There’s little doubt about who’s the top prospect entering the 2018 NHL Draft, which is set for Friday and Saturday. Swedish defenseman Rasmus Dahlin ran away with that title months ago, and it seems like a mere formality that the Sabres will announce his name with the first overall pick Friday night.
Russian winger Andrei Svechnikov has similarly emerged as the consensus No. 2 prospect. The Hurricanes may or may not ultimately hold onto the second overall pick this week, but it’s increasingly looking like there’s a clear top two in this class.
Where things get really interesting is from No. 3 and beyond. There are players who could potentially go as high as third or much lower in the top 10. Teams are surely considering trading up or down, which could shake up the proceedings even further.
The draft boards of the 31 NHL teams will ultimately determine how the weekend plays out, but here’s a look at how the rankings stack up using the average of seven recently published sources: ESPN’s Chris Peters, TSN’s Bob McKenzie, TSN’s Craig Button, Sporting News’ Steve Kournianos, The Hockey News’ Ryan Kennedy, The Athletic’s Corey Pronman and The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler. For a player to be included in the final list below, he needed to make all six rankings.
1. Rasmus Dahlin, D, Frolunda (Sweden)
Highest rank: 1
Lowest rank: 2
2. Andrei Svechnikov, RW, Barrie (OHL)
Highest rank: 1
Lowest rank: 2
3. Filip Zadina, RW, Halifax (QMJHL)
Highest rank: 3
Lowest rank: 4
4. Brady Tkachuk, LW, Boston U. (NCAA)
Highest rank: 3
Lowest rank: 9
5. Quinn Hughes, D, Michigan (NCAA)
Highest rank: 4
Lowest rank: 10
T6. Adam Boqvist, D, Brynas (Sweden)
Highest rank: 4
Lowest rank: 12
T6. Oliver Wahlstrom, RW, USA NTDP (USHL)
Highest rank: 5
Lowest rank: 10
8. Jesperi Kotkaniemi, C, Assat (Finland)
Highest rank: 4
Lowest rank: 18
9. Evan Bouchard, D, London (OHL)
Highest rank: 7
Lowest rank: 17
10. Noah Dobson, D, Acadie-Bathurst (QMJHL)
Highest rank: 6
Lowest rank: 20
11. Joe Veleno, C, Drummondville (QMJHL)
Highest rank: 5
Lowest rank: 28
12. Joel Farabee, LW, USA NTDP (USHL)
Highest rank: 9
Lowest rank: 27
T13. Ty Smith, D, Spokane (WHL)
Highest rank: 8
Lowest rank: 22
T13. Barrett Hayton, C, S.S. Marie (OHL)
Highest rank: 7
Lowest rank: 24
15. Vitali Kravtsov, RW, Chelyabinsk (MHL)
Highest rank: 12
Lowest rank: 24
16. Rasmus Kupari, C, Karpat (Finland)
Highest rank: 11
Lowest rank: 27
17. Bode Wilde, D, USA NTDP (USHL)
Highest rank: 15
Lowest rank: 25
18. Grigori Denisenko, LW, Yaroslavl (MHL)
Highest rank: 12
Lowest rank: 42
19. Isac Lundestrom, C, Lulea (SHL)
Highest rank: 14
Lowest rank: 31
20. Akil Thomas, RW, Niagara (OHL)
Highest rank: 16
Lowest rank: 32
21. Dominik Bokk, RW, Vaxjo (Sweden)
Highest rank: 8
Lowest rank: 30
22. Rasmus Sandin, D, S.S. Marie (OHL)
Highest rank: 15
Lowest rank: 39
23. Riley McLeod, C, Mississuaga (OHL)
Highest rank: 19
Lowest rank: 30
24. Ty Dellandrea, C, Flint (OHL)
Highest rank: 16
Lowest rank: 41
T25. Nick Merkley, D, Guelph (OHL)
Highest rank: 10
Lowest rank: 46
T25. Serron Noel, RW, Oshawa (OHL)
Highest rank: 14
Lowest rank: 41
27. Martin Kaut, RW, Pardubice (Czech Republic)
Highest rank: 16
Lowest rank: 47
28. K’Andre Miller, D, USA NTDP (USHL)
Highest rank: 17
Lowest rank: 57
29. Jonatan Berggren, LW, Skelleftea (Sweden)
Highest rank: 20
Lowest rank: 52
30. Jacob Olofsson, C, Timra (Sweden)
Highest rank: 20
Lowest rank: 47
31. Jared McIsaac, D, Halifax (QMJHL)
Highest rank: 26
Lowest rank: 51
