The NHL Central Scouting has released their final rankings for the 2018 Entry Draft, listing the best prospects in both North America and the rest of the world. Though Rasmus Dahlin is expected to be taken with the first-overall pick, there is no consensus behind him on who should go second and even less on who should fill out the top ten.
The NHL Draft Lottery will be held on April 28th, when all of the non-playoff teams will find out exactly where they’re picking in June. These lists will help to inform who your team might have a chance at, though obviously anything can happen. The top-5 North American and International skaters are listed below:
North America:
- RW Andrei Svechnikov, Barrie Colts, OHL
- LW Brady Tkachuk, Boston University, NCAA
- RW Filip Zadina, Halifax Mooseheads, QMJHL
- D Evan Bouchard, London Knights, OHL
- D Noah Dobson, Acadie-Bathurst Titan, QMJHL
International:
- D Rasmus Dahlin, Frolunda, SHL (Sweden)
- D Adam Boqvist, Brynas Jr, SuperElit (Sweden)
- RW Vitali Kravtsov, Chelyabinsk, KHL (Russia)
- RW Martin Kaut, Pardubice, Czech Republic
- D Adam Ginning, Linkoping, SHL (Sweden)
The first thing that many people will notice is Tkachuk’s climb to the second ranked player in North America, ahead of the elite goal-scoring talent of Zadina. Tkachuk’s stock has been rising all season thanks to a strong freshman year at BU and a good World Junior tournament. He could be selected as early as second overall should a team feel more comfortable with him than Svechnikov, who dealt with injury and an underwhelming World Junior performance for Russia.
Bouchard and Dobson experienced similar rises, and have now pushed out some of their American contemporaries. Many scouts have players like Quintin Hughes and Oliver Wahlstrom in the top five across North America, but both find themselves on the outside looking in thanks to huge CHL seasons by the big defensemen. Both Bouchard and Dobson project as excellent two-way options, who could move quickly through development systems to make an impact in the NHL.
One of the more eye-catching rankings is Ryan Merkley’s fall to #45 among North American skaters. The risky defenseman has been called both an elite offensive talent and a locker room trouble by prospect gurus, and will have to show that he is willing to be coached before getting an opportunity at the next level.
Riley Sutter, the latest in the powerhouse hockey family to enter the draft has fallen to #80 among North American skaters, and could end up as a mid-round pick come June.
If the Habs don’t get the #1 pick, I’d love to see Svechnikov, Bouchard or Zadina in a Habs uniform.
I’m holding out hope that Tkachuk slips to the Rangers and they make a trade with Calgary for Brady.
Like Sam Bennett or something?
Oh us Flames fans can only dream haha
Could you imagine 2 Tkachuk’s on the Flames? One agitator with gifted hands and one monster with gifted hands? Oh we can only dream lol