With a strong World Junior Championship from many draft eligible players in the books, we now look to 2018 to see which prospects can continue to improve their draft stock
January 10, 2018 [Waterloo, ON] ISS Hockey has released its new monthly rankings of the top prospects eligible for the 2018 NHL Draft. The rankings have been created and compiled by our worldwide network of scouts.
Below is the ISS Top 31, highlighting the rankings for the top 31 skater and top 2 goalie prospects, which is released on the first Wednesday of every month
Rasmus Dahlin (Vastra Frolunda, SweE)
ISS #1 Ranked NHL Entry Draft Prospect
during the hockey season. An interactive page where the ISS Top 31 can be viewed, sorted, and commented on, and where users can interact with our scouts, can be viewed at: isshockey.com/iss-top-31
ISS Hockey Top 31 Ranked Prospects for 2018 NHL Draft
| Rank | Player Name | Position | DOB | Shot | Height | Weight | Team | League | Previous Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dahlin, Rasmus | LD | 4/13/2000 | L | 6.02 | 181 | Vastra Frolunda | SweE | 1 |
| 2 | Tkachuk, Brady | C | 9/16/1999 | L | 6.03.25* | 196 | Boston University | H. E | 3 |
| 3 | Svechnikov, Andrei | RW/C | 3/26/2000 | L | 6.02* | 186 | Barrie | OHL | 2 |
| 4 | Zadina, Filip | RW | 11/27/1999 | L | 6.00* | 196 | Halifax | QMJHL | 4 |
| 5 | Wahlstrom, Oliver | C | 6/13/2000 | R | 6.00.75* | 205 | USA U18 | NTDP | 6 |
| 6 | Bouchard, Evan | RD | 10/20/1999 | R | 6.01.75* | 193 | London | OHL | 13 |
| 7 | Hughes, Quinn | LD | 10/14/1999 | L | 5.09.5* | 170 | U. of Michigan | Big Ten | 5 |
| 8 | Boqvist, Adam | LD | 8/15/2000 | R | 5.11 | 170 | Brynas IF Jr. | SweJE | 8 |
| 9 | Kupari, Rasmus | C | 3/15/2000 | R | 6.01.25 | 183 | Karpat Oulu | FinE | 10 |
| 10 | Smith, Ty | LD | 3/24/2000 | L | 5.10.25* | 176 | Spokane | WHL | 11 |
| 11 | Lundestrom, Isac | C | 11/6/1999 | L | 6.00.5 | 185 | Lulea HF | SweE | 22 |
| 12 | Veleno, Joseph | C | 1/13/2000 | L | 6.01* | 195 | Saint John | QMJHL | 7 |
| 13 | Wilde, Bode | RD | 1/24/2000 | R | 6.02.25* | 195 | USA U18 | NTDP | 12 |
| 14 | Farabee, Joel | LW | 2/25/2000 | L | 5.11.5* | 164 | USA U18 | NTDP | 14 |
| 15 | Hayton, Barrett | C | 6/9/2000 | L | 6.00.75* | 191 | Sault Ste. Marie | OHL | 16 |
| 16 | McIsaac, Jared | LD | 3/27/2000 | L | 6.01* | 195 | Halifax | QMJHL | 17 |
| 17 | Denisenko, Grigori | LW | 6/24/2000 | R | 5.11 | 165 | Yaroslavl Loko | RusJr | 18 |
| 18 | Thomas, Akil | C | 1/2/2000 | R | 5.11* | 169 | Niagara | OHL | 15 |
| 19 | McLeod, Ryan | C | 9/21/1999 | L | 6.02* | 200 | Mississauga | OHL | 9 |
| 20 | Dobson, Noah | RD | 1/7/2000 | R | 6.02.75* | 180 | Acadie-Bathurst | QMJHL | 19 |
| 21 | Groulx, Benoit-Olivier | C | 2/6/2000 | L | 6.00.75* | 192 | Halifax | QMJHL | 21 |
| 22 | Alexeyev, Alexander | RD | 11/15/1999 | R | 6.03* | 200 | Red Deer | WHL | 20 |
| 23 | Merkley, Ryan | RD | 8/14/2000 | R | 5.11.25* | 170 | Guelph | OHL | 23 |
| 24 | Kaut, Martin | RW | 10/2/1999 | R | 6.01.5 | 176 | Pardubice | CzeE | NR |
| 25 | Kotkaniemi, Jesperi | C | 7/6/2000 | L | 6.01.5* | 188 | Assat | FinE | 24 |
| 26 | Woo, Jett | RD | 7/27/2000 | R | 5.11.75* | 205 | Moose Jaw | WHL | 27 |
| 27 | Sutter, Riley | RW | 10/25/1999 | R | 6.03* | 205 | Everett | WHL | 25 |
| 28 | McBain, Jack | LW | 1/6/2000 | L | 6.03 | 194 | Toronto | OJHL | 26 |
| 29 | Tychonick, Jonathan | LD | 3/3/2000 | L | 5.11.25 | 166 | Penticton | BCHL | NR |
| 30 | Ginning, Adam | RD | 1/13/2000 | L | 6.03 | 196 | Linkoping HC | SweE | 28 |
| 31 | Noel, Serron | RW | 8/8/2000 | R | 6.04.75* | 200 | Oshawa | OHL | 31 |
| Goalies | |||||||||
| 1 | Ingham, Jacob | G | 6/10/2000 | L | 6.03.5* | 186 | Mississauga | OHL | 1 |
| 2 | Rodrigue, Olivier | G | 7/6/2000 | L | 6.00.25* | 159 | Drummondville | QMJHL | 2 |
If there were any doubts about Rasmus Dahlin coming into the World Junior Championship, they were all but erased by his spectacular performance at the tournament. The draft eligible defenceman had 6 points in 7 games, and was named the tournament’s best defenceman. He showcased his dazzling skating and offensive abilities every game, regularly rushing the puck up ice and dancing through opponents to create scoring chances.
“Dahlin’s performance not only solidified his #1 ranking, he separated himself from everyone else”, said ISS Director of Scouting Dennis MacInnis. “Dahlin showed the ability to be a difference maker in each and every game he played. When he has the puck on his stick, he is one of the most electric players in this age group”.
The complete ISS Hockey rankings, evaluations, game reports, player reports, player profiles and more are exclusively available to hockey professionals through RinkNet, ISS parent company HockeyTech’s Scouting and Player Information System. To find out more about RinkNet, please visit: https://www.hockeytech.com/league-team-operations/
About ISS Hockey
ISS Hockey (International Scouting Services) is the world’s leading independent hockey scouting organization. Founded in 2002, ISS is a division of HockeyTech, a worldwide leader in hockey technology, analytics and information services. ISS scouts, evaluates, analyzes and ranks players internationally on behalf of its many clients. ISS data is widely utilized in the hockey world, building an industry leading reputation for the best and most comprehensive scouting information. The key to the success of ISS is the incredible worldwide network of ISS Hockey scouts. ISS scouts are within reach of every young hockey player in the world, and attend every major hockey tournament, in addition to thousands of league games. All players that we rank will have been seen and evaluated many times by several ISS scouts.
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