2018 NHL Draft: Fisher’s Final Top 100 Following Combine

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The countdown is officially on for the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, now that all the auditioning is over — culminating with the combine, the Memorial Cup and the men’s world championship over the last month.

The 31 NHL teams will be busy finalizing their lists leading up to draft weekend, June 22-23 in Dallas, but these rankings will have to stand the test of time as my final Top 100 for 2018.

RELATED: THW Guide to 2018 NHL Entry Draft

This is another exciting draft class — highlighted by Rasmus Dahlin, who has been dubbed a generational defenceman — and perhaps I’ll be proven wrong but there appears to be a consensus Top 10 as of today, with only the order to be determined on the stage at American Airlines Center.

The names in my Top 10 haven’t changed since May 1 — following the under-18 tournament — but I’ve made a few tweaks to my order for these final rankings.

After the Top 10, I feel there is a slight drop-off in talent to the next tier of prospects — a small group of three that I expect to go from 11 to 13 or certainly within the Top 15. Perhaps one of them could sneak into the Top 10 on draft day, but it’s tough to say who would fall out in favour of them.

For me, the 2018 draft becomes wide open at No. 14 and I can’t wait to see what happens from there. That’s when the real suspense will begin for draft junkies such as myself.

My third tier, from 14 to 24, is quite interchangeable but all those prospects should be first-round picks.

My fourth tier, from 25 all the way down to about 55, is a wide-ranging group that could really go in any order. Heck, I could reverse my order without causing too much controversy.

The deeper you go, the harder it gets to rank these prospects, but it’s a labour of love — spending countless hours scouting, researching and networking to narrow down a Top 100 from my big list of 650 draft-eligible names for 2018.

As I did for April and May, I’ll highlight 10 risers and 10 fallers from my June rankings in the coming days, while putting the finishing touches on my seventh annual mock draft, which typically publishes the morning after the Stanley Cup is handed out. For the third year in a row, I’ll be mocking the full seven rounds — all 217 picks, with analysis for each and every selection.

But first, without further ado, I give to you my final Top 100 rankings as of June 4 following the draft combine:

First Round

1) Rasmus Dahlin (LHD, Sweden, Frolunda SHL)

2) Andrei Svechnikov (RW, Russia, Barrie OHL)

3) Filip Zadina (LW, Czech Republic, Halifax QMJHL)

4) Quinn Hughes (LHD, USA, Michigan NCAA)

5) Adam Boqvist (RHD, Sweden, Brynas J20)

6) Jesperi Kotkaniemi (C/LW, Finland, Assat)

7) Oliver Wahlstrom (RW/C, USA, NTDP U18)

8) Noah Dobson (RHD, Canada, Acadie Bathurst QMJHL)

9) Brady Tkachuk (LW, USA, Boston University NCAA)

10) Evan Bouchard (RHD, Canada, London OHL)

11) Ty Smith (LHD, Canada, Spokane WHL)

12) Joe Veleno (C, Canada, Drummondville QMJHL)

13) Joel Farabee (LW, USA, NTDP U18)

14) Vitali Kravtsov (RW, Russia, Chelyabinsk KHL)

15) Barrett Hayton (C, Canada, Sault Ste. Marie OHL)

16) Ryan Merkley (RHD, Canada, Guelph OHL)

17) Bode Wilde (RHD, USA/Canada, NTDP U18)

18) K’Andre Miller (LHD, USA, NTDP U18)

19) Martin Kaut (RW, Czech Republic, Pardubice)

20) Jonatan Berggren (C/W, Sweden, Skelleftea J20)

21) Dominik Bokk (RW, Germany, Vaxjo J20)

22) Grigori Denisenko (LW, Russia, Loko Yaroslavl MHL)

23) Rasmus Kupari (C, Finland, Karpat)

24) Isac Lundestrom (C/LW, Sweden, Lulea SHL)

25) Rasmus Sandin (LHD, Sweden, Sault Ste. Marie OHL)

26) Nils Lundkvist (RHD, Sweden, Lulea SHL)

27) Jonny Tychonick (LHD, Canada, Penticton BCHL)

28) Jared McIsaac (LHD, Canada, Halifax QMJHL)

29) Akil Thomas (RW/C, Canada, Niagara OHL)

30) Ty Dellandrea (C, Canada, Flint OHL)

31) Jake Wise (C, USA, NTDP U18)

Second Round

32) Mattias Samuelsson (LHD, USA/Sweden, NTDP U18)

33) Alexander Alexeyev (LHD, Russia, Red Deer WHL)

34) Jacob Olofsson (C, Sweden, Timra)

35) Serron Noel (RW, Canada, Oshawa OHL)

36) Liam Foudy (C, Canada, London OHL)

37) Ryan McLeod (C/LW, Canada, Mississauga OHL)

38) David Gustafsson (C, Sweden, HV71 J20)

39) Niklas Nordgren (RW, Finland, HIFK Liiga)

40) Jakub Lauko (C, Czech Republic, Chomutov)

41) Filip Hallander (C/W, Sweden, Timra)

42) Jesse Ylonen (RW, Finland/USA, Espoo United)

43) Nicolas Beaudin (LHD, Canada, Drummondville QMJHL)

44) Calen Addison (RHD, Canada, Lethbridge WHL)

45) Jett Woo (RHD, Canada, Moose Jaw WHL)

46) Jacob Bernard-Docker (RHD, Canada, Okotoks AJHL)

47) Blake McLaughlin (C, USA, Chicago USHL)

48) Jack Drury (C, USA, Waterloo USHL)

49) Matej Pekar (C/RW, Czech Republic, Muskegon USHL)

50) Jay O’Brien (C, USA, Thayer High School)

51) Aidan Dudas (C, Canada, Owen Sound OHL)

52) Kirill Marchenko (F, Russia, Mamonty MHL)

53) Ivan Morozov (C, Russia, Mamonty Yugry, MHL)

54) Filip Johansson (RHD, Sweden, Leksands J20)

55) Adam Ginning (LHD, Sweden, Linkoping J20)

56) Kevin Bahl (LHD, Canada, Ottawa OHL)

57) Ty Emberson (RHD, USA, NTDP U18)

58) Dmitry Zavgorodniy (RW, Russia, Rimouski QMJHL)

59) Alexander Khovanov (C, Russia, Moncton QMJHL)

60) Philip Kurashev (C, Switzerland, Quebec QMJHL)

61) Jack McBain (C, Canada, Toronto OJHL)

62) Cam Hillis (C, Canada, Guelph OHL)

Third Round

63) Cole Fonstad (RW, Canada, Prince Albert WHL)

64) Bo Groulx (C, Canada, Halifax QMJHL)

65) Allan McShane (C, Canada, Oshawa OHL)

66) Milos Roman (C, Slovakia, Vancouver WHL)

67) Martin Fehervary (LHD, Slovakia, Oskarshamn Sweden)

68) Spencer Stastney (LHD, USA, NTDP U18)

69) Stanislav Demin (LHD, USA, Wenatchee BCHL)

70) Alec Regula (RHD, USA, London OHL)

71) Jakub Skarek (G, Czech Republic, Dukla Jihlava)

72) Jan Jenik (LW, Czech Republic, Liberec U20)

73) Sampo Ranta (RW, Finland, Sioux City USHL)

74) Curtis Hall (C, USA, Youngstown USHL)

75) Tyler Weiss (C/LW, USA, NTDP U18)

76) Nikolai Kovalenko (RW, Russia/USA, Loko Yaroslavl MHL)

77) Bulat Shafigullin (F, Russia, Nizhnekamsk MHL)

78) Danila Galenyuk (LHD, Russia, SKA St. Petersburg KHL)

79) Toni Utunen (LHD, Finland, Tappara Liiga)

80) Scott Perunovich (LHD, USA, Minnesota-Duluth NCAA, over-ager)

81) Simon Johansson (RHD, Sweden, Djurgardens J20, over-ager)

82) Oskar Back (C/W, Sweden, Farjestad J20)

83) Ryan O’Reilly (C, USA, Madison USHL)

84) Blade Jenkins (C, Canada, Saginaw OHL)

85) Curtis Douglas (C, Canada, Windsor OHL)

86) Riley Sutter (C/RW, Canada, Everett WHL)

87) Chase Wouters (C, Canada, Saskatoon WHL)

88) Luka Burzan (C, Canada, Brandon WHL)

89) Johnny Gruden (LW, USA, NTDP U18)

90) Tyler Madden (C, USA, Tri-City USHL)

91) Alex Steeves (F, USA, Dubuque USHL)

92) Jordan Harris (LHD, USA, Kimball Union High School)

93) Filip Kral (LHD, Czech Republic, Spokane WHL)

Honourable Mentions

94) Jacob Tortora (LW, USA, Boston College NCAA, over-ager)

95) Semyon Der-Arguchintsev (C/RW, Russia, Peterborough OHL)

96) Pavel Gogolev (RW, Russia, Peterborough OHL)

97) Ruslan Iskhakov (C/W, Russia, Krasnaya Armiya MHL)

98) Albin Eriksson (LW, Sweden, Skelleftea J20)

99) Lukas Dostal (G, Czech Republic, Kometa Brno U20)

100) Olivier Rodrigue (G, Canada, Drummondville QMJHL)

Alas, this is my final Top 100 for the 2018 NHL Entry Draft but, as always, I ask if there are any glaring omissions? Is anyone way too high or way too low? Feel free to make your voice heard in the comments below, or reach out to me directly via email at larry.fisher31@gmail.com.