from Mike Zeisberger of the Toronto Sun,

A lot of what happens from the third pick down will be dictated by Arizona at No. 3," an NHL Eastern Conference executive said on Saturday. "Do they go defence with Hanifin or forward with Strome? Or do they move the pick? And how much do the issues they're having with Glendale right now alter their thinking?"

One player who has been moving up many draft boards is Provorov, who impressed many scouts with his performance in the Western Hockey League playoffs.

"This is one of the deepest drafts we've seen in years," the exec said. "There is a lot of top-end talent. Depending on their needs and evaluations, teams are going to have different rankings on their draft boards."

The same could be said of the final pre-draft rankings of the top scouting services in hockey--NHL Central Scouting, North American Central Scouting and the International Scouting Services. Indeed, while there is a consensus of where McDavid and Eichel will go, all three have different opinions as to where the draft will fall from there.

more