Prospect Info: 2024-25 Devils Draft Thread

[StevenToddIves]

I wanted to start this thread for easy prospect reference even though the draft is like a million years away. I need a quick place to find out whomever resident geniuses @Guadana and @evnted have been checking out on the ice.

Click to read more...

 

[Brodeur]

I have an early May 2025 trip earmarked for Dallas for the medal games of the U18s. Although it's a bummer that half of the top 10 seems to be late '06 birthdays who won't be eligible for the tournament.

Some early rankings:

James Hagens in pole position for top spot at 2025 NHL Draft | TSN

The Boston College freshman centre is the near-unanimous choice for No. 1 on Bob McKenzie's annual Pre-Season Ranking for the 2025 draft.

www.tsn.ca

Craig’s List: James Hagens the early favourite for No. 1 in 2025 NHL Draft | TSN

James Hagens could be the first American to go first overall in the NHL draft since the New Jersey Devils selected Jack Hughes with the top pick in 2019.

www.tsn.ca

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5691406/2024/08/12/nhl-draft-2025-ranking-preseason-hagens/

An early ranking of top 10 prospects for 2025 NHL Draft

The recently concluded Hlinka Gretzky Cup marked the beginning of a new scouting season. With that, Jason Bukala starts with his first top 10 ranking for the 2025 NHL Draft class.

www.sportsnet.ca

 

[evnted]

ideally no one wants to pay attention to this thread until june, but rest assured ill be working away in the background. some preliminary thoughts:

• feels like a major junior rebound year. OHL has high end talent again (martone, misa, schaefer, etc.). QMJHL isnt a total dumpster fire for once (carbonneau, desnoyers, guite, zonnon, etc.). WHL isnt as strong as previous years but still looks good (cootes, hamilton, mcqueen, reschny, smith, etc.)
• slow starts out of europe. frondell cant stay healthy, ryabkin hasnt been great in the mhl, and ihs-wozniak stock is in freefall. all wouldve been seen as high picks coming out of last year. frondell should be fine, rybakin i hope will be, but something to monitor
• uphill battle for the NTDP. hagens/hensler both in college so the program is missing top talent. i like mckinney, but hes in the beaudoin mold (and smaller). moore has size/skill but suffers from some major engagement issues. we'll see who ends up standing out, maybe one of the D
• barring some sharp development spikes over the course of the season, this looks like as bad of a finnish crop as we'll see, straight up no name, bottom 6 grinders at best
• should be a good year for goalies, lots of early names with traction: andreyanov, frolov, harenstam, ivankovic, ravensbergen, and so on
• more high profile tiny players than normal. benak, ekberg, mooney, nordlund, schmidt (my favorite of the bunch) all have a lot of skill and buzz around them. lots to work through to determine who (if any) are a 1st rounder
• dont be caught off guard when a big, toolsy D from overseas goes early. limatov, mrtka, vilchinsky, etc. all have that potential

looks like a good year for top 5-10 teams who want to pick a center. a bit mixed after. i like some names more than others, but i dont know if theres a defined 2nd tier yet. im sure a bunch of checking line RWs will pique fitz's interest though

 

[Guadana]

I wanted to start this thread for easy prospect reference even though the draft is like a million years away. I need a quick place to find out whomever resident geniuses @Guadana and @evnted have been checking out on the ice.

It’s a great draft. And there will be a lot of good centers. We don’t have first round pick but we have three second round picks. One can goes away for Allen but Allen should play 40 games this season. May be one or even two picks will be traded on the deadline.
But if they will not be traded, Fitz will have opportunity to use it in the trade for the first round pick. We have a lot of defensemen on NHL deals and it looks like Casey is more NHL ready. So may be Devils will use defenseman in the trade for picks or will save pick and will trade defenseman for forward.

I didn’t dive into the draft, I know and watched some games of top guys and I most likely will watch minority of drafting games in the next few months.

But what can I say? Hope we will target centers. At least in this time. At least in this time we will target center even with lower floor but with higher ceiling. Or centers who can play fast defensive game.

 

[StevenToddIves]

ideally no one wants to pay attention to this thread until june, but rest assured ill be working away in the background. some preliminary thoughts:

• feels like a major junior rebound year. OHL has high end talent again (martone, misa, schaefer, etc.). QMJHL isnt a total dumpster fire for once (carbonneau, desnoyers, guite, zonnon, etc.). WHL isnt as strong as previous years but still looks good (cootes, hamilton, mcqueen, reschny, smith, etc.)
• slow starts out of europe. frondell cant stay healthy, ryabkin hasnt been great in the mhl, and ihs-wozniak stock is in freefall. all wouldve been seen as high picks coming out of last year. frondell should be fine, rybakin i hope will be, but something to monitor
• uphill battle for the NTDP. hagens/hensler both in college so the program is missing top talent. i like mckinney, but hes in the beaudoin mold (and smaller). moore has size/skill but suffers from some major engagement issues. we'll see who ends up standing out, maybe one of the D
• barring some sharp development spikes over the course of the season, this looks like as bad of a finnish crop as we'll see, straight up no name, bottom 6 grinders at best
• should be a good year for goalies, lots of early names with traction: andreyanov, frolov, harenstam, ivankovic, ravensbergen, and so on
• more high profile tiny players than normal. benak, ekberg, mooney, nordlund, schmidt (my favorite of the bunch) all have a lot of skill and buzz around them. lots to work through to determine who (if any) are a 1st rounder
• dont be caught off guard when a big, toolsy D from overseas goes early. limatov, mrtka, vilchinsky, etc. all have that potential

looks like a good year for top 5-10 teams who want to pick a center. a bit mixed after. i like some names more than others, but i dont know if theres a defined 2nd tier yet. im sure a bunch of checking line RWs will pique fitz's interest though

Have you seen how dominant Kevin He has been thus far this year? Looks like I might hav to start tooting my own horn again soon haha.

 

[evnted]

Have you seen how dominant Kevin He has been thus far this year? Looks like I might hav to start tooting my own horn again soon haha.

absolutely. just had that huge statement game over martone, 3-3-6. looks to be a great call there. who wouldve thought putting him around 50 could mean i was low on him know i remember you liking walton, too, hes had a strong start. my boy luchanko seemingly making philly's opening night roster trying to make me proud as well

 

[Brodeur]

I owe you guys an adult beverage at some point, I took Luchanko and He in my keeper league draft (a week before the real one).

 

[Guttersniped]

It’s a great draft. And there will be a lot of good centers. We don’t have first round pick but we have three second round picks. One can goes away for Allen but Allen should play 40 games this season. May be one or even two picks will be traded on the deadline.
But if they will not be traded, Fitz will have opportunity to use it in the trade for the first round pick. We have a lot of defensemen on NHL deals and it looks like Casey is more NHL ready. So may be Devils will use defenseman in the trade for picks or will save pick and will trade defenseman for forward.

I didn’t dive into the draft, I know and watched some games of top guys and I most likely will watch minority of drafting games in the next few months.

But what can I say? Hope we will target centers. At least in this time. At least in this time we will target center even with lower floor but with higher ceiling. Or centers who can play fast defensive game.

 

[Guadana]

View attachment 913256

Yeah, there are never too many right wingers for the bottom.

 

[Guttersniped]

Yeah, there are never too many right wingers for the bottom.

…of the Utica Comets.

 

[Cheddabombs]

 

[StevenToddIves]

Hate To Say I Told Ya So, Part II:

Michael Hage looks like the most dangerous forward for Michigan.

https://x.com/i/web/status/1842692776388886967

 

[My3Sons]

Hate To Say I Told Ya So, Part II:

Michael Hage looks like the most dangerous forward for Michigan.

https://x.com/i/web/status/1842692776388886967

Meh. Let me know when he’d go ahead of Lane Hutson in a redraft.

 

[Guadana]

Hate To Say I Told Ya So, Part II:

Michael Hage looks like the most dangerous forward for Michigan.

https://x.com/i/web/status/1842692776388886967

We have no chance to draft him.
It was Helenius or "damn, Silayev is still available".

 

[StevenToddIves]

We have no chance to draft him.
It was Helenius or "damn, Silayev is still available".

I'm not saying for the Devils, necessarily. I think Silayev or Dickinson were the correct pick for NJ, and have said so at length.

My point with Hage is that he should have been universally in the top 10 conversation due to his upside as a forward, which is -- and I'll stick to this -- on par with Catton and higher than Sennecke.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Meh. Let me know when he’d go ahead of Lane Hutson in a redraft.

I like Lane Hutson, always have. But the hype is a bit over the top for a kid who is not even in the running for a top 10-15 D prospect in the NHL. I think he'll be a terrific weapon on the PP and could develop into an even better Gostisbehere-type.

But if I were ranking the Montreal prospects, I would have Hage over Hutson, to be honest. I'd probably slot Hage third after (obviously) Demidov and Reinbacher.

 

[Brodeur]

I'd be curious if certain teams were concerned about Hage being a flight risk or just generally worried he'd stay for 3+ years? His younger brother Alex already committed to Michigan and I think Michael would be a junior when Alex is a freshman (in Fall 2026?). I wouldn't be shocked if Michael wanted at least a season together, kinda like the Buium brothers at DU. Some Red Wings fans were paranoid that Shai was going to spurn them, but he signed after his junior year.

Michigan plays at Arizona State this weekend and I had some desire to go, but I ended up booking a trip to Seattle instead. Probably for the best since they managed to have it on the same night as a home football game, so the Friday hockey game is at 3:30pm local time.

 

[Guadana]

I think both Hage and Buium could be drafted as later as they were because of the modern NCAA factor. Both were better than they were drafted but with modern cases some gms might have to think twice before using their pick for NCAA player.
Im not a full skeptic of Drysdale but it looks like a waste of pick for Gauthier for Flyers now. And flyers are not a team with complete package of defensemen to not draft Buium over Luchanko. And trading back in this situation.
So we should look at this situation and not forget about it. Are Buium, Hage, Michkov and Demidov better or absolutely better players than where they were drafted? Absolutely. But for different reasons (waiting for too long in case of three years deal of Michkov(or stupidity of habs management), potential desire to pick their own destiny in case of Buium and Hage, politicism of ducks management in case of Demidov) GMs can afraid just to not draft players even if they like them.

 

[Goptor]

I think both Hage and Buium could be drafted as later as they were because of the modern NCAA factor. Both were better than they were drafted but with modern cases some gms might have to think twice before using their pick for NCAA player.
Im not a full skeptic of Drysdale but it looks like a waste of pick for Gauthier for Flyers now. And flyers are not a team with complete package of defensemen to not draft Buium over Luchanko. And trading back in this situation.
So we should look at this situation and not forget about it. Are Buium, Hage, Michkov and Demidov better or absolutely better players than where they were drafted? Absolutely. But for different reasons (waiting for too long in case of three years deal of Michkov(or stupidity of habs management), potential desire to pick their own destiny in case of Buium and Hage, politicism of ducks management in case of Demidov) GMs can afraid just to not draft players even if they like them.

I think you're looking too much into why Buium dropped. Pretty sure it was only because he was LHD. Every single LHD in the draft dropped. Its not a premium position.

 

[evnted]

I think both Hage and Buium could be drafted as later as they were because of the modern NCAA factor. Both were better than they were drafted but with modern cases some gms might have to think twice before using their pick for NCAA player.
Im not a full skeptic of Drysdale but it looks like a waste of pick for Gauthier for Flyers now. And flyers are not a team with complete package of defensemen to not draft Buium over Luchanko. And trading back in this situation.
So we should look at this situation and not forget about it. Are Buium, Hage, Michkov and Demidov better or absolutely better players than where they were drafted? Absolutely. But for different reasons (waiting for too long in case of three years deal of Michkov(or stupidity of habs management), potential desire to pick their own destiny in case of Buium and Hage, politicism of ducks management in case of Demidov) GMs can afraid just to not draft players even if they like them.

ncaa side of it could definitely be a thing (particularly as of late)

with buium, i think the fall was more understandable even if i disagreed with it. RD was at a premium last year, and while philly was the only team on record to admit to it, im sure a number of orgs overthought the size/speed/redundancy thing. but in all honesty, SEA and CGY are really the only two picks where i kinda pause. kraken couldve used a high profile defensive prospect, and while i know the flames were chasing pure ceiling as much as possible, im not sure the tradeoff on overall projection justifies the pick yet. that one feels like they got spooked by the college route

when it comes to hage, we're all fans here, but i think i might be a little more...forgiving of some of the criticisms of his game. even if we totally throw out the first half of his season (which isn't entirely unfair imo) there's still some engagement issues, theres still questionable decision making, theres still a lot of inefficiency to his attack, etc. of course, none of that is to say he didnt still go lower than expected, there were plenty of kids who went before him who i would have taken hage over no questions asked, i just think i wouldve had (and still would have) cold feet considering him around our pick. but upside comparable to catton/sennecke? absolutely

 

[Guadana]

I think you're looking too much into why Buium dropped. Pretty sure it was only because he was LHD. Every single LHD in the draft dropped. Its not a premium position.

Not in the case of potentially your future first QB.

ncaa side of it could definitely be a thing (particularly as of late)

with buium, i think the fall was more understandable even if i disagreed with it. RD was at a premium last year, and while philly was the only team on record to admit to it, im sure a number of orgs overthought the size/speed/redundancy thing. but in all honesty, SEA and CGY are really the only two picks where i kinda pause. kraken couldve used a high profile defensive prospect, and while i know the flames were chasing pure ceiling as much as possible, im not sure the tradeoff on overall projection justifies the pick yet. that one feels like they got spooked by the college route

when it comes to hage, we're all fans here, but i think i might be a little more...forgiving of some of the criticisms of his game. even if we totally throw out the first half of his season (which isn't entirely unfair imo) there's still some engagement issues, theres still questionable decision making, theres still a lot of inefficiency to his attack, etc. of course, none of that is to say he didnt still go lower than expected, there were plenty of kids who went before him who i would have taken hage over no questions asked, i just think i wouldve had (and still would have) cold feet considering him around our pick. but upside comparable to catton/sennecke? absolutely

Again. not in case of Buium. He has true potential of the future first QB. And Flyers don't have real respectable prospect for this role.

RD is overhyped thing. It works and it is not in the same time. Bolts were the best team in the league with Schenn, Cernak and Rutta because they had Hedman, McDonagh and Sergachyov on the left side.

Is it okay to draft RD ahead of Buium if he has near similar potential? May be, harder to find. Drafting players with lesser potential? It is bad drafting decision. 8-10th overall instead of 5-7? May be. 10-14? There were a reason. And its definitely NCAA stuff. Especially for teams like Calgary or Flyers.

___

In Hage case - again, if you don't like "this and that" we can ask some other prospects who was drafted before about it. Still - premium position. More premium than RD, there are no balance between "low profile but steady and smart RD for cheap, high profile LD but cheaper because LD". If center is bad there are only few wingers who can compensate it. Hage still was dynamic center who is playing center. With real upside. Im not telling about top-10, but 11-19 pick? I don't need to remind names who has smaller upside or even more questions about the same.

But that's a busy of the draft. Some gm is wrong, some gm is very smart, some gm just stupid, some player will develop, some will not.

Btw that was a great draft. I was really surprised(not in the first time) when I started to normally track more players because many writers repeated that draft was weak. It was not.

 

[evnted]

Again. not in case of Buium. He has true potential of the future first QB. And Flyers don't have real respectable prospect for this role.

RD is overhyped thing. It works and it is not in the same time. Bolts were the best team in the league with Schenn, Cernak and Rutta because they had Hedman, McDonagh and Sergachyov on the left side.

Is it okay to draft RD ahead of Buium if he has near similar potential? May be, harder to find. Drafting players with lesser potential? It is bad drafting decision. 8-10th overall instead of 5-7? May be. 10-14? There were a reason. And its definitely NCAA stuff. Especially for teams like Calgary or Flyers.

o im not saying i agree w it by any means, but those were definitely reasons gm's had. wasnt by coincidence the 3 big RD all went before the 3 big LD (and i take those LD's all day every day). hell, briere came out and cited emil andrae (!!!) as a reason for not picking buium. if thats what these people are saying publicly, i can only imagine whats going on behind the scenes lol

 

[Goptor]

Not in the case of potentially your future first QB.

I assume you mean the 1st PP unit defender and not QB? The pp qb role has been taken over by forwards nowadays. Jack Hughes plays that role for us.

Its another role that has a large surplus of competent players so its less of a premium position. Shayne Ghostisbehere has been floating around a bunch of teams last few years. Tyson Barrie was a cheap, desperation pickup off a PTO. The Devils have Hamilton, Hughes, and Casey with enough skill to play the top unit and Nemec is good enough to play a 2nd unit.

Bolts were the best team in the league with Schenn, Cernak and Rutta because they had Hedman, McDonagh and Sergachyov on the left side.

This kinda proves my point. There are enough excellent LHD around the league that teams can get 3 first-pair talents on the same team.

 

[StevenToddIves]

o im not saying i agree w it by any means, but those were definitely reasons gm's had. wasnt by coincidence the 3 big RD all went before the 3 big LD (and i take those LD's all day every day). hell, briere came out and cited emil andrae (!!!) as a reason for not picking buium. if thats what these people are saying publicly, i can only imagine whats going on behind the scenes lol

Emil Andrade should be a good third-pairing guy... so they didn't draft a potential top-pairing perennial all-star candidate like Buium?

I'm fine with the Flyers falling in love with a high-character, high-IQ all-purpose-type forward like Luchanko. But that's a pretty horrible spin by Briere, because it forces the unnecessary comparison with Buium, who was probably the highest-upside D in the entire draft. Why not simply say "we really wanted Luchanko, regardless of who else was available"?

 

[StevenToddIves]

Last night I watched a few periods of Farjestad to check up on LD Stian Solberg, who was a favorite of pretty much everyone (@Guadana @evnted @Guttersniped and myself) who posts about the draft-eligible players.

I think he looks outstanding. He's probably already in the handful of most effectively physical defensemen in Sweden, he defends terrifically and his skating looks great. He's been a bit reluctant to open up the offensive side of his game, but he certainly is willing to join a rush. I feel the offense will come in time.

Ultimately, I feel due credit needs to be given to the aforementioned people who write about the draft on the Devils HFBoards. This was pretty much the first place where not one but multiple people were ranking Solberg as a top 20 (or even top 15) pick. While the lion's share of the draft consensus was talking about him as a 2nd round pick, we were highlighting him as a prospect to watch in the mid-1st. The kid is going to be very, very good when he hits the NHL in a couple years.