NHL Draft 2015: Team-by-Team Results, Grades and Analysis

The 2015 NHL draft was wrapped up on Saturday with the completion of Rounds 2-7 from the BB&T Center, home of the Florida Panthers. 

In a draft that was filled with wheeling and dealing, a deep pool of prospects coupled with some well-timed trades has some teams looking a lot better on Sunday than they did on Thursday. 

Continue below for notable selections for each team, grades on their drafts and a look at some of the big winners coming out of Sunrise, Florida. 

Team	Notable Selections (Round, Pick)	Grade	Note
Anaheim Ducks	Jacob Larsson (1, 27)	B	Larsson adds depth down the wing.
Arizona Coyotes	Dylan Strome (1, 3), Nicholas Merkley (1, 30)	A	Strome can mature into a scoring machine, while Merkley at No. 30 could be an absolute steal.
Boston Bruins	Jakub Zboril (1, 13), Jake DeBrusk (1, 14), Zachary Senyshyn (1, 15)	D	The Bruins are headed in the wrong direction after trading Lucic and Hamilton.
Buffalo Sabres	Jack Eichel (1, 2)	A+	The greatest consolation prize in NHL draft history.
Calgary Flames	Oliver Kylington (2, 30)	B+	Kylington is a first-round talent. A skilled defenseman to help out a dynamic offense.
Carolina Hurricanes	Noah Hanifin (1, 5), Callum Booth (4, 93)	A-	Hanifin was the best defenseman in the draft, and Booth was the second-best goalie available.
Chicago Blackhawks	Graham Knott (2, 54), Dennis Gilbert (3, 91)	C+	For a team that needs to settle cap issues, the draft could have helped reshape the roster.
Colorado Avalanche	Mikko Rantanen (1, 10)	B	A scoring winner who can flourish on a young, talented Avs side.
Columbus Blue Jackets	Zach Werenski (1, 8), Gabriel Carlsson (1, 29), Paul Bittner (2, 38)	A-	The Blue Jackets got plenty of help for their defense with Werenski and Carlsson. Bittner was the best available winger at No. 38.
Dallas Stars	Denis Gurianov (1, 12), Roope Hintz (2, 49)	C+	Gurianov was a head-scratcher at No. 12.
Detroit Red Wings	Evgeny Svechnikov (1, 19)	B-	Svechnikov can be another forward to fit into Detroit's highly skilled system.
Edmonton Oilers	Connor McDavid (1, 1)	A+	When you draft the talent of a generation, you automatically get an A-plus.
Florida Panthers	Lawson Crouse (1, 11)	A-	Crouse was one of the best wingers in this draft. Panthers got a steal at No. 11.
Los Angeles Kings	Erik Cernak (2, 43)	B+	While the pick is OK, the acquisition of Milan Lucic for the No. 13 pick is much better.
Minnesota Wild	Joel Eriksson Ek (1, 20), Jordan Greenway (2, 50)	B	One of the better European prospects, Ek is a nice prize for the Wild. Jordan Greenway might be the most underrated prospect in the draft.
Montreal Canadiens	Noah Juulsen (1, 26)	B-	He'll be a long-term project, as he still has some growing to do as a defenseman at 174 pounds.
Nashville Predators	Iakov Trenin (2, 55), Thomas Novak (3, 85)	B	For their lack of picks, they did well with them. Novak was ranked the 28th-best North American skater by the NHL.
New Jersey Devils	Pavel Zacha (1, 8), Mackenzie Blackwood (2, 42)	B+	Zacha provides scoring the Devils sorely needed, while Blackwood can be a very good goalie.
New York Islanders	Mathew Barzal (1, 16), Anthony Beauvillier (1, 28), Ryan Pilon (5, 147)	A+	The Islanders went from having their first pick at 72nd to getting two first-round picks. It paid off, as the Islanders added some talented depth.
New York Rangers	Ryan Gropp (2, 41), Robin Kovacs (3, 62)	C	The Rangers missed out on some big talent due to their absence in the first round.
Ottawa Senators	Thomas Chabot (1, 18), Colin White (1, 21), Gabriel Gagne (2, 36)	A-	The Senators must have been high on Gagne to take him that early, but Chabot and White address defense and scoring depth.
Philadelphia Flyers	Ivan Provorov (1, 7), Travis Konecny (1, 24)	A	With defense needed, the Flyers got one of the best available in the draft. They then traded for the 24th pick to snap up Konecny, a very promising center.
Pittsburgh Penguins	Daniel Sprong (2, 46), Dominik Simon (5, 137)	D	The Penguins only had four picks and made one solid selection.
San Jose Sharks	Timo Meier (1, 9), Jeremy Roy (1, 31)	A-	Meier has great goal scoring potential, while Roy can become a shutdown defenseman.
St. Louis Blues	Vince Dunn (2, 56)	B	Dunn has first-round talent. St. Louis got great value for this pick.
Tampa Bay Lightning	Mitchell Stephens (2, 33), Matthew Spencer (2, 44)	B+	For a team that didn't have a pick in the first round, Tampa made do with what it was dealt with some fine picks.
Toronto Maple Leafs	Mitch Marner (1, 4), Travis Dermott, (2, 34)	A	The Maple Leafs got their pure scorer and the best defenseman they could get their hands on.
Vancouver Canucks	Brock Boeser (1, 23), Guillaume Brisebois (3, 66)	C+	Boeser could have gone lower. Brisebois is a true defensive defenseman.
Washington Capitals	Ilya Samsonov (1, 22), Jonas Siegenthaler (2, 57)	B-	With the likes of Mike Green and Joel Ward possibly on the move, the Capitals could have addressed these gaps instead of going with a goalie in the first round.
Winnipeg Jets	Kyle Connor (1, 17), John Roslovic (1, 25), Jansen Harkins (2, 47)	B+	The Jets acquired plenty of skill with two picks in the first round and a steal in Harkins dropping to 47th.

Winners

Buffalo Sabres

The Buffalo Sabres received the greatest consolation prize in the NHL draft since 2000. Yes, that's a premature statement, but in any other year besides 2004 (Alex Ovechkin) and 2005 (Sidney Crosby), there would be a good chance that Jack Eichel could have been the first overall pick.

Yes, that's even above Steven Stamkos in 2008 and John Tavares in 2009.

Speaking of Tavares, Sports Illustrated's Allan Muir says Eichel "will be an elite first-liner in the vein of John Tavares, a dominant offensive presence around which a championship roster can be built."

Usually with such a high draft pick, a lot of pressure falls on the newest member as he tries to turn around a struggling team. On draft day, however, the Sabres made sure the onus would not fall squarely on him. 

Buffalo went out and acquired center Ryan O'Reilly from the Colorado Avalanche. At 24 years old, he is another young center who could help develop Eichel. Last season, O'Reilly scored 17 goals and added 38 assists. The Sabres also got Jamie McGinn in the deal, who could be a good third- or fourth-line forward.

Buffalo's big day certainly got Sabres play-by-play man Dan Dunleavy excited for next season:

Don't be surprised if O'Reilly centers the first line, while Eichel finds his bearings in the NHL. The Sabres have the right foundation for two good lines in the Eastern Conference—that is, if Eichel decides to leave Boston University in order to play for the Sabres. It'd be difficult to jeopardize the beginning of such a promising NHL career to stay in the NCAA, but you can't put a price on a good education.

Edmonton Oilers

As noted before, it really did not matter what the Edmonton Oilers did for the rest of their draft. When you get a talent like Connor McDavid, you automatically win.

Especially when the greatest hockey player of all time, Wayne Gretzky, tells Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal, "He’s as good as I’ve seen in the last 30 years, the best player to come into the league in the last 30 years, the best to come along since (Mario) Lemieux and (Sidney) Crosby. He can definitely change a franchise’s fortunes."

The Oilers also addressed a need in goaltending, acquiring Cam Talbot from the New York Rangers. He went 29-9-4 in 36 games last season while backing up Henrik Lundqvist.

It is the fourth time the Oilers have had the No. 1 overall pick in the past six years, and they might finally have struck gold. Taylor Hall has been slowly developing into a second-line-caliber left winger, while Nail Yakupov has been a disappointment in his first three seasons. 

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has recorded 56 points in the past two seasons. He now looks destined for the second line, as he will play second fiddle to McDavid. 

They have another young center, Leon Draisaitl, waiting in the wings as well to make his impact in the NHL. The Oilers are stacked with a young, promising foundation. It is just a matter of development and playing well-rounded hockey.

An explosive offense that comes along won't matter much if the defense continues to give up 3.37 goals per game like it did last season, which was worst in the NHL. Those numbers will improve with Talbot, but look for the Oilers to continue looking for defensive help in the offseason.

New York Islanders

Entering draft day, the Islanders did not have a pick until No. 72. Then general manager Garth Snow got on the phone. 

A franchise that for years has shown little aggression on the market followed the script set last Labor Day when it acquired Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy to bolster the defense. 

Snow traded defenseman Griffin Reinhart, who failed to impress in his short stint in the NHL, to the Oilers for the 16th overall pick, where the Islanders selected Mathew Barzal. Out of the WHL, Barzal will provide depth down the center within the next few years.

Newsday's Arthur Staple spoke with Islanders' head scout Trent Klatt on their pick:

But Snow wasn't done. The Islanders next dealt the 33rd pick that they acquired in that same deal from the Oilers and their 72nd selection to the Tampa Bay Lightning for the 28th spot. Drafting to address their needs again, they nabbed a left winger in Anthony Beauvillier. 

Muir describes Beauvillier as a high-risk, high-reward pick:

"

His speed is his main weapon—he's very dangerous coming in off the rush—complemented by a nice array of shots and a finisher's touch. The potential is there for him to be the steal of the first round...or a massive bust. He needs to work on his strength, especially upper body, and he needs to commit to more diligent play without the puck. He's a project still several years away from the Show, but for the price paid he's worth the risk.

"

The Islanders already have their pipeline to high-end prospects established. Waiting to get their NHL chance are defenseman Ryan Pulock, left winger Michael Dal Colle and center Josh Ho-Sang, which will help push out some of the fringe players on the roster.

Improving by 22 points from 2013-14 to the fifth seed in the playoffs last season, the Islanders play an exciting, offensive brand of hockey that could be haunting the Eastern Conference for years to come in their new home at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.