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.

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[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