Each team's biggest need heading into the 2018 NHL draft

Each team’s biggest need heading into the 2018 NHL draft

VANCOUVER, BC - FEBRUARY 28: (L-R) NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson and Vancouver Canucks President Hockey Operations, Trevor Linden answer questions during a press conference at Rogers Arena February 28, 2018 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Vancouver Canucks will host the 2019 NHL Draft at Rogers Arena, the National Hockey League, Canucks and City of Vancouver announced today. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images) /

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The 2018 NHL Entry Draft is right around the corner. Here’s a need each team should address before the 217th overall pick is announced.

Another incredible and unpredictable NHL season has come and gone with the Washington Capitals being crowned the Stanley Cup champions. Now it’s time to start looking ahead to the NHL Entry Draft once again.

This years draft class looks to be one of the strongest in recent years and it’s all led by Rasmus Dahlin, an 18-year-old defenseman from Sweden who has been projected to be one of the premier defenseman in the entire league with his elite skill set. All signs point to this being a wild draft from both a team drama and player controversy standpoint, almost certainly more exciting than last year.

Each team has a position that they need more than anything else in this draft. While common knowledge says that teams should pick the best player available when they have the chance rather than filling position needs, a lot of teams this year can’t afford to ignore their needs any longer. Sometimes that “best player available” turns out to be a bust, and if there’s already a strength at that position than the pick was just wasted for nothing.

Before diving into each teams need, here’s the best available players at each position.

Top projected centers in the Draft

1. Jesperi Kotkaniem

2. Oliver Wahlstrom

3. Barrett Hayton

4. Rasmus Kupari

5. Joe Veleno

It’s a rather weak draft for centers compared to some of the stars that have gone in years past, but it’s still got some interesting names around that could turn into NHL regular with some time.

Top projected left wingers in the Draft

1. Filip Zadina

2. Joel Farabee

3. Grigori Denisenko

4. Dominik Bokk

5. Philipp Kurashev

Left wing is the weakest portion of the draft this year, but that doesn’t mean any of them should be passed on. Zadina could be a premier scorer in the NHL, and all top projected left wingers look to grow into an eventual top six role with the right development

Top right wingers in the Draft

1. Andrei Svechnikov

2. Vitali Kravtsov

3. Martin Kaut

4. Serron Noel

5. Jesse Ylonen

Right wing may look average on paper this year, but a lot of these players are popular candidates to be David Pastrnak like late first round steals with the right development.

Top defensemen in the Draft outside Rasmus Dahlin

1. Quinton Hughes

2. Adam Boqvist

3. Evan Bouchard

4. Noah Dobson

5. Ty Smith

Defense is the real meat of this years draft class. Outside of the obvious star Dahlin, all of these guys could become top pairing defensemen on teams that desperately need young talent on the blue line.

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