The first round of the NHL Entry Draft will be taking place on Friday evening, and there is the potential for a lot of movement within the top 10 selections.
Beyond the projected top two picks, Matthew Schaefer and Michael Misa, there is little consensus among NHL scouts about where the rest of the highly-ranked prospects will end up. Based on each player's ceiling and the team's needs, here is one of the most likely outcomes of the top 10.
1. New York Islanders - Matthew Schaefer
It's hard to imagine the Islanders passing up a potential franchise-level talent on the blueline like Schaefer. There were questions about whether newly-minted GM Mathieu Darche would trade the pick, but he has since stated publicly that he intends to hang onto the first overall selection.
With that in mind, New York has quite a deep prospect pool in terms of defense, but Schaefer is ready to make the leap to NHL action as soon as this season. He offers strong puck movement and smooth skating that emulates a Cale Makar style of play, and that is hard to overlook with the top pick in the draft.
2. San Jose Sharks - Michael Misa
As the Sharks continue to build their team around the young forward core, Misa would be the perfect addition to the roster and would immediately be ready for a middle six role. With fellow young guns like Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith to guide him, Misa can provide high levels of offense along with a very refined ability to defend along the boards.
Misa himself has stated he intends to jump into the NHL as soon as possible, so the Sharks are primed and ready to develop another high-end talent to round out a fairly shallow group of centers on the current roster.
3. Chicago Blackhawks - Anton Frondell
The Swedish-born center is projected by NHL scouts to be selected anywhere from No. 3 to No. 6, but the Blackhawks would be wise to snatch up this talent early. Frondell is widely regarded to be the best pure shooter among this draft class, but he can truly do it all.
With effective puck-carrying and the ability to play the body, he is a multi-talented forward with the potential to make a big impact. He will likely need another year of development but when he's ready, Frondell could easily slot in as a second line center for the Blachawks.
4. Utah Mammoth - Caleb Desnoyers
Desnoyers is a responsible center who has drawn comparisons to the style of play that Selke Trophy winner Patrice Bergeron displayed: an offensive threat that can hunker down and effectively defend opponents.
Utah already has Logan Cooley to lead the forward corps as the top center, but are lacking in depth down the middle on the rest of the roster. Desnoyers would bring a complete game that could round out the team's center group very nicely.
5. Nashville Predators - James Hagens
As this year's top NCAA prospect, Hagens has the opportunity to be picked as early as No. 3 but he fills a big gap for the Predators. He's been compared to players like Jack Hughes: crafty, quick, and dynamic on the ice.
Hagens is particualrly strong in the offensive zone but is still able to play responsibly on the back end. Nashville is loaded with aging centers like Steven Stamkos and Ryan O'Reilly so the team is in need of a well-developed skater that can one day become the anchor of the forward group.