Youngblood: 2015 NHL Mock Draft – Final Edition

 Just days away from the highly anticipated Connor McDavid Draft ummm we mean the 2015 NHL Draft, Youngblood Hockey takes a final shot at how the opening rounds might play out. This fun exercise is purely for enjoyment and with so many factors playing into team's selections, it's important to understand that one unexpected pick or one trade could derail the entire mock draft.

Enjoy the mock draft!

 

 

PICK	TEAM	PLAYER	ANALYSIS
1	EDM	Connor McDavid	Experienced with four 1st overall selections in the past five years, Edmonton could let a monkey make this selection. No brainer as the Oils take exceptional pivot Connor McDavid.
2	BUF	Jack Eichel	Sabres GM Tim Murray allows the monkey to stay at the podium to select the second no brainer in Jack Eichel. As good as McDavid would've been for Buffalo, adding an American superstar in a border city will do the city well
3	ARI	Dylan Strome	The draft essentially starts at pick three and with Noah Hanifin, Mitch Marner and Dylan Strome heavily considered, GM Don Maloney adds the latter with Strome being the big skilled pivot the franchise has been searching for.
4	TOR	Noah Hanifin	As much as Dubas and Hunter might want to grab an OHLer like the familiar Mitch Marner, passing up a franchise defenseman in Noah Hanifin just wouldn't be wise. The Leafs have an opportunity to add a forward talent with their second 1st round selection.
5	CAR	Mitch marner	The 'Canes are in the fortunate position to draft the best player available and consensus states that Mitch Marner is that guy. Skilled and creative, Marner will provide Carolina with a potential front line star to build around when the post-Eric Staal era begins.
6	NJD	Pavel Zacha	Traditionally unconventional at the draft table, New Jersey could go a number of ways with this pick (Crouse, Barzal, Rantanen or Provorov) but Pavel Zacha's combination of size, skill and grit is too much to pass up.
7	PHI	Ivan Provorov	Much like the Devils, Philly has a number of glorious options with the 7th pick and it's the intelligent efficient two-way defender Ivan Provorov who tops their list.
8	CBJ	Zach Werenski	It's no secret that Columbus is looking to improve their defensive system and grabbing Wolverines Zach Werenski would be an excellent selection. A d-man who does a lot of things well, Werenski has the potential to become the best of the defensive bunch.
9	SJS	Lawson Crouse	Sharks sit back and collect their prize when Lawson Crouse falls into their lap. An outstanding defensive forward with size, Crouse will soon show the hockey world that his offensive talents are better than critics think.
10	COL	Mikko Rantanen	Blue line help would be ideal for the Avalanche but without trading up or down, Colorado goes for a sizeable talented Finnish winger in Mikko Rantanen. He's a player with a lot of pro tools and would look good flanking MacKinnon or Duchene for the next decade.
11	FLA	Kyle Connor	Set down the middle, Florida snatches up speedy USHL scoring winger Kyle Connor adding to an impressive young forward core. Skilled and smart, Connor is a potential Top 10 selection so it goes without saying that he'd be great value at 11.
12	DAL	Matt Barzal	Dallas has shown a pattern of knocking their CHL selections out of the park in recent years and Barzal in the 12 spot would be a grandslam. Missed time with a knee injury but returned to have one of the best finishes to the season showing top line potential.
13	LAK	Travis Konecny	Ottawa has been a breeding ground for future LA Kings and Travis Konecny's competitive, hard-working skilled game is worth returning to Canada's nation's capital. The former top pick in the OHL had an "off year"  statistically but will rebound next season.
14	BOS	Timo Meier	Meier has an ability to transform and adapt between a skilled support player and a burly power winger which is an attractive luxury to have. He's got a Bruins style of game and would look good in yellow and black.
15	CGY	Nick Merkley	Merkley is short by NHL standards but he plays a big game and proved to be a difference maker for the Kelowna Rockets. Landing in his hometown of Calgary would be a good feel good story.
16	EDM via PIT	Ilya Samsonov	Oilers follow their McDavid gimme pick with a selection that addresses a need in goal by selecting Russian standout Ilya Samsonov. There's a good chance the pick gets moved for a proven puck stopper. If not, Oilers brass will certainly consider Samsonov here.
17	WPG	Evgeny Svechnikov	Winnipeg has quickly established themselves as one of the strongest drafting teams in the modern game and with the big skilled Evgeny Svechnikov they will just add to an already rich prospect cupboard.
18	DET	Joel Eriksson Ek	Nothing has changed in MoTown as the Red Wings continue to build teams around skilled Europeans. Sticking with their recent Larkin and Mantha selections, Eriksson Ek provides Detroit with a sizeable skilled Swede who can do everything.
19	OTT	Jeremy Roy	After many short trips east to watch him in Sherbrooke, Senators select puck moving defenseman Jeremy Roy from the Phoenix. A smart calculated defender with an offensive mind, Roy would do well apprenticing under Erik Karlsson.
20	MIN	Colin White	The Wild rarely opt for the 'sexy' pick and 2015 is no different with them selecting high character player Colin White from the National Program. A well-rounded game and high-end competitiveness assure that White will almost certainly carve out an NHL career.
21	BUF via NYI	Jakob Zboril	With Eichel in their pocket already, the Sabres snatch up high-upside Czech defender Jakob Zboril, a blueliner with quick feet, a good feel for the game and promising offensive instincts.
22	WSH	Denis Guryanov	Known for having a good handle on Euro talent, Washington heads to Russia to select high upside forward Denis Guryanov. He's a potential star in the making and after having good luck with Kuznetsov, they swing for the fences again.
23	VAN	Brandon Carlo	The Canucks grabbed two forwards in the first round in 2014 so their focus turns to improving their blueline and Brandon Carlo is their guy. He's fairly raw but this big defender moves well, thinks well and competes in all three zones.
24	TOR via NSH	Daniel Sprong	The Leafs new regime is all about adding skill and after adding defender Hanifin, Daniel Sprong edges out Jeremy Bracco as their new dynamic option up front. He's got some warts but under an improved hockey operations department, those can be cleaned up.
25	WPG via STL	Thomas Chabot	After stealing Svechnikov in the 17 slot, Winnipeg plucks Thomas Chabot from Saint John adding another defensive gem. He's competitive, mobile and shows good offensive zone potential. The Jets can take their time rounding out his deficiencies and inconsistencies.
26	MTL	Paul Bittner	Size continues to be Montreal's focus even though Paul Bittner isn't your prototypical "power forward". He's a skilled big man who moves well and appears to have a lot of growth left - meaning he's a worthy investment this late.
27	ANA	Oliver Kylington	The "Wild Card" of the opening round, Oliver Kylington is the most polarizing player of 2015 with considering his skating and puck moving abilities first round worthy while others not willing to touch his liabilities. Either way, Anaheim is up for the challenge.
28	TBL via NYR	Jeremy Bracco	Lightning continue to pluck off high potential prospects that others aren't willing to take the risk on. From an offensive standpoint, Jeremy Bracco owns top 10 talents but his size is a legitimate concern. TB is more than willing to work with another Tyler Johnson.
29	PHI via TBL	Brock Boeser	Arguably one of the best goal scorers in the class, Brock Boeser torched the USHL and is a strong player with an eye for the net. He's far from a complete prospect but his scoring prowess could be worth the wait. Philly uses their second 1st wisely.
30	ARI via CHI	Gabriel Carlsson	The type of player that makes life hell for opposing attackers, Sweden's big mobile defensive stalwart Gabriel Carlsson excels at stiffling scoring chances. He's not the "flashiest" pick but every contending team needs a presence like his in the lineup.
31	BUF	Jansen Harkins	Eichel then Zboril and now Harkins - the haul continues for Buffalo.
32	ARI	Mackenzie Blackwood	Big competitive goaltender impressed at the NHL Combine and tops all North American netminders.
33	EDM	Jake DeBRUSK	McDavid and Samsonov locked up the forward and goal positions. The Oilers can't pass on Edmonton native and 40-plus scorer Jake DeBrusk
34	CBJ via LAK	Noah Juulsen	Picking up Werenski and Juulsen only 34 slots in has to leave Kekalainen smiling about his blueline's future.
35	CAR	Vince Dunn	Mitch Marner was a nice surprise early in the draft and the Canes look to hit big with offensive blueliner Vince Dunn with their second pick.
36	NJD	Anthony Beauvillier	The Devils need all the help they can in the prospect department and nabbing 90-plus forward Anthony Beauvillier early in the second is a rare opportunity.
37	BOS via NYI	Erik Cernak	Timo Meier fit the bill nicely in the front end of the first round and Erik Cernak seems fit to wear the B as well.
38	CBJ	Jack Roslovic	Columbus' blue line depth already received a boost so adding a smart high paced forward in Jack Roslovic seems like the right next step.
39	SJS	Travis Dermott	Powerful winger Lawson Crouse was an excellent pick at ninel and he can step into the lineup soon but Travis Dermott is a shrewd long-term investment for their blueline that's looking for a spark.
40	COL	Jacob Larsson	The Avalanche have waited long enough and invite Jacob Larsson to the Mile High City to help resurrect a middling blue line.
41	NJD via FLA	Jonas Siegenthaler	Zacha and DeBrusk have the Devils off to a hot start but with Jonas Siegenthaler added to their draft haul they're injecting a physical two-way defender.
42	OTT via DAL	Filip Chlapik	Looking to add more skill to their system, Bryan Murray's team calls on Filip Chlapik who offers up a creative visionary attack.
43	LAK	Nicolas Meloche	Konecny provided the Kings with a hard-working versatile option on the wing and Nicolas Meloche gives much of the same on the backend.
44	TBL via BOS	Christian Fischer	Jeremy Bracco was a riskier selection in the latter part of the opening round so Yzerman decides to go safer with potential power forward Christian Fischer, who combines skill and size well.
45	CGY	Nicolas Roy	Nick Merkley will excite hometown fans in Calgary for years to come but in the West it's important to play big. Nicolas Roy is one of the drafts most reliable big pivots.
46	PIT	Dennis Yan	The Penguins are difficult to read and they tend to shy away from Q players ever since the Angelo Esposito pick but Dennis Yan is  just beginning to tap into an impressive upside.
47	WPG	Rasmus Andersson	The Barrie Colts have been a pipeline for Winnipeg Jets prospects so given the chance to draft puck distributor Rasmus Andersson and they'll jump at the opportunity.
48	OTT	Zach Senyshyn	Looking for a high end prospect in the middle of the second round can be difficult but Ottawa native Zach Senyshyn should be familiar to the Sens. He's a speedy north-south attacker with a good shot.
49	DAL via DET	Daniel Vladar	The crease in Dallas is anything but settled and after stocking the skaters fairly well in their system, grabbing a high potential goaltender like Vladar would be a wise move.
50	MIN	Roope Hintz	Big and powerful with a good motor, Roope Hintz is a player that could eventually become an impact forward through the middle of the Wild lineup.
51	BUF via NYI	Felix Sandstrom	Buffalo isn't certain how their crease looks long-term and armed with a boat load of Top 60 picks, selecting one of the draft's top tier puckstoppers makes sense. Welcome Felix Sandstrom.
52	CGY via WSH	Parker Wotherspoon	Average-sized puck moving defenseman Parker Wotherspoon isn't a flashy player but he's effective. Wearing the Flames sweater  would mean he joins older brother Tyler in Calgary.
53	CGY via VAN	Matej Tomek	The goaltender run has starter and Calgary needs in on the action. Matej Tomek isn't the big name on campus but many scouts like him as much as the other top crease guards.
54	CHI compensation	Thomas Novak	Doing what they do best, Chicago identifies a highly skilled American skater with big time upside hoping that they can make good on a second round pick after being void of a fist round selection.
55	NSH	Alexander Dergachev	Nashville showed no hesitation on drafting a Russian last year high and they look to Alexander Dergachev this time around - adding a big winger with solid middle-six skill.
56	STL	Jordan Greenway	Sticking to their tendencies, St. Louis targets an American out of the National Program. Jordan Greenway is a massive power forward with raw potential. St. Louis can afford to wait.
57	EDM via MTL	Ryan Pilon	After riding shotgun with Brandon's Ivan Provorov, Ryan Pilon showed that his transitioning abilities ranks up there with the best of the draft.
58	CBJ via ANA	J.Forsbacka Karlsson	Columbus has shown a trend towards targetting strong two-way players who play a 200-foot game and few players excel at that game as Forsbacka-Karlsson.
59	NYR	Jens Looke	With their first pick of the draft, New York selects Swedish forward Jens Looke - a player who plays at a high pace and displays good passing ability.
60	ARI via TBL	Mitchell Stephens	Not unlike current Coyotes prospect Christian Dvorak, Mitchell Stephens is a groomed two-way player with a fantastic motor and he can also score. Arizona continues to pick from the OHL.
61	PHI via CHI	Sebastian Aho	After adding a true sniper in Boeser earlier, Sebastian Aho is selected due to an impressive attacking game that features elusive moves and clever playmaking ability.