Prospect Info: 2025 Draft discussion

[Tasty Biscuits]

I wonder if Hagens falls at all.

Define "fall." Anywhere in the Top-3 seems likely for Misa, Hagens, and Schaefer atm. Still more hockey to be played though.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

Define "fall." Anywhere in the Top-3 seems likely for Misa, Hagens, and Schaefer atm. Still more hockey to be played though.

"Falls" to 4 or 5

 

[chethejet]

Pens are in a position that I just didn't think this roster would fall to. The problem in the tanking or suspect effort is players. Dubas may benefit from the top 5 pick, but I suspect this is not what he is in favor of. Get a very good center or RW helps the rebuild.

 

[Empoleon8771]

"Falls" to 4 or 5

I think it's possible, I think the stocks for both Misa and Frondell are going up right now. I wouldn't be surprised for Hagens to fall after both Misa and Martone, but Frondell would be a bit of a surprise.

Also I've been looking a bit more at Martone, the dude honestly looks like a terrific winger prospect. His profile reminds me of a more physical Blake Wheeler.

 

[cookthebooks]

The Pens need to go full tank for Ovechkin Capitals and bring up a goalie who is currently working at a job where he asks "do you want fries with that?"

may i introduce you to tristan jarry

 

[SEALBound]

I wonder if Hagens falls at all.

I think he's pretty safe bet for #2. Unless a team is over the moon about Misa.

Scheafer
Hagens
Misa
Martone
Frondell

Seems to me to be the most consistent and logical top 5 order.

I could MAYBE see Misa at 2 and Hagens at 3, or, Martone at 3 and Misa 4 but either of those would be quite shocking honestly.

 

[The GM]

25 - Misa
26 - McKenna
27 - DuPont

Sid passes the torch to the trio in a touching moment. Seems like Uncle Gary would WANT that.

Does Sid still have the torch? I thought he already passed it to Giroux?

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

Yeah Martone's combination of size and skill is extremely attractive but I do think there's gonna be an adjustment period there because guys who play his style usually don't translate immediately to the strength and speed of NHL hockey.

Hell, any of the big four would. Hagens, Schaefer, Misa, Martone. They'd all be unreal for a team with no game changers in the system, and they all kinda fit their own relatively unique niche as far as styles go, which is cool.

Just get into the top four. That should be this team's only goal for the next few months.

 

[OtherThingsILike]

Okay so looks like I was partially wrong here. It only counts as a lottery win IF you move up in the draft. You could get the 1st overall 5 years in a row if you finish dead last every year.

San Jose finished 32nd and got Celebrini so they are fine. Chicago finished 31st and won the lottery for Bedard so they they can only win the lottery to move up 1 more time in the next 3 years.

Yes, so we should hope that Chicago doesn't finish last but wins the lottery to move up to #1. This way, they are out of the running for McKenna unless they're the worst team in the league next season.

 

[Mr. T]

Just get into the top four. That should be this team's only goal for the next few months.

I think we need this with a Pens logo

 

[lokomotiv15]

Yeah Martone's combination of size and skill is extremely attractive but I do think there's gonna be an adjustment period there because guys who play his style usually don't translate immediately to the strength and speed of NHL hockey.

Hell, any of the big four would. Hagens, Schaefer, Misa, Martone. They'd all be unreal for a team with no game changers in the system, and they all kinda fit their own relatively unique niche as far as styles go, which is cool.

Just get into the top four. That should be this team's only goal for the next few months.

I've seen Martone a few times this year and he's polarizing to me. He's obviously a top-5 pick in this draft, but all the times I saw him before everyone else jumped on the Schaefer wagon, I had no idea how he was being touted as taking over the #1 spot from Hagens.

He has good size, great skill/hands and a good shot. He isnt a great skater by any means, doesn't play to his size whatsoever, is a good but not great passer and definitely is benefiting from playing in a great finisher in Rehkopf and a total speedster in Misa (the other older one)

I'd be happy with any of the top-5 this year, but I think you get an extra pop in the top-3 with Schaefer, Misa and Hagens and the gap between those 3 and the rest is a bit bigger than people think.

 

[Riggs]

View attachment 983742

I think we need this with a Pens logo

 

[eXile3]

I've seen Martone a few times this year and he's polarizing to me. He's obviously a top-5 pick in this draft, but all the times I saw him before everyone else jumped on the Schaefer wagon, I had no idea how he was being touted as taking over the #1 spot from Hagens.

He has good size, great skill/hands and a good shot. He isnt a great skater by any means, doesn't play to his size whatsoever, is a good but not great passer and definitely is benefiting from playing in a great finisher in Rehkopf and a total speedster in Misa (the other older one)

I'd be happy with any of the top-5 this year, but I think you get an extra pop in the top-3 with Schaefer, Misa and Hagens and the gap between those 3 and the rest is a bit bigger than people think.

Do not want then. I want someone who can skate, and handle the puck while skating. It’s become too important in the modern NHL if you want to be a play driver

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

Hagens or Misa are likely better pickups due to being centers. Schaefer's a potential top pairing guy which is great, if he hits that ceiling. I still think Martone's a really interesting guy. Even if he doesn't end up being a physically imposing presence, there's obviously still talent there and if he's a smart enough player, he doesn't need to be an exceptional skater.

I dunno. Again, any of the top four would be a godsend to this prospect pool. Excited to see where the Pens end up and if anybody drops in the draft. Only guy I'm real wary of is McQueen, but maybe someone takes a reach pick by going after the giant guy (who apparently can't skate for shit).

 

[Jay Gray]

Do not want then. I want someone who can skate, and handle the puck while skating. It’s become too important in the modern NHL if you want to be a play driver

Then you won't like Frondell, Desnoyers, McQueen, or O'Brien either because I don't expect any of them to be more than average at best skaters especially for a center.

 

[lokomotiv15]

Do not want then. I want someone who can skate, and handle the puck while skating. It’s become too important in the modern NHL if you want to be a play driver

Oddly enough, he's a bit the opposite of most "big" guys where he's actually a pretty good skater in terms of lateral movement, edge-work, stop and start, pivot etc... and he does chain his stick-handling and skating very well. Its actually his high-end and straight line speed that are underwhelming. Needs to work on full extension, having his body over the right spots at knee bend and maximizing push/explosiveness to reach another gear.

Agreed, though. Definitely why he falls below those top 3 for me into a whole different tier with the next 3-4 guys.

Schaefer might be the best pure skater in the whole draft, top to bottom. Pair that with a guy who is showing signs of being a good PP QB, plays positinally well on the PK and 5-on-5, has a late birthdate and already has good size. If he can come back and put on a bit of a show at the end of the season/post season, I don't any world where he isn't the undisputed #1 pick.

 

[eXile3]

Then you won't like Frondell, Desnoyers, McQueen, or O'Brien either because I don't expect any of them to be more than average at best skaters especially for a center.

Then yeah, screw those guys.

But are they poor skaters or just average? I feel younger players can improve their speed with a little muscle and strength training. I’ve also not heard that about Frondell but I don’t watch any of these guys.

 

[Empoleon8771]

I think people obsess over skating far too much. Not being a speedster doesn't mean you're a late era Rob Scuderi who could barely move around the ice. Martone's pro comparables are guys like Tkachuk, Perry and Wheeler, none of which were great skaters but still had a ton of success at the NHL level. If Martone was also a strong skater, he'd be an absolute monster of a prospect. As is, I think he's sitting pretty firmly at #4 in the rankings.

The NHL is changing so that bad skaters can't cut it in the NHL anymore, but it's not changing so that everyone has to be a great skater.

 

[eXile3]

Oddly enough, he's a bit the opposite of most "big" guys where he's actually a pretty good skater in terms of lateral movement, edge-work, stop and start, pivot etc... and he does chain his stick-handling and skating very well. Its actually his high-end and straight line speed that are underwhelming. Needs to work on full extension, having his body over the right spots at knee bend and maximizing push/explosiveness to reach another gear.

Agreed, though. Definitely why he falls below those top 3 for me into a whole different tier with the next 3-4 guys.

Schaefer might be the best pure skater in the whole draft, top to bottom. Pair that with a guy who is showing signs of being a good PP QB, plays positinally well on the PK and 5-on-5, has a late birthdate and already has good size. If he can come back and put on a bit of a show at the end of the season/post season, I don't any world where he isn't the undisputed #1 pick.

Which is fine. If he take advantage of, and create open space for his line mates he can be successful in the NHL.

 

[Jacob]

Martone is very skilled, fairly east-west type player. He’s more like if you made Mitch Marner 4 inches taller, with the subsequent decline in his top gear.

Schaefer is good but I see more Fowler/Bouwmeester, which is fine, than Makar or Quinn Hughes type of offense from him.

 

[eXile3]

Martone is very skilled, fairly east-west type player. He’s more like if you made Mitch Marner 4 inches taller, with the subsequent decline in his top gear.

Schaefer is good but I see more Fowler/Bouwmeester, which is fine, than Makar or Quinn Hughes type of offense from him.

Really? What makes you say that?

 

[lokomotiv15]

Then you won't like Frondell, Desnoyers, McQueen, or O'Brien either because I don't expect any of them to be more than average at best skaters especially for a center.

Then yeah, screw those guys.

But are they poor skaters or just average? I feel younger players can improve their speed with a little muscle and strength training. I’ve also not heard that about Frondell but I don’t watch any of these guys.

I would say that Frondell is a decent, slightly above average skater, but optics could be distorted as he plays in a generally better league against some fully developped players. He skates well enough for his tool-set.. Desnoyers is definitely the best skater out of that bunch and would even put him at "above-average +" comfortably, with room to improve with strength, but like Jay Gray said, slightly underwhelming for a centerman. McQueen is a lumbering skater and the worst of those four; He was drafted out of AAA at 6'3 and has slowly grown since then to being almost 6'6, where you can tell the extra body height and length is still very much affecting everything from his deceptiveness to explosiveness. Pair that with a back injury last year and then a lower-body injury this year, he's got a mountain to climb to get on the right side of being an OK skater. O'Brien is also average at best at the moment. He's a guy who needs to work on his base-line skating mechanics, but also has a lot of room to grow in the strength department, so might have the most upside, in terms of improving skating, out of those 4.

 

[Rudy Russo]

Yeah Martone's combination of size and skill is extremely attractive but I do think there's gonna be an adjustment period there because guys who play his style usually don't translate immediately to the strength and speed of NHL hockey.

Hell, any of the big four would. Hagens, Schaefer, Misa, Martone. They'd all be unreal for a team with no game changers in the system, and they all kinda fit their own relatively unique niche as far as styles go, which is cool.

Just get into the top four. That should be this team's only goal for the next few months.

It be very happy if the penguins were to draft one of the four in Summer.

 

[CheckingLineCenter]

Would call it a top 5 and I’d be happy with any one of Martone, Misa, Hagens, Frondell, Schaefer

 

[Big Friggin Dummy]

As the season plays out, I think I'd lean Misa if given a pick of any of the top four. People seem to liken his style to Point and that's a nice 2C. Hagens would be a nice pickup too, I saw a lotta Jack Hughes in him at the WJC.

Early prediction is we see 1. Schaefer, 2. Hagens, 3. Martone, 4-7. Misa/McQueen/Frondell/Desnoyers and no idea what order I expect after the top 3.