Stars select Riley Tufte 25th overall
The Dallas Stars selected forward Riley Tufte with the 25th overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft on Friday.
Riley Tufte
Position: Left Wing
Height: 6-5
Weight: 212 pounds
Age: 18
Club: Fargo Force (USHL)/Blaine High (MN)
Nationality: American
| GP | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | 10 | 4 | 14 |
Tufte placed 17th among North American skaters on Central Scouting's final rankings after earning the same position at the midterm.
The Minnesota native split the 2015-16 season between Blaine High School in his home state and the USHL. He posted 78 points in 25 high school games before scoring 10 times in 27 contests for the Fargo Force.
Tufte was one of the tallest forwards eligible for the draft.
"I'm 6-5, and I know there's a couple other guys out here that are my size too, but it's just such an advantage to my reach," he told NHL.com's Joe Yerdon in November. "It's just an advantage to me."
Central Scouting's David Gregory gave this assessment of Tufte to Yerdon:
"I don't see him being a guy that's going to be a huge pounder and the prototypical power forward, but I see him understanding how to use his size more and make that a part of his game because he's going to have to to be a successful player in the NHL.
"There's going to be that sweet spot somewhere in between that skilled and power forward for him in my mind. Maybe it's a Rick Nash-type of player where he has unreal hands for a big guy but can eventually understand he's using his size because it can give him such an advantage."
Tufte is committed to University of Minnesota-Duluth for 2016-17.