THE HOT HALF-DOZEN: TOP PROSPECTS IN THIS YEAR’S NHL DRAFT

1-Rasmus Dahlin: It’s one of those years — like with Connor McDavid in 2015 and Austin Matthews in 2016 — when there’s no doubt about who will be selected first overall.

Dahlin, the slick defenceman who has played the past two seasons with Frolunda in the Swedish Elite League (the same team that Erik Karlsson and Daniel Alfredsson played for) is the class of the field.

“No other player in this draft is close in the discussion,” according to TSN draft analyst Craig Button.

Dahlin is the type of player who has the franchise-player tag written all over him.

In terms of style, Button says Dahlin is closer to Viktor Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning than to the Senators’ Erik Karlsson.

2-Filip Zadina: The Czech sharpshooter has lit it up with Halifax in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. In a neck-and-neck-and-neck prospect battle with fellow wingers Brady Tkachuk and Andrei Svechnikov to go number two behind Dahlin, Zadina possesses superb stickhandling skills. Pierre Dorion has spent plenty of time watching him in the past few months.

3-Brady Tkachuk: The family bloodlines include father Keith and brother Matthew. Like his Dad and his sibling, the 18-year-old from Boston University owns a mean streak, a physical edge that makes him hard to play against. “Power forward” applies perfectly to his skill set.

4-Andrei Svechnikov: The Barrie Colts star seemingly has it all: speed, agility and goal-scoring hands. There is some question about his defensive game and discipline, but he has, perhaps naturally, been compared to fellow Russian Vladimir Tarasenko of the St. Louis Blues. The Senators haven’t drafted a Russianborn player since the long-forgotten Ruslan Bashkirov in 2007, but GM Pierre Dorion says he will pick the best player available, regardless of nationality.

5-Adam Boqvist: The highly-skilled, offensively gifted defenceman, who plays for Brynas in the Swedish Elite League, has drawn comparisons to Erik Karlsson. He may, however, not quite be physically ready for the NHL, which could see him slide down the draft board slightly. Some earlyseason draft lists had him ranked as high as second behind Dahlin.

6-Quintin Hughes: The new age of smaller, speedier NHL defenceman comes at the right time for Hughes, who put up big numbers (five goals, 24 assists) in his first season at Michigan. Hughes has crept up the prospect board throughout the season, partly because he has proven he can play against bigger and more physically mature players.