Every kid who laces up the skates someday dreams of playing in the NHL. Tonight, 31 of the top prospects in the world will have their name called by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman in Vancouver at the NHL Draft.

Without any doubt the first two picks will be the American offensive dynamo Jack Hughes, followed by Kaapo Kakko of Finland. The New Jersey Devils were the lucky team to earn the chance to draft the highly touted American center with the first pick. Hughes has played with the U.S. National Team Development Program the past two seasons — the USNTDP is the best junior team in the world, as they are able to select the greatest players all throughout the United States. Many of the best players in the league came through the program, including Patrick Kane (pick one in 2007), Jack Eichel (pick two in 2015), Auston Matthews (pick one in 2016), Dylan Larkin (pick 15 in 2014), Phil Kessel (pick 5 in 2006) and Charlie McAvoy (pick 14 in 2016) — among those names. Hughes is the programs all-time leading scorer and has been labeled the first pick since his days playing with the Toronto Marlboros AAA Minor Midget team where he put up 159 points in 80 games as a 15 year old — Connor McDavid came through the same program before advancing to the OHL. With the first pick, New Jersey will be getting a number one center with elite playmaking ability.

While Jack Hughes appeared to be the run-away number one pick at the beginning of the year, Kakko has exploded on the scene. The big Finnish winger has the proper tools to make the NHL right away and have a huge impact on the New York Rangers roster immediately. Kakko has made a name for himself this year by winning a U-18 Gold Medal, U-20 Gold Medal and a Men’s World Championship Gold Medal — two of the three games were won playing against Hughes and the United States, causing some scouts and analysts to believe that the big Finn has surpassed the undersized Hughes as the top prospect.

After the first two picks it seems to be pretty wide open on who may go where, players like two-way centerman Alex Turcotte, top defenseman Bowen Byram and big playmaking center Kirby Dach will likely round out the top five selections. The Buffalo Sabres are sitting pretty at pick seven in the first round, right after the Red Wings and before the Oilers, Ducks and Canucks to round out the top ten. There has been speculation that Vancouver is interested in moving up to the Sabres spot as seven — hopping over their division opponents. If a trade were to go down between the Sabres and Canucks, rumors have suggested Rasmus Ristolainen could be on the move in a blockbuster deal with Brock Boeser, but that is just a juicy rumor.

In my opinion, the Sabres should keep their seventh selection and take American winger Cole Caufield. Caufield plays at the USNTDP and similar to Jack Hughes has etched his name into the record books there, by becoming the all-time leading goalscorer — surpassing Phil Kessel’s record of 104 goals over two seasons with a whopping 126. Caufield did benefit from playing on the wing of an elite playmaker in Hughes, but his talents should not be overlooked as he is the best goalscorer in the draft — clearly one of the biggest needs for the Sabres.

Aside from Caufield, the Sabres could look to bolster their prospect pool at the center ice position by taking Trevor Zegras from the USNTDP or Dylan Cozens out of the Western Hockey League in the CHL. Some scouts have said Cozens is more likely to end up on the wing, but it is unlikely the Sabres draft a CHL prospect anyways — in Botterill’s tenure at the helm he is yet to draft a CHL prospect due to their shorter signing period.

The Sabres are back on the board again with the 31st pick in the first round, and are likely to keep the pick. Similar to their first pick, the Sabres should take another forward to help our scoring problem. A couple options in the area could be Nolan Foote out of the Kelowna Rockets in the WHL, Ryan Suzuki from the Guelph Storm in the OHL, John Beecher in the USNTDP and if he falls there, Connor McMichael out of the London Knights who are notorious for generating elite NHL talent.

Don’t be surprised if there is a major trade that happens not including draft picks, the draft always seems to be a hotbed for trade activity with all of the teams on the same floor with each other. The USNTDP class of 2019 or better known as the 2001’s, will see at least six players go in the first round and possibly eight, which would be a record number of players from the same team. The players include: Jack Hughes, Alex Turcotte, Cole Caufield, Trevor Zegras, Spencer Knight, Matthew Boldy, Cam York and John Beecher.

Hughes and Kakko will definitely headline draft night as the top two players, but there is still plenty of talent in the draft for the Sabres to take a big step in the right direction.