NHL Draft 2015: Start Time, Order, Prospects Guide and Mock Draft Predictions

The Edmonton Oilers will go on the clock to start the 2015 NHL draft Friday night in Sunrise, Florida, but anyone remotely keeping up with the action knows the intrigue doesn't truly begin until the third overall pick comes.  

For as long as the vast potentials of Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel have been uncovered, the duo of young centers has been all but guaranteed to go one after the other atop the 2015 draft. That day has finally come, and although the drama may not be as palpable for those two, there's no shortage of it beyond them in what could be a wide-open first dozen or so picks.

With only hours left to predict what may happen, take a look below at the latest mock draft.

2015 NHL Draft: Friday, June 26

Start Time (ET): 7 p.m.

TV: NBC Sports Network

Live Stream: NBC Sports Live Extra

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

Top Prospects

Connor McDavid

Gary Wiepert/Associated Press

The only thing not to like about McDavid may just be the undying level of hype that surrounds him, but that never stopped the likes of Sidney Crosby and others from fulfilling their potential.

McDavid was dubbed as the next great Canadian hockey talent by the Great One, Wayne Gretzky, as he told the Edmonton Journal's Jim Matheson that McDavid is the best player to come into the league in the last 30 years.

The Oilers are nearing the inevitable moment of welcoming McDavid to their roster, and it's safe to say that's as much of a reason for their energy as noted "recent changes," per the team's Twitter:

The Oilers have dominated the draft lottery, taking their fourth No. 1 overall pick in the last six years. But after players like Taylor Hall, Nail Yakupov and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins have struggled, it didn't result in much improvement.

Perhaps that could all change with McDavid.

Jack Eichel

This is one year in which finishing as a runner-up isn't so bad after all.

While McDavid is the obvious Canadian hero prepared to take one of Canada's prestigious clubs back to the forefront, American Jack Eichel has a similar chance to do so with the Buffalo Sabres. They're selecting second overall, and it will end what feels like years of waiting.

Although he'll turn 19 just after the 2015-16 season begins, Eichel hasn't ruled out staying in school, but it may be tough to pass up playing in the NHL once he's selected, per John Vogl of Buffalo News: “I still haven’t announced I’m leaving school, but if that were the case I’m sure I’d then sit down and set my goals. The one thing I always believe is I think you set the bar pretty high, and that’s what I’ll do.”

The Sabres can only hope to entice Eichel into making the quick jump, because they're starved for the goal-scoring presence that he'll bring. They finished with a lowly 161 goals last season, finishing last in the league by a wide margin.

Eichel has the vision and the hockey IQ needed to make a quick transition to the next level, and his skill set as a powerful yet dynamic center will require the league to adjust to him—not the other way around. That's awfully rare to be said about any NHL prospect but may not be out of Eichel's grasp.

Noah Hanifin

Gary Wiepert/Associated Press

Things couldn't be much clearer for the top two forwards in this year's draft. As for the consensus top blue-liner, it couldn't be much murkier.

American defender Noah Hanifin has etched his place as the top player at his position in this year's draft, and it's not hard to see why. The versatile two-way player makes a far-reaching impact on both ends of the ice, using his size and reach to frustrate opposing forwards.

He seems to be somewhat of a lock at No. 4 to the Toronto Maple Leafs, who desperately need young blue-line talent. The Arizona Coyotes at No. 3 aren't as much of a threat, but they could deal the pick off to a team, per James Mirtle of the Globe and Mail:

Great NHL teams are built from the back forward, finding an identity on strong defense that trickles over to the other side of the ice. New Toronto head coach Mike Babcock knows this after his tenures in Anaheim and Detroit, and he cannot be looking lightly at the impact Hanifin could have in that regard.

With Dion Phaneuf constantly in trade rumors, per the Toronto Sun's Lance Hornby, the Maple Leafs could be searching for a long-term defensive ace. They could do no better in Friday's draft than Hanifin.