TLN’s Official 2015 Mock Draft

8 years ago

Photo Credit: Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports

Welcome to TLN’s 2015 Mock Draft – surely the best mock draft on the internet. Last week, five of our writers came up with our consensus Top 30 Draft Prospects in this month’s NHL Draft. This week, those same five wannabe GMs took over the draft tables of the entire league, and called the shots as they saw fit.

The rules were simple: Ryan won our draft lottery, so he would pick first. Jon would follow, then Bobby, myself and Shawn. After five picks we’d run through the order again, each of us taking control of the team that happened to be picking at the time. We then had to give a brief explanation as to why we drafted who we drafted, and we suspect that Jon did a lot of copy/pasting.

You’re going to love our mock draft below. You’re also probably going to hate it at times as well. Either way, let us know how right and/or wrong we are in the comments below.

And without further delay, the Edmonton Oilers are on the clock…

1. Connor McDavid to Edmonton

McDavid is going to turn the Oilers around. For real. No seriously, I mean it. – Ryan

2. Jack Eichel to Buffalo

Losing the lottery and still getting a generational talent, Eichel could be the steal of the draft. Buffalo is picking up a player who could help them win championships. – Jon

3. Dylan Strome to Arizona

Arizona has lots of talented forward prospects, but none that project as a top line centre. They address that instantly by taking Dylan Strome. – Bobby

4. Mitchell Marner to Toronto

There’s been a lot of talk around the Leafs potentially moving down or going a little “off the board”, but in the end it doesn’t happen. Marner is the consensus best available player here, the type of player the Leafs desperately need, and his relationship with Mark Hunter doesn’t hurt either. – Justin

5. Noah Hanifin to Carolina

Carolina happily takes the player that many consider the best in this draft after McDavid and Eichel. Potentially slides in nicely on a top pair with Justin Faulk down the road. – Shawn

6. Mathew Barzal to New Jersey

The Devils are old and not particularly strong in any area outside the crease. They need to take the best player available here, and that’s Barzal. – Ryan

7. Kyle Connor to Philadelphia

Connor is a high scoring Center who has flown under the radar playing in the USHL. With a few defensemen already in their system Philly can chase elite offence with a player who could be the steal of the draft. – Jon

8. Ivan Provorov to Columbus

Beyond Ryan Murray, Columbus is slim on the back-end. Drafting Ivan Provorov solves that, and they get arguably the best defenseman in the draft. – Bobby

9. Zach Werenski to San Jose

San Jose could use a little bit of everything in their prospect pool, so ‘organizational need’ doesn’t really play in here. It just comes down to Werenski being one of the best available defencemen on the board – an offensive stud on the blueline. – Justin

10. Pavel Zacha to Colorado

It’s not an easy call for Patrick Roy between Zacha, Crouse, and Rantanen, but with the possibility of Ryan O’Reilly being on the move you can never have too many good young centers with upside. Zacha brings the size, two-way ability, and calculated offensive play that a coach (and GM) like Roy desires. – Shawn

11. Lawson Crouse to Florida

Florida gets praised as a team of riches when it comes to young players but their current forward group is still a mixed bag. Crouse is probably one of the more NHL-ready forwards based on a lot of scouts’ opinions, so the Panthers should grab him and hope he pushes Shawn Thornton down the lineup. – Ryan

12. Oliver Kylington to Dallas

Dallas certainly looks set for the foreseeable future up front so I have them chasing defense in this draft. Kylington was a highly rated player prior to this season and if he returns to that form he’ll be the steal of the draft. – Jon

Further Reading… First Round Targets: Oliver Kylington

13. Mikko Rantanen to Los Angeles

The uber-talented Rantanen falls into LA’s lap, and they take him without thinking. He scores 30 goals every year for eternity next to Anze Kopitar. – Bobby

14. Travis Konecny to Boston

He’s not big or bruising, but Travis Konecny works his tail off, and the Bruins love that kind of thing. It doesn’t hurt that his offensive skills are very good and, after a few years of seasoning, will help Boston score more goals. – Justin

Further Reading… First Round Targets: Travis Konecny

15. Timo Meier to Calgary

Defaulting to the player with the most brawn here just because of Brian Burke would be lazy. That said, while known for his skill, Meier has some meat and potatoes to his game too and some compare him to another high first-round pick of Brian Burke’s – Bobby Ryan. Meier is the best player available in this situation for Calgary and fits in well with what they are building. – Shawn

16. Jakub Zboril to Edmonton

The Oilers use their next pick to help their blue line, hoping Zboril becomes at least as effective as Jeff Petry in the coming years. – Ryan

Further Reading… First Round Targets: Jakub Zboril

17. Nick Merkley to Winnipeg

Winnipeg has done pretty well for themselves in recent years and I think they are doing pretty well here too. Merkley is a very highly regarded player who may have slid a bit in our mock. Winnipeg does it again with the steal of the draft. – Jon

Further Reading… First Round Targets: Nick Merkley

18. Evgeni Svechnikov to Ottawa

Ottawa is always looking for top 6 help, and Svechnikov projects as that and then some. A potential top-liner, he’s big, skilled, and can score at will. – Bobby

Further Reading… First Round Targets: Evgeni Svechnikov

19. Colin White to Detroit

Detroit looks like they hit a home run last year when they picked up Dylan Larkin. They’ll go the US Development route again with a two-way centre that plays that will fit well into Babcock’s sys… oh wait. – Justin

Further Reading… First Round Targets: Colin White

20. Joel Eriksson Ek to Minnesota

Minnesota has plenty of trust in their European scouts and they sure like Joel Eriksson Ek, who has been rising up draft boards rapidly since his stellar Five Nations Tournament in February. He fits a bit of an organizational hole as well, since Mikko Koivu is aging and Minnesota has no meaningful center prospects in their system right now. – Shawn

Further Reading… First Round Targets: Joel Eriksson Ek

21. Jansen Harkins to Buffalo

Buffalo, another team weak at every position but glaringly so down the middle, make a somewhat safe pick and grab Harkins who could be a decent 2/3 guy. – Ryan

Further Reading… First Round Targets: Jansen Harkins

22. Jeremy Roy to Washington

Too good to pass up. That’s how I view Jeremy Roy. Initially I had Washington pegged for a forward but another draft day steal has presented itself and the Caps have to act. – Jon

Further Reading… First Round Targets: Jeremy Roy

23. Paul Bittner to Vancouver

Benning is all about physicality, and Vancouver needs help on the wing long-term. Bittner helps the Canucks with that. – Bobby

24. Daniel Sprong to Toronto

If I was allowed to, I’d probably trade down – there’s lots of nice pieces still on the board. That said, I’m staying put, and my goal is to aim for highest upside and “hit a home run”. There’s risk involved, but Daniel Sprong fits the bill. – Justin

Further Reading… First Round Targets: Daniel Sprong

25. Brock Boeser to Winnipeg

Fresh off a first-round sweep to a physical Anaheim Ducks team and already loaded with young defensemen, Kevin Cheveldayoff looks up front and drafts a forward that has a good combination of talent and muscle in Brock Boeser. – Shawn

Further Reading… First Round Targets: Brock Boeser

26. Nicholas Meloche to Montreal

The Canadiens are probably looking at turning over some of that blue line in the next couple years. They take the local kid at 26th. – Ryan

27. Jeremy Bracco to Anaheim

Size matters, but size matters a little less when your lineup already includes Getzlaf, Perry, and Kesler. If you are just looking for pure offence in the late part of the first round you are getting the steal of the draft with Bracco. – Jon

Further Reading… First Round Targets: Jeremy Bracco

28. Anthony Beauvillier to Tampa Bay

Tampa always takes skill guys, no matter their size. They have a debate between Beauvillier and Guryanov, but take the ultra-skilled Frenchman.– Bobby

Further Reading… First Round Targets: Anthony Beauvillier

29. Jake DeBrusk to Philadelphia

DeBrusk just seems like a good fit here. A 200-foot game, a little offensive pop, a little grit to his game. He’s the kind of player Philadelphia would be happy to land. – Justin

Further Reading… First Round Targets: Jake DeBrusk

30. Denis Guryanov to Arizona

Arizona is known for playing a more passive style, but Gurianov fits the bill of the more talented Coyotes team that Don Maloney is hoping to build. – Shawn

The Table

#	Drafted By	Player	Position	Team
1	Edmonton	Connor McDavid	C	Erie (OHL)
2	Buffalo	Jack Eichel	C	Boston U. (NCAA)
3	Arizona	Dylan Strome	C	Erie (OHL)
4	Toronto	Mitchell Marner	C	London (OHL)
5	Carolina	Noah Hanifin	D	Boston C. (NCAA)
6	New Jersey	Mathew Barzal	C	Seattle (WHL)
7	Philadelphia	Kyle Connor	W	Youngstown (USHL)
8	Columbus	Ivan Provorov	D	Brandon (WHL)
9	San Jose	Zach Werenski	D	U. Michigan (NCAA
10	Colorado	Pavel Zacha	C	Sarnia (OHL)
11	Florida	Lawson Crouse	W	Kingston (OHL)
12	Dallas	Oliver Kylington	D	AIK (Sweden)
13	Los Angeles	Mikko Rantanen	W	TPS (Finland)
14	Boston	Travis Konecny	C	Ottawa (OHL)
15	Calgary	Timo Meier	W	Halifax (QMJHL)
16	Edmonton	Jakub Zboril	D	Saint John (QMJHL)
17	Winnipeg	Nick Merkley	W	Kelowna (WHL)
18	Ottawa	Evgeni Svechnikov	W	Cape Breton (QMJHL)
19	Detroit	Colin White	C	USNDTP (USHL)
20	Minnesota	Joel Eriksson Ek	C	Farjestad (SHL)
21	Buffalo	Jansen Harkins	C	Prince George (WHL)
22	Washington	Jeremy Roy	D	Sherbrooke (QMJHL)
23	Vancouver	Paul Bittner	W	Portland (WHL)
24	Toronto	Daniel Sprong	W	Charlottetown (QMJHL)
25	Winnipeg	Brock Boeser	W	Waterloo (USHL)
26	Montreal	Nicholas Meloche	D	Baie-Comeau (QMJHL)
27	Anaheim	Jeremy Bracco	W	US NDTP (USHL)
28	Tampa Bay	Anthony Beauvillier	W	Shawinigan (QMJHL)
29	Philadelphia	Jake DeBrusk	W	Swift Current (WHL)
30	Arizona	Denis Guryanov	W	Lada Togliatti (KHL)

Draft season can make you hungry, and hungry people deserve fresh, fabulous
pizza. With over 40 delicious recipes, fire-grilled wings, organic juices,
breadsticks and fresh salads, we have something for everyone. Order online, give us a call for delivery, or pick up at a location near you. And, hey, if you’re in Toronto come visit us at out new 787 Bathurst Street location!