2025 Draft Boards

[Frk It]

Well the draft is 2 weeks away, so let's see what rankings and/or lists you got.

 

[Voodoo Glow Skulls]

1st(13): Aitcheson
2nd(44): Vansaghi
3rd(75): Benak
3rd(76): Funck
4th(119): Lombardi
5th(140): Granberg
6th(172): Eriksen
7th(204): Cornforth
7th(211): Spitznagel

I'd be over the moon for this draft, but it won't happen.

 

[Frk It]

1st(13): Aitcheson
2nd(44): Vansaghi
3rd(75): Benak
3rd(76): Funck
4th(119): Lombardi
5th(140): Granberg
6th(172): Eriksen
7th(204): Cornforth
7th(211): Spitznagel

I'd be over the moon for this draft, but it won't happen.

Do you have like a top 15/20 ranking for this draft?

 

[Voodoo Glow Skulls]

I mean I could put one together if ya want.

But I think after #2, it's a team preference.

I could see about 10 players going in the top 10 based on that.

 

[Voodoo Glow Skulls]

Schafer
Misa
Desnoyers
Hagens
Martone
Martin
Mrtka
Eklund
Frondell
O'Brien

Like I said, after #2...

 

[lilidk]

It's Pronman , it will be nice to have Eklund

NHL Mock Draft 2025: Schaefer at No. 1 and Misa at No. 2 in Corey Pronman’s first round projection

Ahead of the NHL combine this week, Corey Pronman predicts how Round 1 of the draft will shake out.

www.nytimes.com

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

This is the thread where we usually put up our own personal draft rankings. Please use the other thread for mock drafts. This thread should be for personal rankings and discussion on how we arrived at them.

 

[Frk It]

I put together a list for fun, although as I’ve said a few times, really didn’t have much of a chance to watch these players this year.

1. Misa
2. Schaefer
3. Hagens
4. Martone
5. Frondell
6. O’Brien
7. Desnoyers
8. Eklund
9. Carbonneau
10. Bear
11. Smith
12. Martin
13. McQueen
14. Lakovic
15. Aitcheson
16. Mrtka
17. Reschny
18. Cootes
19. Kindel
20. Potter
21. Reid
22. Spence
23. Hensler
24. Schmidt
25. Fiddler
26. Lee
27. Nesbitt
28. Moore
29. Zharovsky
30. Zonnon
31. Gastrin
32. Boumedienne

HM: Stockselius, Limatov, Amico, Rombach, Romano, McKinney, Ihs Wozniak, Genborg, Nilson, Nestrasil, Murtagh, Simpson

 

[slimnipsu]

I'll promise I won't ever complain if we get Eklund.

 

[SantosHalper]

1. Matt Schaefer
2. Michael Misa
3. James Hagens
4. Caleb Desnoyers
5. Porter Martone
6. Anton Frondell
7. Jake O'Brien
8. Victor Eklund
9. Radim Mrtka
10. Jackson Smith
11. Roger McQueen
12. Brady Martin
13. Jack Nesbitt
14. Lynden Lakovic
15. Carter Bear
16. Cole Reschny
17. Keshawn Aitcheson
18. Braeden Cootes
19. Justin Carbonneau
20. Logan Hensler
21. Sacha Boumedienne
22. Blake Fiddler
23. Benjamin Kindel
24. Ivan Ryabkin
25. Cullen Potter
26. Milton Gästrin
27. Malcolm Spence
28. Vaclav Nestrasil
29. Cameron Reid
30. Cameron Schmidt
31. Jakob Ihs-Wozniak
32. Joshua Ravensbergen

Where we put the mock drafts?

 

[Our Lady Peace]

I totally put so much time in this...

1) Matthew Schaefer
2) Michael Misa
3) James Hagens
4) Porter Martone
5) Anton Frondell
6) Roger McQueen
7) Caleb Desnoyers
8) Victor Eklund
9) Brady Martin
10) Radim Mrtka
11) Carter Bear
12) Jake O'Brien
13) Justin Carbonneau
14) Lynden Lakovic
15) Jackson Smith
16) Cameron Reid
17) Kashawn Aitcheson
18) Cole Reschny
19) Joshua Ravensbergen
20) Braeden Cootes
21) Logan Hensler
22) Cullen Potter
23) Jack Nesbitt
24) Blake Fiddler
25) Bill Zonnon
26) Ivan Ryabkin
27) Sascha Boumedienne
28) Malcolm Spence
29) Jack Murtagh
30) Jack Ivankovic
31) Jacob Ihs Wozniak
32) Ben Kindel

 

[Winged Wheel Willy]

No idea, what to do with McQueen. He scares me to death. I put him, where I think the cut-off for likely top4 d and top6 is IMO.

1. Schaefer
2. Misa
3. Hagens
4. Desnoyers
5. Frondell
6. O'Brien
7. Martone
8. Eklund
9. Martin
10. Bear
11. Reschny
12. Prokhorov
13. Mrtka
14. Carbonneau
15. McQueen
16. Aitcheson
17. Fiddler
18. Smith
19. Cootes
20. Potter

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

1.) Michael Misa
2.) Michael Schaefer
3.) James Hagens
4.) Roger McQueen
5.) Anton Frondell
6.) Porter Martone
7.) Jake O'Brien
8.) Carter Bear
9.) Victor Eklund
10.) Caleb Desnoyers
11.) Blake Fiddler
12.) Justin Carbonneau
13.) Radim Mrtka
14.) Jackson Smith
15.) Brady Martin
16.) Lynden Lakovic
17.) Cullen Potter
18.) Kashawn Aitcheson
19.) Cole Reschny
20.) Vaclav Nestrasil
21.) Cameron Reid
22.) Ivan Ryabkin
23.) Braeden Cootes
24.) Alexander Zharovsky
25.) Jack Nesbitt
26.) Joshua Ravensbergen
27.) Benjamin Kindel
28.) Logan Hensler
29.) Danill Prokhorov
30.) Bill Zonnon
31.) Malcolm Spence
32.) William Horcoff
33.) Ryker Lee
34.) Milton Gastrin
35.) William Moore
36.) Sascha Boumedienne
37.) Mason West
38.) Jakob Ihs-Wozniek
39.) Henry Brzustewicz
40.) Shane Vansaghi

Obviously McQueen would require your medical staff approval. He was tough to place, but if he comes out of this healthy is where I placed him for me, understand it makes my board quite a bit different.

 

[lilidk]

1. Schaefer
2. Misa
3. Hagens
4 Martone
5. Frondell
6. Desnoyers
7. Mrtka
8. O 'Brian
9 . Eklund
10. Martin
11. Atchison
12. Lakovic
13. Bear
14. Hensler
15. Reschny
16. Cootes
17. Smith
18. Boumidienne
19. Zonnon
20.Reid
21. Zharovaky
22. Kindel
23 Spence

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

Explanation on some of my outliers. Posted the list earlier but had to run errands.

McQueen, might have impressed me the most when I started studying these guys. See a lot of Byfield (not as reliant on transition as Quinton) and a lot of you know how much I loved his tools and think if you get the right development there is an immense ceiling. Honestly, was close to moving him above Hagens who I think is going to be a solid producer at the NHL level. McQueen has the ability to beat other high end players consistently in my opinion, when he flashes his best it is hard for many to stop him. Additionally I think he plays sound positional hockey and does a lot of his damage in places he projects to get to and do well at in the NHL.

Fiddler as my #2 D-man. When you say stay at home D-man you will get dirty looks, especially at 2nd dman and #11. Not to sound like the Lions brass but Blake plays with a mature identity and old school mentality. He is tough anywhere you step in the dzone. Great gap control, leads with his stick on puck. Punishes guys in the corner and near the goal mouth. He breaks pucks out just fine and uses his teammates. Lots of tape to tape but also the get it out at the right times. Does a pretty good job of stepping up in the neutral zone to disrupt transition. Good skater at 6’4” that knows what he is and the other team knows he is on the ice, constant one on one battle winner. I think there is more to his offense at 5 on 5 long-term, but a top 4 defensive force is what I really like about him.

Nestrasil - I was a big fan of his brother as well. However, big powerful and extremely willing to use his size. Good skating mechanics, I think as he gets more power he is one of those big men that can really skate and protect the puck even more effectively. Uses his size well to protect pucks and also takes/invites contact to make creative passes. Really good at threading below the dot creative tight passing plays, shows good vision in my viewings. Lots that projects well as he adds more strength.

I get there is a bit of a theme here, big guys that can skate and flash skill always intrigue me a decent amount. On Fiddler vs Mrtka, I see the ceiling argument to be sure, I just expect Fiddler to stay true to who he is and if he can become a top defensive Dman I think there is tremendous value to be had.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

I don't have a full draft board, but my list for Detroit's pick goes like this:

1a. Eklund
1b. Smith
3a. Bear
3b. Carbonneau
3c. Aitcheson

I like Lakovic, but I don't think there's any reason to take him at #13 with these guys available.

 

[Frk It]

Explanation on some of my outliers. Posted the list earlier but had to run errands.

McQueen, might have impressed me the most when I started studying these guys. See a lot of Byfield (not as reliant on transition as Quinton) and a lot of you know how much I loved his tools and think if you get the right development there is an immense ceiling. Honestly, was close to moving him above Hagens who I think is going to be a solid producer at the NHL level. McQueen has the ability to beat other high end players consistently in my opinion, when he flashes his best it is hard for many to stop him. Additionally I think he plays sound positional hockey and does a lot of his damage in places he projects to get to and do well at in the NHL.

Fiddler as my #2 D-man. When you say stay at home D-man you will get dirty looks, especially at 2nd dman and #11. Not to sound like the Lions brass but Blake plays with a mature identity and old school mentality. He is tough anywhere you step in the dzone. Great gap control, leads with his stick on puck. Punishes guys in the corner and near the goal mouth. He breaks pucks out just fine and uses his teammates. Lots of tape to tape but also the get it out at the right times. Does a pretty good job of stepping up in the neutral zone to disrupt transition. Good skater at 6’4” that knows what he is and the other team knows he is on the ice, constant one on one battle winner. I think there is more to his offense at 5 on 5 long-term, but a top 4 defensive force is what I really like about him.

Nestrasil - I was a big fan of his brother as well. However, big powerful and extremely willing to use his size. Good skating mechanics, I think as he gets more power he is one of those big men that can really skate and protect the puck even more effectively. Uses his size well to protect pucks and also takes/invites contact to make creative passes. Really good at threading below the dot creative tight passing plays, shows good vision in my viewings. Lots that projects well as he adds more strength.

I get there is a bit of a theme here, big guys that can skate and flash skill always intrigue me a decent amount. On Fiddler vs Mrtka, I see the ceiling argument to be sure, I just expect Fiddler to stay true to who he is and if he can become a top defensive Dman I think there is tremendous value to be had.

Given some of the players you have liked historically, I was a little surprised you weren’t higher on Jackson Smith. I was thinking maybe you had him top 10. Originally I had him there.

Nestrasil is someone I probably should have included, just wasn’t sure where to put him. Should at least probably add him with my HM’s. Had a very strong finish to his season and people who cover the USHL seem to like him.

Also saw you had Ryabkin at #22, originally had him in about a similar place, but from everything I have heard about him I think he’s just a pass for me at this point.

I’m assuming you have seen a decent amount of Vansaghi, what do you think about him as an option in round 2?

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

Given some of the players you have liked historically, I was a little surprised you weren’t higher on Jackson Smith. I was thinking maybe you had him top 10. Originally I had him there.

Nestrasil is someone I probably should have included, just wasn’t sure where to put him. Should at least probably add him with my HM’s. Had a very strong finish to his season and people who cover the USHL seem to like him.

Also saw you had Ryabkin at #22, originally had him in about a similar place, but from everything I have heard about him I think he’s just a pass for me at this point.

I’m assuming you have seen a decent amount of Vansaghi, what do you think about him as an option in round 2?

I agee with the people questioning Smith’s IQ. I think there is a lot to like there but he has to put more together. I think when the Harley debate was happening you could see that, I am just not as high on it with him. Think it is the weak defensive class people are making it out to be. I like him enough to have him #14. So the size and skating gives him a safe NHL floor, would like to see more composure under pressure. Which scares me, was the downfall of Kindl and Cholowski who I liked a lot of the package but ultimately limited both guys NHL impacts and careers.

One of the other things I would say here is we have zero PP reps coming at this point without Seider, Edvinsson, or ASP being shipped which I get BPA but finding dman that play D should be a priority organizationally. While that doesn’t impact my pure player rankings when we talk some of these guys Wings wise look at an Aitcheson and know that discussing picking him.

Really was impressed with Nestrasil. He will take some patience but very toolsy guy with good vision and compete. I just think there is a lot to work with.

Ryabkin might work his way out of the league, he is a volatile type prospect. But high end skill and a powerful player though rumors on some of that weight isn’t encouraging. I get Yzerman likes a certain type and even if he is sliding into the second. He has a lot of things you cannot teach, but get it if he is a DND. I don’t get to meet these kids and I am sure some would fall off my draft board entirely if you could. Has high end talent which at some point is just too high to keep sliding down the board. Great vision, can wire a puck and quickly release it. Needs to carve out a top 6 role and I would shift him to wing in the NHL.

Vansaghi is a really solid guy. Probably a bottom six guy but dependable game maybe someone you can bump up the lineup for stretches or on line change games. Good forechecker, sound defensively. He didn’t play up the lineup at MSU and with some of these transfers and Howard back not sure he gets a ton more opportunity. So to be fair some of his ceiling might be hidden. Powerful young man with a straight forward simple game with few exceptional gifts or trouble areas. Certainly someone I don’t hate us getting in the second round.

 

[lilidk]

I agee with the people questioning Smith’s IQ. I think there is a lot to like there but he has to put more together. I think when the Harley debate was happening you could see that, I am just not as high on it with him. Think it is the weak defensive class people are making it out to be. I like him enough to have him #14. So the size and skating gives him a safe NHL floor, would like to see more composure under pressure. Which scares me, was the downfall of Kindl and Cholowski who I liked a lot of the package but ultimately limited both guys NHL impacts and careers.

One of the other things I would say here is we have zero PP reps coming at this point without Seider, Edvinsson, or ASP being shipped which I get BPA but finding dman that play D should be a priority organizationally. While that doesn’t impact my pure player rankings when we talk some of these guys Wings wise look at an Aitcheson and know that discussing picking him.

Really was impressed with Nestrasil. He will take some patience but very toolsy guy with good vision and compete. I just think there is a lot to work with.

Ryabkin might work his way out of the league, he is a volatile type prospect. But high end skill and a powerful player though rumors on some of that weight isn’t encouraging. I get Yzerman likes a certain type and even if he is sliding into the second. He has a lot of things you cannot teach, but get it if he is a DND. I don’t get to meet these kids and I am sure some would fall off my draft board entirely if you could. Has high end talent which at some point is just too high to keep sliding down the board. Great vision, can wire a puck and quickly release it. Needs to carve out a top 6 role and I would shift him to wing in the NHL.

Vansaghi is a really solid guy. Probably a bottom six guy but dependable game maybe someone you can bump up the lineup for stretches or on line change games. Good forechecker, sound defensively. He didn’t play up the lineup at MSU and with some of these transfers and Howard back not sure he gets a ton more opportunity. So to be fair some of his ceiling might be hidden. Powerful young man with a straight forward simple game with few exceptional gifts or trouble areas. Certainly someone I don’t hate us getting in the second round.

People sleeping on Hensler, very smart and safe, decent size
I prefer playmaking over shooters with Forwards and defensive defenders over two way.
Character is the most important thing about prospects and I trust Draper with that.
Please no to Zadina and Vrana and yes to Chara.

 

[lilidk]

1 Mrtka
2 Eklund
3. Bear
4. Lakovic
5. Hensler
6. Reschny
7. Atchison
Those 7 for #13
Trade up for O'Brien if he's not taken at 8. Buffalo is next and they might have deal
Better get forward in first and later big stay home D