2015 NHL Mock Draft: Post-Stanley Cup Predictions for 1st-Round Prospects

Every year at the NHL draft, a few players receive a lot of hype and attention. That doesn't always mean they are leading a pack of special players on the draft board; it just means they've separated themselves from the pack.

This year, however, there are some truly special players on the board for teams.

With the Stanley Cup Final now behind us and the Chicago Blackhawks the 2015 champions, we'll take a look at an updated mock draft along with a breakdown of some of the top storylines at this year's draft.

Mock Draft

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

Top Storylines

This draft is loaded at the top. In most years, there might be a franchise player or two for teams to select. This year, you could argue there are five.

The two transformative, potentially generational talents are Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel. McDavid is the best prospect to hit the draft since Sidney Crosby and a lock to be the No. 1 overall pick. His combination of speed, skill, playmaking ability and precision is rare, and he could transform Edmonton's franchise.

Of course, Jack Eichel might be one of the best consolation prizes you'll ever see in a draft. In most years, he'd be the obvious choice as the No. 1 pick, so while the Buffalo Sabres would have likely preferred to finish with the top selection, they won't be crying over spilled milk when Eichel takes the ice.

In other years, players such as Dylan Strome, Noah Hanifin and Mitch Marner might be in the conversation for the top two picks, so teams selecting in the top five are just about guaranteed to land studs.  

Quite a few teams need to nail this draft, with multiple picks in the first round. While Edmonton and Buffalo will almost certainly land franchise players, they also will select again in the first round. In such a deep draft, each team could land two studs in one evening. 

Teams such as the Philadelphia Flyers, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Winnipeg Jets also possess multiple first-round picks.

The Flyers have some nice pieces in place, especially at forward, but their issues on defense and the revolving door at goalie (this probably isn't a great year for the team to go after a young goalie early in the draft) continue to plague the team. Ditto for Toronto, which has good pieces in place but has the chance to bolster its up-and-coming roster in this year's strong draft.

The Jets' place in this year's postseason surprised some folks, and with two picks in the first round, they can add more young blood to an already impressive roster that should continue to improve in the coming years. Exciting times in Winnipeg, indeed.

The NHL draft may not receive the attention of the NFL or NBA editions, but this year's class looks as though it will flood the NHL with a number of stars in the coming years. McDavid and Eichel seem like the faces of the next generation. 

In other words, if you support a team near the top of this draft, feel free to get excited. Your team is about to get a lot better.