2015 NHL Draft Guide

The 2015 NHL Draft on June 26th–27th at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida is one of the most highly touted drafts in years. This draft class possesses a plethora of talent with potentially franchise-altering players available, even beyond the McDavid-Eichel (McEichel) dynamic duo – the two game-changing players that the Oilers and Sabres will officially soon name their own.

Consider this your live home page for information for the 2015 NHL entry draft. Bookmark and check back often as it will be constantly updated leading up to hockey’s version of Christmas. THW’s 2015 NHL Entry Draft Guide – The Next Ones is your quintessential draft resource featuring:

• Detailed unique prospect profiles in The Next Ones and The War Room formats
• Mock Drafts
• Exclusive rankings
• Fantasy-based rankings
• Team Previews
• Looking ahead to the 2016 draft and beyond

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Highlights

This year, THW has something extra special for fans of the future of the game:

•    The Next Ones NHL 2015 Draft Prospect Guide Available Now
  • Our eBook available for just $2.99!
  • Features 150 in-depth prospect profiles for the upcoming draft written by THW’s draft team based on Eldon MacDonald’s May rankings of the top 180 prospects.
  • Foreword written by yours truly
  • Editor and the workhorse behind the scenes making this come to fruition – Ross Bonander
  • Comprehensive, convenient guide is available for just $2.99.
  • It is available at Amazon.com for the Kindle (and for those with other devices who have the Kindle app).
  • It is also available for the iPad, Nook, and all other devices that require the .epub format through the independent distributor Smashwords.
    • Here you can also download the book as a PDF, and purchases can be made through PayPal.

Hot Off the Press

After the draft weekend, morphs form NHL Draft Preview to Review mode with post-draft insight and analysis. Here are some of the articles with more to be found in the team specific sections later in this online guide.

• Winners and Losers From Draft Weekend
• The Next Ones: 2015 NHL Draft First Round Picks
  • With prospect profiler notes
• College Hockey: Reviewing the 2015 NHL Draft
• NCHC Hockey: 10 Players Selected During 2015 NHL Draft

2015 NHL Draft Day Essentials

•  NHL Draft 2015: Live Tracker
  • THW has you covered as the draft unfolds
• A Draft Day Scouting Glossary
• Top 10 NHL Mock Draft Disrupting Prospects
  • These 10 (actually 15) players will wreck mock drafts everywhere
• NHL Draft Rankings: Top 60 Prospects for Fantasy Hockey
  • The Next Ones’ offensive version of the rankings
• Size Doesn’t Matter: Johnny Gaudreau’s Impact On The 2015 NHL Draft
• 2015 NHL Draft: Top 10 Trade Candidates For Draft Day

Other Articles you just have to read:

• NCAA Hockey Could Replace The “Russian Factor”
• The NHL Draft & The Birth Of Champions
• 2015 NHL Draft War Room: The Sleeper Quiz
• Is This Draft Prospect Getting Sandbagged By NHL Scouts?
• NHL Draft Trivia, Part I, Part II
• Familiar Last Names on Draft Day: Related Or Not?
• Classic Draft Day Quotes

Rankings

2015 NHL Draft Rankings: Beyond McDavid and Eichel: The Next Ones Final Rankings

• a.k.a. Chris’s List
• The Top 120
• Spreadsheet and PDF versions
• Prospect Profiler Notes on all players

Other THW Rankings:

• NHL Draft Rankings: Top 60 Prospects for Fantasy Hockey
  • Th Next Ones’ offensive version of the rankings
• 2015 NHL Draft Rankings War Room: May Edition (E-Mac)
  • The Top 180 Final Rankings
  • Downloadable spreadsheet
• 2015 NHL Draft Rankings War Room: Combining Central Scouting’s Final Rankings
• 2015 NHL Draft Top 50 Prospects for Fantasy Hockey (under construction)
  • Based primarily on offensive upside
• Pike’s Picks: 2015 NHL Draft Alternate Rankings – Final Edition
• Reznik’s Rankings: Top 60 for the 2015 NHL Draft

Essential Links:

• HFBoards.com has a well maintained 2015 NHL Entry Draft Index highlighting other great resources for guides, rankings, and the NHL Combine information.

Check our Countdown Calendar every day as we get ready for the #NHLDraft in South Florida! http://t.co/PloflFShje pic.twitter.com/fTaZImnAqu

— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) June 13, 2015

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Mock Drafts

2015 NHL Mock Draft: 3 Round Final Edition

Team by Team Picks Notes on all 91 picks

2015 NHL Draft: The Writers Mock Draft

Larry Fisher’s 4th Annual NHL Mock Draft: 2015, Round 1 (with links to Round 2 &  3)

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The Next Ones/War Room: Prospect Profiles & Interviews

(Alphabetical order by surname: click on name/link for detailed prospect profiles)

Eligibility

1. Players born between January 1, 1995, and September 15, 1997, are eligible for selection in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.
2. Additionally, un-drafted, non-North American players born in 1994 are eligible for the draft
3. As well, those players who were drafted in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, but not signed by an NHL team and who were born after June 30, 1995, are also eligible to re-enter the draft.

• Filip Ahl
• Rasmus Andersson
• Barzal, Mathew – Seattle, WHL, C, 5’11, 175 – 44gp 12g 45a 57pts +13
• Anthony Beauvillier
• Paul Bittner
• Mackenzie Blackwood
• Brock Boeser
• Jeremy Bracco
• Guillaume Brisebois
• Brandon Carlo
• Alexandre Carrier
• Thomas Chabot
• Connor, Kyle – Youngstown, USHL, LW/C, 6’1, 177 – 56gp 34g 46a 80pts +3
• Crouse, Lawson – Kingston, OHL, LW, 6’4, 215 – 56gp 29g 22a 51pts +10
• Alexander Dergachyov
• Terrell Draude
• Eichel, Jack – Boston University, Hockey East, C, 6’2, 196 – 40gp 26g 45a 71pts +51
• Joel Ek Eriksson
• Gabriel Gagné
• Reid Gardiner
  • Recent NHL Drafts Give Over-Agers Hope
• Conor Garland
• Jordan Greenway
• AJ Greer
• Denis Guryanov
• Hanifin, Noah – Boston College, Hockey East, D, 6’3, 205 – 37gp 5g 18a 23pts +12
• Jansen Harkins
• Caleb Jones
• Noah Juulsen
• Kameron Kielly
• Travis Konecny – The Professional
  • Travis Konecny – The Next Ones: 2015 NHL Draft Prospect Profile
• Nikita Korostelev
• Oliver Kylington
• Jeremy Lauzon
• Loik Leveille
• Jesper Lindgren
• Jens Looke
• McDavid, Connor – Erie, OHL, C, 6’1, 195 – 47gp 44g 76a 120 pts +60
• Marner, Mitch – London, OHL, C/RW, 5’11, 160 – 63gp 44g 82a 126pts +36
  • Mitch Marner – The Next Ones: 2015 NHL Draft Prospect Profile
• Adam Marsh
• Meier, Timo – Halifax, QMJHL, RW, 6’1, 209 – 61gp 44g 46a 90 pts +20
• Nicolas Meloche
• Nick Merkley
• Adam Musil
• Luke Philp
• Kirill Pilipenko
• Ryan Pilon
• Provorov, Ivan: Brandon, WHL, D, 6’1, 201 – 60gp 15g 46a 61pts +36
• Rantanen, Mikko: TPS, Fin 1 (Liiga), C/RW, 6’4, 211 – 56gp 9g 19a 28pts -1
• Jeremy Roy
• Nicolas Roy
• Aleksi Saarela
• Dante Salituro
• Ilya Samsonov
• Blake Speers
• Matt Spencer
• Daniel Sprong
• Mitchell Stephens
• Strome, Dylan – Erie, OHL, C, 6’3, 185 – 67gp 45g 84a 129pts +47
• Dmytro Timashov
• Matej Tomek
• Vladimir Tkachyov 
• Yakov Trenin
• Daniel Vladar
• Mitchell Vande Sompel
• Werenski, Zach – University of Michigan, Big Ten, D, 6’2, 206 – 35gp 9g 16a 25 pts +9
• Colin White
• Dennis Yan
• Zacha, Pavel – Sarnia, OHL, LW/C, 6’3, 210 – 37gp 16g 18a 34pts +5
  • Pavel Zacha – The Next Ones: 2015 NHL Draft Prospect Profile
• Jakub Zboril
• Sergey Zborovskiy

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Historical Essential Reads

• 1990 NHL Re-draft: Possibly the Best Draft Class Ever (Part I of II)
• 1990 NHL Re-draft: Possibly the Best Draft Class Ever (Part II)
• Historical Analysis of the NHL Entry Draft- Part 1
• Could The Sabres’ Pick of Taro Tsujimoto Happen Today?
• Analyzing Detroit’s Draft History – Are the Red Wings Really the Best

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More Unique Insight

• 2015 Draft Eligible Players At Least Six Foot Seven
• Three Draft Prospects With Excess Baggage
• 5 Puck-Moving Defensemen Available in the 2015 NHL Draft
• 5 Undersized Forwards Available Later in the NHL Draft
• Three Supersized Slovakian Prospects
• 5 Potential Power Forwards Available Later in the 2015 NHL Draft
• 5 Stay-at-Home Defensemen Available in the 2015 Entry Draft
• Top Agitators a Scarcity in Upcoming Draft

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Team Specific Prospect Articles

• Anaheim Ducks:
  

•  Anaheim Ducks – Top 5 Prospects
  • Prior to 2015 Draft
•  2015 NHL Draft: Anaheim Ducks Select Jacob Larsson
•  The Saga Continues: Andersen vs. Gibson

• Arizona Coyotes
  

• Boston Bruins:

• Buffalo Sabres:

• Calgary Flames

• Carolina Hurricanes

• Chicago Blackhawks

• Colorado Avalanche

• 2015 NHL Draft: Colorado Avalanche Select Mikko Rantanen
• Options Aplenty for the Avalanche at 10th Overall
• The Colorado Avalanche Need to Go Out on a Wing at The Draft
• The Colorado Avalanche’s Best Late Round Draft Picks
• The Avalanche’s Disappointing Draft Picks

• Columbus Blue Jackets

• Dallas Stars

• Detroit Red Wings:

• Edmonton Oilers:

• Florida Panthers

• Los Angeles Kings:

• Minnesota Wild:

• Montreal Canadiens

• Nashville Predators:

• New Jersey Devils:

• New York Islanders:

• Islanders Remain in Great Shape After Reinhart Trade
• Analyzing Isles GM Garth Snow’s Past Drafts
• Next Wave Coming Soon to the NY Islanders

• New York Rangers:

• Ottawa Senators:

• Philadelphia Flyers:

• A Closer Look into Ron Hextall’s Draft Weekend Magic
• Hextall’s Dream Draft for the Flyers
• Who Should the Flyers Draft at 7th Overall?
• Flyers Have Options Late in First Round
• Contrary To Popular Belief, Paul Holmgren Drafts Well

• Pittsburgh Penguins

• San Jose Sharks:

• St. Louis Blues:

• Tampa Bay Lightning:

•  Tampa Bay Lightning Draft Review
• The 2015 Draft for the Tampa Bay Lightning
• Jonathan Drouin, Seth Jones and the 2013 NHL Entry Draft
• Tampa Bay’s Transformation: The Yzerman Effect
• Drouin, Peca Among Tampa Bay’s Top Prospects

• Toronto Maple Leafs: 

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The Next, Next Ones – Beyond the 2015 Draft:

•  Auston Matthews to play in Europe
•  Q & A with 2016 NHL Draft Prospect Auston Matthews
•  Sean Day – Exceptional Status Granted: A Truly Special ‘Day’

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Extra Reading:

• Book Review: The Art of Scouting by Shane Malloy
• Essential Hockey Read: Behind The Moves
• Late Round Larceny: THW’s Shawn Reznik looks at the dubious task of drafting goalies.
• Draft Day: The Curse of the Sixth Pick
• The Age Old Question: CHL vs. NCAA?
• The Russian Non-Factor – NHL Theory May Become Obsolete
• What’s the best round to draft a goalie? by Ryan Pike
• The Best Late Round Gems Of The NHL Entry Draft Since 2000 (Part I – ’00-’02 Drafts)
• Translating AHL Success To The NHL

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THW The Next Ones Draft Guide Archives:

For prior year’s detailed draft previews/guides:

• 2014 NHL Draft Guide: The Next Ones
  • City of Brotherly Love Edition
• 2013 NHL Entry Draft Preview
• 2012 NHL Entry Draft Preview
• 2011 NHL Entry Draft Preview
• 2010 NHL Entry Draft Preview
• 2009 NHL Entry Draft Preview