2015 NHL Draft Results: Initial Round 1 Grades and Updated Selection Order

The 2015 Stanley Cup is safely in the hands of the Chicago Blackhawks, but every team in the NHL made plans to knock the champions off their throne at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida, Friday night in the league's annual draft.

Teams hoped to fortify their rosters with the best young players in the world.

Two of those players are already household names. Hockey fans have been watching and reading about Connor McDavid for years, and he was the No. 1 pick of the Edmonton Oilers. 

Jack Eichel started the race just a bit later than McDavid, and he made a brilliant surge in the player ratings after competing for Boston University and winning the Hobey Baker Award as the best college player in the country. While he didn't quite catch McDavid, he was the No. 2 selection of the Buffalo Sabres.

The first round is over, but the question is on the board. Who were the big winners?

Here's a look at all the first-round selections, a grade for each team and a look at some of the key players and events on the first night of the draft.

Pick	Team	Pos.	Player	Grade
1	Oilers	C	Connor McDavid	A+
2	Sabres	C	Jack Eichel	A+
3	Coyotes	C	Dylan Strome	A-
4	Maple Leafs	C	Mitch Marner	B
5	Hurricanes	D	Noah Hanfin	A
6	Devils	C	Pavel Zacha	B-
7	Flyers	D	Ivan Provorov	A-
8	Blue Jackets	D	Zach Werenski	B+
9	Sharks	RW	Timo Meier	B-
10	Avalanche	RW	Mikko Rantanen	B
11	Panthers	LW	Lawson Crouse	B
12	Stars	RW	Denis Gurianov	C
13	Bruins	D	Jakub Zboril	B
14	Bruins	LW	Jake DeBrusk	B-
15	Bruins	RW	Zachary Senyshyn	D
16	Islanders	C	Mathew Barzal	A-
17	Jets	C	Kyle Connor	B+
18	Senators	D	Thomas Chabot	C+
19	Red Wings	LW	Evgeny Svechnikov	B+
20	Wild	C	Joel Eriksson Ek	C
21	Senators	C	Colin White	B
22	Capitals	G	Ilya Samsonov	C
23	Canucks	RW	Brock Boeser	C
24	Flyers	C	Travis Konecny	B+
25	Jets	C	Jack Roslovic	C+
26	Canadiens	D	Noah Juulsen	B-
27	Ducks	D	Jacob Larsson	B
28	Islanders	LW-C	Anthony Beauvillier	B+
29	Blue Jackets	D	Gabriel Carlsson	B
30	Coyotes	RW	Nicholas Merkley	C+

No. 1, Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers

The spotlight will be on McDavid from the first day of training camp, because he is perhaps the boldest talent to hit the NHL since the Pittsburgh Penguins drafted Sidney Crosby in 2005.

McDavid has the kind of skating speed that would make him worthy of the No. 1 pick if that were his best attribute. More than that, he thinks the game at full speed, and that's what separates him from the competition. In addition to being able to skate by defenders, he makes pinpoint passes without slowing down and he has the size and strength to fight for the puck in the scoring areas.

"

pic.twitter.com/aZINfhX0h1

— Stephanie Vail (@myregularface) June 26, 2015"

Like Crosby, he has the instincts to find the open spots on the ice and then wait an extra split second before taking the shot or making the pass. 

The pressure on McDavid will be enormous. The Oilers have been in the doldrums for years, but McDavid is the player who is supposed to tip the balance in the Oilers' favor.

"This is about winning, and I see that passion burning inside of him," said Edmonton Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli when he was interviewed on the NBC Sports Network. "Selecting Connor was an easy decision." The Tampa Bay Times' Joe Smith quoted McDavid on being the first selection:

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McDavid on going No. 1: "It was even better than I was expecting. It was unbelievable. Absolutely a dream come true."

— Joe Smith (@TBTimes_JSmith) June 26, 2015"

Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images

No. 2, Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres

NBC Sports Net Analyst Craig Button made it a point to say that Eichel is not the consolation prize in this draft.

"In any year since Sidney Crosby was drafted, Eichel would have been the No. 1 pick in any draft," Button said on the NBCSN broadcast. "That's how good he is. He's a wonderful player who is going to help turn the Sabres around."

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2015 NHL Draft: Sabres select Jack Eichel with No. 2 pick http://t.co/2C3Jz1ZnIF pic.twitter.com/wOl3y9Vshp

— Eye on Hockey (@EyeOnHockey) June 26, 2015"

If Button is correct, Eichel would have been drafted ahead of John Tavares, Taylor Hall or Aaron Ekblad, who won the Calder Trophy this week as the NHL rookie of the year.

Eichel's hockey intelligence is what separates him from the rest of the field. He has an extremely long reach, and that enables him to control the puck and make plays at the biggest moments. The game regularly slows down for Eichel; that's why he has such a bright future for a team and a hockey city that is hungry to turn things around.

Eliot J. Schechter/Getty Images

Bruins pick 13th, 14th and 15th after trading Lucic, Hamilton

The Boston Bruins came into the draft as an established, power team in the NHL that won the Stanley Cup in 2011, went to the Stanley Cup Final in 2013 and won the Presidents' Trophy in 2014.

After struggling in 2014-15 and failing to make the playoffs, new general manager Don Sweeney decided he wanted to make an impact in his first draft. Before the action got underway, he traded young, talented defenseman Dougie Hamilton to the Calgary Flames for the 15th pick in the draft and two second-rounders.

If that weren't enough of a splash, Sweeney traded bruising left winger Milan Lucic to the Los Angeles Kings for a first-round pick, goalie Martin Jones and prospect Colin Miller.

The trade left the Bruins with three consecutive picks in the first round, at 13, 14 and 15. 

Perhaps Sweeney wanted to package those picks and move up to Arizona's No. 3 spot in the draft where he might have been able to select Boston College defenseman Noah Hanifin. Instead, he held on to those picks and selected defenseman Jakub Zboril, left wing Jake DeBrusk and right wing Zachary Sensyshyn.

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Octagon Hockey #HatTrick #13 Jakub Zboril, #14 Jake DeBrusk and #15 Zachary Senyshyn - Boston Bruins pic.twitter.com/1i0T7bT2Gx

— Allan Walsh (@walsha) June 27, 2015"

When Sweeney and head coach Claude Julien look at the Bruins, they will have a difficult time trying to convince themselves that they are stronger today than they were before the trade.

It appears that the Bruins have taken a step backward as they prepare for the 2015-16 season. Sports Illustrated's Al Muir wasn't impressed:

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Someone throw Sweeney a lifeline. The guy is friggin' drowning out there.

— Al Muir (@almuirSI) June 27, 2015"