NHL Draft 2018: TV Schedule, Order and Mock Draft Predictions for Top Prospects

The 2018 NHL Draft is finally here. The first round is scheduled to take place later on today, while the rest of the draft will take place on Saturday.

Thirty-one young men will take another step on the long road towards becoming an everyday player in the best hockey league in the world, and it's always a lot of fun to watch the event unfold.

This particular class is intriguing because of how little consensus they've generated. A few late risers—more on one of them, in particular, shortly—have shaken up the top-10 to some degree, and the back half of the draft could go in numerous directions as players go off the board.

With tons of trade rumblings ahead of the big day, there are all kinds of moving parts that could make the 2018 edition of the NHL draft a memorable one.

NHL Draft 2018 Information

When: June 22 (first round) at 7:30 p.m. ET and June 23 (rounds two through seven) at 11 a.m. ET.

Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas

How to Watch: June 22 (NBCSN, SN, TVAS) and June 23 (NHLN, SN, TVAS)

*NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app will provide live-stream coverage.

Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images

Latest First-Round Mock Draft

1. Buffalo Sabres: D Rasmus Dahlin, Frolunda (SHL)

2. Carolina Hurricanes: RW Andrei Svechnikov, Barrie (OHL)

3. Montreal Canadiens: C Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Assat Pori (SM-liiga)

4. Ottawa Senators: LW Filip Zadina, Halifax (QMJHL)

5. Arizona Coyotes: LW Brady Tkachuk, Boston University

6. Detroit Red Wings: D Quinn Hughes, U.S. Under-18

7. Vancouver Canucks: D Noah Dobson, A-Bathurst (QMJHL)

8. Chicago Blackhawks: RW Oliver Wahlstrom, U.S. Under-18

9. New York Rangers: D Evan Bouchard, London (OHL)

10. Edmonton Oilers: D Adam Boqvist, Brynas (SHL)

11. New York Islanders: D Ty Smith, Spokane (WHL)

12. New York Islanders (via Calgary Flames): C Barrett Hayton, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)

13. Dallas Stars: LW Joel Farabee, USNTDP (USHL)

14. Philadelphia Flyers (via St. Louis Blues): C Rasmus Kupari, Karpat Oulu (SM-liiga)

15. Florida Panthers: RW Serron Noel, Oshawa, (OHL)

16. Colorado Avalanche: LW Grigori Denisenko, Loko Yaroslavl (MHL)D Ryan Merkley, Guelph (OHL)

17. New Jersey Devils: D Bode Wilde, U.S. Under-18

18. Columbus Blue Jackets: C Joe Veleno, Drummondville (QMJHL)

19. Philadelphia Flyers: RW Vitali Kravtsov, Chelyabinsk (KHL)

20. Los Angeles Kings: C Ryan McLeod, Mississauga (OHL)

21. San Jose Sharks: C Isac Lundestrom, Lulea HF (SHL)

22. Ottawa Senators (via Pittsburgh Penguins): LW/RW Dominik Bokk, Vaxjo Lakers (SHL/SuperElit)

23. Anaheim Ducks: D Rasmus Sandin, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)

24. Minnesota Wild: C Jacob Olofsson, Timra IK (Allsvenskan)

25. Toronto Maple Leafs: D K'Andre Miller, U.S. U18 (NTDP)

26. New York Rangers (via Boston Bruins): C/W Akil Thomas, Niagara (OHL)

27. Chicago Blackhawks (via Nashville Predators): D Mattias Samuelsson, U.S. U18 (NTDP)

28. New York Rangers (via Tampa Bay Lightning): D Alexander Alexeyev, Red Deer (WHL)

29. St. Louis Blues (via Winnipeg Jets): D Jonathan Tychonick, Penticton (BCHL)

30. Detroit Red Wings (via Vegas Golden Knights): C Bo Groulx, Halifax (QMJHL)

31. Washington Capitals: D Ryan Merkley, Guelph (OHL)

C Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Assat Pori

Every draft class features a late riser, and this year, it's Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Filip Zadina has been considered the third-best player available for most of the season, but his stock has taken a bit of a hit lately.

Bob McKenzie surveyed 10 NHL scouts earlier this week, and five of them ranked Zadina outside of their top-five. That's a far cry from earlier in the year when it seemed like the forward was only slightly less skilled than Andrei Svechnikov.

That perception has shifted drastically, and Kotkaniemi has surged into the top-three on many big boards (including ours). The Montreal Canadiens need help up the middle in a bad way, and with the No. 3 pick, could be poised to snag the top center available in this class.

RW Oliver Wahlstrom, U.S. Under-18

If it weren't for a handful of other supremely talented wings—Svechnikov, Zadina and Brady Tkachuk—Oliver Wahlstrom would likely be picked a bit earlier. He seems destined to slide towards the bottom of the top-10, however, and would be an outstanding consolation prize for any team that missed out on the playoffs this year.

Wahlstrom might have the best shot in this draft, and scouts believe that his skill set and size projects cleanly to the NHL. While he might not have the ceiling that Svechnikov does, 30 goal seasons are well within reach for the wing.

Standing at 6'1" and weighing in at over 200 pounds already, he has a build that NHL general managers love to see. Tack on an outstanding release, and you've got yourself an excellent prospect for a team that barely missed out on selecting in the top five.

Dave Reginek/Getty Images

D Adam Boqvist, Brynas

Like Wahlstrom, Adam Boqvist would likely be a top-five pick if he weren't in such a quality draft class. He still could sneak into that group, but odds are good that he'll slip just a touch to a team in the six-to-10 range.

Any organization that is looking for an offensive defenseman has to be eyeballing Boqvist, who has been compared to Erik Karlsson. While he's not as big as some of his peers—he's listed at 6'0" and 165 pounds—he has the skill needed to make up for it.

(For what it's worth, only eight players who weighed less than 170 pounds played an NHL game in 2017-18.)

Boqvist is a gutsy playmaker who doesn't shy away from making high-risk, high-reward plays. If he sees a teammate streaking down the ice, he won't hesitate to zip a 75-foot pass in between some bodies. He'll need at least another year or two to pack on some muscle, but when he arrives in the NHL, he could be the kind of player who makes an immediate impact because of how talented he is.