The 2020 NHL draft is just days away, so it's time to lock in my final prospect rankings for this year's class.

The Tampa Bay Lightning just wrapped up their Stanley Cup championship, but attention now turns to the draft, which will be held virtually on Oct. 6-7. I've poured through game film of this year's class and spoken with numerous scouts around the NHL over the past few months, and I've made a handful of changes since my last ranking on June 30. One thing is for sure: In this very different lead-up to the draft amid the coronavirus pandemic, there won't be a ton of consensus among teams, scouts and analysts beyond the top 15 prospects. We could be in for a few surprises come draft night.

Here is my final ranking of the best 100 prospects in the 2020 NHL draft class, from Alexis Lafreniere on down. I've also included my top players at each position, along with five intriguing late-rounders with upside who I like despite just missing my top 100.

Note: Heights and weights are from Central Scouting. Ages are as of Oct. 6.

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Top 100: 1-25 | 26-50 | 51-75 | 76-100
Position rankings: C | LW | RW | D | G
Intriguing late-rounders

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1. Alexis Lafreniere, LW, Rimouski (QMJHL)

Age: 18 | Ht: 6-1 | Wt: 193
Shot: L | Previous rank: 1

There is no debate at this point as to who should go No. 1. It's Lafreniere by a significant margin. Over the past 20 years, only two players 18 years old or younger had a points-per-game average higher than Lafreniere's 2.15 this season: Sidney Crosby and Jonathan Drouin. Lafreniere thinks the game at a high level, with elite anticipation and an understanding of what to do with the puck immediately after he gets it. He has a physical edge and initiates contact more than most top picks of recent years, separating players from the puck with regularity. We've seen Lafreniere's emotions get the better of him at times, but he has a competitive fire. He wants the puck at all times, in all situations. And he has the skill and hands to make things happen when he has it. Few other players exude the level of confidence Lafreniere has shown over the past two seasons.

2. Quinton Byfield, C, Sudbury (OHL)

Age: 18 | Ht: 6-4 | Wt: 215
Shot: L | Previous rank: 2

Byfield looked like he was seriously going to give Lafreniere a run for his money at No. 1, but his game-to-game consistency wasn't at the same level. Byfield's game was a little uneven from midseason on, and I wonder whether the draft season began to wear on him. He is one of the younger players in this draft class but was fifth in the OHL in terms of points per game (1.82). At his best, he is a dominant force with elite-level speed, especially considering his size. He thinks the game extremely well, with good vision and a playmaker's touch. Byfield's defensive game needs maturation, but his instincts with the puck are very strong. If everything goes right in his development, he has a chance to be special.

3. Tim Stutzle, LW, Mannheim (Germany)

Age: 18 | Ht: 6-1 | Wt: 187
Shot: L | Previous rank: 3

There is a sense of ease in Stutzle's game, a level of poise that is not easily attained for a teenager in his first season of pro hockey. He has high-end puckhandling and skating abilities along with elite vision and hockey sense. He has a nice release and good shot, but I think his hands work best when he's snapping passes, especially down low. He uses the ice that's given to him and often makes the play, but he doesn't force things. Stutzle has a chance to become part of a growing elite class of German hockey players, and he's done it without ever really leaving home. But he likely will need to get into an AHL lineup to grow and learn the North American game.

4. Cole Perfetti, C, Saginaw (OHL)

Age: 18 | Ht: 5-11 | Wt: 177
Shot: L | Previous rank: 5

He can score, he can make plays and his skill is elite. But what I like best about Perfetti are his vision and offensive sense, giving him the ability to pick apart opposing defenses on the rush or in the zone. He can extend plays and seems to always have a plan with the puck on his stick. Perfetti has a pure release on his shot and snaps passes about as well as anyone else in the class. His skating is closer to average, but that is a much bigger problem for players who can't think the game the way Perfetti does.

5. Lucas Raymond, LW, Frolunda (Sweden)

Age: 18 | Ht: 5-11 | Wt: 170
Shot: R | Previous rank: 4

Raymond has been one of the hardest players to evaluate in this class because he is too good for Sweden's junior league but not quite good enough to play an elevated role on a perennial SHL powerhouse laden with veteran talent. He averaged under 10 minutes of ice time in 33 SHL games and was either healthy-scratched or played as the extra forward an awful lot this season. He had 14 points in nine games in Sweden's under-20 league, as well. His one-on-one skills, skating and willingness to battle for his ice are plus traits.

Tottenham are set to complete a loan move for Benfica striker Carlos Vinicius which will also include an option to make the deal permanent for around £36 million, sources have told ESPN.

Spurs head coach Jose Mourinho has been desperate to bolster his attacking options and provide cover for Harry Kane, the club's only out-and-out striker in the first-team squad.

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They were linked with Southampton's Danny Ings, Napoli's Arkadiusz Milik and Bournemouth's Callum Wilson but are now in advanced talks with Benfica over Vinicius.

Vinicius must be granted a work permit but the deal is expected to be completed by this weekend, safely ahead of Monday's transfer window deadline.

The 25-year-old, who has never been capped at senior international level for Brazil, joined Benfica from Napoli last summer and scored 24 goals in the 2019-20 campaign.

Mourinho underlined his concern at the lack of cover for Kane prior to Tuesday's Carabao Cup penalty shootout win over Chelsea, claiming that with Kane left on the bench for a breather, he "had nobody" to play as a conventional striker.

He has, however, been confident throughout the last few weeks that Spurs would eventually sign another striker and that faith appears now to have been vindicated with Vinicius finalising a move to north London.

Maccabi Haifa chief executive Assaf Ben-Dov has apologised to Tottenham's Harry Kane after one of their players made degrading comments about him in a viral video.

In a short clip posted on social media, Haifa defender Mohammad Abu Fani said that Kane would be on his genitals when the two clubs meet in the Europa League play-off on Thursday.

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"Following the match in Rostov, Russia, one of our players [made an] inappropriate comment that does not respect Tottenham Hotspur player Harry Kane," Ben-Dov said at a news conference.

"Our club condemns such behaviour. We are a club that advocates the person before the player.

"I would like to take this opportunity to apologise to Tottenham and Harry Kane, who we greatly respect. We wish them a successful season, thank you very much."

When asked if the video would be extra motivation for Spurs, Haifa's manager Barak Bakhar said the most important thing was the football.

"This is not something that is interesting or relevant," he added.

Spurs manager Jose Mourinho also referenced the video in his pre-match news conference.

"Their last match was in Rostov and after that they had time for everything -- they had time to rest, to analyse," he said.

"[They] had time to prepare the team tactically and the reality is that in this moment, my players -- the only thing they know about Maccabi is the funny video that the player did about us."

Defender Matt Doherty added that he had not seen the video and said while it could provide some motivation, the team were already eager to prove themselves.

"We are pretty motivated as it is, with the players we have and the manager we have, I guess you can use that as something a little bit extra to show them who the bosses are here," he said.

"It is something that might get mentioned but I have to see the video first of all, I will have a look after this."

Barcelona have completed the signing of USMNT right-back Sergino Dest from Ajax.

Dest, 19, joins Barca on a five-year deal, with Ajax receiving a fee of around €21 million plus a potential €5m in add-ons. A buyout clause is set at €400m.

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Dest, who will wear the No. 2 shirt, was also on Bayern Munich's radar and, according to ESPN sources, the European champions twice travelled to Amsterdam for talks although no deal could be agreed.

Shhhhh ... pic.twitter.com/FcrRwES4JH

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) October 1, 2020

Sources also told ESPN that Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman was key in agreeing to a transfer for the defender thanks to his long-standing interest.

While Koeman was manager of the Netherlands, he tried to persuade Dest to declare for the Oranje, but the player opted for the United States having played at youth level football for the U.S.

Dest, 19, arrives after spending almost a decade with Ajax where he came through the youth ranks.

It has been a remarkable rise for the defender, and while he is expected to play a starting role at Barca, sources have told ESPN the club have called for patience.

Barcelona see him as a player with all the attributes necessary to succeed at the Camp Nou, but they believe he is still developing as a player.

His arrival follows the transfer of Nelson Semedo to Wolves. Semedo's departure earlier this window freed up funds for Barca to officially approach Dest.

Dest enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2019-20 and went from the fringes of the senior squad to being one of the most sought-after full-backs in Europe. He signed his first professional contract with Ajax in December 2018 and made his first-team debut in August 2019.

After just one season in Ajax's first team, Dest joins Barcelona, where he will battle Sergi Roberto for the right-back slot.

Sam Marsden and Moises Llorens contributed to this report.

England spin-bowling allrounder Sarah Glenn, Player of the Series in England's 5-0 whitewash of West Indies, has broken into the top ten of the ICC women's T20I rankings for bowlers, while Australia captain Meg Lanning rose one spot to No. 5 on the batters' rankings after finishing as the second-highest run-scorer in Australia's 2-1 series win against New Zealand.

Twenty-one-year-old wristspinner Glenn, who made her international debut last year, picked up a chart-topping seven wickets against West Indies, gaining 12 slots to attain a career-best ninth position.

Australia opener Beth Mooney, England left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone, and New Zealand captain Sophie Devine, who were all in action in the two series, retained the top spots in the T20I rankings for the batters, bowlers and allrounders respectively. Meanwhile, even though she sat out the entire T20I series, No. 3-ranked Ellyse Perry's position remained unchanged on the allrounders' list.

ALSO READ: Perry 'determined to come back as a genuine allrounder' - Mott

Australia batting allrounder Ashleigh Gardner advanced seven places to a career best-equalling 18th position among batters thanks to a series-topping 90 runs, 19 more than Lanning, that also saw her claim the Player of the Series award. Legspinner Georgia Wareham, who took five wickets against New Zealand in three T20Is, moved five spots up to reach a career best-equalling 10th position while left-arm spinner Sophie Molineux (up two places to 13th) and seam bowler Delissa Kimmince (up eight places to 22nd) also made notable gains.

Amelia Kerr, the 19-year-old legspinning allrounder whose all-round contribution helped New Zealand snare a final-over win in the third and final T20I on Wednesday, retained the fourth position among bowlers, and is the only New Zealander in the top ten of the bowling charts. Meanwhile, Natalie Sciver remains the only England batter in the top 10 and is second on the allrounders' list.

Amy Satterthwaite's return to international cricket post-childbirth helped her re-enter the rankings in the 35th position after finishing as New Zealand's leading run-scorer with a 69-run tally. Deandra Dottin rose five places to 15th position after scoring most runs from the West Indian side: 185 runs, including two fifties.

According to the latest rankings update, Germany batters Christina Gough (up 146 places to 69th) and Janet Ronalds (up 115 places to joint-82nd) have also advanced, after their side defeated Austria 5-0 in a record-breaking T20I series, which also marked the resumption of women's international cricket since the Covid-19 pandemic took hold worldwide.

Sarah Glenn knows she's part of something "special" so while she appreciates what she has from within, team-mates and fans can marvel at an exciting era in England women's cricket.

Named Player of the Series after England's 5-0 sweep of their T20I series against West Indies on Wednesday night, Glenn is one element in a three-pronged spin attack that looks set to feature internationally for years to come.

The variety offered by left-armer Sophie Ecclestone, the world's No.1 T20I bowler, Glenn's legspin and the offspin of Mady Villiers gives England a raft of options. Plus, Ecclestone and Glenn are just 21 and Villiers 22.

"It's really special," Glenn said of being part of the close-knit trio. "I absolutely love it. We click really well together on and off the field and I feel like I can just go and talk to them about anything.

"We help each other on the pitch, talk about what the pitch is doing, how they're playing, what's the best ball and then time off the pitch is great, we all have a great laugh. We're just really happy for each other, seeing each other do well, it's really exciting to see."

She echoed similar sentiments at this year's T20 World Cup in Australia from Ecclestone, who spoke of their "spin companionship".

"They are some of my best friends now, and it's really nice to have them performing well and winning games for England," Ecclestone said in March. "It's a dream come true really."

Heather Knight, the England captain knows she's been dealt an exceptional hand.

"It's great to have," Knight says. "We've obviously got a lot of experience in our seam department and those spinners just give us a few different options so we can match up against different batters. In T20, that's very important. They can take wickets, control other teams' batters in different conditions. It's really pleasing."

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What struck Knight most about her spinning youth brigade during the series against West Indies was their courage, epitomised in Glenn's lbw dismissal of Deandra Dottin in the second T20I, a full, looping legbreak that Dottin aimed to sweep and missed.

"Sophie and Sarah have been consistently in the side for a long time now and really done well for us," Knight said "To see Mady take her opportunity like that - she obviously didn't bowl in the first game due to a few tactical bits, but yeah really delighted for them.

"They've been really brave as well, you saw Sarah Glenn get Deandra out the other day by tossing the ball up, and if you don't quite get that right you know it's going to go the distance.

"It's been really pleasing to see them be really brave in how they go about things in looking to take wickets which is something we want to keep on doing as a side - something we've addressed since the World Cup that we want to get better at, taking wickets particularly through that middle period - and those spinners are a massive part of that."

Glenn's seven wickets for the series against West Indies came at an average of 12.00 and an economy rate of 5.60. Her 46 runs included a valuable 26 from 19 balls which rescued England from 96 for 6 and carried them to a what proved to be a winning total in a Player-of-the-Match performance in the second fixture.

While Ecclestone played her first T20I as a 17-year-old in 2016, Glenn only made her international debut last December, against Pakistan in Kuala Lumpur in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup, and she went on to impress in four matches at the global tournament, claiming six wickets.

Villiers also truly came into the reckoning for England during that warm-up series in Malaysia having played just one international match, a T20I against Australia during the Ashes the previous July. She had to wait until the last group match against West Indies to feature at the T20 World Cup, but she dismissed Shemaine Campbelle with her fourth ball, a sharp return catch in a wicket maiden.

Villiers' fielding is seen as a huge asset and there are several observers keen to see her given more of a chance with the bat as well as the ball. Ecclestone has the ability to hit big and Glenn's innings in the second match against West Indies prompted her to declare her ambition to become a genuine allrounder.

It is a prospect Charlotte Edwards, the former England captain and now Sky Sports commentator, sees in the future for all three England spinners.

"They're so exciting as a three," Edwards said. "All very different, so young, but in many ways quite experienced now. It's unbelievable really to think how good they are and how good they can be.

"I think with the three of them it's their batting that's the exciting element for me as well, not only are they going to be world-class bowlers but I think they're going to be really handy allrounders.

"To have to have some hard-hitting batters coming in down the lower order as well as world-class bowlers, that's so exciting. The sky's the limit for them all, I think."

Laura MacLeod, the former England international who is now Director of West Midlands Women's Cricket - one of the eight regional hubs for the domestic women's game - played against a teenage Ecclestone at club level. She saw then that Ecclestone was on the right path to the England team. McLeod has also been impressed by Glenn, who played two matches for her Central Sparks outfit in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, and by what she has seen of Villiers.

"It's really exciting," McLeod said. "It's just a coach's dream to have a left-armer, to have a leggy and an offie that have all got talent and they're not just talented with the ball they can all bat as well. The future for England, from a spin point of view is certainly bright."

Following Central Punjab's remarkable run chase against Southern Punjab yesterday, in which 20-year old Abdullah Shafique smashed a debut hundred, ESPNcricinfo sheds some light on who he is, and what you need to know about him.

Who is Abdullah Shafique?

Well, for starters, he is not related to Asad Shafiq - but hey, he scored a T20 hundred and played a match-winning innings, so you may have guessed that. He's no relation to Shafiq Papa either, the first class legend who soared to fame on the back of his domestic exploits. He does have cricket running in his blood, though, with his father, Shafiq Ahmed, also having played first-class cricket in Pakistan. Besides, his uncle, Arshad Ali, has played international cricket for the UAE.

He is a 20 year old from Sialkot who represented the Sialkot Region at U-16 and U-19 levels while honing his craft at the Amir Waseem cricket academy. The academy, founded by the man it was named after, has produced several reputable cricketers for Pakistan.

Why are we talking about him?

Well why wouldn't we? Making his T20 debut in the National T20 Cup yesterday, he batted alongside arguably the best domestic T20 batsman Pakistan has ever had in Kamran Akmal - a man twice his age - and outshone him comprehensively in a daunting chase of 201. While Akmal hit 75 off 41, Shafique was by no means content to play second fiddle, sticking around after Akmal had been dismissed, and finishing the job off, reaching a 55-ball hundred in the process. He smashed four sixes and 11 fours against a bowling attack that includes Mohammad Irfan, Umer Khan and Aamer Yamin, and began his innings by staring down a hat-trick ball in the first over.

Why, indeed, are we talking about anything else?

Well, that's not too bad, but maybe this was a one-off? Lightning doesn't strike twice.

Well, lightning has struck at least twice. He has only ever played one first-class match, called up to the first XI for a Quaid-e-Azam trophy match, also against Southern Punjab - maybe he really likes these Punjab derbies. He scored 133 in the only innings he batted, and thus yesterday, became the first Pakistan player, and just the second in cricket history, to manage debut hundreds at both first-class and T20 level.

Were people in Pakistan impressed?

He got some live appreciation from the most prominent cricketers in Pakistan while he was at the crease. Mohammad Hafeez praised his batting technique and "process to score runs", while the Pakistan Test captain Azhar Ali simply remarked "what a knock!" That sort of attention should do his prospects no harm, particularly if he can carry on how he began at this National T20 Cup.

So if he's this good, can we see him at the PSL please?

Well, now you can certainly expect him to. He was actually snapped up by Multan Sultans three years ago at the draft before he had even turned 18. While that didn't result in any appearances, don't be surprised if he's much hotter property for next season's draft.

The team that hits more sixes usually wins. It's a common refrain in T20 cricket, but Jos Buttler feels it's particularly applicable to the ongoing IPL season, particularly in Sharjah, the smallest of the three grounds hosting the tournament.

The first 12 matches of the season have produced 178 sixes - that's 14.83 per match, the highest rate of sixes in any IPL season, ahead of 2018, which featured 14.53 sixes per match. The first two matches in Sharjah, meanwhile, have produced a whopping 62 sixes. There have been more sixes at the venue, in fact, than fours (52).

Welcome to ESPNcricinfo's Rolling Report of the 13th IPL 2020 match, between the Mumbai Indians and the Kings XI Punjab, in Abu Dhabi. So, the likes of Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah and Kieron Pollard will be taking on the likes of KL Rahul, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammed Shami and Mayank Agarwal. You can also follow ball-by-ball commentary of the game here.

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