Re-drafting the 2015 NHL Draft — perhaps the best class ever: Who goes after McDavid?

New York Times

5 hours ago

By Peter Baugh, Max Bultman and Scott Wheeler
A decade ago, the NHL welcomed what might have been the best draft class in its history into the league. The 2015 draft featured three-time MVP Connor McDavid but also several more stars and dozens of other useful players.
In honor of the upcoming 10th anniversary, we re-drafted the first round. We selected in snake order and went with which player we would draft in each slot, Nos. 1 through 30, with the benefit of hindsight, which gave us material for debate. We did not draft based on the picking teams' positional needs at the time.
Here's how it all shook out.
Originally drafted No. 1 by Edmonton in 2015
Wheeler: Not a decision at all: Connor McDavid without blinking or thinking twice.
Baugh: We should also add that Scott randomized the draft order. Just putting that on the record.
Wheeler: We're not going to put 2015 conspiracy theories out there! There were enough of those at the time.
Advertisement
Drafted No. 2 by Buffalo, now with Vegas
Bultman: There were really good wingers in this class, but Eichel has blossomed into a truly dominant two-way center. He was a driver on that Vegas Stanley Cup team. He's become a Selke Trophy candidate, and he still is every bit as highly productive as we all wanted at the time of his draft.
Drafted No. 10 by Colorado, now with Dallas
Baugh: Rantanen was probably going to be my pick if I went second. He's a consistent 100-point player who has shown he can take over games in the playoffs. He led the Avalanche's forward group in playoff points the year they won the Cup and has been a beast his entire career.
Drafted No. 4 by Toronto, now a pending unrestricted free agent
Baugh: I was between Marner and Kirill Kaprizov, which brings up an interesting debate: How do we view where someone is at currently in their career versus someone's output over their total career? I think you have to balance the two. Marner has had an unbelievable career, even if things are maybe in a messy spot as he's potentially leaving Toronto. He's going to continue to put up 90-to-100-point seasons and remain a driver on important teams.
Wheeler: I think Kaprizov is a better player right now than Marner, and yet the fact that he didn't come to North America until his mid-20s is part of the conversation.
Bultman: When Kaprizov got hurt this year, he was the MVP favorite, and he has a higher MVP finish than Marner. Marner has played more than double as many games. This was going to be my toughest debate if I had to make this pick.
Baugh: This could be a completely different discussion if Kaprizov didn't get hurt this year. If he wins the Hart Trophy, it's probably tough not to put him ahead of Marner.
Advertisement
Drafted No. 135 by Minnesota
Bultman: I think this is the last chance to get a true MVP-level player. Though there is one more guy in this class who was on my Hart ballot this year …
Drafted No. 8 by Columbus
Wheeler: As Max said, Werenski was in the MVP conversation for some folks this year. Being a No. 1 defenseman, being the best player on a team, Werenski is the clear top player at his position in this class.
Bultman: If we had done this a year ago, I'm not sure that Werenski would go No. 6. But when you put up an 82-point season as a defenseman and mean as much as he did to a team that nearly made the playoffs, this is a good moment for him.
Drafted No. 35 by Carolina
Wheeler: Aho hasn't had the peak that some of the players in front of him have in terms of 95-, 100-point seasons, but he's been a pretty consistent 75-to-85 point player on a top team. He's done it without playing with an Auston Matthews- or Nathan MacKinnon-level player.
Drafted No. 17 by Winnipeg
Bultman: This year in particular, Connor showed he can get to that level of being a game-breaking winger. He has multiple 90-plus-point seasons, multiple 40-goal seasons. Would you like him to be a little more physical, a little bit more defensively responsible? Yes. But when you can find a game-breaker at No. 8, that's the range where you start to take that shot.
Baugh: And when you can get a Lady Byng winner, you have to do it.
Drafted No. 72 by Tampa Bay
Baugh: I had him No. 1 on my Selke ballot this year. He's an awesome two-way player.
Bultman: That's the first shocker for me. He's a coach's dream player, an ideal 2C, but I'd have leaned toward one of the other available centers.
Advertisement
Baugh: I understand it, but Cirelli had 27 goals this year, he's been top-five in Selke three times and has been a key player on two Stanley Cup winners. I couldn't pass him up.
Drafted No. 49 by Dallas
Baugh: I like both Cirelli and Hintz a lot because of their two-way ability. Hintz has a few 30-goal seasons and has gotten up to 37 twice, and has been on really good Stars teams.
Drafted No. 20 by Minnesota
Bultman: I've always liked Eriksson Ek, and he was outstanding at the 4 Nations. I'm not calling him Aleksander Barkov, but there is a little bit of that element to him — the more he gets on a national stage, the more you see what he does to top players, how he affects the game. I think his reputation is going to take off once the Wild can make some deeper runs.
Drafted No. 24 by Philadelphia
Wheeler: Konecny is a gamer. He was always the super scrappy, mouthy, ultra-competitive prospect who played bigger than his size and had tons of skill. That's exactly what he's become as an NHL first-line winger. He's someone a lot of smaller prospects want to model their game after.
Drafted No. 16 by the New York Islanders
Wheeler: There are a couple of players available who have had point-per-game seasons or thereabouts, but Barzal does it with so much skill and craft. If he weren't a part of such a middling Islanders team, he would probably have a little bit more shine.
Drafted No. 5 by Carolina, now with Vegas
Bultman: I don't know if he's a true No. 1 D, but he's a true top-pair D. He's an excellent two-way defender and another guy who I thought was outstanding at the 4 Nations. I don't think he has that much less offense than Thomas Chabot, who is still available, and I love the defense.
Advertisement
Drafted No. 9 by San Jose, now with New Jersey
Baugh: Meier is a goal scorer who can play a physical, intense game. It still feels like there's a little more offense there — he generates all these chances but can't always capitalize — but he's still a guy who's put up 40 goals in a season and who is around 30 goals every year. He's a top-line winger.
Wheeler: I don't think he's been the player in New Jersey that he was in San Jose, where he was really the focal point. But if you're talking about the totality of his career, Meier absolutely belongs in this range.
Drafted No. 18 by Ottawa
Baugh: Chabot flew under the radar a bit in the years leading up to this one just because the Senators weren't very good, but he's always been able to eat minutes effectively. He's averaging 23:50 a game over 512 career games.
Wheeler: He does not get tired.
Drafted No. 159 by Columbus, now a pending UFA
Bultman: It's a little bit earlier than I planned to take Gavrikov, but he had the best shutdown metrics in the NHL this past season. He's not going to put up as much offense as a couple other defensemen still left, but he's still a 30-point player who can shut down top competition.
Baugh: If we're going strictly off this season, No. 17 is maybe even too low. I'll be interested to see if this past year was a contract year bump or if he'll keep it going.
Wheeler: My issue with Gavrikov at No. 17 is that it hasn't been a career-long thing in the way it is for a few of the defensemen still on the board. We're back at that tension between the 'today' versus 'how heavily do you weigh what they've accomplished?'
Drafted No. 53 by Calgary
Wheeler: When you think of what you want in a top-four defenseman, the descriptors a lot of teams would use describe Rasmus Andersson. He has some bite, can hammer the puck, play both special teams, play with different types of partners and eat minutes. I'm a big, big, big fan. Put him on any blue line in the league and his coach would be throwing him over the boards often.
Advertisement
Drafted No. 56 by St. Louis, now with Seattle
Wheeler: I have Vince Dunn ahead of Ivan Provorov ever so slightly on my list. He belongs in this range with one other forward …
Drafted No. 3 by Arizona, now with Washington
Bultman: Is the forward Dylan Strome, Scott?
Wheeler: It is Dylan Strome. Bounced around, multiple teams. The feet have always been a question.
Bultman: He needs to be in the right situation. Otherwise, if we're talking about a 6-foot-3 center who has put up three straight seasons of 65-plus points, I don't think they're getting this deep in the draft. By this point, it's way too much to pass up.
Drafted No. 23 by Vancouver, now a pending UFA
Baugh: Boeser had a 40-goal season two years ago and is consistently in the upper 20s. He's made a couple of All-Star games. It feels like teams may not be as high on him as fans are. Vancouver general manager Patrik Allvin went on the record after the trade deadline and said he didn't get very good offers for Boeser, a pending UFA. But I think he's a good value pick at No. 21.
Drafted No. 76 by Arizona, now with Vegas
Baugh: Hill was fantastic when Vegas won the Cup in 2023. He has a career save percentage of .909 and has now played close to 200 games. I don't feel 100 percent confident about this pick because there are still some good players on the ice every night instead of a goalie who really hasn't been a consistent starter until the past few years. But he has had some great moments since getting to Vegas.
Wheeler: I had Hill sort of late 20s rather than early 20s, but I think he is the top goalie in this class. If there is a weakness from the 2015 class, it's probably the group of goalies, but Hill has been very good.
Advertisement
Bultman: The tough thing is he's only started 25 games or more the past three years. You're sacrificing a lot on the front end of the pick, but obviously the value you get from him going forward is pretty significant.
Drafted No. 148 by Anaheim
Bultman: Terry is one of my last couple true top-six forwards available. I don't think the gap between him and Timo Meier is actually that big, although he doesn't have quite the same physical stature.
Baugh: Similarly to Hill, Terry took longer to emerge than some of the other players in this class. He's a good pick at this stage in the draft. That you got a player who has scored 37 goals in a season at No. 23 speaks to how crazy this class is.
Drafted No. 7 by Philadelphia, now a pending UFA
Wheeler: Provorov has been a top-four defenseman for the Blue Jackets and Flyers and has been a consistent 35-or-so-point player and broke 40 once. If we're talking pure career, he grades near the top of this class among defensemen.
Drafted No. 6 by New Jersey, now with Boston
Wheeler: Zacha plays at the top of the Bruins lineup, understands the defensive side of the puck and has killed penalties throughout his career. He's always been a very reliable player and decently productive.
Drafted No. 43 by Tampa Bay
Bultman: I love the bite he plays with. I think this is a championship kind of player. I have him a little higher on my board — more like No. 20, 21 — but it's such a good class that I have a hard time quibbling too much.
Drafted No. 37 by Boston, now with Toronto
Baugh: Max robbed me of Černák, but Carlo is up there among the leaders in games played in this class. He's a top-four defenseman, has been on really good teams and has made deep playoff runs. I'm also going to stick with former Bruins with my next pick …
Drafted No. 14 by Boston, now with Vancouver
Advertisement
Baugh: DeBrusk has four seasons with more than 25 goals. That's very solid, even if people might want a little more consistency from him. Finding top-six forwards isn't always easy, and he qualifies.
Drafted No. 57 by Washington, now with New Jersey
Bultman: Siegenthaler has become a very steady second-pair defenseman for the Devils. He doesn't have much offensive upside, but you can trust him in a lot of situations.
Drafted No. 123 by Arizona, now with Vancouver
Wheeler: Garland has been a sneaky driver for Vancouver. When players like Elias Pettersson and Boeser have gone quiet, Garland has been a pretty consistent contributor while also playing with a bit of snarl.
Notable undrafted players in our re-draft include Matt Roy, Anthony Beauvillier, Lawson Crouse, Jack Roslovic, Andrew Mangiapane, Sam Montembeault, Mackenzie Blackwood and Niko Mikkola.
Team Wheeler: McDavid, Werenski, Aho, Konecny, Barzal, Andersson, Dunn, Provorov, Zacha, Garland
Team Bultman: Eichel, Kaprizov, Connor, Eriksson Ek, Hanifin, Gavrikov, Strome, Terry, Černák, Siegenthaler
Team Baugh: Rantanen, Marner, Cirelli, Hintz, Meier, Chabot, Boeser, Hill, Carlo, Debrusk
Let us know in the comments who won the draft!
(Photo of Connor McDavid: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)