FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CALGARY, AB — Over the past three years, Future Considerations has been watching the ’97 birth year class develop and mature en route to the 2015 NHL Draft and what looks like a stellar collection of future NHL talent.
The future looks good.
At this stage, the top of the 2015 NHL Draft crop is as exciting as it’s been in recent memory with Erie Otters standout Connor McDavid topping the class, chased furiously by Jack Eichel, who spent the 2013-14 season with the US National Team Development Program. Not far behind the pair of centers is defenseman Noah Hanifin, who served as Eichel’s teammate this year.
But the class doesn’t stop there.
Not only have names like McDavid, Eichel and Hanifin been making big impressions over that time, but strong, difference-making talent seems to be added to the count for this draft class on what seems like a weekly basis.
With the draft still a year away, there is even some hope that we will be seeing the best NHL Draft class ever and that the next wave of NHL superstars will soon be upon us. The North American crop, specifically, looks amazing and the Americans are surely the ones leading the charge. Early indications are that the depth south of the border could challenge the depth normally seen from the CHL.
With that in mind, here is Future Considerations’ preliminary ranking for the 2015 NHL Draft:
Want to go deeper into the 2015 NHL Draft class? Find FULL profiles on all of the Top-30 members in 2015 in Future Considerations’ 2014 NHL Draft Guide. FC’s 2014 NHL Draft Guide also contains FULL profiles on our Top-210 prospects for 2014, a two-round mock, a glimpse at 2016 and much, much more! ORDER NOW!
Rank | Player | POS | Team | League | Height | Weight |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Connor McDavid | C | Erie | OHL | 6'0 | 185 |
2 | Jack Eichel | C | NTDP U18 | USHL | 6'2 | 195 |
3 | Noah Hanifin | D | NTDP U18 | USHL | 6'3 | 195 |
4 | Travic Konecny | C | Ottawa | OHL | 5'10 | 165 |
5 | Colin White | C | NTDP U18 | USHL | 6'0 | 180 |
6 | Oliver Kylington | D | Farjestad | SHL | 6'0 | 180 |
7 | Mathew Barzal | C | Seattle | WHL | 5'11 | 175 |
8 | Dylan Strome | C | Erie | OHL | 6'2 | 175 |
9 | Rasmus Andersson | D | Malmo | Allsvenskan | 6'0 | 210 |
10 | Pavel Zacha | C | Liberec | Czech Extra | 6'3 | 200 |
11 | Daniel Sprong | RW | Charlottetown | QMJHL | 5'10 | 165 |
12 | Kyle Connor | C | Youngstown | USHL | 6'0 | 165 |
13 | Ryan Pilon | D | Brandon | WHL | 6'2 | 200 |
14 | Jordan Greenway | LW | NTDP U17 | USHL | 6'4 | 205 |
15 | Fredrik Forsberg | RW | Leksand J20 | SuperElit | 5'11 | 165 |
16 | Zach Werenski | D | NTDP U17 | USHL | 6'2 | 190 |
17 | Nicolas Roy | RW | Chicoutimi | QMJHL | 6'4 | 175 |
18 | Matthew Spencer | D | Peterborough | OHL | 6'2 | 190 |
19 | Jeremy Roy | D | Sherbrooke | QMJHL | 6'0 | 180 |
20 | Lawson Crouse | LW | Kingston | OHL | 6'4 | 205 |
21 | Kirill Pilipenko | RW | HC MVD Jr. | MHL | 5'11 | 175 |
22 | Mitch Marner | C | London | OHL | 5'10 | 165 |
23 | Evgeni Svechnikov | LW | Bars Kazan | MHL | 6'1 | 185 |
24 | Mikko Rantanen | RW | TPS | SM-Liiga | 6'2 | 180 |
25 | Paul Bittner | LW | Portland | WHL | 6'4 | 195 |
26 | Jeremy Bracco | C | NTDP U17 | USHL | 5'9 | 155 |
27 | Nathan Noel | C | Saint John | QMJHL | 5'11 | 170 |
28 | Aleksi Saarela | C | Lukko | SM-Liiga | 5'10 | 190 |
29 | Robin Kovacs | RW | AIK J20 | SuperElit | 6'0 | 175 |
30 | AJ Greer | LW | Kimball Union | USHS | 6'4 | 185 |