(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)
Having three players drafted in the top five picks on one roster is a dream come true for an NHL organization. Having three top five picks from the same draft class is another level of excitement, especially since they were all drafted by the three separate teams. Building and trading for a roster of three top five selections has now been proven to be a successful way to secure back-to-back Stanley Cup champions.
This summer, the Golden Knights dealt and paid for that type of winning formula.
2015 NHL Draft Top 5 Selections
- Connor McDavid – EDM
- Jack Eichel – BUF
- Dylan Strome – ARI
- Mitch Marner – TOR
- Noah Hanifin – CAR
In 2015, the Golden Knights had yet to even be awarded a franchise yet. We were around, of course, but the NHL was still months away from having any real presence. The other 30 clubs were preparing for arguably one of the most influential drafts of all time. After years of success, three of the top five have now settled in Las Vegas, creating a 2015 draft class lineup all in their peak. Now, they’ll try and copy what’s worked for two straight seasons for the Florida Panthers.
This offseason the Panthers pulled off the improbable by extending three vital skaters to their dynasty-lurking operation. Two of the three were selected in the four picks of the 2014 draft. Years back the reigning champions tag teamed them with 2014’s second overall pick Sam Reinhart, and you have the same blend of highly touted talent that the Golden Knights recreated. Good news for Vegas, Florida has proven it’s a smart approach for two straight seasons (really three).
2014 NHL Draft Top 5 Selections
- Aaron Ekblad – FLA
- Sam Reinhart – BUF
- Leon Draisaitl – EDM
- Sam Bennett – CGY
- Michael Dal Colle – NYI
Dating back to the time the Golden Knights raised their first-ever Stanley Cup trophy, three of the top four 2014 draftees were on the ice for the Panthers. That trio went on to be key impact players for Florida in back-to-back championship runs.
It should be noted that the Panthers are blessed with several other first round stars on their roster. Including 2013 2nd overall pick Aleksander Barkov, 2013 4th overall pick Seth Jones. Even the 2016 6th overall pick, Matthew Tkachuk, and the 2020 12th overall pick, Anton Lundell, have immortalized themselves in Florida.
Let’s not forget the collective talent in Vegas’ lineup. Currently, there are six active first round players expected to make an impact for Vegas next season. Of course, the spotlight is on Eichel and Marner, but they’ll need big seasons from other highly selected skaters too.
Let’s start with 2012 17th overall pick Tomas Hertl. The 31-year-old is still capable of scoring 30 or more goals in 2025-26. Matching his 60-point 2024-25 season will be crucial for Vegas’ desire to lock up a top playoff seed. More importantly, the Golden Knights will desperately need more than 5 points from Hertl in 11 postseason games. Same goes for 2013 26th overall selection Shea Theodore. It’s fair to predict that he’ll match or exceed his 57 points recorded last season. Like Hertl, it really comes down to Theodore’s performance deep in the playoffs. Now that he’s effectively VGK’s top defenseman, he cannot lead the club with a -9 rating in 11 postseason matches.
While some of Vegas’ older stars are aging and physically unable to play, it’ll be up to the next group to deliver owner The Creator his second Stanley Cup trophy. The current Golden Knights core are all around the same age and are in the prime of their careers. Assuming Eichel inks an extension soon, the window is wide open. The front office locked in the right players at the right age. The stage is set, and it’s up to the marquee players to perform.
ThG
to numb nuts poster who advocating taking out political leaders, truly a sick fuck of a person.
“Dershowitz, Epstein’s Former Lawyer: “There Is No Client List,” There Are Affidavits From Accusers
Alan Dershowitz, who defended Jeffrey Epstein when he pled guilty to soliciting minors for prostitution in 2008, told NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo that there is no “client list” and never has been. “There is no client list and never has been a client list,” Dershowitz told NewsNation. “A client list suggests that Jeffrey Epstein made a list of people to whom he trafficked women. What there is is a redacted FBI affidavit from accusers.” “I don’t know of any information that they could disclose that they haven’t disclosed. Now, maybe there are some—I’m simply not aware of it,” Dershowitz said. “There are several of them from accusers that accuse Jeffrey, that accuse various people of having improper sex, and that has been redacted. The names of the people accused have been blacked out,” he said. “If we got everything—everything—you would be shocked how few names are there that haven’t already been disclosed.” CHRIS CUOMO: Is the government hiding a client list or anything that the Trump administration could release tonight? ALAN DERSHOWITZ: No, there is no client list and never has been a client list. A client list suggests that Jeffrey Epstein made a list of people to whom he trafficked women. What there is is a redacted FBI affidavit from accusers—and there are several of them—that accuse Jeffrey, that accuse various people of having improper [conduct]. And that has been redacted. The names of the people accused have been blacked out. Now, of course, because I was a lawyer and I did all the investigations, I know all these people. I could figure out, based on everything that I saw, who Mr. X is, Mr. Y is, and Mr. Z is. I can tell you right now: none of them are public figures who are currently in office. Some of them were previously in office. Some of them are dead. But there is no client list. And the redactions could be undone if you go to court. So, many of the things that are being suppressed are being suppressed by two judges in Manhattan, and they’re doing it largely to protect the alleged accusers, who are all, in the view of the judges, victims—even though we don’t know what their actual status is. But the judges have issued orders, which is why I can’t disclose things I’d love to disclose, saying that you can’t disclose this information. But Pam Bondi and the Justice Department under Donald Trump are not responsible for that. I don’t know of any information that they could disclose that they haven’t disclosed. Now, maybe there are some—I’m simply not aware of it. And so I think it’s important to place the blame where the blame deserves to be placed. The vast majority of people who are in the files—and I know them all, I’ve seen all the names—the vast, vast majority of them have already been disclosed. They’re in articles all over the world. They’re in books that have been written. So if we got everything—everything—you would be shocked how few names are there that haven’t already been disclosed. The media hasn’t, by the way, done a good enough job in finding the people who have been disclosed in the public record. So that’s that list. Then there’s the videotapes. People say there must be tapes. I know the whole story there. There is a videotape—maybe several videotapes. They came under the following circumstances: before any of this happened, Epstein was robbed by one of his employees of money and of a licensed gun. And he called the Palm Beach Police, and they installed video cameras—not in the bedrooms, but in the living room. And those video cameras recorded some people. But there’s no sexual allegations there. So there’s nothing to that. And then there’s Tucker Carlson’s absurd allegations about the Mossad. I know this from very, very personal experience. Why? I was representing Jeffrey Epstein. I asked him about everything, including whether he had any contacts with intelligence agencies. If he had, he would have been dying to tell me that, because I could have used that to go get him a better deal. If he had worked with the Mossad, or say, the CIA, it would have been golden for me. But of course, he said no. And then I checked it with my sources in Israel. Let me be clear: I once represented the Mossad. When five Israeli Mossad agents were captured in Cyprus, the head of the Mossad asked me to represent them. I did. I got them out. And the Mossad sent me a congratulatory note. I’m friendly with many of the people who have been heads of the Mossad. I’m not going to tell you who my sources are, but I can tell you with absolute certainty: he had no connections [to them]. The only connection he had to Israel was very late in his life, when he met Ehud Barak and he made business dealings with him. But there was no connection to Mossad. The reason that story generated is because his girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell’s father, probably did have a connection to Mossad—Robert Maxwell. But it had nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein. And as far as the suicide is concerned—of course it was a suicide. But it was a suicide, I believe, assisted—assisted by jailers. It was not a suicide that he could have committed alone. I think the jailers had something to do with his cellmate being dismissed, with the cameras being turned off. So there are things that can be hidden. But there’s no smoking gun here, and there’s no fault on the part of this administration, as far as I can tell. CHRIS CUOMO: Professor, we both know the answer to why Carlson and these other guys are now using Epstein as an article of convenience—because it works for them, the Mossad angle. And it’s a great way to advance and keep relevant the anti-Zionist movement that’s going on right now. I’ve never seen conservatives—you know this Charlie Kirk thing that they just did—it used to be puzzling to me. White evangelicals loved Israel so much, until I understood the whole nature of the Rapture and all the Second Passion and all this stuff. But now you’ve got this wave of conservatism that seems to be matching this wing of liberalism, where they all hate Israel. So Tucker is riding that wave. And this is now an article of convenience for him with Epstein. But what I don’t understand is, why doesn’t Bondi say what you just said? I get why the President doesn’t want to own this, frankly. But why doesn’t she say, “It’s not on me. What I had on my list is this FBI thing that’s redacted, that I thought I could get unredacted, but I can’t. I got to go to court and I have to fight it out with these two judges—and it’s not going to be easy”? Why doesn’t she just say that? ALAN DERSHOWITZ: Well, I think she should say it. There may be reasons why she can’t say it, because there are restrictions on what an Attorney General can say about potentially pending cases. But I think there’s enough that she could say, and I think it’s true, if she said that there are these judges—now, maybe the answer is she should go along with the media and make applications to the judges to unredact—and to make these things public. And maybe your station should do the same thing, and other stations, because I don’t think they should be kept. As you know, from day one, I said everything should be disclosed. I waive all my rights of privacy. I waive all my rights of confidentiality. Anything—please disclose everything. I knew that disclosing everything would, of course, exculpate me. And they have. And so I’d like to see everything come out now. Now, here’s one problem: so you have people who accuse other people. We don’t know how many of those are true, how many of those are false. So if you’re going to disclose the names of people accused, you also have to disclose information about the accusers. And the judges don’t want to do that because they want to protect the victims. So you can’t have it one way
JB
You just keep sidestepping the issue. Trump is slamming his base. He knows what’s in those files and will destroy his backers to make sure it doesn’t come out. Are you dumb or just plain stupid!
ThG
No he is not, that wasn’t his base, numb nuts, fake base. SEt up to look like MAGA. Try again, you are missing the point entirely. As usual, typical brain dead lib tard.
Emmanuel
ThG please dont get angry at me but Dershowitz is full of BS. the “list” is not the issue in fact that may be the only truth told in that article. I can tell you many of the victims have NDAs but are still terrified so to say they are being protected is a stretch. If you want to look it up there ARE at least 3 journalists that have compiled names mentioned in lawsuits, mostly finance CEOs but what they are protecting is the politicians & media types whos names havent come out & of course CONFIRMATION of what country was funding and directing the ring. 80% of people who have looked into it know what country all the clues point to. My feeling is that if that country isnt protected it will (eventually) fall and lead to a Dr. Strangelove scenario, so it could be a case of avoiding nuclear winter.
ThG
Not angry at you, I only get pissed off at people that don’t attack me first with bull shit and insults. Like DOC did, among others here , since day 1.
AD was Epstein’s lawyer, what he says makes perfect sense from his prespective. He probably doesn’t know about these other journalists you mentioned. . You are basically saying the same thing AD said in regard to victims identity being protected. If the media is protecting people, not the victims, then the media is at fault, not Trump or MAGA or the GOP.
Right now the media is trying to drive a wedge into GOP. That is all they do, they are a bunch of pathetic liars. AD said none of the people are in politics now, or in office. Some have died. I believe at least one of them is Bill Clinton. He is known to have gone to the island multiple times. Trump called the WSJ today to try to get them not to run a story about Epstein. We shall see how that goes.
Meanwhile the DEMS are calling for release of all the information. Hypocritical of them since they sat on it for four years. Had plenty of time to scrub the files, and yet, Sen. Durbin said NO , do not release anything. Now some DEMS say release it. What a bunch of hypocrites !
If names are released and another country is involved, I think the kick back will be so bad that country will have it’s own issues and it won’t be nuclear war. AD said no one was in power any more. So it’s unlikely that is the case. Maybe AD only has half the story, I don’t know. I just posted what he said. Even if these journalists compiled names, again, as AD said they may be innocent by standers. Remember AD , along with a number of celebrities, went to the island. ARe they all guilty? IN America you are innocent until proven guilty. Only the victims can answer that question and it appears that most of them don’t want to go there. They want to move on. And don’t you think they would have pointed fingers by now ? Why have they been silent? Have they been paid off for their silence?
Trump never campaigned on releasing the Epstein files. He made a few comments on them. But that was never one of his campaign promises. Some of these fake “maga” people are supposedly all lathered up, trying to cause a problem. They are not America First people or MAGA, they are trouble makers. The Administration will probable release something. Dan Bongino is still working on some stuff. We’ll see what happens. It appears most the stuff is about the redacted victims names and their accusations, and releasing some of this may have legal consequences and only the judges that put this information on redacted status can release information. Not Trump, not Bondi, not FBI. So their hands are tied. A lot of these fake MAGA people don’t realize that. That is what calls them out as fake, most MAGA are intelligent people and know the score. They have been revealed as fakes. They say they want revenge for the victims, and they think that all the perbs are liberals and they want revenge to put those people in jail. That would require input from the victims, who likely don’t want their names out there, so these revenge seekers are very selfish from their point of view. Don’t buy the hype about MAGA fall out. That is media pushing this lie. .
JB
If not his base then WHY is he begging them to stop complaining about Epstien you rabbit hole fuck. Your bullshit can’t hide the truth and everyone sees it.
ThG
I explained it in post above. IT being why he thinks this is a side show distraction.
He’s complaining about it since the media. and DEMS, are trying to drive a wedge in GOP. That is pretty obvious. Even you bought that spin , hook, line and sinker. Trump never made an official campaign promise to release the Epstein files or even look into it with any fervor. He talked around it several times. The media kept playing the “there is a list” lie. Some folks picked it up and ran with it. As stated above, it is likely another lie.
“What Trump has said about Jeffrey Epstein over the years, including on 2024 campaign trail
The Justice Department and FBI said in a brief memo that a review found no Epstein “client list” and confirmed the disgraced financier died by suicide in prison while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.
The president has tried to shift focus away from the case, urging Attorney General Pam Bondi to release “whatever she thinks is credible” before going on to claim without evidence the entire thing was what he calls a “Democratic hoax.”
Some Republicans have fueled the Epstein intrigue and conspiracies surrounding the case for years, with Trump himself weighing in several times.
Here’s what Trump has said about Epstein during his first term, on the campaign trail and now as pressure builds on him to release the Epstein files.
2019: Trump distances himself from Epstein: ‘Not a fan’
After Epstein was arrested and charged with sex trafficking of minors in July 2019, Trump was asked about his 2002 comments in which he called Epstein “terrific” in a New York Magazine story.
In response, Trump repeatedly said he wasn’t a “fan” of Epstein.
“Well, I knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “I mean, people in Palm Beach knew him. He was a fixture in Palm Beach. I had a falling out with him a long time ago. I don’t think I’ve spoken to him for 15 years. I wasn’t a fan. I was not, yeah, a long time ago, I’d say maybe 15 years. I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you. I was not a fan of his.”
In August 2019, after Epstein’s death, Trump retweeted a post that alleged Bill Clinton was connected to Epstein’s death.
When asked about his retweet in an interview, Trump said “what we’re saying is we want an investigation. I want a full investigation, and that’s what I absolutely am demanding. That’s what our attorney general — our great attorney general — is doing.” The attorney general at the time was Bill Barr.
Pressed further on if he really believed the Clintons were involved, Trump didn’t shut it down.
“I have no idea,” he said, but encouraged further questions. “So you have to ask: Did Bill Clinton go to the island? That’s the question. If you find that out, you’re going to know a lot,” Trump said at the time.
Clinton has denied any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and has denied ever visiting Epstein’s private island.
2020: Trump suggested Epstein may have been killed
In August 2020, during the thick of his reelection campaign, Trump suggested Epstein may have been killed while in federal custody.
The comments went against the findings of then-Attorney General Barr and the New York City medical examiner who ruled the death a suicide.
During an interview with Axios reporter Jonathan Swan, Trump was asked about Ghislaine Maxwell, an associate of Epstein who at the time of the interview had just been arrested. She is currently serving a 20-year sentence for conspiring with and aiding Epstein in his sexual abuse of underage girls.
“Her boyfriend died in jail. And people are still trying to figure out how did it happen,” Trump said. “Was it suicide? Was he killed? And I do wish her well. I’m not looking for anything bad for her.”
In August 2023, in an interview with Tucker Carlson, Trump was pressed further on if he believed Epstein committed suicide or not.
“Do you think it’s possible that Epstein was killed?” Carlson asked.
“Oh, sure, it’s possible. I mean, I don’t really believe — I think he probably committed suicide,” Trump said.
2024: Trump asked about Epstein on the campaign trail
In June 2024, Trump was asked if he would release various files — including the John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. assassination files and the Epstein files — during an interview with Fox News.
“Would you declassify the Epstein files?” Fox News’ Rachel Campos-Duffy asked. Trump responded, “Yeah, yeah, I would.”
That clip was circulated widely online, including by the Trump War Room — the social media account of Trump’s campaign operation. The account posted it to X with the caption: “President Trump says he will DECLASSIFY the 9/11 Files, JFK Files, and Epstein Files.”
But Trump’s full answer to the question wasn’t shown until it played on Will Cain’s radio show.
Trump went on to say in the exchange with Campos-Duffy: “I don’t know about Epstein so much as I do the others. Certainly about the way he died. It’d be interesting to find out what happened there, because that was a weird situation and the cameras didn’t happen to be working, etc., etc. But yeah, I’d go a long way toward that one.”
In this Sept. 8, 2004, file photo, Jeffrey Epstein is shown in Cambridge, Mass.
Rick Friedman/Corbis via Getty Images, FILE
In September 2024, Trump made a more firm pledge to release Epstein files during a podcast with Lex Fridman.
Fridman, in conversation with Trump, said “it’s just very strange for a lot of people that the list of clients that went to the island has not been made public.”
“It’s very interesting, isn’t it? It probably will be, by the way, probably,” Trump said.
“If you’re able to, you’ll be –” Fridman started before Trump jumped in.
“Yeah, I’d certainly take a look at it. Now, Kennedy’s interesting because it’s so many years ago,” Trump said. “They do that for danger too, because it endangers certain people, et cetera, et cetera, so Kennedy is very different from the Epstein thing but I’d be inclined to do the Epstein. I’d have no problem with it.”
2025: Trump tries to dismiss Epstein files after DOJ, FBI memo prompts GOP backlash
For the first several months of his administration, talk of the Epstein files was mostly left to Trump officials, including Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino. In April, Trump said he was unaware of when the files would be released.
Then, after the DOJ and FBI released their memo on July 7, Trump reacted to outrage from his MAGA base.
Trump tried to shut down a question about Epstein during a Cabinet meeting the next day, July 8, right after the deadly flash flooding of the Guadalupe River.
“Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein?” Trump shot back to a reporter. “This guy’s been talked about for years. You’re asking. We have Texas, we have this. We have all of the things. And are people still talking about this guy, this creep? That is unbelievable.”
Trump then turned to defend Bondi in a lengthy social media post on July 12, in which he said his administration and his supporters should prioritize their focus elsewhere.
“We have a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and ‘selfish people’ are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein,” Trump wrote in the post.
President Donald Trump speaks to the media after arriving at Joint Base Andrews, July 15, 2025, in Joint Base Andrews, Md.
Evan Vucci/AP
The story, though, didn’t die down and Trump only appeared to grow more angered by the pushback from his supporters.
On July 15, Trump appeared to put the onus on Bondi for what comes next, saying she should release “whatever she thinks is credible” on Epstein. Later that day, Trump said he didn’t understand the interest in Epstein.
“It’s pretty boring stuff. It’s sordid, but it’s boring, and I don’t understand why it keeps going,” Trump said. He added, “I think really only pretty bad people, including fake news, want to keep something like that going.”
The next day, on July 16, Trump took to social media baselessly blaming Democrats for the files and those who he called “past supporters” of his for the fixation on Epstein.
“Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this “b——,” hook, line, and sinker,” Trump wrote on his own conservative social media platform.
“Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, don’t even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don’t want their support anymore!” Trump added.
Trump doubled down on that claim in the Oval Office, calling it a Democratic “hoax.” When asked by ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce if the attorney general told him it was a hoax or what evidence he’d seen of that, Trump replied:
“The attorney general, no. I know it’s a hoax. It’s started by Democrats,” Trump insisted. He added “some stupid” and “foolish” Republicans had fallen for it.
JB
Nice to see Docs still lives inside your head after all this time. He owns you nitwit! Ha ha
Emmanuel
Clearly a memo went out to drop the subject, a BIG podcaster talked about it for 2 mins then said “this is so boring”, u-huh……..
The best thing about all this is the bought off media people are outing themselves.
TS
“Me thinks he doth protest too much”. Trump created this mess, then tried to bury it but it was already out of the bag. I’m guessing he was going to ” fix it”, after he exposed it, but it has backfired HUGELY
. When the dirty dogs play dirty games, the mud WILL fly..it’s that simple..Trump was BFFs with Epstein
for YEARS. Of course, Trump claims to ” know nothing”, as he usually says when challenged about anything suspect
.
. Of course, he denies the relationship now, even though hundreds of pix with the BFFs exist.
. He brought this on himself, and now struggles to make it all disappear. TOO LATE. Trump is, and always was, a Sexual Predator. The “GROPE GUY”
Why is it such a stretch for Magas that Trump was screwing with underage girls on his BFFs pleasure jet??? Fyi: this is EXACTLY what a PERV like Trump does!!
This Epstein debacle is going to bite Trump HARD. He tripped up, and now the Epstein story WILL be told.
Wait for it….
Emmanuel
JB dont bother, T has people that whether for good or bad will always be loyal to him, its undertandable, weve seen an American Napoleon story including a return from Elba coda!
Ill wait til 26/28, my preference will be:
1. A legit new 3rd party
2. Anyone who is likely to break the system even if its an AOC and ive been voting (R) since ‘86. I want chaos.
Im amused at the VP trying to fly under the radar, he has a less than 10% chance at the oval office, I guess hell run with a “culture war” platform, not sure people will fall for it because in the end how many people are affected by it?
Pistol Pete
OT:
As far as plausibility/credibility is concerned it’s up to the observer to decide. My own opinion is Donald Trump would rather his once close association with Jeffrey Epstein just go away never to be heard of again. That will probably never happen.
https://youtu.be/rcrG9kHCEsE
Emmanuel
Immediately signing Eichel will lock in the team on an (at least) 7 year path. It would be prudent to hold off for a few months & see if even bigger/younger fish might be available.
Larry
And when we sign #97 we will have 4 out of 5!
Emmanuel
Yessssss…….
Thats why I say hold off on Eichel.
Over $20 million cap space available next year as of now.
If we get McD many vets will sign up in the 1-2 million range to fill out the roster.
ThG
wait a minute, you pulling a PP there “if we get McD”
where did that come from ???
Larry
ThG, actually don’t blame Emmanuel, he was responding to my post which was supposed to be a tongue in cheek comment about having 4 of the top 5 picks in 2015, unfortunately the 3 eye roll emojis at the end did not show up in my post.
Emmanuel
Top 25ish picks in that draft were BOSS!