2025 Draft Profile:
C/LW Michael Misa, Saginaw OHL
Technically, it's impossible to ask much more from a player who is actually great at every aspect of the game, and that's exactly what you're getting with Michael Misa. He's a very good skating kid with ideal size at 6'1-185 who excels virtually every shift, whether at center or wing, whether 5x5, on the PP or PK. He simply does it all, he's torn apart the OHL for an eye popping 59-67-126 stat line in just 62 games, and although his ultimate upside might be a tick below Matt Schaefer and James Hagens, you really can't go wrong drafting Misa anywhere in the top 3 of the 2025 draft.
Misa is easy to write up because he checks every box in the book at somewhere between "very good" and "exceptional". When he first entered the OHL I was a bit concerned about his then-average skating, but he's worked hard on it and it's now not just a strength, but a visible plus attribute. His straight line speed is good-not-great, but his stops and starts and edges and explosiveness have all become borderline high-end factors in his game.
Like most picks regarded so highly, it's tough to speak of his intangibles in anything other than complete superlatives. This is a kid who lives and breathes and bleeds hockey, who gives his all every shift whether his team is leading or losing by four goals. He works his tail off in all three ends. Misa's IQ is as high as any forward in the draft. He's always in the right place, especially in the offensive zone. He anticipates plays several steps ahead of the players trying to defend him, and he sees the ice like a chess grandmaster.
Misa's combination of elite puck handling, elite passing, elite offensive IQ and near-elite shooting make him a multi-faceted threat who is almost resistant to defensive adjustments. He likes to try new things and he's good at everything. Play him to pass and he'll rocket a puck into a corner, play him to shoot and he'll lace a seeing-eye sauce, double team him and he'll stickhandle through two guys to find space. He's going to pile up points at any level.
Misa is not a shut-down defensive forward at this level, but it's safe to say he's very good in his own zone. His competitiveness and smarts give him potential here. I'd say my only question about the kid is if he's a center or LW at the NHL level. Though he's a very good center, when he simplifies his game to the wing it really frees him up to dominate, and as such the Wolves' coaching staff has probably played him more on the flank than up the middle.
Ultimately, my conclusion on where to draft Michael Misa depends on where you think he'll play in the NHL. If you think he's a wing, that's fine -- he's quite clearly the best winger in the draft, and you probably take him 3rd after Schaefer and Hagens, who play more vital positions at LD and C. But if you think he's a center? I'm not sure there's a spot in the 2025 draft which is really "too early", because you're looking at an all-around PP+ NHL first liner who oozes heart and smarts.
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