2015 NHL Entry Draft finishes, McDavid goes 1st overall - mngophers21's Dynasty

mngophers21's Dynasty Blog

2015 NHL Entry Draft finishes, McDavid goes 1st overall

Posted on July 9, 2015 at 07:42 PM.

As nearly every hockey fan expected - Connor McDavid was the first player selected in this year's NHL Entry draft. While it is unclear at this time if he will sign immediately with the Sabres or remain for at least another year in Erie, one thing is certain - the Sabres just got a whole lot scarier a couple years down the road.

The New Jersey Devils were the league's biggest movers during the draft phase, completing a total of four trades as their new GM's attempt to overhaul the roster and prospect pool. New Jersey was offered to trade down two slots in the first round, and decided send their pick to Toronto in exchange for Toronto's number four selection and a third rounder, which was used by Toronto to select WHL standout Mathew Barzal, while New Jersey selected Connor McDavid's teammate Dylan Strome.

New Jersey also bolstered it's NHL level attack by completing a series of two trades - one sending right winger Dainius Zubrus to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Boston's third round selection at 90th overall, while the other brought former Anaheim Duck winger Kyle Palmieri to town in exchange for the Devil's own second round selection in addition to the third rounder obtained from Toronto.

New Jersey's final trade resulted in the appearance of London Knight centerman Mitchell Marner being available at the 30th overall pick, just two slots ahead of where the Devils' selection lied. With Arizona holding the pick from Chicago as a result of the Antoine Vermette trade this past season, New Jersey offered it's 32nd overall pick in the second round along with Florida's selection in the second round, which Arizona accepted.

Complete 2015 NHL Entry Draft First Round

Buffalo Sabres - C. McDavid C
Toronto Maple Leafs (from NJ) - M. Barzal C
Arizona Coyotes - N. Meloche D
New Jersey Devils (from NSH, TOR) - D. Strome C
Edmonton Oilers - O. Kylington D
Colorado Avalanche - D. Yan LW Shawinigan (QMJHL)
Columbus Blue Jackets - R. Pilon D
Los Angeles Kings - T. Konecny C
Calgary Flames - G. Bouramman D
Carolina Hurricanes - A. Saarela C
Montreal Canadiens - A. Strand D
Detroit Red Wings - S. Zborovskiy D
Florida Panthers - D. Timashov LW
Toronto Maple Leafs - D. Tobia G
Winnipeg Jets - N. Korostelev RW
Dallas Stars - J. Zboril D
Ottawa Senators - L. Crouse LW
Vancouver Canucks - N. Roy C
Philadelphia Flyers - A. Marsh LW
Winnipeg Jets (from NYI) - J. Roy D
Buffalo Sabres (from STL) - P. Zacha LW
Tampa Bay Lightning (from NYR) - V. Taratukhin D
San Jose Sharks - P. Bittner LW
Philadelphia Flyers (from TB) - D. Sprong RW
Minnesota Wild - F. Chlapik C
Edmonton Oilers (from PIT) - S. Leblanc D
Anaheim Ducks - V. Dunn D
Washington Capitals - Y. Derlyuk G
Boston Bruins - P. Fedorov G
New Jersey Devils (from CHI, ARI) - M. Marner C

New Jersey Devils 2015 Draft Selections

1st round, 4th overall - Dylan Strome, C, Erie (OHL)
1st round, 30th overall - Mitchell Marner, C, London (OHL)
3rd round, 62nd overall - Eetu Sopanen, D, Lahti (Liiga)
4th round, 92nd overall - Carter Hansen, RW, Regina (WHL)
6th round, 152nd overall - Vic Zanon, RW, NCAA

Trades around the NHL

New Jersey receives: 2015 1st round pick (4th), 2015 3rd round pick
Toronto receives: 2015 1st round pick (2nd), 2016 4th round pick

It was reported in the days leading up to the draft that Toronto had its eyes set on Barzal and Barzal only.

New Jersey receives: 2015 2nd round pick (from BOS)
Tampa Bay receives: Dainius Zubrus

Zubrus gets his chance to run at a cup one last time on a team that has a deficiency in NHL level wingers.

New Jersey receives: 2015 1st round pick (30th, from CHI and ARI)
Arizona receives: 2015 2nd round pick (from BOS), 2015 2nd round pick (from FLA)

New Jersey had its mind made up that they wanted Marner, and with Arizona selecting defense at the third overall slot, the possibility of missing out was too great to not move up.

New Jersey receives: Kyle Palmieri
Anaheim receives: 2015 2nd round pick (from NJ), 2015 3rd round pick (from TOR)

Anaheim is granted some cap relief and is able to gain two decently high selections to add to their prospect pool. New Jersey adds a young and gritty winger to help shape the team during the rebuild.

Nashville receives: A. Tanguay
Colorado receives: 2016 2nd round pick, 2016 3rd round pick

Nashville receives: B. Campbell, J. J�gr
Florida receives: 2016 1st round pick (from NSH), M. Gortz, J. Alm