NHL Mock Draft 2015: Order of Selections and 1st-Round Predictions

This year's NHL draft is all about two players: Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel. McDavid is the best prospect to hit the league since Sidney Crosby. Eichel is going to be the best player taken at the No. 2 slot in a long, long time and most years would be a no-brainer as the top selection.

Ah, but who are the other stars in this draft? How will the first round play out on June 26?

Below, I'll provide my first-round mock draft, along with a breakdown the best three players not named McDavid or Eichel. 

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)

Dylan Strome, C, Erie (OHL) 

Strome operated a bit under the shadow of McDavid with Erie, but his 45 goals and 84 assists in 68 games this year should speak for themselves. A player who balances plus size with excellent skill, Strome is a hard worker and patient player on the ice who is even dangerous in traffic. 

Sportsnet's Jeff Marek had the following take on Strome:

"

Strome is a really smart and skilled hockey player. He was the OHL scoring champion for a reason. He won’t wow you with anything special, but if you’re looking for someone to play on your team for 15 solid years, he’s your guy. Not the fastest skater and there have been concerns about his leg strength but expect that to improve. Good, smart, solid hockey player.

"

Just call him Ol' Reliable. 

Yes, he lived in McDavid's shadow at Erie. Yes, he'll live in McDavid and Eichel's shadow at this draft, too. But for a team looking for a player who does just about everything well consistently and has room to grow into a nice attacking option, Strome is an appealing choice.

Mitch Marner, C, London (OHL)

Only Strome scored more in the OHL than Marner this year, who posted 44 goals and 82 assists in 63 contests. Where Strome has great skill for his size, Marner is a speed demon whose agility, hands and acceleration on the ice inevitably lead to Patrick Kane comparisons. 

His size could potentially drop him down the board slightly, though it's hard to imagine him dropping anywhere lower than No. 7, while he could easily go as high as No. 3. For teams interested in adding production and sizzle to their game, well, Marner certainly will bring that. 

Noah Hanifin, D, Boston College

Hanifin is a modern defenseman. He's smart, athletic and an excellent offensive option. He can bring the play forward but also adjust into defense, where he is proficient if not yet elite. On the power play, he can both run the point and set up for the shot with his powerful slap shot. 

He's certainly the best defensive option in this year's draft, though team needs in the draft may drop him down to the No. 5 pick. He could easily go as high as No. 3, however. 

Top-notch two-way defensemen are hard to find, and in any other year, Hanifin would probably be in the running for one of the two top picks. That's pretty good news for whichever team ends up drafting him—it'll be getting him for a steal.