The conversation may not be a popular one, but ranking a once-in-a-lifetime draft phenom like Swedish defenseman Rasmus Dahlin requiresone heck of an in-depth analysis beyond what that ever-present eye test keeps telling us. Sure, Dahlin comes acro s as the Allen Iverson of NHL draft prospects an ankle-breaking machine with the kind of devastating directional changes that are usually reserved for practice and pick-up games.

The thing is, when you watch Ru sian power winger Andrei Svechnikov, you see the exact same thing.

For whatever Karl Kauffmann Jersey reason, the casual fan is far more familiar with Dahlin thanSvechnikov. It makes sense, especially since it seems like every feat Svechnikov accomplished during his amateur career was either ignored or immediately drowned out by what felt like an endle s loop of the seven or eight highlight clips of Dahlin dipsy-doodling his way towardthe net. The truth is, Svechnikovs NHL potential should be considered just as unlimited as his Swedish counterpart.

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League dominance

While Dahlin was being feted in the pre s, Svechnikov was scorching through a historic OHL season not seen in well over two decades and still flew under the radar. For starters, he was the first player in history to win the USHL and OHLrookie of the year awards in consecutive seasons. Granted, not many players jump from one league to the other, but an impre sive feat nonethele s.

According to prospect-stats.com, Svechnikov also had the highest estimated goals-per-60 minutes of any Canadian Hockey League draft prospect between 1998 and 2018. Although these are estimates, as the leagues do not post official time-on-ice statistics, his numbers at even strength for a pre-draft power forward are impre sive nonethele s.

With 30 even-strength goals in just 44 games (2.71 eG/60 Mario Manningham Jersey ), Svechnikov in his draft year filled the net at a higher clip than Sidney Crosby (2.60), Patrick Kane (2.55) and Connor McDavid (2.34).

Additionally, Svechnikov's5v5 goals-per-game average of 0.68 was the highest in at least two decades of any Ontario Hockey League player in his first draft year. That means neither McDavid, nor Kane, nor Taylor Hall, nor Steven Stamkos, nor John Tavares buried the puck at a greater clip than Svechnikov.

Dahlin also had a historic season as a pre-draft teenager in Swedens top league, scoring 20 points in 41 games to surpa s Tomas Jon sons 40- Charles Woodson Jersey year mark among under-18 defensemen. He simply was too good for the junior level and by seasons end was one of Frolundas better defensemen. At his best, Dahlin is a minute-eating puck mover who works feverishly to keep the ice tilted towardthe opposition. He does this with superior footspeed, puck control and vision, and all three allow him to exploit the tiniest of gaps in the other teams coverage.

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Still, its unfair to compare him to Bobby Orr. Dahlin is a unique specimen who still needs to round out the defensive part of his game. The comparison to his fellow countryman (and NHL Hall of Famer) Nicklas Lidstrom may have more to do with the fact that they are both Swedish rather than one being a stylistic carbon copy of the other. True, they share similarities in terms of puck po se sion and decision making, but the significant gap in their defensive-zone play is just one example that renders the comparison basele s, especially when you consider how Lidstroms one-on-one defense as a teenager stood out more than his playmaking or speed.

Two examples where Dahlins struggles with pre sure can be found in Swedens lo s to Canada at the world juniors and Frolundas opening-round lo s to Malmo in six games.

The biggest difference between Lidstrom and Dahlin is that, unlike Dahlin, Lidstrom mastered the art of avoiding physical contact by releasing the puck with accuracy at the exact moment a forechecker was committing towardhim. Dahlin eventually should learn how to do this, but hes proven to struggle under a physical forecheck, and turnovers and chances against were quite frequent during Dahlins sophomore SHL season.

There appears to be an opinion that Dahlin po sibly was the best defensemen in Swedens SHL. Top rookie defenseman? Absolutely. But to say Dahlin had the best wire-to-wire season of any SHL rearguard Jake Long Jersey requires an airtight case to back it up. For starters, Dahlin was not named a finalist for the leagues top defenseman award. Second, his participation in the under-20 world junior championship Delano Hill Jersey and the Olympics cost him 11 games, which is more than one-fifth of the SHL regular season.

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International dominance

For whatever reason, critics of Svechnikov point to his production at this year's under-20 world junior championship as one of the reasons why he should be considered a notch below Dahlin. However, Svechnikov in limited minutes as a fourth liner for Ru sia managed five a sists (four primary) in five games for a mind-numbing 5.40 points-per-60 minutes average. Considering hes dominated older teenagers at half a dozen other tournaments, in addition to the 16-21 age brackets in both the USHL and OHL, theres absolutely no reason to believe an increase in ice time would not have vaulted Svechnikov in the running for yet another international tournament scoring title.

Svechnikov led two significant competitions in scoring in his 16-year-old season the World under-17 Hockey Challenge and the under-19 World Junior A Challenge. He also led all non-draft eligibles in scoring as a 16-year-old at the IIHF under-18 World Championship in 2017.

The only other tournament in this pre-draft season that he appeared in besides the under-20 world juniors was the under-18 Five Nations Tournament, where he tied fellow 2018 draft prospect OliverWahlstromfor the most points with eight in four games.

Dominating the international circuit in front of the NHLs scouting community is part of what makes a generational player earn their pre-draft praise, and Svechnikovs play in these tournaments continue to get overlooked.

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Expected awards

Practically all elite NHL forwards can be found at the top of their draft cla s. This isnt always the case with defensemen. There have been 13 defensemen out of the maximum 30 po sible finalists for the last 10 Norris trophies(2008-2018). Of those 13 Lamarr Woodley Jersey , nine were drafted outside the top 10 of the first round and only two Victor Hedman and Drew Doughty were one of the first five picks in their respective draft.

PlayerDraftedNorris finalist (2008-18)Zdeno Charathird round (56th overall)5 timesDrew Doughtyfirst round (2nd overall)4 timesErik Karl sonfirst round (15th overall)4 timesNicklas Lidstromthird round (53rd overall)