We are already up to Day 3 of the SBNation Mock NHL Draft. Today we have picks six through eight, and we are just dipping our toes in the part of the draft where a lot of people can argue for months about who goes before whom. Years, maybe.

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

Day 3 SBNation Mock Draft

NHL Mock Draft 2018: Red Wings select Adam Boqvist with No. 6 pick

The Vancouver Canucks site selected Noah Dobson with the number 7 pick.  They haven’t got an article yet, so here’s a scouting report from another site:

2018 NHL Draft prospect: Defenceman Noah Dobson has size, speed & skill - Eyes On The Prize
A dual-threat defender, Dobson would be a great addition to any NHL team.

NHL Mock Draft 2018: Chicago Blackhawks select Oliver Wahlstrom with No. 8 pick

Adam Boqvist is a really interesting choice. He’s the second ranked skater from Europe by NHL Central Scouting, and the question is how far below Rasmus Dahlin will he go?

Winging it in Motown said:

Boqvist has been called a natural QB for a PP squad, and his ability shows it. While he’s not the biggest defenseman in his class, he’s making up for it with raw talent and athletic ability. When you add in an NHL organization’s guidance, development, and training — the ceiling is sky-high.

It’s interesting to see Noah Dobson go right after Boqvist. Two more different defenders are hard to find.

From the link above:

Dobson’s biggest asset is his skating, and he uses his smooth strides along with great edgework to make plays happen at both ends of the ice. He’s not a small body at 6’3”, but he’s able to glide in and out of opposing teams’ defences with ease, thus allowing himself and teammates more space to try to make plays happen.

It is unusual to see this combination of size and skating ability in a prospect, and it is the primary reason why the defenceman is regarded so highly. Those are qualities that are heavily coveted in a blue-liner on their own. When they combine, they give a player a crushing advantage over opponents.

Second City Hockey went with American winger Oliver Wahlstrom and they talked a lot about their selection process, recognizing that the choice wasn’t obvious:

The selections went as expected for the most part depending on how somehow values the order of the three defenseman taken.

If there is a surprise, it’s defenseman Evan Bouchard not being in the top three. The right-handed shot led all OHL defenseman in points last season with the London Knights. He’s an offensive defenseman like so many in this year’s draft.

Prior to knowing who was selected I figured the top available players for the Hawks would be Dobson, Wahlstrom and Finnish center Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Each player would fill a need for the Hawks, and the team would be smart to pick any of them.

I’m surprised Bouchard and Kotkaniemi are still available at this point too. Will they go today? Today’s picks are the Rangers, the Oilers and the Islanders, with their first of two in a row.

What do you think about these picks? Would you have taken someone else?

Who would you have taken in this group?

Evan Bouchard119
Jesper Kotkaniemi65
Someone else.15
I like all three of these picks55