2015 NHL Mock Draft: Full Round 1 Projections for Every Team

In the NBA, one player can completely alter an organization for the better part of the decade. The NFL draft has practically become a national holiday, and Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota will be more scrutinized than presidential candidates in the next month. 

In the NHL draft, however, the hype isn't as severe and the players don't always have the impact a top selection in the NBA draft might have. Well, not every year, though this year that might not be the case, where the top two players on the board sure look like surefire superstars.

Below, we'll take a closer look at the top prospects available in this draft along with a full first-round mock for the NHL draft. 

The NFL and NBA drafts might get more hype, but this year the most transformational talent in his sport will likely be selected in the NHL draft. 

Pick	Team	Player
1	Buffalo Sabres	Connor McDavid, C, Erie (OHL)
2	Arizona Coyotes	Jack Eichel, C, Boston University
3	Edmonton Oilers	Noah Hanifin, D, Boston College
4	Toronto Maple Leafs	Dylan Strome, C, Erie (OHL)
5	Carolina Hurricanes	Mitch Marner, C, London (OHL)
6	New Jersey Devils	Lawson Crouse, LW, Kingston (OHL)
7	Philadelphia Flyers	Ivan Provorov, D, Brandon (WHL)
8	Columbus Blue Jackets	Travis Konecny, C, Ottawa (OHL)
9	Colorado Avalanche	Oliver Kylington, D, AIK (SWE)
10	Florida Panthers	Pavel Zacha, C/LW, Sarnia (OHL)
11	San Jose Sharks	Mikko Rantanen, RW, TPS (FIN)
12	Dallas Stars	Mathew Barzal, C, Seattle (WHL)
13	Ottawa Senators	Zachary Werenski, D, Michigan
14	Florida Panthers (from Los Angeles)	Jeremy Roy, D, Sherbrooke (QMJHL)
15	Calgary Flames	Thomas Chabot, D, Saint John (QMJHL)
16	Winnipeg Jets	Kyle Connor, C, Youngstown (USHL)
17	Detroit Red Wings	Yevgeni Svechnikov, LW, Cape Breton (QMJHL)
18	Edmonton Oilers (from Pittsburgh)	Timo Meier, LW, Halifax (QMJHL)
19	Boston Bruins	Jakub Zboril, D, Saint John (QMJHL)
20	Minnesota Wild	Nick Merkley, C/RW, Kelowna (WHL)
21	Vancouver Canucks	Nicolas Meloche, D, Baie-Comeau Drakkar (QMJHL)
22	Winnipeg Jets (from Buffalo via New York Islanders)	Brandon Carlo, D, Tri-City (WHL)
23	Washington Capitals	Colin White, C/RW, USA U-18 (USHL)
24	Arizona Coyotes (from Chicago)	Sebastian Aho, D, Skelleftea (Elitserien)
25	Toronto Maple Leafs (from Nashville)	Paul Bittner, LW, Portland (WHL)
26	Philadelphia Flyers (from Tampa Bay)	Jordan Greenway, LW, USA U-18 (USHL)
27	Buffalo Sabres (from St. Louis)	Jeremy Bracco, C/RW, USA U-18 (USHL)
28	Montreal Canadiens	Jake Debrusk, LW, Swift Current Broncos (WHL)
29	Anaheim Ducks	Nicolas Roy, C/RW, Chicoutimi (QMJHL)
30	New York Rangers	Rasmus Andersson, D, Barrie (OHL)

Connor McDavid, C, Erie (OHL)

The video above should pretty much tell you all you need to know about Connor McDavid. He's a special kid.

Speed and acceleration? He has them and then some. Puck handling? He's a wizard. A goal-scorer's touch and a playmaker's vision? Check and check. The best prospect since Sidney Crosby?

You bet. He's that good.

He'll need to add some strength, of course, and given his goal-scoring prowess, the team that ends up drafting him will probably want to see him shoot a bit more. He's the type of talent you want to be a bit selfish. 

And he's the type of talent who can change an organization. McDavid has all the makings of a generational talent. 

Jack Eichel, C, Boston University 

Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

In most years, NFL teams are clamoring to get the top overall pick to select the top player available. This year, however, landing one of the first two picks is likely to land teams a genuine superstar.

That's because Jack Eichel is really, really good. Like, the-best-player-in-college-hockey-as-a-freshman good. He hasn't just met the huge expectations that followed him into this season, he's arguably exceeded them. 

Harvard coach Ted Donato, who has known Eichel for years, gushed about the prospect's upside, per Nancy Marrapese-Burrell of the Boston Globe:

"

His skating now will put him at the elite level at the NHL level as well.

I have had a chance to see him play against the local college guys and the local NHL players in the summer leagues in Foxborough and you could see he has got generational talent. I was fortunate enough to come out around the same time as [Jeremy] Roenick and [Mike] Modano and that to me is the kind of talent that he has.

He is somewhat freakish as far as his explosiveness and strength for his age. That is usually the part that takes years to get to that level. He seems to be that much ahead of his peers.

"

In many years, Eichel would likely be the top pick. He's a special talent who will hit the NHL more than accustomed to the limelight and adversity, and he's certainly a player accustomed to playing with players older and more experienced than he is, meaning he could be an immediate contributor as a rookie. 

Eichel is no consolation prize, in other words. He's just a prize. 

Noah Hanifin, D, Boston College 

Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images

In a draft that has been dominated by talk of the top two prospects, it's easy to forget about the rest of the top talents available. And it's easy to forget just how good Noah Hanifin has been for Boston College this year. 

But you can bet any NHL team with a top-five pick won't be forgetting about him. Far from it. As Connor Mellas of NHL.com wrote, Hanifin has the makings of a star:

"

By all accounts, Hanifin, NHL Central Scouting's projected third overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, is not a robot, but his brain processes hockey with a machine-like efficiency. His positioning is superb, his instincts are deadly, and his offensive and defensive decision-making continues to improve and impress. Since he accelerated out of St. Sebastian's School to join BC as a 17-year-old, Hanifin's physical tools, his 6-foot-3, 205-pound frame and natural skating ability have been relentlessly touted at the expense of his overlooked hockey brain.  

"

Like Eichel, Hanifin is just a freshman, and like Eichel he's a special player who wasn't intimidated by college hockey's more experienced players. He isn't a slam dunk like McDavid or Eichel, but in a different year he'd likely be in contention for the top overall pick. 

You can bet a team picking in the top five will quickly recover from missing out on a top-two pick if Hanifin lives up to his immense potential.