Prospect Info: 2024-25 Devils Draft Thread

[evnted]

It's early and I haven't had a ton of time to watch hockey myself, but I think Michael Hage and Kevin He are the two biggest risers at F in a 2024 re-draft, so far.

Looks like @evnted is going to have to do all the heavy lifting here for the 2025 draft.

for sure, ill do some primers and another top 100 closer to the end of the season. still looking like a rather underwhelming class outside of a couple great names at the top, but thats not to say there wont be intriguing options for us. some wingers with good pace/snarl, some centers with smarts and high energy games. centers, tom, please

i think, to some degree, the european crop might be getting a little underrated now due to all the talk of it being a bad year for them. dont get me wrong, so much of this years top talent is coming from NA, but players like nilson, pobezal, eriksen, genborg, and so on are all quite interesting and dont seem to have as much traction as they should

great picks with hage and he, id also add artamonov and walton as two other names that pretty immediately outperformed their draft slots. im sure im biased for saying traff as well since its not to the same degree, but i do think he belongs in the discussion of early d+1 risers

 

[Brodeur]

Tempted to do a weekend field trip to Seattle to catch Medicine Hat for Gavin McKenna. Seattle has a couple potential 1st rounders (Radim Mrtka and Braedon Cootes).

On a draft related note, Cam Robinson confirmed the earlier rumor that it'll be held at the theater across the street from the former Staples Center. I'm spending too much energy explaining to people that a decentralized draft doesn't mean it'll be the same TV presentation as the 2020/21 Drafts. Too many people are quick to blame Bettman for the change and aren't aware that the teams voted to stay home.

 

[evnted]

at long last, official confirmation on the ryabkin move. contract terminated with dynamo moscow, he will be in the ushl now. goes without saying his draft year has been a mess, but i hope this move stabilizes him. still a very intriguing (and talented) player. had a few mhl viewings recently that really werent that bad, i think he has the opportunity to flip the script quickly

«РÑбкин ÑÐµÐ·Ð¶Ð°ÐµÑ Ð² ÐмеÑикÑ, но он Ð¼Ð¾Ð¶ÐµÑ Ð²ÐµÑнÑÑÑÑÑ Ð² «Ðинамо» в ÑледÑÑÑем Ñезоне» â ÑпоÑÑивнÑй диÑекÑÐ¾Ñ ÐºÐ»Ñба

СпоÑÑивнÑй диÑекÑÐ¾Ñ Ð¼Ð¾ÑковÑкого «Ðинамо» ÐлекÑей Сопин Ñказал «ÐаÑÑ Ð¢Ð», ÑÑо конÑÑÐ°ÐºÑ Ñ ÑоÑваÑдом Ðваном Ð ÑбкинÑм ÑаÑÑоÑгнÑÑ Ñ Ð´Ð¾Ð³Ð¾Ð²Ð¾ÑенноÑÑÑÑ Ð¾ Ñом, ÑÑо игÑок Ð¼Ð¾Ð¶ÐµÑ Ð²ÐµÑнÑÑÑÑÑ Ð² ÑÑолиÑнÑй...

matchtv.ru

 

[Brodeur]

North American confirmation of the Ryabkin move. Ryabkin was #5 on Bob McKenzie's pre-season survey but his stock had been falling.

 

[Saugus]

Looks like it’s confirmed that they’re doing the 2025 draft decentralized:

Source: NHL draft set for L.A., to have new format

The 2025 NHL draft, which is moving to a decentralized format, will be held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles in June, a source confirmed to ESPN.

www.espn.com

I wonder how this affects teams’ draft strategies and the frequency of trades? Do teams trade less because there’s less chance of GMs bumping into each other? Are they less able to read who other teams might select?

 

[StevenToddIves]

Don't have the time to go into too much detail, but after the WJC I'd have to say that Schaefer and Hagens have separated themselves a bit from Martone in the battle for #1 overall.

Martone is an excellent prospect and certainly in the race for #3. I'm just saying he's not quite at the level of Schaefer or Hagens right now. Curious what @Guadana and @evnted and everyone else here thinks about it.

Also, a hearty congrats to Team USA, Team Finland and Team Czechia all. We should also probably stick Latvia in that mix, they had an outstanding tournament led by the extraordinary play of Eriks Mateiko and Linards Feldbergs.

That golden goal was truly special and will be remembered forever in WJC history. That cross-ice saucer pass by Zeev Buium -- whom I thought was clearly the best defender for Team USA -- was simply mind-blowing, and then that clutch move by Teddy Stiga to bury the winning goal gave me chills.

Here's my all-tournament team, and I don't much care what the "but they had this many points" people say.

C: Eriks Mateiko, LAT
W: Ryan Leonard USA
W: Jakub Stancl, CZE
D: Axel Sandin-Pelikka SWE
D: Zeev Buium, USA
G: Petteri Rimpinen, FIN

 

[My3Sons]

Don't have the time to go into too much detail, but after the WJC I'd have to say that Schaefer and Hagens have separated themselves a bit from Martone in the battle for #1 overall.

Martone is an excellent prospect and certainly in the race for #3. I'm just saying he's not quite at the level of Schaefer or Hagens right now. Curious what @Guadana and @evnted and everyone else here thinks about it.

Also, a hearty congrats to Team USA, Team Finland and Team Czechia all. We should also probably stick Latvia in that mix, they had an outstanding tournament led by the extraordinary play of Eriks Mateiko and Linards Feldbergs.

That golden goal was truly special and will be remembered forever in WJC history. That cross-ice saucer pass by Zeev Buium -- whom I thought was clearly the best defender for Team USA -- was simply mind-blowing, and then that clutch move by Teddy Stiga to bury the winning goal gave me chills.

Here's my all-tournament team, and I don't much care what the "but they had this many points" people say.

C: Eriks Mateiko, LAT
W: Ryan Leonard USA
W: Jakub Stancl, CZE
D: Axel Sandin-Pelikka SWE
D: Zeev Buium, USA
G: Petteri Rimpinen, FIN

Augustine was pretty good last night for the USA when it mattered. Of course, so was the Finnish goalie. It was a heck of a game to watch.

 

[evnted]

Don't have the time to go into too much detail, but after the WJC I'd have to say that Schaefer and Hagens have separated themselves a bit from Martone in the battle for #1 overall.

Martone is an excellent prospect and certainly in the race for #3. I'm just saying he's not quite at the level of Schaefer or Hagens right now. Curious what @Guadana and @evnted and everyone else here thinks about it.

Also, a hearty congrats to Team USA, Team Finland and Team Czechia all. We should also probably stick Latvia in that mix, they had an outstanding tournament led by the extraordinary play of Eriks Mateiko and Linards Feldbergs.

That golden goal was truly special and will be remembered forever in WJC history. That cross-ice saucer pass by Zeev Buium -- whom I thought was clearly the best defender for Team USA -- was simply mind-blowing, and then that clutch move by Teddy Stiga to bury the winning goal gave me chills.

Here's my all-tournament team, and I don't much care what the "but they had this many points" people say.

C: Eriks Mateiko, LAT
W: Ryan Leonard USA
W: Jakub Stancl, CZE
D: Axel Sandin-Pelikka SWE
D: Zeev Buium, USA
G: Petteri Rimpinen, FIN

truthfully, ive never really viewed martone as a 1OA contender. i mean no disrespect by it, i still think hes a great, top of the class prospect, but when talking the best available, i think hes just got a couple more warts than id feel comfortable with going that high on, many of which we saw exposed in this tournament (poor pace of play, average skating, letting play come to him, not doing much off puck, questionable decision making, etc.)

now, with that said, i do recognize the rarity of the profile: a big boy with tremendous skill/vision (in particular a playmaking game that i believe i was underrating at the start of the season). i also think its fair to expect some of the complaints to naturally improve over time (experimentation on the puck, intensifying the snarl to his game, etc. although i still reject the notion that hes tkachuk-like lol). and even further, i think some of the quirks can be alleviated simply by virtue of deployment/supporting cast of the team that grabs him (ie putting him next to a speedy center who needs help getting the puck back could go a long way)

so i do still like him, i just think, particularly when factoring in that hes a late 06 winger, hes more in the mix for 3 than he is a lock at 3. i know it still isnt trendy but i continue to bang the frondell drum as another viable option there lol. in any case, i agree schaefer and hagens have helped separate a bit, and id even go so far as to say schaefer alone has separated himself a touch, too. great picks on the all tournament team as well, dont think i can argue any of them

 

[Guadana]

Don't have the time to go into too much detail, but after the WJC I'd have to say that Schaefer and Hagens have separated themselves a bit from Martone in the battle for #1 overall.

Martone is an excellent prospect and certainly in the race for #3. I'm just saying he's not quite at the level of Schaefer or Hagens right now. Curious what @Guadana and @evnted and everyone else here thinks about it.

Also, a hearty congrats to Team USA, Team Finland and Team Czechia all. We should also probably stick Latvia in that mix, they had an outstanding tournament led by the extraordinary play of Eriks Mateiko and Linards Feldbergs.

That golden goal was truly special and will be remembered forever in WJC history. That cross-ice saucer pass by Zeev Buium -- whom I thought was clearly the best defender for Team USA -- was simply mind-blowing, and then that clutch move by Teddy Stiga to bury the winning goal gave me chills.

Here's my all-tournament team, and I don't much care what the "but they had this many points" people say.

C: Eriks Mateiko, LAT
W: Ryan Leonard USA
W: Jakub Stancl, CZE
D: Axel Sandin-Pelikka SWE
D: Zeev Buium, USA
G: Petteri Rimpinen, FIN

I'm still off in this race and barely have time to watch more than 1-2 full Devils games per week. But I saw a couple of wjc games and Schaefer is looking like my number one and Hagens like my number two for now. But still small sample size. Anyway Martone doesnt look like a player who will drive the play of the team/will carry the team or will lead the league in goals by his pure skill and dynamism because he isn't that dynamic.

Its a good year to win the lottery.

 

[StevenToddIves]

truthfully, ive never really viewed martone as a 1OA contender. i mean no disrespect by it, i still think hes a great, top of the class prospect, but when talking the best available, i think hes just got a couple more warts than id feel comfortable with going that high on, many of which we saw exposed in this tournament (poor pace of play, average skating, letting play come to him, not doing much off puck, questionable decision making, etc.)

now, with that said, i do recognize the rarity of the profile: a big boy with tremendous skill/vision (in particular a playmaking game that i believe i was underrating at the start of the season). i also think its fair to expect some of the complaints to naturally improve over time (experimentation on the puck, intensifying the snarl to his game, etc. although i still reject the notion that hes tkachuk-like lol). and even further, i think some of the quirks can be alleviated simply by virtue of deployment/supporting cast of the team that grabs him (ie putting him next to a speedy center who needs help getting the puck back could go a long way)

so i do still like him, i just think, particularly when factoring in that hes a late 06 winger, hes more in the mix for 3 than he is a lock at 3. i know it still isnt trendy but i continue to bang the frondell drum as another viable option there lol. in any case, i agree schaefer and hagens have helped separate a bit, and id even go so far as to say schaefer alone has separated himself a touch, too. great picks on the all tournament team as well, dont think i can argue any of them

Right now I think Schaefer edges Hagens at #1 for me, but it's still close. My #3 overall is pretty tight between Misa and Frondell. Martone is probably at #5 for me right now, there's a lot to like, but I'm frankly shocked to see rankings with him at #1 overall.

 

[StevenToddIves]

2025 Draft Profile:

LD Matthew Schaefer, Erie OHL
If an amateur hockey player had nothing else whatsoever in his game and skillset except an ability to both skate and think at a far faster pace than the opposition, they would still be a very good bet to make the NHL. With Matthew Schaefer, you have a player at the highest levels of elite skating and elite thinking, to such an almost absurd degree that it often seems like the rest of the game is moving in slow motion around him. But almost impossibly, this combination is simply the tip of the iceberg. Because Matthew Schaefer is a player who excels at virtually every area of the game -- with the puck and without, offense and defense, 5x5 or power play or penalty kill, if we can imagine it he can do it.

Breaking him down is easy, because Schaefer is just such a good hockey player the only challenge becomes which superlative to use for which aspect of his game. The first thing we notice is his elite skating -- he's got that Makar/Hughes ability to seem like he's almost floating above the ice combined with an insane agility and edge work which allows him to explode in any direction in any instant. This speed is only matched by his lightning-fast ability to read a play and react to it accordingly. His high-end anticipation gives him a head-start to wherever the puck or play will be, and the last thing this rocket-quick kid needs is a head start. Opponents always seem on their heels whenever he's on the ice, ready to turn tail and play defense and often intimidated into losing all aggressiveness seemingly by his presence alone.

We saw this in the WJC -- with Schaefer on the ice, Canada was simply a completely different team than without him -- more confident, aggressive and precise, knowing how impossible it was for teenagers to beat Schaefer on either end of the ice. Similarly, we saw it with the competition -- when Schaefer's injury forced him out of the Latvia loss, the entire Latvia gameplan shifted to a more intense forecheck and greater chance-taking.

Schaefer's puck skills are high end, but short of elite. He's a terrific passer with great on-ice vision, which combined with his elite smarts makes him the Erie quarterback every time he's on the ice. His hands are very good, not quite as quick or deft as his feet, but soft and skilled enough to keep up. He doesn't have the litany of moves and dekes like a prime-era Patrick Kane, but he has enough tricks in his bag to get a defender off-balance in order to shift gears and use his explosive skating to blow past them. Schaefer's shot is probably is most pedestrian trait -- it's good enough to cause damage from either a quick wrister or full wind-up, but it's not exactly scaring anyone on its own. Most of Schaefer's goals are from skating faster than a goaltender can adjust and then using his hands to hit the holes he creates with his feet.

Maybe the most impressive aspect of his overall game is the fact that although Schaefer sounds like a prototypical all-offense defenseman, he's quite the opposite. Schaefer's potential is the rare NHL franchise defenseman who is the team's best offensive and defensive defenseman. His reads and positioning are top-notch, and even in the rare instance when a bad bounce or teammate turnover catches him out of position, Schaefer can seamlessly adjust and quickly close gaps which moments before seemed untenable. He's a high-compete guy who routinely wins puck battles and, at 6'2-185, he's also extremely athletic and physically strong. Schaefer is not afraid to throw hits, maybe not as an intimidation tactic, but he can certainly separate an opposing forward from the puck with no shortage of aggression and audacity. You can't dump the puck in on him because he'll beat you to it, you can't carry in because he'll read it and close the gap, and you can't beat him one-on-one.

I'm not sure what else to say, Matthew Schaefer is absolutely the blue chip defenseman of the 2025 NHL Draft, and quite likely the top overall pick. Any team would be over the moon to get this high-end, two-way speed demon.

 

[StevenToddIves]

By the way -- @evnted let me know which players you want to write up, so I know not to take anyone you were hoping to go in-depth on. Anyway, between my novel and trying to buy a bar I don't have much time to work with, and probably won't get to do too many of these this year.

Same goes for you @Guadana -- I know you're busy too but I was hoping (as we all were probably hoping) that you could maybe find the time to write up a couple highly ranked kids playing in Russia like Ryabkin and Limatov.

Despite my time constraints, I'd like to see the Devils HFBoards remain one of the best prospect resources out there. We're lucky to have @evnted who is going to have be our Patrik Elias-esque go-to guy this year.

 

[My3Sons]

By the way -- @evnted let me know which players you want to write up, so I know not to take anyone you were hoping to go in-depth on. Anyway, between my novel and trying to buy a bar I don't have much time to work with, and probably won't get to do too many of these this year.

Same goes for you @Guadana -- I know you're busy too but I was hoping (as we all were probably hoping) that you could maybe find the time to write up a couple highly ranked kids playing in Russia like Ryabkin and Limatov.

Despite my time constraints, I'd like to see the Devils HFBoards remain one of the best prospect resources out there. We're lucky to have @evnted who is going to have be our Patrik Elias-esque go-to guy this year.

We are lucky to have all of you folks doing the work I am way too lazy to carry out myself. Thanks as always.....

 

[forceten]

So we can't draft Schaefer since we have too many D right? Right? Please?

 

[evnted]

By the way -- @evnted let me know which players you want to write up, so I know not to take anyone you were hoping to go in-depth on. Anyway, between my novel and trying to buy a bar I don't have much time to work with, and probably won't get to do too many of these this year.

Same goes for you @Guadana -- I know you're busy too but I was hoping (as we all were probably hoping) that you could maybe find the time to write up a couple highly ranked kids playing in Russia like Ryabkin and Limatov.

Despite my time constraints, I'd like to see the Devils HFBoards remain one of the best prospect resources out there. We're lucky to have @evnted who is going to have be our Patrik Elias-esque go-to guy this year.

all you for now sir, wanna let a bit more of the season run before i start cranking them out. ill focus more realistic targets once we have a better grasp on player/pick ranges. looking forward to reading the reports in the meantime