2015 NHL Entry Draft Profile: Noah Hanifin

Noah Hanifin is the top-ranked defenseman in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. How long will he wait to hear his name called after the Big Two?

The 2015 NHL Entry Draft is a few weeks away and we are being conditioned to two facts: the draft is one of the deepest since 2003 and that if you aren’t drafting Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel the drop-off in talent is steep.

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That doesn’t mean you won’t get a cornerstone player. In any other year Noah Hanifin might get the Aaron Ekblad treatment and go first overall. Comparing Hanifin to either of the top forwards isn’t fair to the selection process. It doesn’t mean there isn’t élite talent beyond them.

"Hanifin is a smooth-skating defender with good size and acceleration who can generate some offense from the blueline but is also solid defensively. Although not a truly physical defenseman, he does not shy away from contact and will initiate it when necessary. Hanifin also has leadership qualities that could make NHL captain material down the road. Overall, he is an élite defender with few holes in his game. Hockey’s Future."

Hanifin is nearly six feet three inches and 205 pounds at only 18 years old. His frame is NHL ready now and will only grow into it more. NHL Central Scouting has him ranked the third best skater in the NHL Entry Draft. Perhaps the most telling opinion of him comes from the director of NHL Central Scouting, Dan Marr:

"“Everybody looks at him and says he’s a gifted offensive player, and he is, but what makes him so special is his transition game. He ‘gets it’ – that you have to play defense first and the offense will follow.”"

Between being a power-play quarterback and understanding the transition game is important to creating offense, Hanifin projects to a true number one defenseman ready to contribute as Ekblad did. The comparisons will certainly happen given they will be drafted in back-to-back years.

However, I don’t expect Hanifin to make the jump directly to the NHL. Not because he doesn’t have the talent to make it. I think Hanifin can be every bit as good as Ekblad if he took to the ice now. The team appearing set to take him with the third overall pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft doesn’t need him to play now.

The Arizona Coyotes finished 29th but were bumped to the third pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft when Edmonton won the lottery. The Coyotes are still likely rebuilding for one more year after trading away many of their top players. Hanifin can learn on the job and experience growing pains or he can stay in the minors for a year and continue to grow his game there.

If you’re a fan of the Coyotes, the 2015 NHL Entry Draft is providing the opportunity to have Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Hanifin on the same blue line. Have fun with that pair for the next decade. Arizona is building their roster slowly for long-term success and will pick up a major building block to that with the third pick.

Enjoy Arizona Noah. After the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, you will become part of a very impressive defensive pairing.

Next: TMMOTS 2015 NHL Mock Draft 4.0

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