Welcome back to Top Shelf Prospects, the daily column that brings you the next crop of professional hockey players. Each day I will bring you a new player profile or topical article in the lead-up to the 2015 NHL Draft. Be sure to bookmark the site, follow me on Twitter, and spread the word for the site that will bring you analytical and critical profiles and scouting reports! Last Word On Sports is your new headquarters for everything “NHL Draft”! For a Complete Listing of all our 2015 Draft Articles Click here.
Now that the order of 28 of the first 30 picks have been determined, I will be releasing my 2015 NHL mock draft.
For those who haven’t read the LWOS mock before here are the rules.
1) No trades except for those that have already been made by NHL teams.
2) A two-round Mock draft will be done in four parts. The first two parts (ie the first round) will be done today. The next two parts (ie the second round) will be done tomorrow.
3) Clicking the Player’s name will bring you to a full scouting report.
In Case you Missed it. Here is part one (Picks 1-15)
Here is part two (Picks 16-30)
Here is the start of the second round (Picks 31-45)
2015 NHL Mock Draft Second Round Part 2
46. Pittsburgh Penguins: Blake Speers, C/RW/LW, Sault Ste Marie, OHL
After trading their first round pick as part of the deal to get David Perron, the Penguins come to the podium for the first time at 46th overall. Knowing that he continues to need to look for wing talent to play with his solid 1-2 punch at centre, Jim Rutherford adds the pure speed of Blake Speers on the right side.
47. Winnipeg Jets: Guillaume Brisebois, Defence, Acadie-Bathurst Titan, QMJHL
Previous Picks: Evgeni Svechnikov, Travis Konecny
The Jets continue to build a solid and well-rounded prospect pool by adding Guillaume Brisebois. He’s a solid two-way defender whose numbers were really hurt by playing on one of the QMJHL’s worst teams. Expected to play 30 minutes a night, against top lines, and without much support, you have to take his -40 with a huge grain of salt.
48. Ottawa Senators: Alexander Dergachyov, Centre, SKA St. Petersburg, KHL
Previous Picks: Joel Eriksson-Ek, Nicolas Meloche
The Senators have gone with a pair of relatively safe picks in their first two trips to the draft podium. Now with a third pick at their disposal, they break the mould and decide to go for a serious boom or bust type with Dergachyov. Yes, the KHL is the big factor here with Dergaychov having two years remaining on a contract with SKA, but he’s a solid two-way player who could be ready to step into the NHL after those two years are up.
49. Dallas Stars (from Detroit): Vince Dunn, Defence, Niagara Ice Dogs, OHL
Previous Pick: Timo Meier
The Stars needed to add defensemen to their prospect pool, and did so big time last year with six picks on the blue line. That said, a bunch of those picks came in later rounds, so they would like to add some high end potential here as well. There wasn’t value in first round defencemen at their draft slot, but in the second round, Vince Dunn of Niagara is a real boom or bust pick who could be an outstanding puck moving defenceman in time.
50. Minnesota Wild: MacKenzie Blackwood, Goalie, Barrie Colts, OHL
The Wild are another team in search of a goaltending prospect to round out their system, and they find one here with McKenzie Blackwood. He was a big reason that the Barrie Colts were able to have a solid season this year despite losing Aaron Ekblad in last year’s draft, as he provided a backbone for the team to build around.
51. Buffalo Sabres (from NY Islanders): Denis Yan, Right Wing, Shawinigan Cataractes, QMJHL
Previous Picks: Jack Eichel, Nick Merkley, Ilya Samsonov
Once again the Sabres are on the clock. They have been collecting picks and prospects like crazy for the last four years, and this season was no different. With the system the way it is, the Sabres can just continue to build and take some risks with picks. They do that here with Dennis Yan, a player with big time offensive skill, but huge defensive question marks.
52. Calgary Flames (from Washington): Rasmus Andersson, Defence, Barrie Colts, OHL
Previous Picks: Jakob Zboril, Parker Wotherspoon
As mentioned previously, the Flames need to add depth to their blueline prospects. Nowhere is this more apparent though, than in their lack of right-handed shots in the system. With three picks in this round, the Flames are able to take a gamble on a right-hand shot with high upside in Rasmus Anderson. He was third in OHL scoring amongst defencemen this season.
53. Calgary Flames (from Vancouver): Zachary Senyshyn, Right Wing, Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds, OHL
Previous Picks: Jakob Zboril, Parker Wotherspoon, Rasmus Andersson
There is no rest for the Flames, who go right back on the clock with back-to-back picks here. After drafting three defencemen, the Flames look to add a winger here and grab Zachary Senyshyn who has decent size at 6’1” and is one of the fastest players in this draft class.
54. Chicago Blackhawks (compensatory): Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson, Centre, Omaha Lancers, USHL
After trading their first round pick to go after Antoine Vermette at the trade deadline, the Blackhawks look to address a long-standing need for centre depth in the second round. They take Forsbacka-Karlsson, a dependable centre who is headed to play NCAA hockey next season.
55. Nashville Predators: Nikita Korostelev, Right Wing, Sarnia Sting, OHL
The Predators are also stepping to the podium for the first time, after trading their first round pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Trade Deadline. David Poile has been building his defence via the draft for years and years, and decides to add to his offense this season, taking Korostelev from Sarnia.
56. St. Louis Blues: Graham Knott, Left Wing, Niagara Ice Dogs, OHL
The Blues step to the podium for the first time after dealing their first round pick in last year’s big trade deadline trade for Ryan Miller and Steve Ott. They have a serious organizational need for prospects at Left Wing, and have built their organization around being very physical and tough to play against. Graham Knott fills their team needs while sticking to the organization’s philosophy on style of play.
57. Edmonton Oilers (from Montreal): Callum Booth, Goaltender, Quebec Remparts, QMJHL
Previous Picks: Connor McDavid, Brandon Carlo, Mitchell Vande Sompel
It goes without saying that the Oilers are well stocked with young forwards. They have added a pair of defencemen to their organization already in this draft. At this pick they address the need to add a goaltending prospect, taking Callum Booth who started much of this season with the Quebec Remparts, until a trade deadline deal brought in Zach Fucale.
58. Columbus Blue Jackets (from Anaheim): Julius Nattinen, Centre, Jyvaskyla JYP, SM-Liiga
Previous Pick: Zach Werenski, Jack Roslovic, Matt Spencer
This is the fourth pick for Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen and after staying in North America with each of the first three picks, he returns to his European scouting background taking centre Julius Nattinen with this pick. A big strong, two-way centre is the prototype for what Kekalainen looks for in building his teams.
59. Arizona Coyotes (from NY Rangers): Christian Fischer, Right Wing, US NTDP, USHL
Previous Picks: Dylan Strome, Jake Debrusk, Jonas Siegenthaler
The Coyotes get this pick as part of the bounty they picked up at the trade deadline for defenseman Keith Yandle. They have built a deep system, and can add to it with another player who comes from a hockey family in Christian Fischer. This power winger plays the type of gritty no-nonsense game that coach’s love.
60. New York Rangers (from Tampa): Nathan Noel, Centre, Saint John Sea Dogs, QMJHL
The Rangers are the second last team in the NHL to make a pick, getting their first selection at 6oth overall. The Rangers have traded a lot of picks in recent years and this will take a toll on the depth of their prospect system. The forwards are starting to thin out beyond Pavel Buchnevich, and even he is a bit of a KHL question mark. As such, the Rangers re-stock the cupboard with Nathan Noel. He is a talented playmaker who has a non-stop motor in the offensive end of the ice, but most learn to add consistency to his play in the defensive end.
61. Philadelphia Flyers (from Chicago): Mitchell Stephens, Centre, Saginaw Spirit, OHL
Previous Picks: Lawson Crouse, Anthony Beauvillier
The Flyers acquired this pick in exchange for Kimmo Timmonen at the trade deadline. They took forwards with their two first round picks, and continue the trend here, taking Mitchell Stephens. Stephens plays a style that resembles former Flyer Mike Richards in his prime, and will be loved among the Broad Street faithful if he continues to develop his game.
