2018 NHL Draft prediction tracker: Players to watch at No. 5 for Coyotes

If we know one thing about the NHL Draft this year, it’s that there’s a lot of difference in opinion over what order to rank the top 10-or-so prospects.

The Arizona Coyotes have the No. 5 pick, and the opinions around hockey media are pretty divided on who the best prospects are, who will go in the top 10, who won’t and how each prospect compares to his peers.

With that in mind, we know that Rasmus Dahlin, a Swedish defenseman, is a virtual guarantee to go first overall. Forward Andrei Svechnikov will most likely go in the top three. Crossing those two names off the list, we’re keeping track of the buzz around the hockey world to see what the experts are saying, and who could be available when the Coyotes are on the clock:

Brady Tkachuk — LW, Boston University (NCAA)

Tkachuk is one of the more popular names in this draft, partly because he’s one of the best prospects in the draft partly because his name is a recognizable one; His brother Matthew plays for the Calgary Flames and his father Keith played for nearly two decades in the NHL with the Jets, Coyotes, Blues and Thrashers.

The questions are whether the Coyotes see him as the best player available at No. 5 and, most importantly, whether he is available at No. 5.

Corey Pronman, The Athletic (June 19) — Mock-drafted seventh overall to Vancouver Canucks

NHL.com (June 19) — Mock-drafted third overall to MTL or fourth overall to OTT

Kevin Allen, USA Today (June 18) — Mock-drafted fifth overall to Arizona Coyotes

Staff, The Athletic (June 12) — Mock-drafted fifth overall to Arizona Coyotes

Corey Pronman, The Athletic (June 7) — Ninth-ranked prospect in the draft

Craig Button, TSN (June 5) — Fourth-ranked prospect in the draft

NHL.com (June 4) — Mock-drafted third overall to Montreal Canadiens

Ryan Kennedy, The Hockey News (March 31) — Third-ranked prospect in the draft

Chris Peters, ESPN (Jan. 30) — Fourth-ranked prospect in the draft

Jesperi Kotkaniemi — C, Ässät (SM Liiga)

You can never have too many centers, and that’s an area where the Coyotes especially would love to find an elite player. Is Kotkaniemi that guy?

The soon-to-be-18-year-old Finn had 10-19-29 in 57 games with Ässät in the top pro league in Finland to go along with nine points in seven games in the World Junior Championship last season.

Corey Pronman, The Athletic (June 19) — Mock-drafted third overall to Montreal Canadiens

NHL.com (June 19) — Mock-drafted eighth overall to CHI or ninth overall to NYR

Kevin Allen, USA Today (June 18) — Mock-drafted seventh overall to Vancouver Canucks

Staff, The Athletic (June 12) — Mock-drafted ninth overall to New York Rangers

Corey Pronman, The Athletic (June 7) — Fourth-ranked prospect in the draft, seventh-best passer

Craig Button, TSN (June 5) — Fifth-ranked prospect in the draft

NHL.com (June 4) — Mock-drafted ninth overall to NYR or 10th overall to EDM

Ryan Kennedy, The Hockey News (March 31) — 18th-ranked prospect in the draft

Chris Peters, ESPN (Jan. 30) — 19h-ranked prospect in the draft

Quinn Hughes — D, Michigan (NCAA)

Hughes is probably the second-best NCAA product in this year’s NHL Draft behind Tkachuk. He’s a left-handed defenseman who scored 5-24-29 in 37 games with the Wolverines last year and was formerly with the USNTDP.

Corey Pronman, The Athletic (June 19) — Mock-drafted fifth overall to Arizona Coyotes

NHL.com (June 19) — Mock-drafted sixth overall to Detroit Red Wings

Kevin Allen, USA Today (June 18) — Mock-drafted fourth overall to Ottawa Senators

Staff, The Athletic (June 12) — Mock-drafted sixth overall to Detroit Red Wings

Corey Pronman, The Athletic (June 7) — 17th-best prospect in the draft, has best shot among defenseman

Craig Button, TSN (June 5) — Ninth-ranked prospect in the draft

NHL.com (June 4) — Mock-drafted sixth overall to DET or seventh overall to VAN

Ryan Kennedy, The Hockey News (March 31) — Sixth-ranked prospect in the draft

Chris Peters, ESPN (Jan. 30) — Fifth-ranked prospect in the draft

Noah Dobson — D, Acadie-Bathurst (QMJHL)

Craig Button of TSN has this 6-foot-2, 178-pound defenseman as the third-best defenseman in the draft behind Dahlin and Hughes, but the right-handed-shooting Dobson has drawn a wide range of opinion about where he ranks in this draft class:

Corey Pronman, The Athletic (June 19) — Mock-drafted ninth overall to New York Rangers

NHL.com (June 19) — Panel of three unanimously mocked Dobson to Arizona Coyotes

Kevin Allen, USA Today (June 18) — Mock-drafted ninth overall to New York Rangers

Staff, The Athletic (June 12) — Mock-drafted 10th overall to Edmonton Oilers

Corey Pronman, The Athletic (June 7) — 20th-ranked prospect, eighth-best skater in the draft

Craig Button, TSN (June 5) — Eighth-ranked prospect in the draft

NHL.com (June 4) — Panel of three unanimously mocked Dobson to Arizona Coyotes

Ryan Kennedy, The Hockey News (March 31) — Ninth-ranked prospect in the draft

Chris Peters, ESPN (Jan. 30) — 16th-ranked prospect in the draft

Barrett Hayton — C, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)

Like Dobson, Hayton also has been the subject of widely varying opinion. Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News notes that Hayton played for a Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds team that was loaded with other top talent, and thus finished just sixth on his team in scoring. Still, he was the top-ranked center in North America on NHL Central Scouting’s midterm rankings before falling to second-best center and ninth prospect overall in the final North American ranking.

Corey Pronman, The Athletic (June 19) — Mock-drafted 12th overall to New York Islanders

NHL.com (June 19) — Panel of three unanimously mocked Hayton to New York Islanders

Kevin Allen, USA Today (June 18) — Mock-drafted 11th overall to New York Islanders

Staff, The Athletic (June 12) — Mock-drafted 18th overall to Columbus Blue Jackets

Corey Pronman, The Athletic (June 7) — 23rd-ranked prospect in the draft

Craig Button, TSN (June 5) — Seventh-ranked prospect in the draft, second-ranked center

NHL.com (June 4) — Mock-drafted 11th overall to NYI or 12th overall to NYR

Ryan Kennedy, The Hockey News (March 31) — 12th-ranked prospect in the draft, second-ranked center

Chris Peters, ESPN (Jan. 30) — 11th-ranked prospect in the draft

Adam Boqvist — D, Brynas (SWE J20)

Boqvist is a right-handed D-man who stands at 5-foot-11 and 165 pounds at the age of 17. He’s considered to be one of the top prospects in Europe and had almost a point per game (14-10-24 in 25 games) in Sweden’s J20 SuperElit league last year.

Corey Pronman, The Athletic (June 19) — Mock-drafted 11th overall to New York Islanders

NHL.com (June 19) — Mock-drafted seventh overall to VAN or 10th to EDM

Kevin Allen, USA Today (June 18) — Mock-drafted 10th overall to Edmonton Oilers

Staff, The Athletic (June 12) — Mock-drafted seventh overall to Vancouver Canucks

Corey Pronman, The Athletic (June 7) — Seventh-ranked prospect in the draft, second-best puck-handler among D-men (behind Dahlin)

Craig Button, TSN (June 5) — 12th-ranked prospect in the draft

NHL.com (June 4) — Mock-drafted eighth overall to CHI, ninth overall to NYR or 10th overall to EDM

Ryan Kennedy, The Hockey News (March 31) — Fifth-ranked prospect in the draft

Chris Peters, ESPN (Jan. 30) — Sixth-ranked prospect in the draft

Filip Zadina — RW, Halifax (QMJHL)

Outside of Dahlin or Svechnikov, Zadina seems to be the one with the most agreement about him among draft analysts. Pronman deemed Zadina to have the second-best shot in the draft, saying he’s “lethal” from the right circle, and ESPN’s Chris Peters hypothesized Zadina will leap ahead of Svechnikov and go second overall.

Corey Pronman, The Athletic (June 19) — Mock-drafted fourth overall to Ottawa Senators

NHL.com (June 19) — Mock-drafted third overall to MTL or fourth overall to OTT

Kevin Allen, USA Today (June 18) — Mock-drafted third overall to Montreal Canadiens

Staff, The Athletic (June 12) — Mock-drafted third overall to Montreal Canadiens

Corey Pronman, The Athletic (June 7) — Third-ranked prospect in the draft

Craig Button, TSN (June 5) — Third-ranked prospect in the draft

NHL.com (June 4) — Mock-drafted second overall to CAR or fourth overall to OTT

Ryan Kennedy, The Hockey News (March 31) — Fourth-ranked prospect in the draft

Chris Peters, ESPN (Jan. 30) — Second-ranked prospect in the draft

Oliver Wahlstrom — RW, U.S. National Development Team

98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s Craig Morgan called Wahlstrom “a pure goal scorer whose talents may only be bested by Svechnikov.” Wahlstrom had 139 points in 88 games between the USNTDP’s Junior team and the U18 team last season, and he’s committed to go to Boston College in the fall.

Corey Pronman, The Athletic (June 19) — Mock-drafted eighth overall to Chicago Blackhawks

NHL.com (June 19) — Mock-drafted eighth overall to CHI or ninth overall to NYR

Kevin Allen, USA Today (June 18) — Mock-drafted eighth overall to Chicago Blackhawks

Staff, The Athletic (June 12) — Mock-drafted eighth overall to Chicago Blackhawks

Corey Pronman, The Athletic (June 7) — Has the best shot in the draft. Sixth-ranked prospect.

Craig Button, TSN (June 5) — 10th-ranked prospect in the draft

NHL.com (June 4) — Mock-drafted eighth overall to CHI or 10th to EDM

Ryan Kennedy, The Hockey News (March 31) — Eighth-ranked prospect in the draft, an “elite” scorer

Chris Peters, ESPN (Jan. 30) — Seventh-ranked prospect in the draft

Evan Bouchard — D, London Knights (OHL)

This 18-year-old right-handed defenseman was the captain of the Knights last season, and NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman said Bouchard could be a guy who could jump right to the NHL after three full OHL campaigns.  Last season, he had 25-62-87 in 67 games.

Corey Pronman, The Athletic (June 19) — Mock-drafted sixth overall to Detroit Red Wings

NHL.com (June 19) — Mock-drafted seventh overall to VAN or 10th to EDM

Kevin Allen, USA Today (June 18) — Mock-drafted sixth overall to Detroit Red Wings

Staff, The Athletic (June 12) — Mock-drafted fourth overall to Ottawa Senators

Corey Pronman, The Athletic (June 7) — 17th-ranked prospect in the draft, best shot by a defenseman

Craig Button, TSN (June 5) — Ninth-ranked prospect

NHL.com (June 4) — Mock-drafted sixth overall to DET or seventh overall to VAN

Ryan Kennedy, The Hockey News (March 31) — Seventh-ranked prospect in the draft

Chris Peters, ESPN (Jan. 30) — Eighth-ranked prospect in the draft

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