The NHL draft has arrived and hockey’s best prospects are in Chicago for one of the biggest days of their lives.

And with the NHL draft, fans and the media turn their attentions to toward public draft rankings and guides to hone in on the prospects who could be available in the range of their favourite team’s projected selections.

Here, I’ll break down five of the best potential options for the Red Wings with their first-round pick (ninth overall) in the 2017 class.

The Forwards

The Red Wings’ prospect pool is not what it once was and Detroit has a rare opportunity to draft near the top of the class. There is good young talent up front in the NHL and more on the way in Evgeni Svechnikov, Anthony Mantha, Dylan Larkin, Andreas Athanasiou, Givani Smith and Tyler Bertuzzi, but the Red Wings don’t have enough depth up front to make drafting a defenseman an absolute.

It’s almost a sure thing that best-case scenarios such as Casey Mittelstadt and Gabe Vilardi are gone by the time the Red Wings take the podium at No. 9, but there will still be high-end, top-six talents available and there’s a very good chance on of the following three players are available.

Owen Tippett: RW, 6-foot, 203 Ibs, Mississauga Steelheads (OHL)

FC Rank: 6

If the Red Wings are looking for a scorer, and they most certainly are, there are few players in the 2017 class who can shoot and cleanly beat goalies like Tippett. In his second year in the Ontario Hockey League, Tippett led his Mississauga Steelheads in combined regular season and playoff goals (54) and points (94) in 80 games, outscoring New Jersey Devils draftees Michael McLeod and Nathan Bastian in the process. Among under-18 OHL players, Tippett finished second in points per game (1.25) to only Nick Suzuki.

Not only can Tippett cleanly beat goalies from anywhere in the zone with a heavy, low-kick shot anchored by a deceptive release, but he can also use his shot in a number of ways. Where many talented young shooters thrive from a stationary standstill, Tippett is successful as a shooter because he can score at full speed, in motion, off of both his back and front leg. He’s also confident with his one-timer, and rarely needs to settle a hard pass to score quick a quick one-touch shot. The beauty of Tippett’s shot lays most in his ability to release off of the toe and heel of his blade, surprising goalies with his diversity, or curling the puck into his feet to quickly change angles.

And he doesn’t score by strictly relying on his release. Tippett thrives as a puck handler in tight and does an excellent job using his backhand to go high under the bar from the top of the crease. He’s also a strong, overpowering presence despite lacking the height that most powerful wingers possess. Tippett’s wide base and thick build allow give him exceptional balance and a quick first stride. He’s also a physical presence, which makes him a threat on the forecheck to win puck battles and maintain possession.

Tippett doesn’t have high-end top-speed and can get caught too-often looking shot from bad angles rather than lifting his head to survey cross ice, but he’s a strong enough forechecker and skater to project well as a scorer, especially on a team with a centre who can be the primary puck carrier and find him with time and space.

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Elias Pettersson: LW, 6-foot-2, 164 Ibs, Timra IK (Allsvenskan)

FC Rank: 8

If Tippett is one of the 2017 NHL Draft’s most dynamic scorers, Pettersson is one of its most creative. He’s an energetic, driven, light-on-his feet skater and creator (with and without the puck). Pettersson played in Sweden’s second-tier pro league this season and was its best young player, posting 41 points (19 goals, 22 assists) in 43 games, finishing second on Timra in scoring to Jonathan Dahlen, good for first in league scoring among under-19 forwards by a wide margin (17 more than the next closest forward).

Pettersson excels most as a skater, with high-end top speed and quick acceleration to get there. With the puck, he cuts extremely well laterally, shifting directions one-on-one or easily navigating traffic. Pettersson makes up for a lack of puck strength and physicality with his elusiveness, navigating all three zones to create space for himself and make quick, decisive plays with the puck.

He’s not shy either — Pettersson is aggressive with the puck and will take it to the net to make quick plays on net or corral and finish a rebound off with excellent stickhandling. Equally capable as a passer and shooter (though he scores with a quick release rather than an overpowering kick), Pettersson is one of the more versatile offensive players in the class.

Defensively, he’s aware and does a good job playing within a structure to limit chances against or get back on the back check. While he could still stand to add some bulk, Pettersson is dynamic enough that he projects well as a shifty creator on the smaller ice surface in North America.

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Eeli Tolvanen: RW, 5-foot-11, 189 Ibs, Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)

FC Rank: 11

If there’s any player in the 2017 NHL Draft who can best Tippett as a pure shooter, it’s Tolvanen. He left Finland to take the North American route to Boston College via the United States Hockey League and he was — along with potential 2018 first overall selection Andrei Svechnikov (brother to Evgeni) — its best young player. Tolvanen finished second among under-18 USHL scorers with 54 points and first with 30 goals before he added 10 more points in 13 playoff games.

Tolvanen is one of the most talented, purely gifted players in the class, alongside Nico Hischier. With the puck, he’s utterly dominant, able to convert on and create at whim, beating excellent defenders with raw speed or elite stick-handling and directional shifts and goalies with a low kick he has modeled after his favorite player, Vladimir Tarasenko.

Knocked for his size at the start of the year, Tolvanen grew an inch and added 15 pounds this season, developing into an astonishing offensive presence. He plays with nearly unmatched speed, intensity and pace, pushing the tempo and quickly transitioning up ice. His extra size has helped him better protect the puck as well, a skill he has always excelled at. There’s an effortlessness about his stride and his style, making tough plays look easy. He’s also a more gifted playmaker than Tippett, and does a good job attracting attention before finding his teammates in space.

On the forecheck, he hunts loose pucks to retrieve the puck and make plays with it when he does. Away from the puck, he also does a good job getting back to provide help or positioning himself in the defensive zone to disrupt the play or intercept a pass. But it’s his offensive ability that separates him. Tolvanen has enough upside to be a star in the NHL, something few in the 2017 class have the talent to become.

The Defensemen

The Red Wings have future NHL options in Vili Saarijarvi, Joe Hicketts, and Dennis Cholowoski, but you can never have too many defensemen and there are realistic options for Detroit on the backend in this class at ninth overall.

Cale Makar: D, 5-foot-11, 187 Ibs, Brooks Bandits (AJHL)

FC Rank: 7

If there was one concern about Makar as a prospect, it was his size. It’s easier to be a dominant presence as a smaller forward than it is as a smaller defenseman. But by the time the NHL Scouting Combine rolled around, and Makar measured in at 5-foot-11 and 187 pounds, those concerns were muted. Not only did Makar grow an inch this season, he also added more than 10 pounds. There’s little else that could have possibly held Makar back at the next level. And while there’s a good chance Makar is gone by the time the Red Wings pick at No. 9, with ESPN Insider’s Corey Pronman projecting him going No. 1 to the New Jersey Devils, he’d unquestionably be a great fit.

Makar hasn’t had the chance to play best-on-best like many of the other top prospects in the 2017 class, but he’s a two-time RBC Cup MVP and two-time AJHL Champion who dominated the World Junior A Challenge from the backend and posted 91 combined regular season and playoff points in 67 games, an incredible feat in any high-end junior league.

Makar is a fantastic skater who dictates the game at even-strength and on the powerplay with his ability to create clean zone entries, with his speed. Offensively, Makar lacks little. He’s an excellent passer, making aggressive plays through tight seems to look for the big play. He’s also an outstanding shooter, able to score from the point with a quick wrist shot or a heavy, accurate slapshot. As a handler, Makar does an excellent job tracking the play to carry through traffic or walking across the blueline to stutter or feign shot and open up space for himself to find a lane. Most of all, Makar leaps into the play with ease to create chances in the high slot or even around the crease, working hard to get back if he doesn’t convert. Makar is a rare breed of defender who never drops his head but can still maintain his top speed with the puck on his stick.

Defensively, Makar does a wonderful job tracking laterally to keep himself in front of attackers and quickly close gaps on bobbles. While he isn’t overly physical and can sometimes overcommit to try and force a turnover, putting himself on the wrong side of the puck, Makar does a beautiful job correcting for mistakes and winning the puck or keeping the play wide with an active stick. In the fall, he’ll join the UMass in the NCAA — though probably not for long.

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Juuso Valimaki, D, 6-foot-1, 211 Ibs, Tri-City Americans (WHL)

FC Rank: 12

If his utterly dominant season weren’t enough indication, Juuso Valimaki’s impressive performance across every test at the NHL Scouting Combine should have solidified him as one of the highest-ceiling defensemen in the 2017 class. Valimaki finished first among all under-19 defensemen in scoring with 61 points (including 19 goals!) in 60 games this season as the only draft-eligible defender above point per game.

In many ways, he’s a nearly perfect defenseman.

He defends extremely well — aggressively without overcompensating or taking a ton of penalties. He’s strong on his stick and physical. He’s an outstanding skater. And he’s eager with and without the puck, jumping up into the play offensively to make plays. As a shooter, he’s one of the bigger threats in the class, the right combination of power and accuracy without a long wind-up. If there’s one area of his game he needs to work on, its his pivots. As a handler, Valimaki does an excellent job navigating through traffic or out wide to protect it and gain the zone. He doesn’t rush plays under pressure and is capable enough as a handler to skate the puck out of trouble, poised and cerebral.

If Makar and Miro Heiskanen are off the board, Valimaki should be in contention as one of the best players available and arguably the best defenseman available. He’s close to being NHL ready too and will probably only need a lone year of work before he makes the jump. Valimaki is one of only a handful of defensemen in this class who has the ability and the upside to become a first-pairing, all-situations option at the NHL level and a scoring threat on the powerplay with his shot.

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Scott Wheeler has scouted each of the last five draft classes for McKeen’s Hockey (2013-2015) and Future Considerations (2016-2017).