DRAFT: Playing the 'Name Game'

Split between four lists, NHL Central Scouting includes nearly 400 eligible prospects in its rankings for the 2018 NHL Draft, which will be held June 22-23 in Dallas at American Airlines Center.
That's a lot of hockey players to know, not to mention spell, and it's also a large enough pool to have a little fun with their names during draft week.
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After scanning through all 395 players ranked by NHL Central Scouting, BlueJackets.com culled a list of 15 names that stood above the rest - not for hockey prowess, but potential to be the most fun to say, spell or use in headlines.
We pared that list down to 10 and then included the other five as honorable mentions. So, without further delay, here are the Top 10 names eligible to be selected in the 2018 draft:

10) Angus Crookshank, LW, Langley, British Columbia Hockey League
On the surface, you might not think Crookshank's name is all that notable. That's because your brain is geared toward hockey, which has lots of great names. However, this one gains a lot of name appeal if you put it into, say, a movie like 'A Christmas Story' or a book like 'The Great Gatsby.'
Couldn't you see Ralphie, the main character in a 'Christmas Story' waxing on about Angus Crookshank and his yellow eyes? We could.
In fact, are we entirely sure he didn't?
9) Samuel Bitten, C, Ottawa, Ontario Hockey League
Writers in Ottawa will probably think Bitten is ranked too low on this list. They might be right. Think of the puns they've probably used already with this guy. Think of the headline possibilities in the NHL: "Jackets snake-Bitten in desert," or "Jackets once Bitten, twice shy of Leafs."
The biting truth here: yeah, he's probably ranked too low.
8) Wyatt Wylie, D, Everett, WHL
Rule of thumb at BlueJackets.com is that alliteration is good, and it doesn't get more alliterative than a first name that starts with the exact same letters as the last - especially when those letters are 'Wy.'
Also, this one has two first names split into first and last names, which often merits recognition in name searches (see honorable mention: Jared Moe). Anyway, with a name like Wyatt Wylie, old 'Double Dubya' deserves to be on this list.
7) Jan Sir, C, Liberec, Czech Republic
Another easy one to root for, simply for the limitless use of his last name.
Imagine if a guy named, 'Sir' made it to the NHL and stayed in 5-star hotels and ate at 5-star restaurants, where practically everybody is referred to by his last name. "Yes, Sir, I'll get right on that, Sir … room for cream, Sir? … would you like turndown service, Sir?"
On the ice could be fun too.
"You, Sir, are heading to the penalty box." "You know what, Sir … that's just about enough out of you, Sir."
6) Jonathan Gruden, C, U.S. Under-18, NTDP
Gruden is the son of a professional coach and former player.
He is not, however, the son of former NFL coach and ESPN analyst Jon Gruden, whose "angry face" bears a similarity to that creepy 'Chuckie' doll in those 'Child's Play' movies. This Jon Gruden is the son of John Gruden who played six seasons in the NHL with the Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators and Washington Capitals - and now coaches the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League.
Interesting side note: this isn't the first hockey player/famous football coach name mix up. Look no further than Cleveland Monsters coach John Madden, who won the Stanley Cup three times as a player, while sharing a name with the namesake of the most popular NFL video game of all time.

5) Blade Jenkins, LW, Saginaw, OHL
His name is "Blade" and he plays ice hockey, where there are blades on the skates and sticks. Making this list was an empty-netter from the low slot for Blade, a left wing ranked No. 26 among North American Skaters. It's like a pitching prospect named "Curve," or a top tennis player named "Ace."
Blade Jenkins was born to play hockey, and based on name only, you can rest assured he's probably NHL bound in the near future. You heard it here first.
4) Filip Zadina, RW, Halifax, QMJHL
Zadina wouldn't have made the list had a potential nickname not been overheard last month at the NHL Scouting Combine. Instead, Filip "Funky Cold" Zadina finds himself ranked fourth among the Top 10 best names in the draft, one spot lower than he's ranked among all North American skaters.
Zadina is expected to be taken with one of the top five picks and could go as high as second overall to the Carolina Hurricanes. He's got a great shot and will probably score a lot of goals in the NHL. He might need a personal goal song to help celebrate all those tallies, and Zadina comes with a no-brainer.
It's Tone Loc's "Funky, Cold Medina" … and that's Zadina's a monster, ya'll.
3) Bode Wilde, D, U.S. Under-18, NTDP
It's not pronounced, "Bowed." It's pronounced, "Bowdee," which makes all the difference in the world for this competition. "Bowdee Wilde" sounds like a mythical skateboarding legend from Encino, or perhaps the next great gold-medal hope for U.S. Men's Downhill skiing.
In reality, he's a 6-foot-2, right-handed, puck-moving defenseman from the U.S. National Team Development Program who's ranked 17th among North American skaters and could be taken in the first round. In the name game, he's easily top five.
2) Sampo Ranta, LW, Sioux City, USHL
If names were assigned "Hockey IQ" scores, this would be off the charts.
Say it out loud: Sampo Ranta. It just screams, "good hockey player," doesn't it?
Also, like Wyatt Wylie, Ranta's name scores points for being fun to see, spell and speak - a triple whammy of great names. Ranta is also ranked high for his on-ice talents, sitting 18th among North American skaters on the NHL Central Scouting list.
There's a chance you'll hear Ranta's name called within the first couple rounds and a chance you'll hear his name over sound systems across the league someday.

1) Jett Woo, D, Moose Jaw, WHL
Woo could be selected in the late first round, but probably won't become a Winnipeg 'Jett' thanks to a trade Winnipeg made Feb. 26 at the NHL Trade Deadline. The Jets traded their 2018 first-round pick (No. 29) to the St. Louis Blues to obtain center Paul Stastny, who helped Winnipeg reach the Western Conference finals.
The deal worked out great for Winnipeg in the short term, but if the NHL is deprived of Jett playing for the Jets, is there really a winner in that scenario?
No.
Likewise, this is now a chance for the Blues to pull off the ultimate NHL troll move by taking Woo with the Jets' former first-round pick. The Blues and Jets are Central Division rivals, who play each other a lot, and Winnipeg has an actual jet as part of its main logo.
Should Jett Woo become a star for St. Louis, helping the Blues eliminate the Jets from the Stanley Cup Playoffs a couple times, good luck living that one down Winnipeg.
Jett Woo also sounds like a great action hero name or even one of those "As seen on TV" wonder products you see in late-night television ads.
Easy pick for No. 1 name in the draft.

Honorable mention: Alexis Gravel, G, Halifax; Dominik Bokk, RW, Vaxjo Jr.; Oliver Wahlstrom, RW, U.S. NTDP; Nando Eggenberger, Davos, Swiss League; Jared Moe, G, Waterloo, USHL