Fansided

2018 NHL mock draft: Western Conference teams

By Derek Grochowski

WORCESTER, MA - MARCH 25: Quinn Hughes #43 of the Michigan Wolverines skates the puck against the Boston University Terriers during the NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Northeast Regional Championship Final at the DCU Center on March 25, 2018 in Worcester, Massachusetts. The Wolverines won 6-3 and advanced to the Frozen Four in Minnesota. (Photo by Richard T Gagnon/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Quinn Hughes
WORCESTER, MA - MARCH 25: Quinn Hughes #43 of the Michigan Wolverines skates the puck against the Boston University Terriers during the NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Northeast Regional Championship Final at the DCU Center on March 25, 2018 in Worcester, Massachusetts. The Wolverines won 6-3 and advanced to the Frozen Four in Minnesota. (Photo by Richard T Gagnon/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Quinn Hughes /
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With the NHL season over, all eyes turn to the 2018 NHL draft. The Western Conference has 11 first-round picks, starting with the Arizona Coyotes.

The Washington Capitals are the Stanley Cup Champions. Unfortunately, that means the NHL season is officially over. The good news is that the 2018 NHL draft is right around the corner. There is plenty of top talent in this year’s draft and the teams in the Western Conference will be looking to capitalize.

For this mock, fellow FanSided NHL writer Jeff Langridge and myself have split the Eastern and Western Conference. This is obviously the Western Conference half of the mock. Western Conference teams hold 11 of the 31 first-round picks, starting at No. 5 with the Arizona Coyotes.

You can find the Eastern Conference selections here.

Let’s get started.

ANN ARBOR, MI – FEBRUARY 03: Michigan Wolverines defenseman Quinn Hughes (43) skates with the puck during a regular season Big 10 Conference hockey game between the Wisconsin Badgers and Michigan Wolverines on February 3, 2018 at Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
ANN ARBOR, MI – FEBRUARY 03: Michigan Wolverines defenseman Quinn Hughes (43) skates with the puck during a regular season Big 10 Conference hockey game between the Wisconsin Badgers and Michigan Wolverines on February 3, 2018 at Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

5. Arizona Coyotes – Quinn Hughes

With the first pick in the 2018 draft for a Western Conference team, the Arizona Coyotes will get a chance to take one of the most dynamic defensemen in the draft. Quinn Hughes excelled at every level he played at this year. His talent with the puck is on par with many of the forwards in this year’s draft. With the top forwards off the board already, Hughes is the best player available and also fits a need for the Coyotes.

Hughes has many strengths in his game. He showed well against college level talent. In his time at the University of Michigan, Hughes picked up an impressive 29 points in 37 games. His success continued at the World Junior tournament. While representing the United States Hughes added three assists in seven games. Hughes then took his up another level during the World Championships. Playing against the professional NHL players Hughes added two more assists. Even though the point totals were not exceptional he was impressive. This was enough to push him even higher in many draft rankings.

What separates Quinn Hughes from Rasmus Dahlin at the top of the draft is his play in his own zone and Hughes is slightly behind in offensive ability. Hughes is better at breaking out from his zone but is not as effective in the offensive zone as Dahlin. When It comes to defense, Hughes is sufficient but he needs to get better. Dahlin is able to use his physical frame more to make impactful plays. Pairing Hughes with a physical defenseman Jakob Chychrun would be ideal for the Arizona Coyotes. This would give them a top pair of defenseman for the future especially with Olver Ekman-Larsson’s future unclear. It is true the Coyotes could use a forward, but with the top tier off the board, a defenseman makes the most sense.

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