Geoff JohnsonThe 2015 NHL Draft will take place June 26-27 in Sunrise, FL. Draft day is among the best opportunities for a franchise to impact their future. Last year the Panthers chose Aaron Ekblad from the Barrie Colts with the first overall pick. In recent years Patrick Kane, Steven Stamkos and John Tavares have been picked number one. It was a decade ago that Sidney Crosby was chosen first. Alex Ovechkin went number one the year before.
The 2015 draft year has been looked ahead to for some time as one of the more exciting years in recent memory. Both Connor McDavid of the Erie Otters and Jack Eichel of the Boston University Terriers are projected to be first line centers – if not some of the future top scorers in the NHL.
Eichel is expected to be the NHL’s highest drafted NCAA player ever, but that’s not all – this looks to be a groundbreaking year for NCAA hockey and American hockey as a whole.
Here is a look at some of the possibilities for the 2015 draft, with odds set on each…
⁃ Connor McDavid be the first overall picks: 1-1
⁃ Jack Eichel will be the first overall pick: 1-1
⁃ Someone other than McDavid or Eichel is drafted first: 10-1
⁃ McDavid and Eichel be the first two overall picks: 2-5
⁃ Noah Hanifin is picked third overall: 2-1
⁃ Hanifin is the first defenseman picked: 2-5
⁃ Colin White is selected in top 8: Over: -110, Under -110
⁃ Kyle Connor is selected in top 8: Over: -110, Under -110
⁃ Mackenzie Blackwood is first goalie chosen: 5-2
⁃ Felix Sandstrom is first goalie chosen: 5-2
⁃ Maxim Tretiak is first goalie chosen: 5-2
⁃ Daniel Vladar is first goalie chosen: 7-2
⁃ Someone other than Blackwood, Sandstrom, Tretiak or Vladar is first goalie chosen: 10-1
⁃ A goalie is picked in the first round: 9-2
⁃ First goalie chosen takes place in second round: 4-5
⁃ No goalie is picked in the first or second round: 10-1
⁃ Number of defensemen picked in first round: Over 10: -110, Under 10: -110
⁃ Number of U.S. born players picked among Top 10: Over 3: -110, Under 3: -110
⁃ Number of Canadian born players picked among Top 10: Over 6.5: -125, Under 6.5: +115
⁃ Oliver Kylington is first non-North American drafted: 7/2
⁃ Pavel Zacha is first non-North American drafted: 7/2
⁃ Mikko Rantanen is first non-North American drafted: 4-1
⁃ Kylington, Zacha or Rantanen are first non-North American drafted: 3-5
⁃ Someone other than Kylington, Zacha or Rantanen are first non-North Americans drafted: 5-1
⁃ Players from OHL drafted in first round: Over 5: -130, Under 5: +120
⁃ Players from QMJHL drafted in first round: Over 4: +130, Under 4: -140
⁃ Players from WHL drafted in first round: Over 5: -130, Under 5: +120
⁃ Trades involving 2015 first round picks: Over 2.5: -110, Under 2.5: -110
⁃ Trades announced during the 2015 draft: Over 20: -140, Under 20: +130
⁃ Will the first overall pick be traded: Yes: +800, No: -1000
⁃ Will a top three pick be traded: Yes: +300, NO: -400
⁃ Calgary Flames will own first overall pick: 4-1
⁃ Buffalo Sabres will own first overall pick: 4-1
⁃ Florida Panthers will own first overall pick: 5-1
⁃ A Canadian Team will own first overall pick: 2-1
⁃ An American Team will own first overall pick: 1-2
⁃ Amount of time Gary Bettman is booed for when he welcomes everyone to the draft: Over 4 seconds: +140, Under 4 seconds: -130
⁃ Number of times Bettman is booed during draft: Over 5: +125, Under 5: -135
⁃ Number of apologizes for mispronouncing a players name during first round: Over 1: -110, Under 1: -110
⁃ How many U.S. College players will be drafted? Over 63: -110, Under 63: -110
⁃ How many U.S. College players will be drafted in first round? Over 4: -115, Under 4: +105
⁃ How many U.S. College players will be drafted in first three rounds: Over 17.5: -125, Under 17.5: +115
⁃ Will the first three college players selected by from a school in Boston? Yes: -140, No: +130
⁃ Two college players picked among top three picks? Yes: +200, No: -225
