Global Calgary’s 2015 NHL mock draft

Connor McDavid celebrates his go-ahead goal against the USA during third period action at the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships in Malmo, Sweden on Tuesday, December 31, 2013.

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

With the 2015 NHL Draft right around the corner, Global Calgary’s sports reporters have compiled a mock draft for the first round.Brendan Parker explains their picks:

The NHL offseason has officially arrived.

For some hockey fans, watching teams build for the future is almost as enjoyable as the games themselves.

The first step is the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, set for June 26-27 in Florida. The Edmonton Oilers will once again make the first overall pick where they will land superstar Connor McDavid.

The Calgary Flames enter with 9 selections, including 15th overall.

After months of analyzing the top draft eligible players and projecting where they might end up, we’ll soon know for certain. But until that first name is called up to the stage, we’ll continue to speculate what may or may not happen.

Mock Drafts are a way to put your work up against NHL General Managers. There’s no actual science to ‘predicting’ the draft. You look at draft rankings, teams drafting history, your own opinion on players. But at the end of the day, it’s a guessing game.

With a little help for our draft junkie sports intern Nick Pavelich, here is the Global Calgary consensus Mock Draft. Will it answer any questions you have about the draft? No. Absolutely not. But it was fun to put together.

Feel free to compare your picks with ours, that’s part of the fun.

If you like what you see great! If not, it was the intern’s fault.