NHL 2025 DRAFT - Bruins pick 7th

[nowayguy]

I hope I'm wrong, but this is giving me 2007 vibes where the Bruins at 8, took Zach Hamill in between Jakob Vorachek and Logan Couture

Such a funny draft. I remember Hickey got overdrafted and it seemed like Cherepanov was right there for the taking.

Angelo Esposito was 8th on Bob Mckenzie's scout rankings that year. Hamill was 16th but I recall it was seen as a weak draft, so there probably wasn't much separation between most guys.

 

[ON3M4N]

What a Fup that pick was.
What the heck did the Bruins see in Hamill?
I surely hope we hit on this pick, we need it.

He was coming off 93pt season where he led the WHL in points, and was considered to have a high hockey IQ. IIRC he was projected to be picked in the 10-15 range.

 

[Bodit9]

I hope I'm wrong, but this is giving me 2007 vibes where the Bruins at 8, took Zach Hamill in between Jakob Vorachek and Logan Couture

 

[BergyWho37]

Most of ya’s have covered a lot which has been great read material so thank you. I’m in the column that believes someone always slips a bit the real question will be does Don pick him.

Anyways that’s all I got cause everyone is covering my other thoughts can’t wait till draft day it’s nice to be excited about something this season considering what we had to watch all year just wish the lottery draft went better like others here..

 

[ON3M4N]

Such a funny draft. I remember Hickey got overdrafted and it seemed like Cherepanov was right there for the taking.

Angelo Esposito was 8th on Bob Mckenzie's scout rankings that year. Hamill was 16th but I recall it was seen as a weak draft, so there probably wasn't much separation between most guys.

Aside from 2015, the two drafts that no one really talks about but killed us were 2012 & 2017. In 2012 we took Malcolm Subban in round 1. We already had Rask, but for some reason we needed to draft a goalie in round 1. 4 picks later Brady Skjei was selected.

In the 2017 draft we took Vaakanainen at #18. The next two picks....Josh Norris & Robert Thomas. The rumors on here was the Sweeney wanted Thomas, but one of the scouts was adamant about Vaak, and well the rest is history.

 

[bobber]

What a Fup that pick was.
What the heck did the Bruins see in Hamill?
I surely hope we hit on this pick, we need it.

Thought Zack Hamill was a figure skater. What the hell do I know?

 

[yazmybaby]

He was coming off 93pt season where he led the WHL in points, and was considered to have a high hockey IQ. IIRC he was projected to be picked in the 10-15 range.

Goes to show you PPG in junior does not mean much!
I remember Norm Aubin scored 135 pts and 149pts in his two seasons in the Q and only played 69 games in the NHL.
Doug Smith outscored Ronnie Francis by 32 points in junior and was taken #2 in that draft year, Francis was 4th.
Francis is in the Hall Of Fame.
At times I think you can put names in a hat and pick one out and that might be the best player in the draft that you pick.

 

[ON3M4N]

Goes to show you PPG in junior does not mean much!
I remember Norm Aubin scored 135 pts and 149pts in his two seasons in the Q and only played 69 games in the NHL.
Doug Smith outscored Ronnie Francis by 32 points in junior and was taken #2 in that draft year, Francis was 4th.
Francis is in the Hall Of Fame.
At times I think you can put names in a hat and pick one out and that might be the best player in the draft that you pick.

I don't know that I'd say it doesn't mean much. Does it hold more weight than it should? maybe. I've always wondered how much of a prospect not reaching their potential is on them and how much on the team that drafted them. I feel there are guys that, if put in a different situation would thrive. How many offensive minded prospects have we seen the Bruins draft and then tell them to focus on their defensive game for 3-4 years. In the midst of doing that, their offense starts to struggle and they lose confidence in their game. Next thing you know, they don't live up to their potential and we have another wasted pick.

 

[BronxBruin]

Pronman released an article titled "A case for (and against) picking the top forward prospects in 2025 NHL Draft" which I thought might be relevant to this discussion.

At the bottom, he includes a chart ranking five different skills which I replicated below.

Link: A case for (and against) picking the top forward prospects in 2025 NHL Draft

Player	Skating​	Puck Skills​	Hockey Sense​	Compete​	Shot​
Michael Misa	4​	4​	4​	4​	4​
Porter Martone	2​	5​	3​	4​	4​
Caleb Desnoyers	3​	4​	4​	4​	3​
James Hagens	4​	5​	4​	3​	3​
Anton Frondell	3​	4​	3​	4​	5​
Jake O'Brien	3​	4​	4​	4​	2​
Victor Eklund	4​	4​	3​	5​	4​
Roger McQueen	3​	4​	3​	4​	3​
Brady Martin	3​	4​	3​	5​	4​

 

[DaBroons]

He had Brazeau as his RW during the playoffs, and you are correct, he only played 10-11 mins a game.
When you have Eriksson Ek and Hartman playing Center its hard to get ice time.
I think Rossi is a good player, not first line center.
He is not what the Bruins need....another 3rd line center.

Even if he's a 2nd-line center, he's not what we need.

 

[DaBroons]

What a Fup that pick was.
What the heck did the Bruins see in Hamill?
I surely hope we hit on this pick, we need it.

Well, he wasn't a bad player until he broke his thumb and then he couldn't grip the stick properly. Samsonov's career went downhill quickly after he injured his wrist.

 

[Son of Donegal]

Pronman released an article titled "A case for (and against) picking the top forward prospects in 2025 NHL Draft" which I thought might be relevant to this discussion.

At the bottom, he includes a chart ranking five different skills which I replicated below.

Link: A case for (and against) picking the top forward prospects in 2025 NHL Draft

Player	Skating​	Puck Skills​	Hockey Sense​	Compete​	Shot​
Michael Misa	4​	4​	4​	4​	4​
Porter Martone	2​	5​	3​	4​	4​
Caleb Desnoyers	3​	4​	4​	4​	3​
James Hagens	4​	5​	4​	3​	3​
Anton Frondell	3​	4​	3​	4​	5​
Jake O'Brien	3​	4​	4​	4​	2​
Victor Eklund	4​	4​	3​	5​	4​
Roger McQueen	3​	4​	3​	4​	3​
Brady Martin	3​	4​	3​	5​	4​

Not that I trust Pronman all that much...but if you tally up the composite score, Misa and Eklund lead the pack with 20pts.

 

[BlackFrancis]

Pronman released an article titled "A case for (and against) picking the top forward prospects in 2025 NHL Draft" which I thought might be relevant to this discussion.

At the bottom, he includes a chart ranking five different skills which I replicated below.

Link: A case for (and against) picking the top forward prospects in 2025 NHL Draft

Player	Skating​	Puck Skills​	Hockey Sense​	Compete​	Shot​
Michael Misa	4​	4​	4​	4​	4​
Porter Martone	2​	5​	3​	4​	4​
Caleb Desnoyers	3​	4​	4​	4​	3​
James Hagens	4​	5​	4​	3​	3​
Anton Frondell	3​	4​	3​	4​	5​
Jake O'Brien	3​	4​	4​	4​	2​
Victor Eklund	4​	4​	3​	5​	4​
Roger McQueen	3​	4​	3​	4​	3​
Brady Martin	3​	4​	3​	5​	4​

Victor Eklund with a 3 for Hockey Sense?

Are there two Victor Eklunds in this draft?

 

[MarchysNoseKnows]

Victor Eklund with a 3 for Hockey Sense?

Are there two Victor Eklunds in this draft?

Is that worse than Hagens being the only one to get a ‘3’ for compete?

 

[Saxon Eric]

 

[Son of Donegal]

Is that worse than Hagens being the only one to get a ‘3’ for compete?

If anyone has Eklund over Hagens, they need to get their head checked.

That being said, what does your ranking look like?

 

[MarchysNoseKnows]

If anyone has Eklund over Hagens, they need to get their head checked.

That being said, what does your ranking look like?

My Bruins ranking (who I would pick in order) is this, subject to change:

Schaefer
Misa
Hagens
Desnoyers
Frondell
O’Brien
Martone

 

[BlackFrancis]

Is that worse than Hagens being the only one to get a ‘3’ for compete?

You know, if you only watch Hagens' first couple of shifts, where he tries and get a feel for what's what and who's who, you might come away with that impression.

First game I saw this season, I'm sitting there frowning to myself, wondering why this new messiah is kind of passive and roaming. Then he started chasing people and harassing the shit out of them and I didn't give it another thought until I saw that "3".

 

[Patdud]

Is that worse than Hagens being the only one to get a ‘3’ for compete?

Typical American

 

[Gordoff]

Thought Zack Hamill was a figure skater. What the hell do I know?

He did really looked cute in that haircut.

 

[Gordoff]

I don't know that I'd say it doesn't mean much. Does it hold more weight than it should? maybe. I've always wondered how much of a prospect not reaching their potential is on them and how much on the team that drafted them. I feel there are guys that, if put in a different situation would thrive. How many offensive minded prospects have we seen the Bruins draft and then tell them to focus on their defensive game for 3-4 years. In the midst of doing that, their offense starts to struggle and they lose confidence in their game. Next thing you know, they don't live up to their potential and we have another wasted pick.

Exactly: It's called BRUINS!

 

[Gordoff]

Not that I trust Pronman all that much...but if you tally up the composite score, Misa and Eklund lead the pack with 20pts.

The weird thing is that he doesn't seem to weigh any one category as more important than the others yet he still seems to have them (players) ranked in a particular order.
Some of the stuff he lists seem to be subjective.
Furthermore, he doesn't deviate far from what others are saying about
ranking them except that he leaves out the D-men. Where do the D-men like Shaefer fit into his rankings?
So what's the point of his ratings system?
Reminds me of grade school report cards where cleanliness, obedience are ranked equally with Math, Science, and Spelling.
Not all things hold as much weight.

 

[GordonHowe]

If you watch the limited tape this season on McQueen you would swear he would be at worst 3rd overall without the back thing. If his medicals check out he may go before the Bruins pick pushing someone down.

Martone seems to be more playmaker / opportunist to sniper right now. He's behind Carbonneau in that department IMO who is just lethal. Def can see him in the top 10

Porter Martone is filthy,

 

[GordonHowe]

Not saying one of Hagens or Frondell won’t be there, I mean who thought Connor and Barzal would be there for the Bruins in 2015, but if they do fall that far you can start doing backflips. Two top rated prospect centers, don’t see that happening.

Martone is more than likely the one to fall to 7 and if so I see him being there at 8. Bruins would then go with O’Brein. Both very good prospects, not much separating the two, but the need for a Center takes precedence here, imo,

Realistically though Martone could be gone and Martin may drop. That’s where it’ll be a tough choice for the Bruins brass. O’Brein or Martin ?

Interesting question.

Brady Martin does not appear to have elite offensive skill or a high ceiling in that regard.

He can put the puck in the net in a meat and potatoes kind of way. Nothing wrong with that.

Checks all the other boxes for me.

 

[GordonHowe]

Thought I read somewhere that Frondell had some sort of long term injury?

"Evaluating...'

Per Perplexity AI,

Anton Frondell, a top prospect for the 2025 NHL Draft, has experienced notable injury setbacks during the 2024-25 season, primarily involving his knee. These injuries impacted his early-season performance and draft stock but did not prevent him from returning to form in the latter part of the year.

Detailed Injury Timeline

Knee Surgery (September 2024): Frondell underwent knee surgery in September 2024, which was expected to sideline him for 3–4 weeks. Reports at the time indicated that the injury was not expected to significantly impact his season, but it did delay his start and affected his early-season performance.

Multiple Knee Issues (2024-25 Season): There are references to Frondell having "multiple knee injuries and a knee surgery" during the 2024-25 campaign, leading to concerns about his long-term durability and prompting teams to seek a clear medical assessment before making significant commitments.

General Injury Struggles (Early 2024-25): Injuries and a packed schedule were cited as factors that disrupted his consistency and production during the first half of the season. These issues led to his omission from Sweden’s World Junior Championship roster in late 2024.

Recent Status and Recovery
Current Health

By the second half of the 2024-25 season, Frondell was reported to be fully healthy and performing at a high level. He himself stated, “I’ve honestly forgotten about the injuries for a while now, and it feels like I’m settling into the game and am fully back. The injuries are behind me, and my body is 110 percent now”. This sentiment was echoed by his coaches and in media coverage, noting his strong return to form and increased productivity as the season progressed.

Performance Post-Injury

After recovering, Frondell became a key player for Djurgårdens IF in the HockeyAllsvenskan, finishing the season with impressive statistics and helping his team secure promotion to the SHL.

He also returned to Sweden’s U18 national team, participating in the Under-18 World Junior Championship and contributing to a silver medal performance.

Summary Table: Anton Frondell’s Recent Injury Timeline
DateInjury/EventImpact/Outcome
September 2024Knee surgeryMissed 3–4 weeks, delayed start to season
Fall 2024Ongoing knee issuesMissed WJC roster, inconsistent early performance
Early 2025Full recovery reportedReturned to form, strong finish to season
Conclusion
Anton Frondell’s injury history centers on knee problems, including surgery in September 2024 and additional issues that hampered his early 2024-25 season. However, he has since made a full recovery, with no reported lingering effects or recent injuries as of May 2025. Frondell has emphasized that he feels fully healthy, and his late-season performance supports this claim.