Golden Knights’ Stanley Cup hopes rely on 3 top-5 picks from 2015

The 2015 NHL draft in Sunrise, Florida, was one of the most anticipated in recent memory.

Much of the focus was on the projected No. 1 overall pick — a center from the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters named Connor McDavid.

The top prospects gathered for a group picture before the draft began. To the far left of the photo are three players that were selected in the top five. They’re now the key to the Golden Knights’ Stanley Cup hopes this season.

Center Jack Eichel went No. 2 overall to the Buffalo Sabres, one pick after the Edmonton Oilers grabbed McDavid. Right wing Mitch Marner was selected No. 4 overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs. Defenseman Noah Hanifin went off the board the next pick to the Carolina Hurricanes.

The trio, more than 10 years later, are all on the same team in Las Vegas.

“Wow. That’s a long time ago,” Hanifin said with a chuckle. “It feels like it was just yesterday.”

“It’s pretty funny, obviously,” Marner said. “I don’t know if we would have thought in that photo that we would all be playing together.”

Eichel laughed and then said: “I saw that one a few weeks ago. That’s pretty funny. A lot’s changed, right? Now we’re all playing together.”

The Knights, who have seven playoff appearances, two trips to the Stanley Cup Final and one championship in eight years of existence, have sky-high expectations entering their ninth NHL season.

Whether they succeed or fail could come down to those three players in that picture from Sunrise.

“It’s exciting,” Marner said. “You want the pressure as a hockey player.”

Going way back

Eichel and Hanifin were friends long before the draft.

The two grew up in the Boston area and played against one another as they rose through the hockey ranks. They even squared off as part of one of college hockey’s most storied rivalries, as Eichel attended Boston University and Hanifin went to Boston College.

Hanifin, 28, has also known Marner since they were 10-years-old.

“There’s so many guys that are late bloomers in hockey that come along and make a name for themselves later in their career. There’s also so many guys that you play with when you’re kids that were good players and you’re still buddies with to this day,” Hanifin said. “Jack and Mitch are two great examples of that.”

Hanifin said Marner hasn’t changed much as a player. He’s still an elite talent. That’s why the Knights acquired him in a sign-and-trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs on July 1. Marner inked an eight-year, $96 million contract, the largest in team history and one of the biggest in the NHL.

Adding another standout sent the excitement surrounding the Knights into overdrive. The goal is to lift the Cup again like they did in 2023. And the hope is Marner is the piece that can help them do that.

Do it again, Jack

Eichel, for his part, has proven he can win a title. There’s a 12-carat diamond championship ring resting somewhere in his house that says so.

The 28-year-old has established himself as one of the best two-way players in the NHL. He set a Knights record by scoring 94 points last season. Eichel also finished fifth in the voting for both the Hart Trophy for MVP and the Selke Trophy for best defensive forward.

That means the pending free agent, who entered training camp without an extension, is likely to become one of the league’s highest-paid players before long.

“The community has been great to me. I love living here,” Eichel said. “That stuff is out of my control a little bit. You just work on getting yourself in shape and ready to play and do your job the best you can. I think things like that take care of itself.”

One way Eichel can improve is being more selfish with the puck.

He’s been a standout playoff performer with 43 points in 40 postseason games. But 33 of those points are from assists. He had just one goal in 11 games in the playoffs last year and none against the Oilers.

The Knights need Eichel to come through in the moments they’re struggling to score. That comes with the territory of being a star.

Marner magic on the Strip

Marner, 28, is used to dealing with pressure.

He played in a hockey-crazed market in Toronto for a franchise that hasn’t won a Stanley Cup since 1967. The Markham, Ontario, native was supposed to be the hometown kid that helped end the drought.

Instead, he turned into a target. He became a primary reason the Maple Leafs couldn’t win in the playoffs, even though he has 63 points in 70 postseason games.

Marner knows changing cities doesn’t mean he’s freed from expectations. The Knights aren’t content to simply make the playoffs. They expect to contend every year.

“You want to be in a place where you want to win. That’s the whole goal of why we do this. You want to hoist the Stanley Cup,” Marner said. “This team has shown they can do it. I’m lucky enough to hopefully be a piece to help bring it back here.”

Marner is more than talented enough to help the Knights chase another championship.

He has 741 points in 657 games since entering the NHL in 2016. Only seven players have more in the past nine seasons.

Marner has also finished in the top 10 of the Selke Trophy voting three different times. There are few forwards that can impact a game like he can at both ends of the rink.

The primary questions he still faces are related to Toronto’s playoff shortcomings. The Maple Leafs were 2-9 in postseason series during his time with the team and never advanced past the second round. Marner needs to prove he can be at the heart of a deep run.

“I think we put the most pressure on ourselves as hockey players. That’s how we play the game,” Marner said. “We want to win every single day. This team, since it’s entered the league, has pushed the boundaries to be a winning team. That’s where I want to be: A winning situation.”

Knowing Noah

It will take a group effort for the Knights to replace defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, the two-time Stanley Cup champion who is going on long-term injured reserve with a hip injury.

Hanifin is one of the players the team needs to step up.

The Knights put their trust in him not long after acquiring him at the 2024 trade deadline, inking him to an eight-year, $58.8 million extension soon after. His durability was one of the reasons why. Hanifin has appeared in 322 of a possible 328 games the last four seasons.

The Knights will be asking him to play even more this season. Hanifin and his defensive partner Zach Whitecloud will be getting extra responsibility and ice time in Pietrangelo’s absence.

The two looked ready for a larger role last season. The Knights outscored their opponents 22-13 when the pair was on the ice at five-on-five together, according to the website Natural Stat Trick.

“I can read his body language really well,” said Whitecloud of Hanifin, who had 39 points in 80 games last season. “His puck skills, the way he plays one-on-one with guys, the way he likes to play offense, I can lean into that and help him create a little bit more.”

Collective effort

The Knights know Eichel, Marner and Hanifin can’t win them another Stanley Cup on their own. Their championship run in 2023 required a group effort.

But all three can do things that makes life easier on their teammates.

“You bring in a guy like Marner who really upgrades your forward group, and that’ll only help the (defensemen),” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “We lost (Pietrangelo), who was a big-minute guy. While those (defensemen) are getting those extra minutes and finding their way, I think our forward group can really help with that transition.”

Eichel agrees with Cassidy’s assessment.

“You look at our team historically, we’ve done it by committee, and it’ll be no different this year,” he said. “For myself and Mitch, we want to play our game and try to help the team win.”

Hanifin and Marner are signed for seven and eight more seasons, respectively. Eichel could soon have a long-term extension as well. They’re part of a core that will determine the Knights’ future.

It’s something the trio could have never imagined when their NHL journeys began in Florida all those years ago.

“There’s so many guys that we have signed up now that are just in the prime of their careers. Guys who have won, guys that are just really good hockey players that are going to be together for a long time now. I think that’s what you need to win,” Hanifin said. “I think just adding Mitch to that group, that’s so huge for us. We’re going to be together for a long time, and we know what our job is.”

Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.