from Bob McKenzie of TSN,

It’s still five months away, but it’s time we affix a label to the 2018 NHL draft.

So let’s call it for what it is - the Rasmus Dahlin Draft.

“No one is close to him,” one NHL scout said. “There’s Dahlin, and there’s everyone else.”

It’s not necessarily a shocking revelation.

The 6-foot-2, 180-pound Swedish defenceman from Frolunda was No. 1, as chosen by TSN’s panel of 10 NHL scouts, on TSN’s Pre-Season Top 15 rankings in September. But there was a sense last fall that another prospect - Russian winger Andrei Svechnikov of the Barrie Colts was deemed the most likely candidate - might mount a legitimate challenge to Dahlin for No. 1.

Dahlin received nine No. 1 votes in September; Svechnikov got one.

continued