The 2015 NHL Draft featured Connor McDavid as the "generational" #1, followed by Jack Eichel (#2). The first round was arguably the deepest since 2003, featuring Mitch Marner (#4), Mikko Rantanen (#10), Mat Barzal (#16), and Kyle Connor (#17). Thomas Chabot (#18) and Brock Boeser (#23) also became stars. Sebastian Aho (35th) and Kirill Kaprizov (135th) were major late steals. Overall, 2015 changed the speed of the NHL. It injected a massive amount of elite talent that immediately took over the scoring race, creating a new standard for what rookies could accomplish in the modern era.
Career earnings of players picked in the first round of the 2015 NHL entry draft.
| Player | Pos. | Pick # | Drafted by | Career Earnings |
Rank | Career Earnings In today's $ |
Rank |
| Connor McDavid | C | 1 | Edmonton Oilers | $108,475,000 | 23 | $127,472,160 | 57 |
| Jack Eichel | C | 2 | Buffalo Sabres | $82,775,000 | 74 | $95,367,473 | 131 |
| Dylan Strome | C | 3 | Arizona Coyotes | $28,165,000 | 642 | $30,782,247 | 819 |
| Mitch Marner | C | 4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | $83,090,500 | 73 | $95,239,218 | 132 |
| Noah Hanifin | D | 5 | Carolina Hurricanes | $51,475,000 | 273 | $58,308,324 | 368 |
| Pavel Zacha | C | 6 | New Jersey Devils | $28,182,500 | 640 | $31,357,984 | 809 |
| Ivan Provorov | D | 7 | Philadelphia Flyers | $52,182,500 | 266 | $58,508,370 | 366 |
| Zach Werenski | D | 8 | Columbus Blue Jackets | $60,775,000 | 187 | $67,014,500 | 296 |
| Timo Meier | RW | 9 | San Jose Sharks | $60,532,500 | 193 | $66,545,512 | 300 |
| Mikko Rantanen | RW | 10 | Colorado Avalanche | $73,182,500 | 113 | $83,312,153 | 186 |
| Lawson Crouse | LW | 11 | Florida Panthers | $23,957,500 | 743 | $26,284,353 | 933 |
| Denis Gurianov | RW | 12 | Dallas Stars | $10,607,500 | 1328 | $12,517,870 | 1507 |
| Jakub Zboril | D | 13 | Boston Bruins | $4,557,500 | 2066 | $5,280,933 | 2392 |
| Jake DeBrusk | LW | 14 | Boston Bruins | $30,440,000 | 590 | $33,529,524 | 752 |
| Zach Senyshyn | RW | 15 | Boston Bruins | $2,282,500 | 2829 | $2,832,243 | 3178 |
| Mathew Barzal | C | 16 | New York Islanders | $51,040,000 | 277 | $55,881,448 | 402 |
| Kyle Connor | LW | 17 | Winnipeg Jets | $51,850,000 | 268 | $58,885,538 | 357 |
| Thomas Chabot | D | 18 | Ottawa Senators | $48,590,000 | 303 | $53,517,650 | 427 |
| Evgeny Svechnikov | LW | 19 | Detroit Red Wings | $4,131,625 | 2168 | $5,091,189 | 2428 |
| Joel Eriksson Ek | C | 20 | Minnesota Wild | $33,232,500 | 546 | $35,976,482 | 711 |
| Colin White | C | 21 | Ottawa Senators | $43,030,588 | 379 | $59,824,345 | 350 |
| Ilya Samsonov | G | 22 | Washington Capitals | $11,000,000 | 1285 | $12,283,098 | 1527 |
| Brock Boeser | RW | 23 | Vancouver Canucks | $47,675,000 | 314 | $53,432,637 | 430 |
| Travis Konecny | C | 24 | Philadelphia Flyers | $46,682,500 | 324 | $51,910,138 | 447 |
| Jack Roslovic | C | 25 | Winnipeg Jets | $18,782,500 | 903 | $21,057,526 | 1087 |
| Noah Juulsen | D | 26 | Montreal Canadiens | $5,571,887 | 1859 | $6,428,430 | 2170 |
| Jacob Larsson | D | 27 | Anaheim Ducks | $4,740,806 | 2035 | $5,764,056 | 2284 |
| Anthony Beauvillier | LW | 28 | New York Islanders | $23,707,500 | 756 | $27,089,218 | 912 |
| Gabriel Carlsson | D | 29 | Columbus Blue Jackets | $2,822,474 | 2556 | $3,394,080 | 2919 |
| Nick Merkley | RW | 30 | Arizona Coyotes | $1,624,125 | 3244 | $1,980,577 | 3626 |