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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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PLYMOUTH, MI – FEBRUARY 14: Oliver Wahlstrom #18 of the USA Nationals turns up ice with the puck against the Czech Nationals during the 2018 Under-18 Five Nations Tournament game at USA Hockey Arena on February 14, 2018 in Plymouth, Michigan. The Czech Republic defeated the USA Nationals 6-2. (Photo by Dave Reginek/Getty Images)*** Local Caption *** Oliver Wahlstrom
PLYMOUTH, MI – FEBRUARY 14: Oliver Wahlstrom #18 of the USA Nationals turns up ice with the puck against the Czech Nationals during the 2018 Under-18 Five Nations Tournament game at USA Hockey Arena on February 14, 2018 in Plymouth, Michigan. The Czech Republic defeated the USA Nationals 6-2. (Photo by Dave Reginek/Getty Images)*** Local Caption *** Oliver Wahlstrom /

8. Chicago Blackhawks – Oliver Wahlstrom

With the rest of the Western Conference going heavy with the defensemen, the door is wide up for the Chicago Blackhawks to grab Oliver Wahlstrom. With the current core of the Chicago Blackhawks beginning to age out it is time to refresh all positions. The center position will be the most important in the Blackhawks’ next wave of success. Jonathan Toews is still a talented player, but Nick Schmaltz is not a true No. 2 center. Oliver Wahlstrom is not going to be an immediate fill of that hole, but he will be in the near future.

Wahlstrom had an astonishing 94 points in 62 games for the US NTDP. That is good enough for seventh overall in the program trailing players like Auston Matthews, Clayton Keller, Phil Kessel and Patrick Kane. Looking at that list of players around Wahlstrom, it is obvious he is a top talent. He is an extremely gifted skater with the puck and is hard to be stopped. Even though his offensive talent is high his greatest ability is his skating. He can use it to turn a defenseman, lead a breakout and generate offense. Wahlstrom is an extremely smart skater making him even more dangerous.

He will need to improve defensively, for as smart as he is offensively he knows what he should be doing defensively but the effort isn’t there. Wahlstrom is committed to joining Boston College next season. This will be a good test for him to raise his compete level and improve his defensive ability. He has the chance to be a game-changing center in this league for a long time but he needs to round out his game to be great. The Blackhawks can jumpstart their rebuild or even retool for one last push in a few years with the addition of Oliver Wahlstrom.

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