2018 Winter Olympics: NHL Prospects Expected to Rule Games in South Korea

It may seem like a long time from now, and it is, but there is already plenty of buzz surrounding the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The headline event at the Winter Games is always men's hockey, so it is certainly worth talking about which players we could conceivably see tearing up the ice in South Korea in six years.

The 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia will come first, but things change so much over the course of four years that they won't likely tell us much about 2018. It is pretty easy to identify some the top prospects in the game right now, but you can never be sure whether or not they'll develop. With that said, it is fun to speculate.

Here are three elite NHL prospects that I believe will blossom into cornerstones for their respective countries in South Korea. 

Nail Yakupov

As the No. 1 overall selection by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2012 NHL draft, Russian forward Nail Yakupov has essentially assumed the role of top NHL prospect. Yakupov was dominant during his time with the OHL's Sarnia Sting, and the Oilers were intrigued enough to take him first despite having taken forwards Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins with the top-overall picks in consecutive seasons before that.

Yakupov figures to be an immediate NHL contributor, and has a great chance to thrive right away. Not only will he be playing with fellow young guns like Hall, Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle, but veterans like Ryan Smyth and Ales Hemsky should be helpful as well. Yakupov will basically be entering his prime in 2018 as he will be 24 years old.

Yakupov may very well play in the 2014 Games in his home country as well. If he does, he will have the mix of experience and talent to dominate in South Korea. 

Mika Zibanejad

The Scandinavian countries are always tough to deal with in international play because they continually churn out young talent like Mika Zibanejad. The 19-year-old forward was the No. 6 overall pick by the Ottawa Senators in the 2011 NHL entry draft, and played nine games for the Sens this past season. While he only recorded one assist and was sent back to Sweden prior to playing his 10th game and being locked into the NHL for the season, Zibanejad has the potential to be a future star.

Not only is Zibanejad a supremely skilled two-way player, but he has good size at 6'2" and nearly 200 lbs. with more room to grow. On top of that, he has thrived at the international level already. Zibanejad scored the game-winning goal in overtime of the gold-medal game against Russia in the 2012 World Junior Championships, so he is clutch to boot. Zibanejad will be 25 in 2018, and should be a fixture for the Swedes. 

Mikael Granlund

After dominating Finland's highest league this past season with 51 points in 45 games, the time is now for skilled center Mikael Granlund to make the jump to the NHL. The talented Finn was the No. 9 overall pick by the Minnesota Wild in the 2010 draft, and should be a big part of their surge this season alongside new acquisitions Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. While Granlund is a bit on the smaller side, he is dynamic and a good enough playmaker to excel in the NHL.

Granlund will be even better on the international ice surface as it allows him more space to operate and make defenders look foolish. Granlund has twice won bronze medals as a member of the Finnish under-18 team, and won a gold in the World Championships last year. Granlund will be an NHL veteran at 26 years of age by the time 2018 rolls around, so I would expect him to be a top-line guy for Finland, and a driving force in terms of its medal hopes.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter