With Carolina’s win over Philadelphia tonight, the Maple Leafs have unofficially secured the fourth overall draft pick, pending the April 18 lottery results.
Assuming either the Leafs or someone above them win the lottery (a 54.5% probability), this draft selection will be the highest the Leafs have made since they drafted Scott Thornton third overall in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft. It comes in a generational draft year where fourth overall projects to be more than your average fourth overall pick.
That’s the type of news Leafs fans have sorely been craving after the worst three months in recent team history.
| (Fewest Pts. to Most) | New Draft Lottery Odds |
|---|---|
| 1 | 20.00% |
| 2 | 13.50% |
| 3 | 11.50% |
| *4* | *9.50%* |
| 5 | 8.50% |
| 6 | 7.50% |
| 7 | 6.50% |
| 8 | 6.00% |
| 9 | 5.00% |
| 10 | 3.50% |
| 11 | 3.00% |
| 12 | 2.50% |
| 13 | 2.00% |
| 14 | 1.00% |
Here is a list of NHL draft rankings pulled from various scouting services/websites.
2015 NHL Draft Rankings
ISS=International Scouting Service
SN=Sportsnet
MK=McKeens
HP=Hockeyprospects.com
BM=Bob McKenzie
CB=Craig Button
| Player | P | Ht | Wt | Team | Lg | CB | ISS | SN | MK | HP | BM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McDavid, Connor | LC | 6.00.75 | 195 | Erie | OHL | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Eichel, Jack | RC | 6.02 | 196 | Boston U. | H.E. | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Hanifin, Noah | LD | 6.02.75 | 203 | Boston C. | H.E. | 12 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Strome, Dylan | LC | 6.03 | 185 | Erie | OHL | 3 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 4 |
| Marner, Mitchell | RC | 5.11 | 160 | London | OHL | 4 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| Crouse, Lawson | LW | 6.04 | 215 | Kingston | OHL | 11 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 6 |
| Provorov, Ivan | LD | 6.00.5 | 201 | Brandon | WHL | 5 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 12 |
| Werenski, Zach | RD | 6.02 | 206 | Michigan | BigTen | 6 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 8 |
| Rantanen, Mikko | RW | 6.03.5 | 211 | TPS Turku | FinE | 14 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 19 | 9 |
| Barzal, Mathew | RC | 5.11.25 | 175 | Seattle | WHL | 18 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 17 | 10 |
| Zacha, Pavel | LC | 6.03 | 210 | Sarnia | OHL | 28 | 10 | 14 | 9 | 4 | 7 |
| Connor, Kyle | LC | 6.01 | 177 | Youngstown | USHL | 7 | 13 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 13 |
| Ek Eriksson, Joel | LC | 6.01.75 | 180 | Farjestad | SweJE | 0 | 22 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 43 |
| Meier, Timo | RW | 6.01 | 209 | Halifax | QMJHL | 9 | 15 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 20 |
| Senyshyn, Zachary | RW | 6.01 | 192 | S.S. Marie | OHL | 51 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Konecny, Travis | RC | 5.09.75 | 175 | Ottawa | OHL | 23 | 12 | 15 | 11 | 20 | 15 |
| Bittner, Paul | LW | 6.04 | 204 | Portland | WHL | 24 | 14 | 25 | 20 | 0 | 14 |
| Merkley, Nick | RC | 5.10.5 | 191 | Kelowna | WHL | 13 | 18 | 13 | 17 | 16 | 19 |
| Bracco, Jeremy | RW | 5.09.25 | 173 | U18 NTDP | USHL | 49 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 |
| Chabot, Thomas | LD | 6.01.5 | 180 | Saint John | QMJHL | 10 | 19 | 23 | 15 | 12 | 27 |
| Svechnikov, Evgeny | RW | 6.01.75 | 199 | Cape Breton | QMJHL | 15 | 16 | 17 | 23 | 18 | 21 |
| Zboril, Jakub | LD | 6.00.75 | 184 | Saint John | QMJHL | 20 | 20 | 19 | 16 | 21 | 16 |
| Kylington, Oliver | RD | 6 | 180 | Farjestad | SweE | 29 | 24 | 11 | 27 | 13 | 11 |
| Carlsson, Gabriel | LD | 6.04 | 183 | Linkoping | SweJE | 84 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Harkins, Jansen | C/LW | 6.01.25 | 182 | Prince George | WHL | 16 | 25 | 27 | 0 | 25 | 31 |
| Larsson, Jacob | LD | 6.02 | 191 | Frolunda | SweJE | 41 | 26 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 33 |
| Roy, Jeremy | RD | 6 | 188 | Sherbrooke | QMJHL | 21 | 29 | 21 | 22 | 10 | 25 |
| White, Colin | RW | 6 | 183 | U18 NTDP | USHL | 33 | 23 | 20 | 19 | 26 | 18 |
| Greenway, Jordan | LW | 6.04.75 | 222 | U18 NTDP | USHL | 66 | 17 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 22 |
| Carlo, Brandon | RD | 6.05 | 196 | Tri-City | WHL | 45 | 21 | 26 | 21 | 22 | 17 |
| Boeser, Brock | RW | 6'1 | 187 | Waterlook | USHL | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Probably the most controversial part of this table, we asked Gus Katsaros to clarify the surprisingly low rank on Dylan Strome in the McKeen’s rankings:
The Otters forward’s primary concern is slushy feet, a trait that can be worked on and overcome – similar to brother Ryan. There’s definite touch and skill at the end of his blade.
The ranking in March was precipitated by the stories being written about the players around that range, Mitch Marner was pushing the case to be ranked 3rd overall while Ivan Provorov and Zach Werenski threw themselves in the mix after what seems to be a stable top two (McDavid, Eichel). He was listed as 6th in the previous ranking so a drop to 8th isn’t that great a drop.
Player rankings fluctuate (sometimes unjustly) in their draft year, but usually within a range and Strome falls in that range from 4th to 8th, and other players and team valuations could influence that selection very quickly on draft day. Sean Couturier is a prime example of a player highly touted dropping to 8th overall, yet is a prime contributor to the Flyers.
