It’s the beginning of hockey season folks!!! Bob McKenzie and Craig Button have released their pre-season 2018 draft rankings and you can watch the videos below. In the past this has been a very important time of the year for Oilers fans but since we’ve drafted McDavid, the draft and its prospects have found themselves on the backburner a bit for some folks.
I admit last season, I couldn’t be bothered following it. There simply wasn’t the hype to be honest but this year’s crop of kids is going to be outstanding and even though the Oilers are expected to be picking 31st (hehe) in June, some players drop that shouldn’t (I’m talking to you Eeli Tolvanen and Timothy Liljegren) and some players rise.
My comments on the prospects, my own top ten, and the links to McKenzie’s and Button’s write-ups follow the videos below!
Let me know what you think about the rankings in the Youtube comments and please don’t forget to subscribe to our Channel!
I think that we’re getting two VERY special players in 2018/19 in Dahlin and Svechnikov. This 2000-born draft class is going to be hailed as one of the best ever in my opinion because the talent doesn’t drop off after the first two.
If you simply want to read the rankings, click on the two links below!
What you’ll find is a pretty even keel list with Bob McKenzie and then something almost the opposite with Craig Button. Button usually has some players ridiculously low because he’s projecting how they’ll be in 3-5 years I believe whereas McKenzie is ranking in the now.
McKenzie’s 2018 Pre-Season Draft Rankings
Button’s 2018 Pre-Season Craig’s List
My rankings go as such:
- Rasmus Dahlin – D
- Andrei Svechnikov – RW
- Brady Tkachuk – LW
- Rasmus Kupari – C
- Adam Boqvist – D
- Joe Veleno – C
- Quinn Hughes – D
- Ryan Merkley – D
- Bode Wilde – D
- Filip Zadina – C
I didn’t put too much into these rankings, just a bit of personal opinion and from what I’ve been gleaned upon by others in the know. I value right-handers quite a bit. I like high-end offensive dmen and skilled power forwards. I’m not a fan of players who don’t offer a bit of dynamicism or entertainment value be that highly skilled goals/passes or big time hits. Steady Eddies are good for your team but bore this shite out of me.
I’m a little disappointed that Tkachuk and Wilde aren’t playing in the CHL, as I’d love to have seen them up against it in Canada. Filip Zadina is going to be an interesting case this year as he’ll be playing with two other first round projected players in Jared McIsaac and Benoit-Olivier Groulx. Ryan Merkley getting comparisons to Ryan Murphy is a little disconcerting and Quinn Hughes will be one to watch at the World Juniors because if you like puck-rushing dmen, he’s your guy.
Boqvist will have to work on his shooting accoring to Steve Kournianos as The Draft Analyst said on a recent podcast that he wasn’t impressed with how many times Boqvist missed the net with his shot. Of course, McKenzie has Boqvist being compared to Erik Karlsson… So there’s that.
Lastly, Joe Veleno will be playing alongside Oilers prospect Ostap Safin and given what I saw during the prospects tourney and the rookie game vs. the NAIT/MacEwan All-Stars, I really have no idea how that is going to pan out. Safin is pretty laid back and Veleno is a game breaker for Saint John.
This video was done at the beginning of September, so the top ten here will be a tad different!
