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69 #Nice Prospects in the Draft
By Jon Steitzer
Jun 19, 2018, 11:13 EDTUpdated: Jun 19, 2018, 11:15 EDT
Now that Bob McKenzie has published the definitive list of draft rankings, I can present you with a list that absolutely no one asked for. I assure you what my list lacks in NHL scout opinions, it makes up for in correctness and niceness.
If you are looking for a more detailed, rationalized list of prospects in the draft, I can not recommend the work down at Canucks Army enough. Start at Dahlin and work your way backward.
If you are looking for prospect rankings from someone who just has a lot of time on their hands and wants to debate those rankings online, keep reading.
Without further adieu, here are the top 69 players ranked in the 2018 NHL entry draft.
# | Player | 2017-18 Team | League | Pos |
1 | Rasmus Dahlin | Frolunda HC | SHL | D |
2 | Andrei Svechnikov | Barrie Colts | OHL | RW |
3 | Quinton Hughes | University of Michigan | Big-10 | D |
4 | Oliver Wahlstrom | Team USA | USDP | C/RW |
5 | Evan Bouchard | London Knights | OHL | D |
6 | Filip Zadina | Halifax Mooseheads | QMJHL | LW |
7 | Adam Boqvist | Brynäs IF J20 | SWE-U20 | D |
8 | Brady Tkachuk | Boston University | HE | C/LW |
9 | Jesperi Kotkaniemi | Assat | Liiga | C |
10 | Isac Lundeström | Luleå HF | SHL | C/LW |
11 | Noah Dobson | Acadie-Bathurst Titan | QMJHL | D |
12 | Ty Smith | Spokane Chiefs | WHL | D |
13 | Vitali Kravtsov | Traktor Chelyabinsk | KHL | F |
14 | Joe Veleno | Drummondville Voltigeurs | QMJHL | C |
15 | Ryan Merkley | Guelph Storm | OHL | D |
16 | Ryan McLeod | Mississauga Steelheads | OHL | C |
17 | Calen Addison | Lethbridge Hurricanes | WHL | D |
18 | Grigori Denisenko | Loko Yaroslavl | MHL | LW |
19 | Rasmus Sandin | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | OHL | D |
20 | Joel Farabee | Team USA | USDP | LW |
21 | Bode Wilde | Team USA | USDP | D |
22 | Rasmus Kupari | Karpat | Liiga | C |
23 | Ty Dellandrea | Flint Firebirds | OHL | C |
24 | Jonathan Tychonick | Penticton Vees | BCHL | D |
25 | Dominik Bokk | Vaxjo Lakers U20 | SWE-U20 | LW/RW |
26 | Barrett Hayton | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | OHL | C |
27 | Alexander Alexeyev | Red Deer Rebels | WHL | D |
28 | Jacob Bernard-Docker | Okotoks Oilers | AJHL | D |
29 | K’Andre Miller | Team USA | USDP | D |
30 | Martin Kaut | HC Dynamo Pardubice | CZE-Extra | RW |
31 | Serron Noel | Oshawa Generals | OHL | RW |
32 | Allan McShane | Oshawa Generals | OHL | C |
33 | Jett Woo | Moose Jaw Warriors | WHL | D |
34 | Cole Fonstad | Prince Albert Raiders | WHL | C/LW |
35 | Jonatan Berggren | Skelleftea AIK U20 | SWE-U20 | C/RW |
36 | Blade Jenkins | Saginaw Spirit | OHL | C |
37 | Jack McBain | Toronto Jr. Canadiens | OJHL | C |
38 | Jared McIsaac | Halifax Mooseheads | QMJHL | D |
39 | Mattias Samuelsson | Team USA | USDP | D |
40 | Jesse Ylonen | Espoo United | FIN-2 | RW |
41 | Akil Thomas | Niagara IceDogs | OHL | C |
42 | Nils Lundkvist | Luleå HF | SHL | D |
43 | Nicolas Beaudin | Drummondville Voltigeurs | QMJHL | D |
44 | Linus Karlsson | Karlskrona HK U20 | SWE-U20 | C |
45 | Cam Hillis | Guelph Storm | OHL | C |
46 | Alexander Khovanov | Moncton Wildcats | QMJHL | C |
47 | Vladislav Kotkov | Chicoutimi Sagueneens | QMJHL | LW |
48 | Aidan Dudas | Owen Sound Attack | OHL | C |
49 | Jacob Olofsson | Timrå IK | SWE-2 | C |
50 | Benoit-Olivier Groulx | Halifax Mooseheads | QMJHL | C |
51 | Jake Wise | Team USA | USDP | C |
52 | Nathan Dunkley | London Knights | OHL | C |
53 | Axel Andersson | Djurgardens IF U20 | SWE-U20 | D |
54 | Filip Hållander | Timrå IK | SWE-2 | C/W |
55 | Bulat Shafigullin | Reaktor Nizhnekamsk | MHL | F |
56 | Carl Wassenius | Oreboro U20 | SWE-U20 | C |
57 | Niklas Nordgren | HIFK U20 | FIN-U20 | RW |
58 | Riley Sutter | Everett Silvertips | WHL | RW |
59 | Albin Eriksson | Skelleftea AIK U20 | SWE-U20 | LW |
60 | German Grachyov | Almaz Cherepovets | MHL | F |
61 | Liam Foudy | London Knights | OHL | C |
62 | Carl Berglund | Färjestad BK U20 | SWE-U20 | C/RW |
63 | Alec Regula | London Knights | OHL | D |
64 | Kody Clark | Ottawa 67’s | OHL | RW |
65 | Andrej Kukuca | HK Dukla Trencin U20 | Slo-U20 | C |
66 | Pavel Gogolev | Peterborough Petes | OHL | RW |
67 | Nando Eggenberger | Davos | NLA | LW/RW |
68 | David Gustafsson | HV71 | SHL | C |
69 | Jan Jenik | HC Benatky nad Jizerou | CZE-2 | F |
A few notes on the rankings:
Yeah, I get it, you don’t agree with them because I have Filip Zadina too low and you immediately stopped reading there. Sorry. I just don’t like him as much as a lot of other people do. The same is true of Brady Tkachuk, who will be a very good NHL forward, just like Zadina.
I’m definitely guilty of magnifying the bias towards centers and defensemen, and with the exception of this season, I’d say I tend to be more skeptical of defensemen in the first round.
The draft definitely seems to have tiers and that’s a term we’re going to have to get used to being thrown around. As far as these rankings go, I’d define my tiers as:
1- Dahlin
2- Svechnikov
3- Prospects ranked 3-11
4- Prospects ranked 12-35
5- Prospects ranked 36-69
2- Svechnikov
3- Prospects ranked 3-11
4- Prospects ranked 12-35
5- Prospects ranked 36-69
On specific players:
- Personally I believe that Hughes is the next best defenseman in the draft by a longshot and he sits third because of that.
- I’m willing to bet that two years from now Wahlstrom will be outscoring Tkachuk and Zadina. I might be wrong on that, but I like me some USNTDP players, so deal with that.
- Isac Lundestrom may not have ridiculous offensive numbers to justify him being that high, but he’s playing center in the SHL and that gets a lot of respect from me.
- I honestly believe that the Leafs will draft one of the players I have ranked 14-18, and would be happy if I’m right
- This year more than in the past I think I’ve come to appreciate Junior-A players. For skating ability I put Tychonick ahead of Bernard-Docker, but both are good talents, and expect more players to come out of Junior-A until the CHL decides to compensate players more fairly.
- I like Martin Kaut a lot more than 30th overall, but heart problems scare me.
- I wish I knew more about Jesse Ylonen so I could make a case for ranking him higher. Ditto for Albin Eriksson and Niklas Nordgren.
How Does This Affect The Leafs?
My rankings are something to look at and for me to reflect on after the draft, and for years to come. You’ve probably just looked at it and said, “Jon’s an idiot” and moved on. None of that really affects the Leafs, but over the course of doing these rankings, one thing has become clear, and it’s that the Leafs should very easily be able to walk away with at least 3 solid players in this draft.
The draft seems deep enough that every team should feel pretty good about the players they’ve picked in the top 80 or so, and given that some teams are terrible at drafting, it seems likely that the Leafs should be able to find decent options in the 4th and 5th rounds as well. That should make for a #nice weekend.
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