I'm waiting for this:
1. McDavid
2. Eichel
3. Strome
4. Marner
5. Hanifin
6. Barzal
7. Crouse
8. Provorov
9. Zacha
10. Werenski
11. Meier
12. Connor
13. Konecny
14. Zboril
15. Rantanen
Throwing out my best case for Flames mock:
1. McDavid - I think Eichel will have a better career when it's all said and done, but EDM can't
not pick McDavid
2. Eichel - no brainer. Incredible player.
3. Marner - he's the BPA, Arizona isn't gonna take Strome just because he's bigger
4. Strome - Toronto has a lot of holes, but a big skilled C is going to go a long way
5. Provorov - him and Faulk are gonna be one of the elite pairings of the league. And while the 'Canes could have gone forward, I think Ivan P's the BPA
6. Connor - Devils really wanted to take Hanifin as BPA, but ultimately their forwards cupboard is so incredibly bare that they went and added a guy they think can be a bonafide #1C as he's a game-breaker who led the USHL in scoring last year
7. Hanifin - Philadelpha has been trying to fill the void left by Pronger for years now. Well here they get the solution gift-wrapped to them after a nightmare season.
8. Werenski - Bluejackets really have organizational depth at every position, so they look to replace Mike Reilly with a potential top 4 Dman with offensive flair.
9. Zacha - with Thornton and Marleau getting old, the need to find a big time goal scorer sort of fills itself out. They're not yet sure if Zacha is a LW or a C, but they see him helping their team long term.
10. Zboril - Colorado really thought about taking a forward, and they know it was the right thing to do with Tanguay and Iginla aging out and ROR potentially bailing, but they see Zboril as a legitimate top pairing shut-down specialist with offensive upside and decide that addressing a position as weak as D this year is ultimately their best bet to get back into contention, as Duchene/MacKinnon/Varlamov have every other major position locked up.
11. Rantanen - Florida needs as much offensive talent as it can get, and Rantanen is a big time player who could be a top liner for them someday.
12. Meier - Yeah, the Stars need some defensive help, but after years of taking bad reaches, they've decided to just take the safe pick, a guy who could potentially be a Selke candidate anyways.
13. Boeser. The first reach of the draft, but exactly what they need to replace the scoring of guys like Williams and Brown. They like Toffoli, but they want to double up on a similar player because they have two great centremen, not one.
14. Thomas Chabot - With Chara and Siedenberg injured and aging, the Bruins want a Dman who can be a top 4 guy alongside Hamilton, as their top 5 forwards Bergeron, Lucic, Marchand, Pastrnak and Krejci are still right in their prime. They think Chabot can push them back over the edge within two years, while they hope Chara's even still productive.
15. Matthew Barzal. Because that'd be too good to be true. I literally had to contrive a weak reason for the last
9 teams to pass on him.