooseheads)

While this year's pool of eligible goaltenders may not be as plentiful as it was last June, there still will be a few big names at the top of every team's list at the 2013 NHL Draft.

At the 2012 Draft, five goalies were selected among the top 62 picks, including Andrey Vasilevskiy (No. 19, Tampa Bay Lightning) and Malcolm Subban (No. 24, Boston Bruins) in the first round. Though there is no guarantee a goalie will be chosen among the first 30 picks in 2013, there is one goalie from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League expected to be high on every draft list.

Many consider 6-foot-1.25, 181-pound Zachary Fucale of the Halifax Mooseheads to be the obvious choice to be the first goaltender drafted.

"Zach is still one of the top goalies, for sure, but he's not a clear-cut No. 1," NHL Central Scouting's Al Jensen told NHL.com.

Each Monday, NHL.com will take a look back at the weekend that was in the American Hockey League with an emphasis on the young stars and top prospects that are continuing their development. Here are some of the highlights from the past few days in the AHL:

FRIDAY

FIRST STAR

Eric Tangradi, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton

Tangradi had a hat trick in a 3-1 victory for the Penguins against Bridgeport. A second-round pick by Anaheim in 2007 who was traded to Pittsburgh in the Ryan Whitney-for-Chris Kunitz swap, Tangradi has spent the past three seasons shuttling between Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and the parent club. He has just one goal in 40 NHL games, but has been productive at the AHL level and remains one of the franchise's top forward prospects. The 23-year-old has nine goals in 15 AHL contests this season -- he had 33 in 79 games in the previous two seasons combined.

Barry Brust is less than one period from ousting a Hall of Fame goaltender from the record books one season after his North American career stood at a crossroads.

The 29-year-old goaltender for the Abbotsford Heat has a shutout streak of 231 minutes, 41 seconds. If he can extend it another 18:11 -- the opportunity to do so could come Friday at Texas -- he will break the American Hockey League mark of Johnny Bower, who established the record with the Cleveland Barons in 1957.

"Everything has just kind of fallen into place," Brust told NHL.com during a lengthy layover in Chicago on Thursday night with his team flying to Rochester.