Yesterday we covered the first two picks of the SBNation Mock NHL Draft. Today we have picks three through five, and while there’s a lot of consensus out there about who will go in those spots on draft day, the opinions are not unanimous.

Day 1 SBNation Mock Draft

NHL Mock Draft 2018: Buffalo Sabres select Rasmus Dahlin with No. 1 pick
NHL Mock Draft 2018: Carolina Hurricanes select Andrei Svechnikov with No. 2 pick

Day 2 SBNation Mock Draft

NHL Mock Draft 2018: Montreal Canadiens select Filip Zadina with No. 3 pick
NHL Mock Draft 2018: Ottawa Senators Select Quinn Hughes with No. 4 Pick
NHL Mock Draft 2018: Arizona Coyotes select Brady Tkachuk with No. 5 pick

The Habs are reported, by Filip Zadina himself, to be interested in a centre or a defender. Might they trade down at the real draft?

Habs Eyes on the Prize took the BPA:

While we discussed a few other possibilities to draft in the number three slot, notably Finnish centre Jesperi Kotkaniemi and American defenceman Quinn Hughes, it was a unanimous decision to select Zadina. The feeling is that he holds more value than the other two options, both immediately and thanks to the goal-scoring prowess he projects to show over an NHL career.

Silver Seven bypassed the truculent Tkachuk and went for the epitome of the modern defenceman in Hughes:

Players like Hughes are a rare breed in the NHL. First, he’s from Orlando, Florida, and could be the first NHLer from the city. But more importantly, he has an incredible skillset, with big emphasis on his skating ability and hockey IQ. At 5’10”, he’s undersized compared to your average NHL defenceman. Although, considering his high-end ability to process the game, he’s shown no weakness in playing against top competition. He’s been tagged as the proto-typical new-age defenceman in the NHL — he’s a monster when it comes to zone transitions, and can limit the opposition’s chances using his speed and positioning. In a league where speed is becoming more and more valuable, you’d be glad to know that Hughes has been touted by many as the draft class’ best skater.

Arizona is really experienced at drafting with a high pick, just not a first overall, so Five for Howling should be good at this game by now. They picked a player a little different from what you might expect John Chayka to choose. But he can surprise you. Maybe he’d like some snarl on his offensive lines.

Most of the major ranking sites have Brady Tkachuk ranked as the 4th or 5th best player in this year’s entry draft. He’s been described as a very physical player with a lot of skill. Although projected to be an NHL wing, Tkachuk is a versatile player and has played both center and wing in his amateur career. He’s a very good skater, has an excellent wrist shot and has a extremely high hockey IQ which helped him adjust to playing NCAA hockey. In an Associated Press article, Tkachuk admitted that he struggled at the beginning of his freshman season with the Terriers but he was able to make the adjustment.

Today, three teams pick, and we get into the area of the draft where the choices get more contentious. Detroit is in this group, and now there’s a team that isn’t experienced with picking high in the draft.  I wonder how they’ll do?

Tomorrow, we’ll update those picks for you.

Until then, have your say: Would you have taken Hughes fourth overall? Or are Silver Sevens just trying to build a new Erik Karlsson knowing the old one is leaving?

Is Quinn Hughes at fourth overall a good pick?

He’s a good player, but not that good.140
They really do need EK the 2nd, so he’s right for them.128
I’d have picked this other player I promise to tell you about in comments.39