THW 2015 NHL Draft HQ Thread

[cral12]

To kick off our coverage of "The Next Big Things" Draft Class here is:

2015 NHL Draft Rankings War Room: First Look - Top 60 as compiled by E-Mac includes honourable mentions, sleers and other players of interest.
- Includes stats, commentary on the top 30, demographics, Future Considerations Top 30 (didn't want to hijack their CP 2015 draft thread), links to Elite Prospect profiles & more:

For full article/rankings, click here

***
UPDATE:

E-Mac might have outdone himself

"This update (done with no change to the rankings) expands the previous list of prospects covered from 180 to 400, adds the stats from the recently completed Ivan Hlinka Tournament, updates the projected 2014-15 teams for many of the prospects and also updates the height and weight for most of the MHL, OHL, QMJHL and WHL prospects. The USHL is usually the last to release their height and weight updates."

The Introduction (link)
- "Coming to the #CHL"
- "Growth Spurts"
- "Route: #NCAA"

The Spreadsheet/Table - 400 prospects, One place! (link)

[nik-]

I'm not ready for this yet.

Another year of waiting for the draft.

[PeteMoss]

I'll eat my hat if only two Canadians are picked in the top 10.

[cral12]

I think at least 3 will go, but this might be one of those crazy years...

[RyZ]

Originally Posted by PeteMoss

I'll eat my hat if only two Canadians are picked in the top 10.

Agreed. Konecney is a lock for the top 10 and likely so is Strome. I wouldn't be suprised if Sprong snuck in there as well. Actually, Konecny at #14 on that list is kind of silly.

[cral12]

^Consider it silly if you want RyZ, but this is a very deep draft class - A top 15 ranking is certainly not a slight.
This is E-Mac's rankings and he does have his reasons for having others ahead at this point, but it's really just a numbers game, with other prospects slightly having an edge.
I'll be posting my rankings in a bit as well and Konecney is indeed higher.
Sprong is a wild card for sure.

[cral12]

The "First Look" War Room rankings now updated and features 180 prospects to watch this season for the "The Next Big Things" 2015 draft class.

[cral12]

Update:

E-Mac might have outdone himself.

"This update (done with no change to the rankings) expands the previous list of prospects covered from 180 to 400, adds the stats from the recently completed Ivan Hlinka Tournament, updates the projected 2014-15 teams for many of the prospects and also updates the height and weight for most of the MHL, OHL, QMJHL and WHL prospects. The USHL is usually the last to release their height and weight updates."

The Introduction (link)
- "Coming to the #CHL"
- "Growth Spurts"
- "Route: #NCAA"

The Spreadsheet/Table - 400 prospects, One place! (link)

Which amongst these lads will be future Flames?

[Freeway]

My early, early top 10:

1. Connor McDavid
2. Jack Eichel
3. Noah Hanifin
4. Oliver Kylington
5. Matt Barzal
6. Travis Konecny
7. Colin White
8. Pavel Zacha
9. Daniel Sprong
10. Nicolas Roy

Early.

[bigtmac19]

I'm excited to watch McDavid tonight!

[bigtmac19]

http://youtu.be/6vQIcqq7zK8
McDavid from Friday night.

[cral12]

Update:

Intro Excerpt:

"With the 2014 NHL City of Brotherly Love Draft long since in the books, let’s take an early season glimpse at some of the talented young guns to keep an eye out for for the 2015 NHL Draft to be held on June 26–27, 2015 at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida. This is a talent-laden draft with some potentially franchise-altering players available.

There will undoubtedly be plenty of jockeying for position amongst the eligible prospects with almost a full season of hockey yet to be played."

Top 10

1 McDavid, Connor
2 Eichel, Jack
3 Hanifin, Noah
4 Kylington, Oliver
5 Strome, Dylan
6 Barzal, Mathew
7 Konecny, Travis
8 Zacha, Pavel
9 Marner, Mitch
10 White, Colin

Link to the rankings

[cral12]

Intro exerpt:

Whether it be the Coyotes going off the board to take a Blake Wheeler, the Kings selecting Thomas Hickey seemingly out of nowhere or Anthony Duclair slip sliding to the third round, a mock draft can go off the rails quicker than Connor McDavid can execute a wraparound.

Top 10 Picks (rankings based on THW preseason power rankings)

# Team Player
1 Buffalo McDavid, Connor
2 Carolina Eichel, Jack
3 Calgary Hanifin, Noah
4 Ottawa Strome, Dylan
5 Florida Kylington, Oliver
6 Winnipeg Barzal, Mathew
7 Edmonton Zacha, Pavel
8 Arizona Konecny, Travis
9 Nashville White, Colin
10 Vancouver Crouse, Lawson

Link to all the picks

(Includes Prospect Profiler Notes and link to Elite Prospects profile)

[cral12]

More 2015 material...

E-Mac is back with another update, and yes, he has outdone himself.
575 prospect, 1 place.
The Ultimate 2015 NHL Draft Tool at your disposal
- Other rankings embedded in the spreadsheet
- E-Mac's exclusive Top 60 War Room rankings
- Links to Elite Prospects profile
- Commentary on >45 prospects (at this point)
- The Intro goes in depth on the Top 15, plus Honourable Mentions, Sleepers

Link 1: The Intro article

Link 2: The Ultimate Prospect Tracker

[cral12]

THW’s 2015 NHL Draft Ultimate Prospect Tracker – Holiday Edition

E-Mac is back:
*662 prospects highlighted
*Top 100 Rankings
*Unique War Room Commentary on many of the prospects

Your quintessential 2015 draft reference/tool

Link to full article, prospect tracker tool

[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

Is Dylan Strome expected to be better than his brother? Because his brother is a pretty damn good prospect.

[Caged Great]

Originally Posted by Pierre "Monster" McGuire

Is Dylan Strome expected to be better than his brother? Because his brother is a pretty damn good prospect.

Yes.

For comparisons sake, Dylan is to Mikael Granlund as Ryan is to Markus.

Both should be awesome NHLers for a long time, but Dylan has the potential to be a star, where Ryan should be a good #2 Center.

[FlameZilla]

I like the look of Nicholas Meloche: http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=213821

6'3", RH-shot, physical, 2-way D who puts up a lot of points in the Q.

Sounds like the perfect cure for what ails our prospect base.

[cral12]

In the first of five planned Top 5 series of articles, E-Mac ranks...

2015 NHL Draft War Room: The Top Five Defensemen

3 of these lads playing prominent roles in the WJCs.

Might 1 be a future Flame? Would especially love to see one of the top 3 in YYC.

[cral12]

Not that Flames need to draft another one too soon...

The Top 5 goalies