2015 NHL Draft: Early Look
While the 2014-2015 season has yet to begin for any league, the scouting for the upcoming draft never seems to end. Less than a month after the 2014 NHL draft, early rankings and prospect guides for the 2015 NHL draft are starting to surface on the internet and we’re here to help breakdown the 2015 draft for you.
Early on it appears the 2015 NHL draft will be heavily filled with European talent. This year the European lists took a big hit as many Europeans came to play in the CHL and weren’t counted as international or European talent. This year, a large majority of the draft eligible players are staying in Europe to showcase their skills and scouts are taking notice.
[Pullquote] “We think the international side will rebound a little bit to where there’s more first-time draft eligible prospects.” ~ Dan Marr [/pullquote]
One player who will likely be in the mix with Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel is Czech center Pavel Zacha who may turn down an invite to play for the Sarnia Sting. Not only will Zacha stay in Europe, he may become the first European taken off the board at the 2015 NHL draft. Oliver Kylington and Mikko Rantanen are two other European players expected to turn some heads next season and go high in the 2015 draft.
While the international and European talent seems to be piling up, one can not forget the Canadian and American talent that will be on full display all next season as Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel battle it out for the right to go number 1. As it stands right now, there is not much difference in the minds of scouts between McDavid and Eichel and many believe those two will battle it out for the first overall pick in 2015.
McDavid will play the season in the OHL with the Erie Otters while Eichel will play with the US national team which has been pumping out top-notch talent as of late.
Dylan Strome, Lawson Crouse and Travis Konecny are all players who are expected to have big years and go high in the 2015 NHL draft. Keep on eye on these three underdog types who might just help round out the top 5.
In addition to the impressive ammount of European talent available, there will also be a bunch of talent coming out of the United States National Development league including Noah Hanifin, Colin White and Jordan Greenway.
The Hockey Writers has already produced an early list of top 10 candidates for the 2015 NHL draft and the list includes names such as Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, Pavel Zacha, Oliver Kylington and Rasmus Andersson.
Obviously a lot can and will change over the upcoming season, but the 2015 NHL entry draft seems very interesting early on. Will McDavid or Eichel pull ahead or will someone else come out of no where and take the first overall spot by the time next season ends?