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Top 2018 NHL draft prospects at each skill

NHL teams will be happy to draft top prospect Oliver Wahlstrom and his powerful shot in June. Justin Berl/Getty Images

It is fairly well documented at this point that the 2018 NHL draft boasts a fairly deep first round with a generational talent at the top in Rasmus Dahlin. What makes this draft a bit more fun than in years past is that consensus essentially drops off after Dahlin as the decisive No. 1. Variance among teams' draft boards could be pretty wide at this point. The skill level also appears higher in this class compared to last year's overall.

With such a high skill level, we took a look at some of the individual skills that make certain players stand out. I reached out to scouts to get their picks for a series of skills that I find particularly valuable when evaluating players. This also gives you a bit of insight into my process, as well.

Here's a look at some of the best players in the 2018 draft class by specific skills.


Hockey sense: Rasmus Dahlin

To me, there is no trait more important than hockey sense. It can be hard to define, and people may have different definitions, but to me, hockey sense is broken down into a few different categories.