With just a handful of games remaining in the 2017-18 season, fans of half the league are already looking forward to the first big date on the offseason calendar. The 2018 NHL Entry Draft will start on June 22nd in Dallas, where Rasmus Dahlin looks to be the first name off the board. The Swedish defenseman is almost unanimously at the top of the rankings at this point, after showing off his huge potential by logging big minutes in the SHL, dominating the World Juniors and even suiting up for his country in the recent Olympics.
But after Dahlin, the decision becomes much tougher. For many months the leading theory was that Andrei Svechnikov, the dominant scoring Russian winger would be the second-overall pick, until he suffered an injury and then was forgettable at the World Juniors. Instead, many eyes turned to Filip Zadina who starred at the tournament and continued to wow audiences in the QMJHL on his way to a 44-goal season and a place on many of the league leaderboards. The 18-year old Czech forward can score from just about anywhere in the offensive zone, and does it with enough flair that everyone in the building takes notice.
Another player stood out in the World Junior tournament though, and that was Brady Tkachuk out of Boston University. Tkachuk had already been quietly climbing the draft boards, showing that he perhaps had just as much talent as his older brother—Calgary Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk—when he put up nine points in seven games and was clearly one of the most dangerous players for the dynamic Team USA. Tkachuk plays a heavy game and is a well-rounded talent that could now go as high as #2 overall, just as TSN’s Craig Button ranked him on his latest board.
Button isn’t alone in thinking Tkachuk has a chance to go second, but he certainly isn’t the consensus. That’s because there simply isn’t one, with other players like Adam Boqvist and Quinn Hughes even getting some love at the top of draft boards around the hockey world. There are several high-end players in this draft who could be franchise-altering talents, and the second-overall pick is still very much undecided. It might be determined by which team is selected in the draft lottery, and moves up (or down) to select right after Dahlin is off the board.
Who do you think will walk up to the podium after hearing his name second at this year’s draft? Will it be one of the trio of forwards, or a second defenseman? Will Dahlin be knocked off his perch entirely, and end up as a (excellent) consolation prize after someone decides they need help up front instead? Cast your vote down below, and be sure to explain your selection in the comment section.
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I think it depends heavily on who has the second overall pick. Normally the first overall pick is clear prior to the draft but everything afterwards depends on who draws the following picks and what their needs are.
I would love to see Brady Tkachuk go to the Rangers.
I think scouts should ask the Oilers who they would pick…and then pick someone else lol
Watch the Oilers somehow luck into the #1 pick again lol.
Seriously though…Mathew Tkachuk is showing how well that pedigree is. Especially to throwback hockey with excellent hockey sense. If I was a GM…I would be taking him second for sure
Id go Svechnikov but its a tough decision
I think Bouchard keeps rising and may end up at 2 by end of the year. The guy is a stud 6’2 right shot D with top pairing potential. These guys don’t come around as often as scoring wingers