2015 NHL Mock Draft: Lottery Edition

Erie (OHL). Connor McDavid. 1. player. 148. Yeah, not much needs to be said about this pick. As soon as the Oilers won the lottery, McDavid’s fate was sealed. This only leaves one question. Can McDavid finally bring Edmonton out of the NHL’s basement and back to the playoffs?. Center

12. You have to feel for Buffalo Sabres fans. Their general manager made for the most obvious tank in the history of the NHL. In 1993, the Ottawa Senators were fined for tanking so hard in order to draft Alexander Daigle. The Sabres are guilty of the same thing, except they didn’t get rewarded with the first overall pick. That being said, they do get quite the consolation prize in Eichel.  He’ll probably join last year’s second overall pick, <strong><a href=. Center. Boston University. Jack Eichel. 2. player

121. If the <strong><a href=. Defenseman. Boston College. Noah Hanifin. 3. player

player. 116. The player the Leafs want (or at least should want), the Leafs get. Taking Strome would give the Leafs some options. They could then definitely move last year’s eighth overall pick William Nylander to right wing. Just thinking about a line with the two of them on it, possibly with <strong><a href=. Center. Erie (OHL). Dylan Strome. 4

While Mitch Marner is widely regarded as the fifth best prospect, the Hurricanes are rather loaded at the center position. Therefore, I see them taking the 6’3″ Crouse. He’ll give them size on the wing to go with the size they have at center with the <strong><a href=. Left Wing. Kingston (OHL). Lawson Crouse. 5. player. 109

London (OHL). Mitch Marner. 6. player. 85. The Devils will be more than happy to take Marner to improve their lackluster offense. New Jersey’s depth chart at center looks like this: <strong><a href=. Center

Ivan Provorov. 7. player. 68. Other than the Oilers, the Flyers defense might be the biggest mess in the NHL. They’ve got one of the best forwards in the league in <strong><a href=. Defenseman. Brandon (WHL)

113. Sonny Milano. <strong><a href=. Defenseman. University of Michigan. Zack Werenski. 8. player

Right Wing. TPS Turku (SM-liiga). Mikko Rantanen. 9. player. 120. With the Sharks missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2002-03 season, big changes might be coming to San Jose as they have already fired <strong><a href=

Meier rounds out the top ten as the Avalanche draft a winger to go with all their great centerman. The Halifax Mooseheads just keep on churning out NHL talent with current Ave <strong><a href=. Right Wing. Halifax (QMJHL). Timo Meier. 10. player. 103

Matthew Barzal. 11. player. 87. The Panthers just seem to be stockpiling top talent in the draft and have time to develop the players they draft. Adding a player like Barzal to the pipeline will just continue that.. Center. Seattle (WHL)

player. 119. The Stars were expected to be a team to make the playoffs in the Western Conference this season. However, things didn’t go the way they planned and they found themselves in the lottery. This is just another case of taking the best player available. Zacha can throw his weight around as well as put the puck in the net, a power forward that could fit in the Stars top-six down the line.. Center. Sarnia (OHL). Pavel Zacha. 12

67. Even though the Kings missed the playoffs, they are still one of the better teams in the NHL. They just realize they have to play their best before they reach the playoffs to actually get in the playoffs. They can afford to take a player like Connor, who will be going to the University of Michigan next season.. Left Wing. Youngstown (USHL). Kyle Connor. 13. player

player. 70. The Bruins traded Nick Boychuk last off-season. <strong><a href=. Defenseman. Saint John (QMJHL). Thomas Chabot. 14