2018 NHL Entry Draft February Rankings

As we approach the trade deadline, we are going to see a number of teams selling off players with an eye towards the offseason. For fans in those cities, it is going to be along few months on the ice, so focus will likely shift to the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.

Now that the World Juniors are past us, and we’ve seen all the top players in the CHL in the same place at the Top Prospects game, there is going to be a lot of movement on draft lists. When that happens, it’s worth remembering that judging prospects based on an eight game tournament likely isn’t the best idea.

Thanks to a tremendous performance at the World Juniors, we are seeing Brady Tkachuk move all the way up to second on some draft lists. Brady Tkachuk is a very good player - possibly the most talented in his family - but he likely isn’t even the second best winger in the draft, let alone the second best prospect.

This is definitely the year of the defenseman. Rasmus Dahlin is going to be selected first overall, and after him, there are another 12 or 13 defenders that could be selected in the first round. If you’re a team drafting in the middle of the round - Like the Avalanche will be - you will have your choice of some pretty high-end puck moving defenseman to select from.

Here is a look at our top-50 prospects for February: