2015 NHL Mock Draft: Latest Forecast for All Prospects in 1st Round

The 2015 NHL draft is going to change the course of two franchises for the foreseeable future and provide numerous others with valuable assets. It's a rare class of prospects that features both high-end talent and noteworthy depth.

Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel are the standout duo. Both have found themselves in the spotlight for a long time already, and neither has done anything over the past year to lessen the excitement for the Edmonton Oilers and Buffalo Sabres. Each team is going to get a franchise cornerstone.

Those two future superstars will come off the board immediately. After that, there's far less certainty about how things will play out. Let's check out one possible scenario with a complete mock draft of the opening round.

1st-Round Mock Draft

Pick	Team	Selection
1	Edmonton Oilers	Connor McDavid, C, Erie (OHL)
2	Buffalo Sabres	Jack Eichel, C, Boston U. (NCAA)
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 (NCAA)
6	New Jersey Devils	Mikko Rantanen, C, TPS Turku (SM-liiga)
7	Philadelphia Flyers	Lawson Crouse, LW, Kingston (OHL)
8	Columbus Blue Jackets	Travis Konecny, C, Ottawa (OHL)
9	San Jose Sharks	Zach Werenski, D, Michigan (NCAA)
10	Colorado Avalanche	Ivan Provorov, D, Brandon (WHL)
11	Florida Panthers	Pavel Zacha, C, Sarnia (OHL)
12	Dallas Stars	Timo Meier, RW, Halifax (QMJHL)
13	Los Angeles Kings	Mathew Barzal, C, Seattle (WHL)
14	Boston Bruins	Kyle Connor, C, Youngstown (USHL)
15	Calgary Flames	Jakub Zboril, D, Saint John (QMJHL)
16	Edmonton Oilers (from PIT)	Jansen Harkins, C, Prince George (WHL)
17	Winnipeg Jets	Jake DeBrusk, LW, Swift Current (WHL)
18	Ottawa Senators	Daniel Sprong, RW, Charlottetown (QMJHL)
19	Detroit Red Wings	Gabriel Carlsson, D, Linkopings HC (SHL)
20	Minnesota Wild	Jacob Larsson, D, Frolunda HC (SHL)
21	Buffalo Sabres (from NYI)	Evgeny Svechnikov, LW, Cape Breton (QMJHL)
22	Washington Capitals	Filip Chlapik, C, Charlottetown (QMJHL)
23	Vancouver Canucks	Nick Merkley, RW, Kelowna (WHL)
24	Toronto Maple Leafs (from NSH)	Noah Juulsen, D, Everett (WHL)
25	Winnipeg Jets (from STL via BUF)	Paul Bittner, LW, Portland (WHL)
26	Montreal Canadiens	Jeremy Roy, D, Sherbrooke (QMJHL)
27	Anaheim Ducks	Thomas Chabot, D, Saint John (QMJHL)
28	Tampa Bay Lightning (from NYR)	Brock Boeser, RW, Waterloo (USHL)
29	Philadelphia Flyers (from TB)	Ilya Samsonov, G, Magnitogorsk (KHL)
30	Arizona Coyotes (from CHI)	Oliver Kylington, D, Farjestads BK (SHL)

Since most of the attention has been paid to McDavid, Eichel and the other top forwards, not much hype has surrounded the defensive prospects. While there isn't an elite talent like the first two picks, there are several promising blueliners on the board.

That said, drafting any of them will need to come along with some patience. It's unlikely they will be able to match what Aaron Ekblad did for the Florida Panthers as a rookie after making an immediate jump to the NHL, but their long-term outlook is bright nevertheless.

Top Defensive Prospects

5. Carolina Hurricanes: Noah Hanifin, D, Boston College (NCAA)

Hanifin features a tremendous two-way skill set. He moves around the ice with ease, showing off good speed and acceleration for a player of his size. It allows him to jump into the play without getting caught out of position on a consistent basis.

He's also displayed a strong hockey IQ and good passing ability, two key traits when it comes to developing into a power-play quarterback. Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe noted the blueliner is using the top forwards as motivation to round out his game, too.

"It motivates me a lot," Hanifin said. "Being a defenseman and with those guys being forwards, the type of role I want to be in the NHL someday is the type of defenseman who can play against highly skilled players like that. Connor and Jack are both great kids and great players. All the attention they've gotten this year, they deserve."

Hanifin isn't nearly as polished as McDavid or Eichel, so it will probably be at least a year before he's facing them in the NHL. But he's flashed the potential of becoming the complete package, and that's always worth the wait.

The Hurricanes are building an extremely promising young defensive group with Justin Faulk and Ryan Murphy leading the way. Adding Hanifin to the mix would put them on pace to have one of the deepest, most versatile blue lines in the league within a few years.

9. San Jose Sharks: Zach Werenski, D, Michigan (NCAA)

There's a good chance Werenski becomes the best offensive defenseman in this class. He thrives when joining the attack, features a tremendous shot and should be a mainstay on the top power-play unit for a long time wherever he lands.

Like Hanifin, however, there's still work to do before he makes the NHL. Most of it comes on the defensive end in terms of better positioning and becoming more comfortable using the physical game. ISS Hockey ranked him No. 11 in the class and provided some analysis:

The biggest question is how good of a defender he can become. Even if he's only average defensively, his ability to produce offense will make him a valuable asset. But if he can become highly reliable in his own zone, then he can reach an All-Star level.

San Jose is a team in a period of transition. While there are needs pretty much everywhere on the roster, defense still stands out. Werenski should be ready to shine by the time the Sharks complete the retooling process and may be ready to contend for a title in a few years.

10. Colorado Avalanche: Ivan Provorov, D, Brandon (WHL)

Provorov is a prospect who's been on the rise for a while. The only mystery is how high he will climb by the time draft day arrives. It wouldn't be a shock to see him end up pushing for the top five after scoring 61 points in 60 WHL games this past season.

The Russian is another defenseman with those natural offensive instincts from the back. He's especially strong when it comes to lugging the puck up ice for zone entries. Michael Traikos of Postmedia News discussed the growing buzz:

Provorov does a good job of getting into the right spots defensively but needs to use his body better to clear out the front of the net. He also needs to start winning more battles in the corners and behind goal before he's NHL-ready.

The Avalanche own one of the most exciting groups of young forwards in the league. Getting the defense to attain the same standing is the key to reaching a contending level. Provorov would provide a big boost to that process.