Almost as quickly as it began, the 2017-18 hockey season is beginning to wind down. The three Canadian major junior leagues are in the final weeks of their regular seasons. The various NCAA conferences are in their playoff tournaments. Most European pro leagues are in their playoffs, as well. With most of the hockey season complete, here’s the latest edition of our 2018 NHL Draft rankings.

Andrei Svechnikov (Terry Wilson / OHL Images)

This is the fourth edition of my annual NHL Draft rankings. Roughly every other month, I attempt to rank the top players in this year’s draft class as if I were drafting a team from scratch. My main proviso? I want the players that will help my team win consistently. The usual disclaimers apply: I live in Western Canada so I see Western Hockey League players the most often, followed by the remainder of Canada’s prospects – especially those affiliated with Hockey Canada. I have to rely on video for players in the United States and Europe for the most part. I’m also hesitant to draft goalies early due to the sheer number of weird things that can go wrong and derail their development.

For a couple second opinions, check out the latest rankings from my colleagues Larry Fisher and Brett Slawson.

As always, your mileage may vary.

The Top 62

Honourable Mentions

Here are 10 intriguing prospects that narrowly missed the cut (presented in alphabetical order):

• D Declan Chisholm – Peterborough Petes (OHL)
• C Jack Drury – Waterloo Blackhawks (USHL)
• C Johnny Gruden – U.S. National Development Team (USHL)
• G Jacob Ingham – Mississauga Steelheads (OHL)
• C Jachym Kondelik – Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL)
• D Filip Kral – Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
• C Tyler Madden – Tri-City Storm (USHL)
• C Tristen Nielsen – Calgary Hitmen (WHL)
• D Alec Regula – London Knights (OHL)
• G Olivier Rodrigue – Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL)

Trends, Themes and Things to Watch

The theme of the 2018 NHL Draft is that there are a ton of really good defensemen throughout the first couple rounds of the draft. The team that wins the draft lottery gets Rasmus Dahlin. Your team misses out on Dahlin? There’s always Adam Boqvist, Ty Smith, Evan Bouchard or Noah Dobson. Your team barely misses the playoffs? Console your fanbase with the likes of Quinn Hughes, Mattias Samuelsson, K’Andre Miller, Jared McIsaac and Bode Wilde are right there. Your team has a good playoff run and then potentially can load back up with Calen Addison, Rasmus Sandin, Alexander Alexeyev, Ryan Merkley and Jett Woo. All of these blueliners have either a high offensive ceiling, a strong grasp of the defensive game or, in the case of the high-end players, both. And that’s just the first round.

Jett Woo of the @MJWARRIORS was our top-searched #NHLDraft eligible yesterday! https://t.co/KysQzVZXNL

— FutureConsiderations (@FCHockey) March 12, 2018

While there’s a higher-than-usual proportion of high-end defenders in this year’s draft, the 2018 class is thinner at high-end forwards than previous years. Andrei Svechnikov, Brady Tkachuk, Filip Zadina and Oliver Wahlstrom are all decent bets with high ceilings. Just about everyone else in the class have lower ceilings than that quartet, but there’s still a ton of value to be found in the middle rounds of the draft.

In terms of goaltenders, the quartet of Alexis Gravel, Jakub Skarek, Jacob Ingham and Olivier Rodrigue are all clustered closely together. They all have stylistic differences, but all have similar ceilings. The 2018 class somewhat resembles 2012’s in regards to goaltenders, with nobody who seems to have as high a ceiling as Jake Oettinger (the standout of 2017’s draft) but several intriguing netminders who will likely be selected in the same vicinity as each other.

The post Pike’s Picks: 2018 NHL Draft Ranking – March Edition appeared first on The Hockey Writers.