Let's make this clear: Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel will be the first two players selected in the 2015 NHL Draft.
It will take an act of God or inept team scouting to keep that from happening. The real mystery is who follows.
Here are some pertinent details:
— The NHL Draft Lottery will be conducted April 18. At stake are the first 14 picks, which will go to teams that didn't make the Stanley Cup playoffs (or those which hold picks via trade).
— The 2015 NHL Entry Draft will be conducted June 26 and 27 at the Florida Panthers' home, BB&T Center in Sunrise, Fla.
— Unless things change drastically, the Buffalo Sabres will hold the first pick. Draft order will be determined by season finish.
Under lottery rules, no team can fall more than one slot below its finish. So if the Sabres don't win the No. 1 pick, they are assured the No. 2 pick unless they suddenly start winning.
NHL Central Scouting finished its spring meeting last week and will have draft projections. McDavid, a center for OHL Erie; and Eichel, a center at Boston University, will top the rankings. Central Scouting lists players as North American skaters (forwards and defensemen), European skates, North American goalies and European goalies. European players in North American leagues as listed as North American skaters.
After them, expect to see these players:
Dylan Strome, center, OHL Erie
Lawson Crouse, left winger, OHL Kingston
Mitchell Marner, center, OHL London
Mikko Rantanen, right winger, TPS (Finland)
Noah Hanifin, defenseman, Boston College
Ivan Provorov, defenseman, WHL Brandon
Zachery Werenski, defenseman, Michigan
Kyle Connor, left winger, USHL Youngstown
Timo Meier, right winger, QMJHL Halifax
Gabriel Carlsson, defenseman, Linkoping Jr. (Sweden)
Jansen Harkins, center, WHL Prince George
Thomas Chabot, defenseman, QMJHL Saint John
Nicholas Merkley, center, WHL Kelowna
Jakub Zboril, defenseman, QMJHL Saint John
Mathew Barzal, center, WHL Seattle
Pavel Zacha, center, OHL Sarnia
Travis Konecny, center, OHL Ottawa
Jeremy Roy, defenseman, QMJHL Sherbrooke
Jacob Larsson, defenseman, Frolunda Jr. (Sweden)
Paul Bittner, left winger, WHL Portland
Brandon Carlo, defenseman, WHL Tri-City
Mitchell Vande Sompel, defenseman, OHL Oshawa
Evgeny Svechnikov, left winger, QMJHL Cape Breton
Nicolas Roy, center, QMJHL Chicoutimi
Jake DeBrusk, left winger, WHL Swift Current
Oliver Kylington, defenseman, Farjestad (Sweden)
Filip Chlapik, center, QMJHL Charlottetown
Michael Spacek, right winger, Pardubice (Czech Republic)
Daniel Sprong, right winger, QMJHL Charlottetown
Jordan Greenway, left winger, USHL USA U-18
Colin White, center, USHL USA U-18
Brock Boeser, right winger, USHL Waterloo
Ryan Pilon, defenseman, WHL Brandon
THE ODDS
Odds of winning the first pick begin at 20 percent for the team with the worst 2014-15 record. Here are the odds by pick.
No. 1, 20 percent
No. 2, 13.5 percent
No. 3, 11.5 percent
No. 4, 9.5 percent
No. 5, 8.5 percent
No. 6, 7.5 percent
No. 7, 6.5 percent
No. 8, 6 percent
No. 9, 5 percent
No. 10, 3.5 percent
No. 11, 3 percent
No. 12, 2.5 percent
No. 13, 2 percent
No. 14, 1 percent