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Plenty of drama in 2018 NHL Draft starting with No. 3 pick

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The Montreal Canadiens selected center Jesperi Kotkaniemi with the third overall selection of the 2018 NHL Draft.

The first two picks of the 2018 NHL Draft stuck to the script. Many expected that script to be flipped from the third selection and on, and NHL teams didn’t disappoint.

For a running tally of the first round picks, check PHT’s Draft Tracker.

Montreal Canadiens walk to the beat of their own drum

Time will tell if Jesperi Kotkaniemi ends up being a “reach” or not.

Some wonder about Kotkaniemi’s ceiling, but he’s a center who was rising up many mock drafts as Friday approached. This isn’t a wild reach, yet it’s a move that will inspire more than a little bit of debate.

And, yes, a lot of the doubt stems from the fact that Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin seems to be a magnet for debate.

Two other interesting picks

If you want to leave your head spinning, just go through every mock draft to see how wide the range of opinions have been about Brady Tkachuk. His potential as a prospect has been, at times, as controversial as the chirp-tastic forward likely will be on the ice.

(He’ll definitely chirp his brother Matthew Tkachuk, being that Brady went quite a bit earlier in his draft as No. 4 with Ottawa.)

The Senators have experienced a turbulent summer, to put things mildly, and Tkachuk stands as an interesting choice. On the bright side, he could be NHL-ready soon (maybe not right away like his brother, but who knows ... especially with a modestly talented team like the Sens?). Still, some wonder if that brand name that comes with being Matthew’s brother and Keith’s son might have inflated his draft stock.

Arizona raised more than a few eyebrows when they selected Barrett Hayton, a center some expected to go in the teens.

Grabbing some really nice value

To wrap up the earliest picks, NHL teams took advantage of certain mild surprises to land some layups.

Filip Zadina was, at one point, the consensus third pick of the 2018 NHL Draft. At worst, the useful winger was expected to go fourth if Montreal went with a center, as they did. Instead, he fell to the Detroit Red Wings.

Instead of over-thinking things (the Red Wings haven’t been shy about stating their desire to improve on defense), Detroit took the “W,” whether you consider that “the win” or “a winger.” Detroit hasn’t always been keen to take the best player available, but they did it here.

The Vancouver Canucks also must have been delighted to see speedster Quinn Hughes fall to them at seventh overall. Many believe that he was the second-best defenseman available, and a true game-breaker (even if he’s on the small side).

Stay tuned for more analysis from the 2018 NHL Draft ...

James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.