The first round of the NHL Draft takes place tonight in Nashville, with the Anaheim Ducks set to make a potential franchise-defining selection with the second-overall pick.
Given there’s essentially no chance the Chicago Blackhawks pass on Connor Bedard with the first-overall pick, the drama comes from debating who the Ducks should select second.
The frontrunner clearly remains Adam Fantilli, who’s generally been looked at as the second-overall pick for most of the season. The center stands at 6-foot-2 and weight nearly 200 pounds, and posted outstanding numbers with the University of Michigan this year.
Fantillimanaged 30 goals and 65 points in just 36 games, scoring goals at a significantly better pace than Jack Eichel in his draft year. Realistically, in most years, Fantilli is a first-overall pick.
That said, other names have crept into the conversation, given how strong the top of the draft class is.
Leo Carlsson posted excellent numbers in Sweden’s top league, with 25 points in 44 games. The numbers mirrored Nicklas Backstrom’s production from his draft year.
Meanwhile, Matvei Michkov remains one of the biggest draft wildcards in recent memory. He has legitimate first-overall pick potential, scoring nine goals and 20 points in 30 KHL games this season. He remains under contract until 2026, but for whatever team is willing to wait and feels confident in him, he has the skills to be one of the greatest Russian forwards in the last couple decades.
The last possibility would be Will Smith. The forward rose up the ranks with a dominant year with the U.S. National Team Development Program, posting elite numbers. While he remains a long-shot for the second-overall pick, it’s not impossible the Ducks make a bit of a surprise selection.
Between the four forwards, each player has a shot. Like Fantilli, Carlsson has shown a pattern of sustained production over the last few years, and if anyone has a chance to be selected over Fantilli, it’s probably Carlsson.
The clear issue with Michkov is the uncertainty. At least with his contract situation, most prospects will take a few years to develop anyways, and waiting three years really isn’t the end of the world. At the same time, with so many other high-end forwards available, most of which are centers nonetheless, there’s little reason to take a risk and draft Michkov.
With Smith, he doesn’t have the track record of putting up huge numbers before this season. While Jack Hughes was dominating even the season before his draft year with the USNTDP, that really wasn’t the case with Smith. So while he’s had an excellent year, there’s a bit less of a sample size of elite production.
While there are other options, it’s likely down to either Fantilli or Carlsson. Fantilli remains the clear top option, and the likely choice to be selected by the Ducks, but all signs would also point to Carlsson being a star as well.
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