Draft expectations debated by NHL.com

DALLAS -- Rasmus Dahlin likely will be chosen No. 1 by the Buffalo Sabres in the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN, TVAS). Rounds 2-7 will be Saturday (11 a.m. ET; NHLN, SN, TVAS).
The left-shot defenseman has spent the past two seasons playing for Frolunda in the Swedish Hockey League and has been projected as the best player available for most of the season.

Dahlin (6-foot-3, 185 pounds) had 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists), a plus-4 rating, and 84 shots on goal while averaging 19:02 of ice time in 41 games for Frolunda. He set an SHL record for points by an under-18 defensemen.
Although fans can be pretty certain who will go No. 1 in the draft, there's still a lot to look forward to when the 31 NHL teams convene in Dallas.
We asked the writers for NHL.com who have been covering the top stories leading up to the 2018 draft all season to weigh in with what else fans should be excited for beyond Dahlin going No. 1:

Guillaume Lepage, LNH.com staff writer

Even if we already know that Dahlin will be the Sabres' pick, everything after that is far from being a sure thing. The suspense will last all the way to the end of the seventh round, I think.
Even the top five picks are far from being set in stone. Carolina Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell has said that he'd like to pick forward Andrei Svechnikov at No. 2, but the intentions of the teams after that, starting with the Montreal Canadiens at No. 3, remain unknown.
Several promising defensemen will be available in the top 10, but will teams prefer to focus instead on players who can fulfill their needs? It's something to watch. Also, more and more people are talking about the possibility of Assat center Jesperi Kotkaniemi heading to Montreal. The Finland-born forward is considered a top prospect, but seeing him go to the Canadiens at No. 3 would be a big surprise.
There also are a lot of questions surrounding Boston University forward Brady Tkachuk, as well as who the first defenseman taken after Dahlin will be.
I don't know about you, but I'm convinced it'll be very interesting.

Mike G. Morreale, NHL.com staff writer

I'm curious which defenseman will be selected after Dahlin.
There are several right-handed shooters who will be picked in the top 10. At the top of the list is Evan Bouchard of London (Ontario Hockey League), Noah Dobson of Acadie-Bathurst (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League), Adam Boqvist of Brynas in Sweden's junior league, and possibly Bode Wilde of USA Hockey's National Team Development Program Under-18 team.
Additionally, there are left-handed shots like Quintin Hughes from the University of Michigan, Rasmus Sandin of Sault Ste. Marie (OHL) and Ty Smith of Spokane (Western Hockey League), all of whom could be chosen among the first 20 selections.
Dobson (6-3, 177) would, in my opinion, appear to have the highest upside of any defenseman after Dahlin. He was the steadiest from start to finish, and his offensive game improved tremendously this season. I believe he could go as high as No. 4 to the Ottawa Senators.
He was very impressive in helping lead Acadie-Bathurst to its first Memorial Cup championship with seven points (two goals, five assists) in four games. He finished second among defensemen in the QMJHL with 69 points (17 goals, 52 assists) and was first with 11 power-play goals.

Adam Kimelman, NHL.com deputy managing editor

To me, the real fun of the draft starts with the Canadiens at No. 3 -- assuming Dahlin goes No. 1 to the Sabres and Svechnikov No. 2 to the Hurricanes.
On the one hand you have Tkachuk, the bull-in-a-china-shop forward who can make his linemates a few inches taller the way he can use his physical play to drive to the net and take defenders with him.
On the other hand is Filip Zadina, the super-skilled scoring machine from Halifax of the QMJHL. He had no issues translating his game from his native Czech Republic to the smaller North American ice, and he was effective creating offense from close to the net.
But Montreal's primary need is a center. Do the Canadiens reach and take Kotkaniemi, who is gaining in the opinion of scouts after his outstanding performance at the World Under-18 Championship?
Then there's Guelph defenseman Ryan Merkley. On talent alone he could be a top-15 pick. But there's more to Merkley than just talent. There have been questions about his attitude, maturity and willingness to put as much effort into his defensive play as he does his offensive game. Twenty-five teams interviewed him at the NHL Scouting Combine. Will one of them take a chance on him in the first round?
That's just some of the drama to watch as the draft unfolds.