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Prospect Info: 2025 Draft discussion

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I think we can hover around .500 from here until like March and still try to be reasonably competitive for the benefit of our stars and prospects and then when the season is winding down we just start shutting guys down and playing whoever the worst goaltender is.

That should get us a top-4 pick easily.
 
I might be wrong, but that CHL prospects game last night should be taken with a big grain of salt. In my view, that was nowhere near a competitive game. I don't know what we can take away from that game. Other than the fact that MOST CHL prospects are better than the USNDTP prospects at this time.
 
Jag68Sid87 said:
I might be wrong, but that CHL prospects game last night should be taken with a big grain of salt. In my view, that was nowhere near a competitive game. I don't know what we can take away from that game. Other than the fact that MOST CHL prospects are better than the USNDTP prospects at this time.
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I think it’s like any other game. Hockey has a ton of random variation in it so you shouldn’t make too much of any one or two games but a sample set over time.
 
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Went to the CHL-USNTDP prospects game last night and it was a lot of what I expected in terms of the game. The CHL team was all over the USNTDP, with the majority of the US shots coming on their powerplays and a lot of extended zone time by the CHL all game long, barring the first few minutes. Moving forward, maybe they should look at a Subway series event with a WHL, OHL and QMJHL team playing the US program. Not having Hagens/ other draft eligibles playing in the NCAA+ not being able to have any of the 08's playing (who comprise 2 or 3 of the top 5 players on the USTNDP) created way too much of a talent deficit. Of course, could have just been an off game but the US team, but the structure was breaking down and they couldnt get anything consistently going against the CHL teams speed and skill.

Biggest stand out by far for me was Matthew Schaefer. Went to watch Misa, Martone, Spence etc... and Schaefer kept popping out all night. Great skater, great shot, made some solid defensive plays and laid down some big blocks. Great dish and drive on a goal and great end to end rush to bury another. Can stretch the puck out, skate it out, super impressive player in the one game.

Another stand out I didn't expect was Lynden Lakovic who I have noticed a decent amount in Moose Jaw highlights this year. Kid has tons of skill, great size, skates extremely well for his his frame, gets open, finds soft spots and battles. The guy has Tage Thompson written all over him. He was getting man handled a bit in front of the net and worked in the corners on a few plays, but when he fills out that 6'4-5" frame, he could be a hell of a player.

Cootes is another player that flat out flies. Pretty good hands and seems to be able to keep up with his feet. Didnt finish but kept being noticeable.

Aitcheson was noticeable in a few ways. Scored with an absolute missile of a shot, broke the puck out well, threw some big hits. I laughed because I was sitting next to Dave Cameron and a few other scouts from (I believe) Team Canada and right before Aitcheson threw a huge interference hit, the scout next to me goes "77's gonna do something stupid". But otherwise was physical and moved the puck well.

Misa and Martone didnt blow the doors off me as much as Id hoped for guys in the 2-4 range, but again, it's only one game and they may put a show on tonight. Misa had decent speed, but definitely not as quick or good a skater as I've heard so far. Nice hands, decent release, kind of underwhelming moving the puck on the powerplay, was on the point on the over-load Canada was running and didn't really command or direct like I'd hoped. Martone had good size, and definitely used it in spurts, but also didn't stand out in odd-man situations or off the rush as much as I would have hoped. I'm sure they will both produce better showings tonight.

Spence looked good, and few if any guys looked bad for extended periods of time.

Unfortunately, I didnt have one USNTDP player that stood out to me. The goaltender played well and stopped some point blank shots, even after getting shaken up. Cole Mckinney was probably the most consistently noticeable, and Murtagh did score a nice PP goal on a one timer.

Otherwise, all that really stood out is how horrid Will Belle is at skating and that Phillips somehow played way bigger than his 6'5 listing whenever he managed to get on the ice. Charlie Tretheway mixed it up a bit, seemed like a good heads up defenseman, sound both ways.

Interested to see how the game shakes out tonight.
 
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Thanks for that. Pens have lots of needs and hopefully can get some high-end talent in the system. Maybe a good thing they gave the pick to SJ last year. Pens loaded up at RD may get lucky with Brunicke as a find. But this year love to see C/RW addressed. Now center is a big need and maybe a trade for a decent number 2 can be done.
 
Watching a shift-by-shift of Carter Bear and he looks interesting to me. A late 2006 birthdate. Kinda reminds me of Catton from last year, a little bigger though. His goals-to-assists ratio would suggest he's a pure shooter/goal-scorer but he's a good distributer and playmaker. Pretty fast skater. Nice edge-work and transitions. Looks to be a little light on his skates. Kinda gritty I'd say but not some kind of bull out there. He goes to the net and finishes the odd check. One play he got shoved from behind near the boards, could've stayed down and grabbed his face for a call or whatever, but he jumped right back up to beat his check to the front of the net. Still drew the call but he didn't know that.

From a pure production standpoint he's comparable to Martone and Misa, so that's why I looked him up.
 
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Jdodd said:
Thanks for all that info! Can easily see Schaefer going 1st OA. Plus the kid is young. 10 days difference w his birthday from being in the 2026 draft.
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Would make finishing bottom 3 even more important. Hopefully bottom 2 ha. If Schaefer goes 1st, our option for any stud F we want at 2 or 3.
www.dailyfaceoff.com

Is Matthew Schaefer the favorite to go No. 1 in the 2025 NHL Draft? It’s starting to look that way

It’s looking like a four-horse race at the top – but many think Schaefer has the edge.
www.dailyfaceoff.com www.dailyfaceoff.com
 
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Schaefer looks really good in clips and he looks good in spite of what I would call a less-developed shot. Just kind of a muffin compared to the rest of his skillset. A bit weird and overly deliberate backswing on his slap shot too. Fixable stuff. If he was 3 weeks younger he wouldn’t even be eligible for this draft.

His body and skating remind me of Bouwmeester but he’s way more offensively-geared obviously.
 
The next couple of months are going to be really interesting in terms of the top 5-6 ranking. Hagen still leads the pack IMHO but his scoring just isn't where I think people thought it would be. 3 goals in 13GP is not alarm soundingly bad but it does cause a minor pause for me. He did well in the USHL and the NTDP but then struggles a tad when he gets the NCAA. Certainly, still time to figure it out, but Celebrini was nearly 2ppg and nearly a 1gpg in the NCAA when he went 1OV.

It very well could come down to positional needs for a team. If you need a #1dman more than a 2C, take Schaefer. If you need the forward, go Hagens. I still think people are sleeping on Misa a bit. He's #4 in consolidated rankings but he's GPG in the OHL at 17 and 2 PPG. He's got size too. I want someone who scores and I think this kid will score. Still, my pick if we pick the top 5 or the top 3.
 
If Schaefer has a Jay Bouwmeester career, sign me up. This team needs offensive upside, absolutely. But they also need reliability and stability. It is the younger guys that will provide that. The only player on our current roster with both reliability and upside is Crosby. The upside guys like Malkin, Karlsson and Letang are not reliable, and the bottom-six reliable guys have zero upside.

That said, I am still with SEALBound too. I want Misa.
 
I still dont want to get my hopes up for a top-5 pick. Feels like the team is due for a mean reversion at some point. Sullivan or not, they should not be as bad as they have been. A couple winning streaks later in the season and theyll be picking 10-14th.
 
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Top 10 and maybe some lottery luck. I do expect a 2 to 3 year run of top picks here with lower finishes, Trades of Rust, Karlsson and Petts to bring in nice assets as well. MY hope is Dubas doesn't try a quicker fix and give up picks for a prospect that never becomes what the costs is initially.
 
The more I learn about this draft the more think we trade down if we don’t get somewhere in the top 5.

A lot of the guys being ranked 6-16 sound like players that would be 2nd round picks in other drafts.
 
eXile3 said:
The more I learn about this draft the more think we trade down if we don’t get somewhere in the top 5.

A lot of the guys being ranked 6-16 sound like players that would be 2nd round picks in other drafts.
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I don't see why that would be necessary. Just as a quick example, Victor Eklund has 15 points in 20 games in the Allsvenskan as a 17 year old and he's projected to go around 10. He's a guy I'd absolutely take with their 1st if they're sitting around 8-10. Ryabkin and Eklund would be the main 2 guys I'd be looking at if the Penguins are sitting in that 7-10 range.

I think the CHL classes look pretty middling in that range but there's still some good Euro talent.
 
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