17 CHL Players Selected in First Round of 2015 NHL Draft

By chlwebproduct June 27, 2015

Friday June 26, 2015

Sunrise, FL – The Canadian Hockey League today announced that 17 CHL players were selected in the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft held Friday night at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, FL.

The 17 CHL players represents over 56% of all players selected in the draft’s opening round including six picks in the top-10 led by Connor McDavid of the Erie Otters who became the ninth straight CHL player to be selected first overall.

The Ontario Hockey League led the way with seven players selected including four players in the top-6 led by McDavid, Erie Otters teammate Dylan Strome chosen third overall by the Arizona Coyotes, Mitch Marner of the London Knights chosen fourth overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Pavel Zacha of the Sarnia Sting chosen sixth overall by the New Jersey Devils. This season marked just the third time in NHL Draft history where the OHL has had four players in the top-six following the 2008 and 1972 drafts. Rounding out the OHL picks in the first round were Team Canada World Junior gold medalist Lawson Crouse of the Kingston Frontenacs chosen 11th overall by the host Florida Panthers, Zachary Senyshyn of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds chosen 15th overall by the Boston Bruins, and Travis Konecny of the Ottawa 67’s chosen 24th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers.

McDavid and Strome became just the sixth pair of teammates to be selected within the top-3 picks and first since the 2013 duo of Halifax Mooseheads Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin, and the 2012 Sarnia Sting that featured Nail Yakupov and Alex Galchenyuk. Strome was also selected two picks higher than his older brother Ryan, who was chosen fifth overall in 2011. The two are the 18th brother combination in NHL history to be chosen in the first round, a CHL trend also evident in last year’s draft when second overall pick Sam Reinhart went two spots higher than older brother Griffin who was selected fourth overall in 2012.

The Western Hockey League featured five players selected, led by Ivan Provorov of the Brandon Wheat Kings chosen seventh overall by the Philadelphia Flyers, Jake DeBrusk of the Swift Current Broncos chosen 14th overall by the Boston Bruins, Mathew Barzal of the Seattle Thunderbirds chosen 16th overall by the New York Islanders, Noah Juulsen of the Everett Silvertips chosen 26th overall by the Montreal Canadiens and Nick Merkley of the Kelowna Rockets chosen 30th overall by the Arizona Coyotes.

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League also featured five players selected, led by Timo Meier of the Halifax Mooseheads chosen ninth overall by the San Jose Sharks. Meier was followed by a pair of Saint John Sea Dogs defencemen in Jakub Zboril chosen 13th overall by the Boston Bruins and Thomas Chabot, selected 18th overall by the Ottawa Senators. Cape Breton Screaming Eagles winger Evgeny Svechnikov was selected by the Detroit Red Wings at 19th overall and Shawinigan Cataractes centreman Anthony Beauvillier rounded out the selections, going to the New York Islanders at 28th overall.

Three CHL clubs extended their first round NHL Draft streak to three years with Meier following in the footsteps of MacKinnon (1st overall to Colorado) and Drouin (3rd overall to Tampa Bay), and then Nikolaj Ehlers (9th overall to Winnipeg) last season. The Wheat Kings’ Provorov follows Ryan Pulock (15th overall to New York Islanders) in 2013, and John Quenneville (30th overall to New Jersey) in 2014, while the Greyhounds’ Senyshyn follows the 2013 pick of Darnell Nurse (7th overall to Edmonton) and the 2014 pick of Jared McCann (24th overall to Vancouver).

The CHL trio of Zboril, DeBrusk, and Senyshyn, all chosen by the Bruins, were part of NHL Draft history marking the first time an NHL team made three consecutive first round picks.

CHL Players Selected in the First Round of the 2015 NHL Draft:

(Click on a player to watch post-draft interview)

1. Connor McDavid (Erie Otters) – Edmonton Oilers

3. Dylan Strome (Erie Otters) – Arizona Coyotes

4. Mitch Marner (London Knights) – Toronto Maple Leafs

6. Pavel Zacha (Sarnia Sting) – New Jersey Devils

7. Ivan Provorov (Brandon Wheat Kings) – Philadelphia Flyers

9. Timo Meier (Halifax Mooseheads) – San Jose Sharks

11. Lawson Crouse (Kingston Frontenacs) – Florida Panthers

13. Jakub Zboril (Saint John Sea Dogs) – Boston Bruins

14. Jake DeBrusk (Swift Current Broncos) – Boston Bruins

15. Zachary Senyshyn (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds) – Boston Bruins