2025 Draft Profile:
RD Blake Fiddler, Edmonton WHL
Routinely ranked in the 20s and 30s, you can completely throw that out the window when writing up your mock drafts with Blake Fiddler. Why? Well, he's a 6'4-210 right-shot defenseman who skates very well, can shoot the lights out, has NHL bloodlines and is one of the youngest players available for the 2025 draft. NHL front offices go full Pavlovian Dog for the rare draft-eligibles like Fiddler, who is a good bet to sneak into the top 15 come draft day.
Fiddler is a work in progress for certain, but he shows a very high ceiling on both sides of the puck. Defensively, the sky is the limit as Fiddler is an incredibly strong player with a very good work ethic who is not afraid to play the physical game. With his long reach and strong skating, it's very hard to go around him. With his size and power, it's virtually impossible to go through him. The only way to beat Fiddler is to out-think him, as the nuances of his defensive game all need work -- positioning, gaps, anticipation. This is not to say his hockey IQ is lacking -- as stated, with a July birthday Fiddler is very young, and he has thus far over-relied on his physical gifts and simply needs coaching and development to improve in the more subtle aspects of patrolling a blueline.
The knock on Fiddler in this analytic-and-statistic obsessed scouting generation has been his offensive production, which was good-but-not-great with a 10g-33a-43p line in 64 games. The more one watches Fiddler however, the more one realizes the skill set is there and he is further from his ceiling in the offensive game than defensive. He can shoot, he can skate, and he's a better-than-expected puck handler. Though he is susceptible to mental mistakes with the puck, he shows flashes of being a decent passer. Still, with his rocket of a shot I suspect most of his scoring totals will come from simply launching the puck on net.
The team which drafts Fiddler will have to be patient, as he is a raw work in progress and his development arc could take 4 or 5 years before he's ready for the NHL. But the potential rewards are certainly significant -- the possibility of a huge, mobile and physical shut-down defender who can also tally double-digit goal totals annually and offer several 40+ point seasons at the highest levels. As such, it's tough to see him getting past the top 20 picks in the 2025 NHL Draft.
RD Blake Fiddler, Edmonton WHL
Routinely ranked in the 20s and 30s, you can completely throw that out the window when writing up your mock drafts with Blake Fiddler. Why? Well, he's a 6'4-210 right-shot defenseman who skates very well, can shoot the lights out, has NHL bloodlines and is one of the youngest players available for the 2025 draft. NHL front offices go full Pavlovian Dog for the rare draft-eligibles like Fiddler, who is a good bet to sneak into the top 15 come draft day.
Fiddler is a work in progress for certain, but he shows a very high ceiling on both sides of the puck. Defensively, the sky is the limit as Fiddler is an incredibly strong player with a very good work ethic who is not afraid to play the physical game. With his long reach and strong skating, it's very hard to go around him. With his size and power, it's virtually impossible to go through him. The only way to beat Fiddler is to out-think him, as the nuances of his defensive game all need work -- positioning, gaps, anticipation. This is not to say his hockey IQ is lacking -- as stated, with a July birthday Fiddler is very young, and he has thus far over-relied on his physical gifts and simply needs coaching and development to improve in the more subtle aspects of patrolling a blueline.
The knock on Fiddler in this analytic-and-statistic obsessed scouting generation has been his offensive production, which was good-but-not-great with a 10g-33a-43p line in 64 games. The more one watches Fiddler however, the more one realizes the skill set is there and he is further from his ceiling in the offensive game than defensive. He can shoot, he can skate, and he's a better-than-expected puck handler. Though he is susceptible to mental mistakes with the puck, he shows flashes of being a decent passer. Still, with his rocket of a shot I suspect most of his scoring totals will come from simply launching the puck on net.
The team which drafts Fiddler will have to be patient, as he is a raw work in progress and his development arc could take 4 or 5 years before he's ready for the NHL. But the potential rewards are certainly significant -- the possibility of a huge, mobile and physical shut-down defender who can also tally double-digit goal totals annually and offer several 40+ point seasons at the highest levels. As such, it's tough to see him getting past the top 20 picks in the 2025 NHL Draft.
