2018 NHL mock draft: Eastern Conference teams

With the NHL season over, all eyes turn to the 2018 NHL draft. The Eastern Conference has 19 first-round picks, starting with the Buffalo Sabres.

The 2018 NHL Draft is almost here. The two days of the the year where you get to see a window into your favorite teams’s future. For some teams, you know it will be good. For others, you just have to hope your team’s scouting department has a good year.

This year, defenseman Rasmus Dahlin is the prize prospect and the Buffalo Sabres finally got some luck in the draft lottery. Behind him and Andrei Svechnikov, though, this might be one of the most open drafts we have seen in years. One player could go in the Nos. 11-20 range in one mock draft and could be picked in the second round in another. That is true for quite a few players in this year’s draft.

This means that this could be a year where a lot of teams will draft for need in the first round rather than just picking the best player available. Why? It might be a few years before we know who the best player is after the top five or so. This will make this year’s draft one to watch for sure.

For this mock, fellow FanSided NHL writer Derek Grochowski and myself have split the Eastern and Western Conference. This is obviously the Eastern Conference half of the mock. Now, we’re starting to see teams more willing to move first-rounders after a few years of hesitation. Eastern Conference teams hold 19 of the 31 first-round picks, with the Ottawa Senators, Detroit Red Wings, New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers holding two picks each, while the New York Rangers are starting their rebuild/retool right with three first-rounders.

You can find the Western Conference selections here.

Let’s get started.

1. Buffalo Sabres – Rasmus Dahlin

What? You were expecting somebody else? Unlike last season, where there was at least some question as to who would be take first, there is one answer and one answer only.

Dahlin is another elite defenseman in the making. He’s already taken part in two World Junior Championship tournaments. He even participated two games at the 2018 Winter Olympics, all before he has even been drafted. He looks to be the next great Swedish defenseman, following after Erik Karlsson and Nik Lidstrom. He will also go on to be only the second Swede to go first overall, after Mats Sundin in 1989.

Are there any flaws to Dahlin’s game? If they’re are, it’s really only due to being 18 years old. He’s going to get even better as he gets older. About those comparisons to Lidstrom and Karlsson, NHL Central Scouting Director Dan Marr had this to say,

"“All those characteristics they bring to the game, Dahlin has the same potential to bring those same characteristics” “It’s not fair to compare him to those players, but everything that made them successful National Hockey League players, this kid has it in his game… This here’s a player that could be a cornerstone to a franchise. And he’ll be a staple on their blue line for years and years to come.”"

This really works out for the Sabres. The Atlantic Division is becoming a powerhouse in the NHL but the Sabres have been at the bottom of it were quite a while, even with Jack Eichel. Dahlin will instantly make their defense better and will be a good counter for the offensive supertars of the Atlantic. Will he make the Sabres better? Yes. Will they be a playoff team next season? That remains to be seen, but Dahlin will definitely help that cause.