NHL Draft 2015: 1st-Round Mock Draft and Can't-Miss Prospects

There is plenty of buzz surrounding the 2015 NHL draft. Backed by a deep talent pool, the prospects who are set to go on top of this year's draft board are expected to become the game's next superstars.

These expectations, especially on the draft's two top talents, Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel, have been seen before. There were these types of predictions with Alexander Ovechkin in 2004, Sidney Crosby in 2005, Steven Stamkos in 2008 and John Tavares in 2009. 

Read on for a first-round mock draft and to see which three prospects will change the face of the league.

Pick	Team	Player/Position	School	Note
1	Edmonton Oilers	Connor McDavid, C	Erie (OHL)	He's the next Crosby...only better
2	Buffalo Sabres	Jack Eichel, C	Boston University	He'll be overshadowed by McDavid, but he's a superstar. Plain and simple.
3	Arizona Coyotes	Noah Hanifin, D	Boston College	A very solid, strong multi-faceted defenseman with great size and better skill.
4	Toronto Maple Leafs	Dylan Strome, C	Erie (OHL)	Toronto needs a first-line-caliber center. Strome isn't McDavid or Eichel, but he'll be just fine.
5	Carolina Hurricanes	Mitch Marner, C	London (OHL)	He's all offense, all the time. The Hurricanes need a talisman like him.
6	New Jersey Devils	Mathew Barzal, C	Seattle (WHL)	The Devils are another team that will need hep at center. Barzal is explosive and will generate plenty of offense.
7	Philadelphia Flyers	Lawson Crouse, LW	Kingston (OHL)	A perfect fit for the Flyers. Crouse is plenty skilled and big enough to do some intimidating as well.
8	Columbus Jackets	Ivan Provorov, D	Brandon (WHL)	The Blue Jackets need some defensive help. Provorov is the second-best defenseman in this draft.
9	San Jose Sharks	Zach Werenski, D	University of Michigan	Defensive help for Brent Burns with offensive play-making ability.
10	Colorado Avalanche	Mikko Rantanen, RW	TPS Turku (SM-Liiga)	The Avs lose out on the top defensemen but will help address wing play.
11	Florida Panthers	Pavel Zacha, C	Sarnia (OHL)	Forwards are needed badly in Florida. A well-rounded one such as Zacha will fit just fine.
12	Dallas Stars	Jacob Zboril, D	St. John (QMJHL)	The Stars are building an impressive offense, now they need the defense to balance things out.
13	Los Angeles Kings	Timo Meier, LW	Halifax (QMJHL)	He has a game similar to Dustin Brown. Solid offensively and physical as well.
14	Boston Bruins	Kyle Connor, C	Youngstown (USHL)	With Carl Soderberg testing free agency, the Bruins will need depth at center.
15	Calgary Flames	Travis Konecny, C	Ottawa (OHL)	The Flames' young core will add another facet with an intelligent center in Konecny.
16	Edmonton Oilers	Jeremy Roy, D	Sherbrooke (QMJHL)	The Oilers got their playmaker at No. 1. They'll use this pick for defense.
17	Winnipeg Jets	Paul Bittner, LW	Portland (WHL)	The Jets like big-bodied wingers who can throw their weight around and get in front of goal.
18	Ottawa Senators	Colin White, C	USA U-18	On his way to Boston College next season, White will continue developing as a two-way center.
19	Detroit Red Wings	Thomas Chabot, D	St. John (QMJHL)	The Red Wings have a tendency to develop offensively skilled D-men. Chabot could be a great fit.
20	Minnesota Wild	Jansen Harkins, C	Prince George (WHL)	Not incredibly gifted offensively, he could prove as a good facilitator to Minnesota's wings.
21	Buffalo Sabres	Yevgeni Svechnikov, LW	Cape Breton (QMJHL)	A one-dimensional player, he'll have to work on his backchecking. But a potential line of him and Eichel could be ruthless offensively.
22	Washington Capitals	Oliver Kylington, D	Sweden	This pick will have much to do if the Capitals think they have a legitimate chance of re-signing Mike Green.
23	Vancouver Cancuks	Nick Merkley, C	Kelowna (WHL)	Plenty creative and could provide big help to Vancouver's core.
24	Toronto Maple Leafs	Jake DeBrusk, D	Swift Current (WHL)	Dion Phaneuf could be on his way out. Time for the Maple Leafs to start looking for defensive help.
25	Winnipeg Jets	Brandon Carlo, D	Tri-City (WHL)	Another hard-nosed, gritty player who would do well in Winnipeg's system.
26	Montreal Canadiens	Ryan Pilon, D	Brandon (WHL)	The Canadiens are looking for defensemen for the future. Pilon will be added to the mix.
27	Anaheim Ducks	Brock Boeser, C	Sioux City (USHL)	The Ducks may add a little less size and a little more dynamic play.
28	Tampa Lightning	Filip Chlapik, C	Charlottetown (QMJHL)	A quick center with scoring ability will always fit well in Jon Cooper's system.
29	Philadelphia Flyers	Vince Dunn, D	Niagara (OHL)	The Flyers need some serious help on defense. They'll take anything they can get.
30	Arizona Coyotes	Anthony Beauvillier	Shawinigan (QMJHL)	Great speed and scoring ability, he'll need plenty of protection with his small frame.

Can't-Miss Prospects

Connor McDavid

There's no secret here: Connor McDavid is going first in the NHL draft to the Edmonton Oilers.

In 47 games with the Erie Otters of the OHL during the 2014-15 season, McDavid recorded 120 points on 44 goals and 76 assists with a staggering +60 rating.

He was able to do it in the playoffs as well, recording 21 goals and 28 assists for 49 points in 20 games. Compare that to the NHL's leading point-getter in the playoffs, Tyler Johnson, who notched 23 points.

McDavid is NHL ready at 18 years old, showing a maturity unrivaled in many prospects who will be in the big leagues upon their selection.

He has every trick up his sleeves, superb puck-handling ability and possesses the speed to match. He's modest too.

Even the greatest player to ever lace up his skates has extremely high praise for McDavid. Wayne Gretzky told Gare Joyce of SportsNet that McDavid is, "The best player to come into the league in the last 30 years."

Joyce described the enormity of Gretzky's words.

"

In the hockey milieu, it’s bigger that the Queen wielding the sword for the shoulder tap. It’s bigger that helping the Pope move and His Holiness saying, 'You’re a saint.' I mean, knighthoods and sainthoods aren’t quite handed out willy-nilly but they come around more than once every 30 years.

"

Gretzky later backtracked on those comments, as Joyce explained that the Great One told the Journal that Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby are still up there.

Needless to say, McDavid will have some pretty big expectations to live up to. But if he is even a fraction of what he has been in the OHL, the Edmonton Oilers will be drafting one of the best centers in the NHL.

Jack Eichel

If this were any other year, Jack Eichel would be the next greatest thing. As it is, however, he even can't be listed as the best at his position, as he and McDavid are both centers. 

In 40 games at Boston University last season, Eichel recorded 26 goals and 45 assists, leading the Terriers to the championship game. 

An aggressive center, Eichel brings a looming presence around the offensive zone, and he grabs the attention of everyone when he hits the ice. In the video below, he told the NHL that he styles his game on those of Jeff Carter and Ryan Getzlaf.

Eichel is ready to throw down the gauntlet, not only in trying to turn around the Buffalo Sabres organization, but by exuding plenty of confidence.

As reported by Chris Peters of CBS Sports, Buffalo Sabres general manager Tim Murray told WGR 550 that Eichel has told teams in interviews that he will be better than McDavid. Murray went on to explain:

"

Why not say that? I think he believes it. With the way he played this season, we called it a two-horse race all year. Why should he not believe that? Why should he not believe his skill set and whole package? He's confident in it. He's backed that up and had a tremendous year. I don't know why he wouldn't believe that he's the best player.

"

With the way he's talking, who knows? Maybe the NHL could experience a player rivalry akin to the one NBA had between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.

Dylan Strome

The third-best center coming out of this draft, Dylan Strome already has family waiting for him in the NHL. Brother Ryan is becoming a big-time winger with the New York Islanders. 

Dylan, however, has much more potential. 

Strome won the OHL's scoring title this year, but let's take a moment to put things into perspective. Strome, in an extremely impressive season, recorded 45 goals and 84 assists for 129 points in 68 games. Teammate McDavid played in 21 fewer games and had 120 points. 

Nevertheless, big things will most likely happen when the puck is at Strome's stick. He possesses the puck extremely well and has a very quick, precise wrist shot. Strome also does well on the backcheck. 

The Hockey News' Ryan Kennedy also found out just how smart some of his peers think he is.

It's unknown whether Strome will go third to the Coyotes or fourth to the Maple Leafs. With Arizona potentially looking toward defenseman Noah Hanifin, the Maple Leafs might just have their first-line-caliber center fall into their laps and put up big numbers for many years to come.

Stats courtesy of OttersHockey.com and HockeyDB.com