The 2018 NHL Draft gets underway June 22 in Dallas, Texas, and plenty of New Englanders figure to hear their names called by some of the league's 31 franchises. It's an honor they've earned after impressing in the prep school ranks, in junior hockey, and with the National Team Development Program.
To get a sense of where these local players could fall, we've ranked the top dozen-plus prospects before proceedings get underway in Dallas. Rankings were determined based on conversations with NHL scouts, personal observations, and projections at the next level.
We'll be on site for the NHL Draft, so expanded stories will follow suit.
1.) Oliver Wahlstrom
• RW | U.S. NTDP U-18 | Hometown: Quincy, Mass. (formerly Falmouth, Maine)
• Height: 6-foot-1 | Weight: 205 pounds | Stats: 73-69-142 in 89 GP
• NHL Central Scouting final rating: 7
There’s little left to be said about Wahlstrom. His shot and goal-scoring ability are both elite. He’s a big, strong power forward who is learning to be even heavier and go into the dirty areas. He put on a show at the U-18 World Championship, scoring seven goals in seven games, and displayed more of an all-around game. While previously committed to Maine then Harvard, he’s now committed to playing college hockey at Boston College in the fall. His father, Joakim, played two seasons for the Black Bears before a minor pro career in Sweden.
2.) Jay O’Brien
• C | Thayer Academy (senior) | Hometown: Hingham, Mass.
• Height: 6-foot | Weight: 174 pounds | Stats: 43-37-80 in 30 GP
• NHL Central Scouting final rating: 32
O’Brien is a very good skater who competes hard and can play all 200 feet. He’s at his best when he’s going hard north/south and keeping things simple. He has a great shot and he does a good job retrieving pucks on the forecheck. He’s the type of player who can make those around him better. His NHL stock soared in the first half of the season when he played up with the NTDP at the USHL Fall Classic as well as a few games against NCAA teams. He’ll head to Providence after dominating the prep circuit.
3.) Jordan Harris
• D | Kimball Union Academy (senior) | Hometown: Haverhill, Mass.
• Height: 5-foot-11 | Weight: 180 pounds | Stats: 6-29-35, 4 PIM in 37 GP
• NHL Central Scouting final rating: 44
There is a large variety of views when it comes to evaluating Harris, who is committed to playing at Northeastern. There’s no denying his hockey sense and skating. He does a great job retrieving pucks and side-stepping oncoming forecheckers, which allows him to move pucks north. He can skate it up ice or make a great lead pass off a first touch. His offensive upside is minimal, despite having such good feet. His brother, Elijah, is a goaltender who is going to be a freshman on the hockey team at Endicott.
4.) Jake Wise
• C | U.S. NTDP U-18 | Hometown: North Andover, Mass.
• Height: 5-foot-10 | Weight: 185 pounds | Stats: 19-51-70 in 57 GP
• NHL Central Scouting final rating: 38
Wise bounced back from a lower-body injury to play well in the second half of the season with USA Hockey’s NTDP, including a stint at the U18 worlds. He centered the team’s second line for the most part. While he’s not the superstar in the making many believed he’d be when he was younger, he’s still a solid prospect. He’s undersized, but his skating and hockey sense allow him to have a huge impact on the offensive side of the puck.
5.) Michael Callahan
• D | Youngstown Phantoms (USHL) | Hometown: Franklin, Mass.
• Height: 6-foot-1 | Weight: 185 pounds | Stats: 3-17-20, 23 PIM in 70 GP
• NHL Central Scouting final rating: 14
Callahan opted to play his senior season in the USHL after three standout seasons at Roxbury Latin. While he didn’t dominate or put up the numbers he might have if he stayed in New England, he had the chance to develop and mature while learning to play the game at a higher pace. The size and skating ability never has been questioned, but he was pushed this season to defend with more confidence and make decisions more quickly. He took his game to a new level and was an integral part in Youngstown’s bid to win a Clark Cup that fell just short in the finals against Fargo.
6.) Alex Steeves
• LW | Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL) | Hometown: Bedford, N.H.
• Height: 5-foot-11 | Weight: 180 pounds | Stats: 22-41-63 in 60 GP
• NHL Central Scouting final rating: 86
Steeves is a player who really benefited from three years in the USHL. He’s evolved into an all-around player after being primarily a bottom-six, penalty-killing specialist in his first two years with Sioux City and Dubuque. This season, he put up more than a point per game and excelled in the USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game as well as the World Junior A Challenge. He’s worked hard on his game and even incorporated a nutritional plan that mimicked the TB12 diet. He’ll join his older brother Matt at Notre Dame in the fall. His younger brother Ben also is a top prospect among ’02s, and his father was a former professional player.
7.) Riley Hughes
• LW | St. Sebastian’s (junior) | Hometown: Westwood, Mass.
• Height: 6-foot-1 | Weight: 150 pounds | Stats: 21-15-36 in 30 GP
• NHL Central Scouting final rating: 113
St. Sebastian’s standout Hughes is the son of former Middlebury College star Kent Hughes, now a prominent NHLPA agent with MFive Sports. His younger brother Jack, an ’03, is one of the top two or three players in his age group in the New England region. Riley has the size, skating, shot and vision to impress scouts. He has a hard shot, but he also makes some very good passes. The one knock on Hughes is his inability to penetrate into the scoring areas. Most of his goals and playmaking comes from above and outside the circles. In terms of talent alone, he should get drafted in Dallas.
8.) Michael Kesselring
• D | New Hampton School | Hometown: New Hampton, N.H.
• Height: 6-foot-4 | Weight: 190 pounds | Stats: 11-23-34, 23 PIM in 38 GP
• NHL Central Scouting final rating: 75
Kesselring has reopened his college commitment after the departure of Mark Dennehy at Merrimack. After spending four years playing prep hockey for his father, Casey, a former star player at Merrimack, Michael will spend a year in the USHL with the Des Moines Buccaneers. Kesselring has the size and skating ability to intrigue NHL scouts. He has the ability to make some highlight-reel plays with the puck, but scouts question his consistency and overall hockey sense. There are a few teams — the Carolina Hurricanes and Edmonton Oilers — who are reportedly more interested than most in the tall, lanky defender.
9.) Aidan McDonough
• LW | Thayer Academy | Hometown: Milton, Mass.
• Height: 6-foot-2 | Weight: 180 pounds | Stats: 25-34-59 in 29 GP
• NHL Central Scouting final rating: 209
McDonough is a big-bodied winger who scouts saw often this season as he played on the same line as Jay O’Brien with the Thayer Tigers and the Cape Cod Whalers, a split-season Midget team. The Northeastern University commit always has had his skating, especially his first step, questioned, but it has gotten better. McDonough has an above-average shot and he possesses the ability to take over a game below the dots. If he can learn to consistently use his size and strength to dominate down low, he could very well blossom into an even better prospect. He’ll play a year in the USHL before donning the red and black at Matthews Arena.
10.) Liam Gorman
• C | St. Sebastian’s | Hometown: Arlington, Mass.
• Height: 6-foot-1 | Weight: 160 pounds | Stats: 17-16-33, 30 GP
• NHL Central Scouting final rating: N/A
Gorman is a physically gifted hockey player who catches your eye right away when watching him on the ice. He has the size, skating ability and athleticism to be a top prospect. He’s still raw and figuring out how to consistently find the scoresheet, but the talent is there. One thing going for Gorman is he’s not afraid to go the dirty areas. He also does the little things like winning faceoffs. He’s the son of Sean Gorman, who played collegiately at Princeton and was an NHL draft pick of the Boston Bruins.
11.) Nolan McElhaney
• D | Cushing Academy | Hometown: Natick, Mass
• Height: 6-foot-3 | Weight: 190 pounds | Stats: 13-34-47, 32 GP
• NHL Central Scouting final rating: N/A
McElhaney has the physical tools that scouts look for in a defenseman. Committed to the University of New Hampshire, he is big, has offensive instincts and can get up and down the sheet. His skating isn’t perfect, but it’s good for a player his size. The area of his game that is most concerning to scouts is his hockey sense and how he defends in his own zone. A second-year eligible, he’ll likely go undrafted, but it takes just one team to like his game. He’ll play a year in the USHL with the Muskegon Lumberjacks before heading to Durham.
12.) Neil Shea
• LW | Lawrence Academy | Hometown: Marshfield, Mass
• Height: 6-foot-1 | Weight: 200 pounds | Stats: 24-34-58, 32 GP
• NHL Central Scouting final rating: 193
Shea comes from quite a hockey family. His father played at Boston College and is now a scout for the Colorado Avalanche. His brother Pat plays at Maine and his other brother Edwin had a promising career cut short due to injuries after playing in the QMJHL. As for Neil, the future Northeastern University Husky is in his second year of draft eligibility. Hearing his name called in Dallas is still a longshot, but he earned a spot on NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings thanks to a terrific second half of his senior season at Lawrence Academy that culminated in a prep school championship. Shea isn’t the flashiest or the most skilled player, but he’s terrific at moving pucks from the wall and using his hockey sense to make plays. He’s expected to play in the USHL with the Chicago Steel before making his way to St. Botolph Street.
13.) Teddy Wooding
• C | Rivers School | Hometown: Wrentham, Mass.
• Height: 6-foot | Weight: 181 pounds | Stats: 22-23-45, 31 GP
• NHL Central Scouting final rating: 213
Wooding has a good offensive skill-set. He has a powerful stride and can move up and down the sheet quickly. He has a good shot and does a good job finding seams and soft spots in opposing defenses. His compete and ability to play a complete, 200-foot game are questioned by scouts. A late ’99 in his first year of draft eligibility, he’s committed to playing college hockey for Yale.
14.) Cam Boudreau
• C | Junior Bruins | Hometown: Salem, N.H
• Height: 5-foot-11 | Weight: 161 pounds | Stats: 3-9-12, 16 PIM, 42 GP
• NHL Central Scouting final rating: N/A
Boudreau committed to Quinnipiac this season after catching the eye of some NHL scouts during his first season of junior hockey in the USPHL NCDC. The future Bobcat is an undersized defenseman who previously played high school hockey at Central Catholic and prep school hockey at Governor’s Academy. Boudreau isn’t an offensively gifted defender, but he defends well with his feet and stick while possessing a good first touch on retrievals.
