Re-Drafting Evan Bouchard and the Top 10 Picks from the 2018 NHL Draft

Watching Edmonton Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard thrive throughout the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs and into the Final against the Florida Panthers has been exciting.

The 24-year-old is one of many elite defensemen selected in the first round of the 2018 NHL draft, and while his other draft classmates have had their own headlines in their career, the spotlight is all his now.

Bouchard has racked up points, scored huge goals and been the perfect puck-carrier and setup man for Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman. Just what the Oilers needed, right, another guy who can score.

Last week, we looked back at the names from the 2014 draft, and it got us wondering what would happen if teams had another go at deciding between Bouchard, Rasmus Dahlin, Quinn Hughes, Andrei Svechnikov, Brady Tkachuk and others from the 2018 class.

So. let's give it a go.

We're redoing the top 10 of the 2018 draft and we're pretty sure you're going to disagree with a lot of it. Be sure to hit us in the comments with your thoughts.

Original draft pick: Rasmus Dahlin (D)

Our re-draft selection: Rasmus Dahlin (D)

Choosing Quinn Hughes to go No. 1 in a 2018 re-draft would seem pretty easy to do, right? It's not as simple as that, though.

As you'll see throughout the rest of this top 10, there are a lot of great defensemen who have come from this class already and separating the case to be made for all of them is tricky and leads to a lot more "what if" questions than answers.

Would Hughes still be the top-scoring defenseman from the 2018 class if he went to Buffalo instead of Vancouver? Would he have changed the Sabres' fortunes with Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart for the better?

When we think of what Hughes has done in Vancouver and (for the sake of argument) put Rasmus Dahlin in his place instead, it stands to reason the results would be similar given their skill sets.

Consider also that Dahlin was the second-highest scoring 18-year-old defenseman in NHL history behind only Phil Housley. He even outscored Bobby Orr, who's widely considered the greatest defenseman of all time. Imagine if he'd gotten a year head start on his NHL career over Hughes in Vancouver instead of Buffalo.

Thinking that Hughes winding up in Buffalo would have allowed him to score at the same rate he did in Vancouver is a huge jump to conclusions, especially considering he would've made his NHL debut under Ralph Krueger rather than Housley because he went back to Michigan for one more year.

That situation didn't go so well for Dahlin, and he had a year in the NHL under his belt already. Picture Hughes walking in and starting his career in that situation.

In the end, both Dahlin and Hughes are elite players, and circumstances play a major role in everything, especially perception.

We're sticking with Dahlin as the No. 1 choice and we'll get roasted for it, but if you've read this far you just might understand why.

Original 2018 pick: Andrei Svechnikov (W)

Our re-draft selection: Brady Tkachuk (W)

We were really close to picking Andrei Svechnikov here once again, but we're going with Brady Tkachuk for a good reason.

Svechnikov is the third-highest scoring player from the 2018 draft and his 0.78 points per game is .01 behind top scorer Tkachuk. They are close production-wise and had the Russian not lost a pile of games because of a knee injury, who knows where he'd be on the list.

While Svechnikov's pace of play, speed and skill help make him a special talent and a highlight-reel regular, it's Tkachuk's heavy physical play and dogged determination around the net that makes us slot him in with the Hurricanes.

Carolina has been in search of a player like Tkachuk for seasons now. They've got a lot of high-end skill and can blow teams away with their speed, but when the games have gotten tougher and more physical, they haven't had a star player who also acts as a deterrent/accelerator the way Tkachuk does in Ottawa.

Teams are eager to find a way to get an added edge in the playoffs. They don't want enforcers; they want physical players who can beat you with offensive skills. That's a key reason why (along with Ottawa's lack of success) we've seen Brady's name come up in hopeful trade ideas from fans.

Carolina with Brady Tkachuk right now would be one heck of a thing.

Original 2018 pick: Jesperi Kotkaniemi (F)

Our re-draft selection: Quinn Hughes (D)

Even though we're slotting the likely 2024 Norris Trophy winner in with the No. 3 pick, consider that he was originally taken seventh overall in 2018 and it's still an upgrade.

The Canadiens surprised a lot of people when they selected Kotkaniemi with the third pick, but they probably could've traded back a bit and still gotten him. It was an interesting draft to say the least.

But in this case, landing a cornerstone defenseman who pushes the pace and scores points seemingly at will makes far more sense for them.

Looking at the way Montréal plays under coach Martin St. Louis and thinking of what that would be like with Hughes running the show from the backend, it's thrilling. Maybe we'd be talking about the Canadiens having won another Stanley Cup during the shortened 2020-2021 season if they had.

The downside here is that we wouldn't have had the dramatic offer-sheet situation between Montréal and Carolina surrounding Kotkaniemi if they never selected him. We're pretty sure every Canadiens fan would take Hughes over drama anyway.

Original 2018 pick: Brady Tkachuk (W)

Our re-draft selection: Andrei Svechnikov (W)

Turnabout is fair play in a re-draft, and since the Senators can't pick Brady Tkachuk, they'll take Andrei Svechnikov here instead.

Svechnikov is the third-highest scorer in the 2018 draft class and is just behind Tkachuk in regard to points per game (0.78 to Tkachuk's 0.79).

The difference in each of their styles of play is what sticks out here, but Svechnikov's high-pace, high-skill style of hockey would blend in well with the likes of Thomas Chabot, Drake Batherson and Josh Norris. Picturing him eventually being alongside Tim Stützle is tantalizing as well.

How the Senators built their team around Svechnikov would've been fascinating although, given the franchise's circumstances, perhaps it wouldn't have been all that different than the way they've done it around Tkachuk. Take that how you will, but it's probably more accurate than fans in Ottawa would prefer.

Still, a player with Svechnikov's elite skill is rare and they would've reaped the benefits of having him and he'd have been their most skilled player since...Daniel Alfredsson? Erik Karlsson (who was traded in fall 2018)?

Ah, what could've been (something that could be Ottawa's motto).

Original 2018 pick: Barrett Hayton (C)

Our re-draft selection: Evan Bouchard (D)

We're pretty sure the Coyotes would've liked a do-over for 2018 (and probably a few other drafts, too).

While their pick of Barrett Hayton made sense in 2018 as they needed help at center (Derek Stepan, Max Domi and Christian Dvorak were their top pivots in 2017-18), passing on a future star defenseman despite being full with veterans on the blue line at the time is a tough one.

Their blue line then was loaded with mostly older players and a star in Oliver Ekman-Larsson, but not every player has to be rushed to the NHL and that's what's helped Bouchard as well.

The Oilers didn't step on the gas to get him into the league, and he's developed into an elite setup man and power-play weapon with his heavy shot as well.

The Coyotes' defense has been a bit of a mess for years and even now they're headed to Utah, there are big questions about their depth at the position.

There would still be some spots to fill there now with Bouchard but far fewer, and they'd have a great guy to support Clayton Keller and Logan Cooley up front.

Original 2018 pick: Filip Zadina (W)

Our re-draft selection: Noah Dobson (D)

If nothing else, this re-draft of 2018 is the perfect one in which to have a run on a position occur.

We've already seen Rasmus Dahlin, Quinn Hughes and Evan Bouchard go and, when you break things down by points, there's another one more than worthy of selection in Noah Dobson.

He went 12th overall in 2018 to the Islanders, but he's the fifth-highest scoring player in the draft class behind Tkachuk, Hughes, Svechnikov and Dahlin.

In the past few seasons, Dobson has become the Islanders' No. 1 guy when it comes to carrying the puck through all zones and setting up on the power play. While it took him a little time to develop, he's been unbelievably good since.

Detroit thought it was getting a steal in Zadina here given his junior scoring exploits, but it never really happened with the Red Wings. He was ultimately waived and had his contract terminated. With hindsight being undefeated, drafting Dobson at this position would've given Detroit a blueliner to rebuild with and carry it into the future.

Without a doubt, Dobson would help the Red Wings by giving them a defenseman to lead the charge up the ice with Dylan Larkin.

Original 2018 pick: Quinn Hughes (D)

Our re-draft selection: Sean Durzi (D)

Not every class is super-deep and, in some cases, it takes a little longer for some players to emerge. We're six years out from this draft and players taken then are around the age of 24, so we've got a pretty good idea where everyone is at by now, which makes this a bit more difficult to pick who goes where.

Back then, Vancouver had a layup in getting to pick Quinn Hughes. This time, he's not there, but the blue line is still a concern and that's where a late bloomer like Sean Durzi joins the party.

He was originally taken by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round in 2018 at No. 52 overall. Now, he's the 11th-highest scoring player of the 2018 class and considering he's a defenseman, that's pretty good. Being in the Leafs system meant it was tough for him to break out.

When he was traded to Los Angeles, he had a chance to shine before he was dealt to Arizona. It was with the Coyotes that he proved the scoring wasn't a fluke and his ability to handle the puck and skate well could produce points.

He's not in the same echelon as the defensemen taken before him, but he's good just the same. That he ranks out better than many of the forwards that were taken before him in 2018 says a lot.

Original 2018 pick: Adam Boqvist (D)

Our re-draft selection: Joel Farabee (W)

What's fascinating looking back on Chicago selecting Adam Boqvist in 2018 is that it led to it trading 2017 first-round pick Henri Jokiharju to Buffalo for Alex Nylander because it felt Boqvist was going to be a better fit for them at the same position on the same side of the ice.

That eventually didn't pan out the way they hoped and Boqvist was part of the trade that brought Seth Jones to Chicago. Everything happens for a reason, though.

The fun part of a re-draft is thinking of the butterfly effect of changing a situation like that, and that's what we've done by having Chicago take forward Joel Farabee instead of Boqvist.

Farabee has been a solid player for the Flyers using his physical play to get to the net and his skills to be able to score goals in close. He's also proved to be a tough customer with 195 penalty minutes to go with his 182 career points in 334 games.

If you added Farabee's numbers to what they've gotten from Philipp Kurashev, who was picked in the fourth round in 2018, you've got the makings of a solid supplementary core to rebuild around at forward.

Then again, having Seth Jones is pretty nice for the 'Hawks even in these down days in the standings.

Original 2018 pick: Vitali Kravtsov (F)

Our re-draft selection: Yegor Sharangovich (F)

Vitali Kravtsov came into the 2018 draft with a boatload of hype. He showed a lot of hope scoring as a junior in Russia and the thought was he'd eventually become a high-end producer in the NHL.

After he was drafted, though, he struggled to score in the KHL. He then did all right for a brief period in the AHL, but he never put it together in the NHL with the Rangers and Vancouver Canucks.

Fortunately for this re-draft, there was one player who did become a solid goal scorer in Yegor Sharangovich. He was drafted by the New Jersey Devils in the fifth round and has scored the third-most goals in the 2018 draft class (84, behind Tkachuk and Svechnikov). As it is, he's scored the eighth most points in the draft class as well with 165. You'll take that from a fifth-round pick every time.

Sharangovich wound up in Calgary as part of the Tyler Toffoli deal last June and responded with a career season of 31 goals and 59 points. That kind of production plays on any team and it would certainly work on the Rangers.

Original 2018 pick: Evan Bouchard (D)

Our re-draft selection: K'Andre Miller (D)

We're pretty sure the Oilers realize how fortunate they were to be able to nab Evan Bouchard with the 10th pick in 2018 because there's no way he would've dropped to here now.

The tricky part is figuring out how exactly they would've picked given how everything has played out since then. Most of the top defenders are gone, and the forwards who have broken out in a big way are also off the board.

There are plenty of choices here. If they wanted a forward, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Philipp Kurashev are interesting possibilities, but the way we're going is just what they did the first time around with defense.

This time, it's K'Andre Miller we're going with. Although he's not proving to be the kind of goal and offensive producer Bouchard is, he's a superb defender and we all know the Oilers could always use help in that specific area.

What the Oilers would get from Miller in physical play and defensive positioning would go a long way to sealing up the back end. And while that doesn't always show up on the score sheet, they've got plenty of players who can get there on their own.