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2015 NHL Mock Draft: Updated 1st-Round Predictions Post-Lottery

Published by Bleacher Report on Sun, 19 Apr 2015


The two-month wait between the lottery and the 2015 NHL draft has finally begun, and it's going to be a long one for many of the top prospects.The Edmonton Oilers trumped the Buffalo Sabres and Arizona Coyotes by winning the No. 1 overall pick on Saturday despite having just the third-best odds.It marks the fourth No. 1 pick for Edmonton in the last six yearsrattle that stat off to an Edmonton fan, and they'll remind you how it's produced nothing but a nine-year playoff drought despite some of the game's best young talent.If the talent atopthisdraft is any indication, however, 2015 could be the year in which that begins to come to an end. Without further ado, let's dive into a fresh NHL mock for all 30 teams.Top Selections1. Edmonton Oilers: Connor McDavid, C, OHLNeedless to say, No. 1 overall picks haven't gone swimmingly for the Oilers in recent years. And that's saying a lot considering the amount they have had.But when the golden ticket was pulled out with their logo on it, it might as well have had Connor McDavid's name on it.While other players have felt like shoo-ins for the top overall pick, McDavid has generated as much hype as any player since Sidney Crosby,with scouts and coaches alike donning him as a generational talent. The 18-year-old has already lit up the OHL to help justify his insane draft stock, and it's not surprising to hear the Oilers are more than reluctant to give up the chance to get him:So although the draft is two months away, the Oilers can pretty much move forward now and begin to figure out how everything else will piece together. Up first is finding a new head coach.You don't often hear of a player not yet draftedno matter how valuable he ishaving a say in such a matter, but it's no secret that the Oilers will at least keep it in mind when deciding upon a new bench commander, per Yahoo Sports' Greg Wyshynski:Already immensely skilled beyond his years, McDavid possesses an all-around game with virtually no weaknesses. The center can win faceoffs, create scoring opportunities all by his lonesome and make teammates better around him.Most importantly, his arrival will single-handedly inject some hope into a franchise that sorely needs it.2. Buffalo Sabres: Jack Eichel, C, Boston UniversityIf Buffalo was the coveted destination for top prospects in the draft, consider Jack Eichel the winner.OK, he's not going to be the No. 1 overall selection, and you can take that much to the bank. But upon joining a team a few years into an obvious rebuild that desperately needs a young leader, he can feel great about his chances for success.There's no doubt that missing out on McDavid has the Sabres and their fans a little disappointed, but it's not like picking No. 2 is much of a consolation this year, as Richard Deitsch ofSports Illustrated observed:The disappointment will soon wear off, and Buffalo will see firsthand that it is about to get a franchise player. At 6'2" and 194 pounds, he's a big-bodied center who stood out among the nation's best collegiate players at Boston despite being a freshman in what's likely to be his only season.With an immense hockey IQ and offensive skills that can only be compared in this class to McDavid, Eichel is a sure thing to make a swift impact once he enters the league.3. Arizona Coyotes: Noah Hanifin, D, Boston CollegeIt's a known fact that Boston College defenseman Noah Hanifin is the most sought-after blue-line prospect in the draft, but his potential to become one of the league's best defensemen will lead Arizona to select him at No. 3 overall.As the second-worst team in the NHL last season, the Coyotes had a tough opening year in the rebrandingor renamingof their franchise. They let up more goals (272) on the season than all but two teams. Despite finishing six points below the Oilers, their divisional rival was awarded with the No. 1 pick.Hanifin's emergence on the blue line would help to shore up some of those problems, but he left a big hint that he might not mind falling to No. 4 to Toronto, as Jonas Siegel of TSN noted:It will be awfully hard for the Coyotes, however, to pass up on him. His size (6'3", 205 lbs) doesn't force him to give up anything in the speed and skating department, and he is nearly as polished offensively as Seth Joneswho, as a second-year player, is an integral part of the Nashville Predators defense during their playoff run.If the Coyotes can get anything similar from Hanifin, it will help to make up for the unquestionable loss during Saturday's lottery.
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