1-Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo, 1st overall in 2018
Rasmus is a defender with franchise level impact, he should fit in right away on the Sabres top pair, may need to be eased in on the PP time and defensively as he is still very thin and will need to fill out before being able to match up with every forward, should have a comparable impact to Auston Matthews in his first year. He will not be on this list for long, essentially already a NHL player.
2-Andrei Svechnikov Carolina, 2nd overall in 2018
Similar to Rasmus in impact, but as a winger. I don’t expect Svechnikov to dominate right away, as he will need to adjust to losing the physical edge he had during his junior days. I expect Andrei to be a fixture on the Canes middle six, for this year, and being one of the Canes most dynamic scorer in the future. Truly elite player, I expect a comparable impact to Steven Stamkos. He’s 99.99% likely to graduate this year.
3- Martin Necas, Carolina, 12h overall in 2017
Another Hurricane prospect. The best center prospect in this edition, Necas plays a high tempo game with an uncanny talent to find the open man. Expecting him to be in the Canes top six this year, forty to fifty points in his first year, upside of 70 a year. Necas dominated every international tourney he was in as the best player for the Czech, I expect him to be a fixture on the Canes top line for years, Svechnikov seems like a perfect player for the budding first line C.
4- Miro Heiskanen, Dallas, 3rd overall in 2017
Miro is coming off a great draft + 1 year, where he saw play at the WJC, WC, Olympics on top of dominating as the 1D on his Liiga team, posting the best PPG for a u19 defenseman. As with all defensemen, he will most likely be eased in slowly, look for him to contribute in the top four for the Stars, eventually challenging Klingberg as the 1D of the team, and hopefully, complimenting the latters offense first game.
5- Casey Mittelstatd, Buffalo, 8th overall in 2017.
Casey is probably the most electric forward left on the board at this point, oozes talent and dominates the ice with his set of spectacular hands and diverse skillset. He won the MVP award at the WJC and thrived in his late season stint in Buffalo. An early favorite for the Calder trophy, look for him to play in the top six, at C or at wing.
6- Elias Pettersson, Vancouver, 5th overall in 2017.
Originally thought of as a reach by the Canucks, the lanky Pettersson delivered a final blow to his critics, he destroyed the SHL, beating out every u20 ever in raw points and finishing 2nd, behind Kent Nilsson in PPG. He won every awards in the SHL, but came just short of the gold medal with a, somewhat, disappointing tournament for the Swedes. The Canucks are looking for him to make his debut in the NHL, most likely at wing where he might spend a significant amount of games.
7- Adam Boqvist, Chicago, 8th overall in 2018.
Boqvist is a slick defender, with one of the best shots a player could possess. His ability to get open and put one in the back of the net is unprecedented on the blue line. Concussions and limited viewings make him slide down the board but there is elite talent all over the board here. He’s most likely a few years away from the NHL, but the upside to be an elite talent is there.
8- Cale Makar, Colorado, 4th overall in 2017.
Cale went to Umass with the intention of working out the kinks in his defensive game and he succeeded, while putting up respectable numbers in the NCAA as a freshman. Makar has game-breaking skills all over the board, his elite skating highlighting his skill set. He produced huge numbers once put in the position to do so with Team Canada at the World junior Championship. He is set to remain at Umass for the following year but will most likely make the jump next year.
9-Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota, 135th overall in 2015.
The diminutive Russian star forward had another great year in the KHL, with 40 points in 46 games and dominated international play with 23 points in 22 games. He should come over once his KHL contract is up in 2020.
10- Eeli Tolvanen, Nashville, 30th overall in 2017.
Tolvanen made a great debut in the KHL as a rookie forward, scoring 36 points in 45 games, 19 of those being goals. Probably the 2nd favorite to win the Calder this year, poised to take a big role on the Predators, should see him pot at least twenty.
11- Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Montreal, 3rd overall in 2018.
12-Kristian Vesalainen, Winnipeg, 24th overall in 2017.
13-Filip Chytil, New York Rangers, 21st overall in 2017.
14- Connor Timmins, Colorado, 32nd overall in 2017.
15- Cody Glass, Vegas, 6th overall in 2017.
16-Gabe Vilardi, LA, 11th overall in 2017.
17- Dylan Strome, Arizona, 3rd overall in 2015.
18- Filip Zadina, Detroit, 6th overall in 2018.
19- Noah Dobson, NYI, 12th overall in 2018.
20- Quinn Hughes, Vancouver, 7th overall in 2018.
21- Ryan Donato, Boston, 56th overall in 2014.
22- Henri Jokiharju, Chicago, 29th overall in 2017.
23- Lias Andersson, NYR, 7th overall in 2017.
24- Henrik Borgstrom, Florida, 23rd overall in 2016.
25- Cal Foote, Tampa Bay, 14th overall in 2017.
26- Erik Brannstrom, Vegas, 15th overall in 2017.
27- Juuso Valimaki, Calgary, 16th overall in 2017.
28- Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa, 4th overall in 2018.
29- Vitali Kravtsov, New York Rangers, 9th overall in 2018.
30- Alexander Alexeyev, Washington, 31st overall in 2018.
31- Nick Suzuki, Vegas, 13th overall in 2017.
32- Ty Smith, New Jersey, 17th overall in 2018.
33- Nils Lundkvist, New York rangers, 28th overall in 2018.
34- Oliver Wahlstrom, New york Islanders, 11th overall in 2018.
35- Robert Thomas, St-Louis, 20th overall in 2017.
36- Jordan Kyrou, St Louis, 35th overall in 2016.
37- Ryan Poehling, Montreal, 25th overall in 2017.
38- Morgan Frost, Philadelphia, 27th overall in 2017.
39- Noah Juulsen, Montreal, 26th overall in 2015.
40- Victor Mete, Montreal, 100th overall in 2016.
41- Daniel Sprong, Pittsburgh, 46th overall in 2015.
42- Klim Kostin, St-Louis, 31st overall in 2017.
43- Evan Bouchard, Edmonton, 10th overall in 2018
44- Jonathan Berggren, Detroit, 33rd overall in 2018.
45- Joel Farabee, Philadelphia, 14th overall in 2018.
46- Phillip Myers, Philadelphia, UFA
47- Filip Hronek, Detroit, 53rd overall in 2016.
48- Owen Tippett, Florida, 10th overall in 2018
49- Nicolas Hague, Vegas, 34th overall in 2017.
50- Urhoo Vakanainen, Boston, 18th overall in 2017.
Rasmus is a defender with franchise level impact, he should fit in right away on the Sabres top pair, may need to be eased in on the PP time and defensively as he is still very thin and will need to fill out before being able to match up with every forward, should have a comparable impact to Auston Matthews in his first year. He will not be on this list for long, essentially already a NHL player.
2-Andrei Svechnikov Carolina, 2nd overall in 2018
Similar to Rasmus in impact, but as a winger. I don’t expect Svechnikov to dominate right away, as he will need to adjust to losing the physical edge he had during his junior days. I expect Andrei to be a fixture on the Canes middle six, for this year, and being one of the Canes most dynamic scorer in the future. Truly elite player, I expect a comparable impact to Steven Stamkos. He’s 99.99% likely to graduate this year.
3- Martin Necas, Carolina, 12h overall in 2017
Another Hurricane prospect. The best center prospect in this edition, Necas plays a high tempo game with an uncanny talent to find the open man. Expecting him to be in the Canes top six this year, forty to fifty points in his first year, upside of 70 a year. Necas dominated every international tourney he was in as the best player for the Czech, I expect him to be a fixture on the Canes top line for years, Svechnikov seems like a perfect player for the budding first line C.
4- Miro Heiskanen, Dallas, 3rd overall in 2017
Miro is coming off a great draft + 1 year, where he saw play at the WJC, WC, Olympics on top of dominating as the 1D on his Liiga team, posting the best PPG for a u19 defenseman. As with all defensemen, he will most likely be eased in slowly, look for him to contribute in the top four for the Stars, eventually challenging Klingberg as the 1D of the team, and hopefully, complimenting the latters offense first game.
5- Casey Mittelstatd, Buffalo, 8th overall in 2017.
Casey is probably the most electric forward left on the board at this point, oozes talent and dominates the ice with his set of spectacular hands and diverse skillset. He won the MVP award at the WJC and thrived in his late season stint in Buffalo. An early favorite for the Calder trophy, look for him to play in the top six, at C or at wing.
6- Elias Pettersson, Vancouver, 5th overall in 2017.
Originally thought of as a reach by the Canucks, the lanky Pettersson delivered a final blow to his critics, he destroyed the SHL, beating out every u20 ever in raw points and finishing 2nd, behind Kent Nilsson in PPG. He won every awards in the SHL, but came just short of the gold medal with a, somewhat, disappointing tournament for the Swedes. The Canucks are looking for him to make his debut in the NHL, most likely at wing where he might spend a significant amount of games.
7- Adam Boqvist, Chicago, 8th overall in 2018.
Boqvist is a slick defender, with one of the best shots a player could possess. His ability to get open and put one in the back of the net is unprecedented on the blue line. Concussions and limited viewings make him slide down the board but there is elite talent all over the board here. He’s most likely a few years away from the NHL, but the upside to be an elite talent is there.
8- Cale Makar, Colorado, 4th overall in 2017.
Cale went to Umass with the intention of working out the kinks in his defensive game and he succeeded, while putting up respectable numbers in the NCAA as a freshman. Makar has game-breaking skills all over the board, his elite skating highlighting his skill set. He produced huge numbers once put in the position to do so with Team Canada at the World junior Championship. He is set to remain at Umass for the following year but will most likely make the jump next year.
9-Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota, 135th overall in 2015.
The diminutive Russian star forward had another great year in the KHL, with 40 points in 46 games and dominated international play with 23 points in 22 games. He should come over once his KHL contract is up in 2020.
10- Eeli Tolvanen, Nashville, 30th overall in 2017.
Tolvanen made a great debut in the KHL as a rookie forward, scoring 36 points in 45 games, 19 of those being goals. Probably the 2nd favorite to win the Calder this year, poised to take a big role on the Predators, should see him pot at least twenty.
11- Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Montreal, 3rd overall in 2018.
12-Kristian Vesalainen, Winnipeg, 24th overall in 2017.
13-Filip Chytil, New York Rangers, 21st overall in 2017.
14- Connor Timmins, Colorado, 32nd overall in 2017.
15- Cody Glass, Vegas, 6th overall in 2017.
16-Gabe Vilardi, LA, 11th overall in 2017.
17- Dylan Strome, Arizona, 3rd overall in 2015.
18- Filip Zadina, Detroit, 6th overall in 2018.
19- Noah Dobson, NYI, 12th overall in 2018.
20- Quinn Hughes, Vancouver, 7th overall in 2018.
21- Ryan Donato, Boston, 56th overall in 2014.
22- Henri Jokiharju, Chicago, 29th overall in 2017.
23- Lias Andersson, NYR, 7th overall in 2017.
24- Henrik Borgstrom, Florida, 23rd overall in 2016.
25- Cal Foote, Tampa Bay, 14th overall in 2017.
26- Erik Brannstrom, Vegas, 15th overall in 2017.
27- Juuso Valimaki, Calgary, 16th overall in 2017.
28- Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa, 4th overall in 2018.
29- Vitali Kravtsov, New York Rangers, 9th overall in 2018.
30- Alexander Alexeyev, Washington, 31st overall in 2018.
31- Nick Suzuki, Vegas, 13th overall in 2017.
32- Ty Smith, New Jersey, 17th overall in 2018.
33- Nils Lundkvist, New York rangers, 28th overall in 2018.
34- Oliver Wahlstrom, New york Islanders, 11th overall in 2018.
35- Robert Thomas, St-Louis, 20th overall in 2017.
36- Jordan Kyrou, St Louis, 35th overall in 2016.
37- Ryan Poehling, Montreal, 25th overall in 2017.
38- Morgan Frost, Philadelphia, 27th overall in 2017.
39- Noah Juulsen, Montreal, 26th overall in 2015.
40- Victor Mete, Montreal, 100th overall in 2016.
41- Daniel Sprong, Pittsburgh, 46th overall in 2015.
42- Klim Kostin, St-Louis, 31st overall in 2017.
43- Evan Bouchard, Edmonton, 10th overall in 2018
44- Jonathan Berggren, Detroit, 33rd overall in 2018.
45- Joel Farabee, Philadelphia, 14th overall in 2018.
46- Phillip Myers, Philadelphia, UFA
47- Filip Hronek, Detroit, 53rd overall in 2016.
48- Owen Tippett, Florida, 10th overall in 2018
49- Nicolas Hague, Vegas, 34th overall in 2017.
50- Urhoo Vakanainen, Boston, 18th overall in 2017.
