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NHL Central Scouting Releases Final Rankings

at CDT | by 5 Comments

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:

  1. RW Andrei Svechnikov, Barrie Colts, OHL
  2. LW Brady Tkachuk, Boston University, NCAA
  3. RW Filip Zadina, Halifax Mooseheads, QMJHL
  4. D Evan Bouchard, London Knights, OHL
  5. D Noah Dobson, Acadie-Bathurst Titan, QMJHL

International:

  1. D Rasmus Dahlin, Frolunda, SHL (Sweden)
  2. D Adam Boqvist, Brynas Jr, SuperElit (Sweden)
  3. RW Vitali Kravtsov, Chelyabinsk, KHL (Russia)
  4. RW Martin Kaut, Pardubice, Czech Republic
  5. 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.

Filip Zadina Joins Czech World Championship Team

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Now that his Halifax Mooseheads have been eliminated from the QMJHL playoffs, Filip Zadina could settle in and wait for the upcoming draft, where he is expected to be among the very first few names off the board. Instead, he’s headed to join the Czech Republic men’s team as they prepare for the upcoming World Championships.

While it’s not clear if Zadina will suit up in the tournament for the Czech’s, the fact that he has been invited to their training camp shows just how talented the youngster is. The 18-year old recorded 44 goals and 82 points in the regular season for the Mooseheads, while being one of the most dangerous players at the World Juniors and putting up another 12 points in 9 playoff games. His year has been quite impressive, and an appearance at the Worlds would be icing on the cake.

Though he may still go third behind Rasmus Dahlin and Andrei Svechnikov (or even fourth behind Brady Tkachuk), Zadina figures to be a franchise-changing offensive talent in the NHL. The sniper can create offense all by himself by beating players with his speed and goaltenders with his shot, and he could likely slide onto an NHL powerplay right away. While he may need a bit more seasoning to develop his all-around game, there’s little doubt he can make an impact at the next level.

We won’t know where he’s going until the day of the draft, but on April 28th we’ll get an idea of where he could end up. That’s the draft lottery, where the Buffalo Sabres have the best chance at selecting first overall. Whoever ends up in second will have quite the decision on their hands, while third and fourth won’t complain about the superstar talent that falls to them.

Poll: Who Will Be The Second-Overall Pick In 2018?

at CDT | by 7 Comments

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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