NHL Entry Draft: 2025 Draft Pick Watch

[mike14]

I don't watch a heap of draft stuff these days, but Cootes kind of gives me JT Miller vibes from back in his day.
Different players, but similarities in terms of "will be an NHLer, it's a question of whether the offense develops to be a top line guy, or just a really useful middle-6 piece"

 

[TGWL]

There's a lot of players in this draft that could become closer to middle 6 than top 6/top line. I don't think I'd offer up 2 major pieces to move up.

 

[bhamill]

There's a lot of players in this draft that could become closer to middle 6 than top 6/top line. I don't think I'd offer up 2 major pieces to move up.

Yeah, I mean even in the most highly regarded years it’s a crapshoot. This draft it seems even more so. It feels like there’s a top five that could go in a very variable order and then 10 more that can get chaotic. And I wouldn’t be surprised at a reach or two in the top ten that drops a more highly regarded guy back to our spot. I guess I just don’t see any clear advantage to using assets to trade up unless you’re talking top 5 and even then I wouldn’t get crazy. I’d love to get Martin, and he’s rated right around our spot… but I can see him going early and dropping a higher rated prospect further back.

 

[kovazub94]

He’s good but im only cool with this if he’s friends with your uncle.

From a local bar? @EdJovanovski

 

[TGWL]

Yeah, I mean even in the most highly regarded years it’s a crapshoot. This draft it seems even more so. It feels like there’s a top five that could go in a very variable order and then 10 more that can get chaotic. And I wouldn’t be surprised at a reach or two in the top ten that drops a more highly regarded guy back to our spot. I guess I just don’t see any clear advantage to using assets to trade up unless you’re talking top 5 and even then I wouldn’t get crazy. I’d love to get Martin, and he’s rated right around our spot… but I can see him going early and dropping a higher rated prospect further back.

A player like Radim Mrtka is ranked 12th from Mckenzie and 11th on tankathon, but I can see him hitting the top 10 with a team like Seattle wanting to fill their backend with a big defender. If that happens, somebody obviously has to drop. So I agree, bumping up a few slots doesn't seem smart this draft unless a really big player drops and you want him.

​

 

[I Eat Crow]

A player like Radim Mrtka is ranked 12th from Mckenzie and 11th on tankathon, but I can see him hitting the top 10 with a team like Seattle wanting to fill their backend with a big defender. If that happens, somebody obviously has to drop. So I agree, bumping up a few slots doesn't seem smart this draft unless a really big player drops and you want him.

​

I'd bet the farm Mtrka goes top 10. Teams will see a 6'6" RHD that can skate well and take him higher than he should go.

 

[surlysailor]

There's a lot of players in this draft that could become closer to middle 6 than top 6/top line. I don't think I'd offer up 2 major pieces to move up.

Yeah I would not move up unless it was a slam dunk for win. I do wonder since they wanted a top 13 protected 1st and Yzerman seems to be on the hot seat if they can give Pitt 12, then trade miller+ for 13 & a prospect like wallinder & Gus (as a cap dump).

 

[TGWL]

Not sure if this is posted but if anybody wants the NYtimes opinion on prospects ranked by specific skills.. This doesn't really mean too much.

Best Skater	Best Shot	Best Hands	Smartest	MostCompetitive	Most Physical	Strongest	Well-rounded
Cullen Potter	Cameron Schmidt	Ryker Lee	Adam Benak	Brady Martin	Brady Martin	Shane Vansaghi	Caleb Desnoyers
Matthew Schaefer	Justin Carbonneau	Jake O’Brien	James Hagens	Kashawn Aitcheson	Kashawn Aitcheson	Mace’o Phillips	Milton Gastrin
Cameron Schmidt	Anton Frondell	L.J. Mooney	Jake O’Brien	Victor Eklund	Mace’o Phillips	William Belle	Cole Reschny
L.J. Mooney	Jakob Ihs-Wozniak	Justin Carbonneau	Caleb Desnoyers	Carter Klippenstein	William Belle	David Bedkowski	Braeden Cootes
Adam Benak	Kashawn Aitcheson	James Hagens	Benjamin Kindel	Milton Gastrin	Malte Vass	Charlie Trethewey	Cole McKinney
Ben Kevan	Jack Murtagh	Porter Martone	Michael Misa	Carter Bear	David Bedkowski		Victor Eklund
Reese Hamilton	Porter Martone	Alexander Zharovsky	L.J. Mooney	Malcolm Spence			Malcolm Spence
James Hagens	Bryce Pickford	Michael Misa	Matthew Schaefer	Bill Zonnon			Carter Bear
Michael Misa	Michael Misa	Conrad Fondrk	Cole Reschny	Caleb Desnoyers
Sascha Boumedienne		Ivan Ryabkin	Cameron Reid
Cameron Reid			Porter Martone
Luca Romano
Haoxi Wang

Best Skater honorable mentions: Radim Mrtka, Lasse Boelius, Jackson Smith, Viggo Nordlund, Tomas Galvas, Daniel Nieminen, Kieren Dervin, Arvid Drott, Malcolm Spence, Lirim Amidovski

Best Shot honorable mentions: Daniil Prokhorov, Emile Guite, Charlie Trethewey, Cooper Simpson, Brent Solomon, Brady Martin, Carter Bear (Should be noted that nobody ranked for best shot is believed to be an elite sniper.)

Best Hands honorable mentions: Brady Martin, Benjamin Kindel, Cullen Potter, Adam Benak, Viktor Klingsell, Aidan Lane, Filip Ekberg, Philippe Veilleux, Benjamin Rautiainen, Roger McQueen, Caleb Desnoyers, Cole Reschny

Smartest honorable mentions: William Moore, Roger McQueen, Victor Eklund, Luka Radivojevic, Jack Ivankovic.

Mot-Competitive honorable mentions: Theo Hallquisth, Cole Reschny, Jacob Kvasnicka, Eddie Genborg, Braeden Cootes, Travis Hayes, Malte Vass, Brendan McMorrow, Ethan Czata, Charlie Cerrato, L.J. Mooney, Shane Vansaghi, Tyler Hopkins, Tomas Pobezal

Most Physical honorable mentions: Carter Bear, Jack Nesbitt, Peyton Kettles, Shane Vansaghi, Carter Klippenstein, Daniil Prokhorov

Strongest honorable mentions: Anton Frondell, Kashawn Aitcheson, Brady Martin, Cole McKinney, Porter Martone, Carter Klippenstein, William Horcoff, Sean Barnhill, Jack Murtagh, Daniil Prokhorov, David Bedkowski, Justin Carbonneau, Carter Amico, Hayden Paupanekis, Brady Peddle, Peyton Kettles

Most well-rounded honorable mentions: Eric Nilson, Jake O’Brien, Anton Frondell, Michael Misa, Tyler Hopkins

 

[OriginalLimbo]

Just screwing around on FC Hockey

Yeah, no way it goes down like this, haha.

Focused on C and puck moving Ds, with a good G prospect and a meaty winger sprinkled in.

 

[EdJovanovski]

 

[n8]

Just screwing around on FC Hockey

Yeah, no way it goes down like this, haha.

Focused on C and puck moving Ds, with a good G prospect and a meaty winger sprinkled in.

View attachment 1053740

My best haul was
12. McQueen
43. Brzustewicz
70. Moore
104. Wang
118. Lafreniere
148. Gorzynski
166. Sumpf
171. Frolov
203. Katzin

 

[eco's bones]

Not sure if this is posted but if anybody wants the NYtimes opinion on prospects ranked by specific skills.. This doesn't really mean too much.

Best Skater	Best Shot	Best Hands	Smartest	MostCompetitive	Most Physical	Strongest	Well-rounded
Cullen Potter	Cameron Schmidt	Ryker Lee	Adam Benak	Brady Martin	Brady Martin	Shane Vansaghi	Caleb Desnoyers
Matthew Schaefer	Justin Carbonneau	Jake O’Brien	James Hagens	Kashawn Aitcheson	Kashawn Aitcheson	Mace’o Phillips	Milton Gastrin
Cameron Schmidt	Anton Frondell	L.J. Mooney	Jake O’Brien	Victor Eklund	Mace’o Phillips	William Belle	Cole Reschny
L.J. Mooney	Jakob Ihs-Wozniak	Justin Carbonneau	Caleb Desnoyers	Carter Klippenstein	William Belle	David Bedkowski	Braeden Cootes
Adam Benak	Kashawn Aitcheson	James Hagens	Benjamin Kindel	Milton Gastrin	Malte Vass	Charlie Trethewey	Cole McKinney
Ben Kevan	Jack Murtagh	Porter Martone	Michael Misa	Carter Bear	David Bedkowski		Victor Eklund
Reese Hamilton	Porter Martone	Alexander Zharovsky	L.J. Mooney	Malcolm Spence			Malcolm Spence
James Hagens	Bryce Pickford	Michael Misa	Matthew Schaefer	Bill Zonnon			Carter Bear
Michael Misa	Michael Misa	Conrad Fondrk	Cole Reschny	Caleb Desnoyers
Sascha Boumedienne		Ivan Ryabkin	Cameron Reid
Cameron Reid			Porter Martone
Luca Romano
Haoxi Wang

Best Skater honorable mentions: Radim Mrtka, Lasse Boelius, Jackson Smith, Viggo Nordlund, Tomas Galvas, Daniel Nieminen, Kieren Dervin, Arvid Drott, Malcolm Spence, Lirim Amidovski

Best Shot honorable mentions: Daniil Prokhorov, Emile Guite, Charlie Trethewey, Cooper Simpson, Brent Solomon, Brady Martin, Carter Bear (Should be noted that nobody ranked for best shot is believed to be an elite sniper.)

Best Hands honorable mentions: Brady Martin, Benjamin Kindel, Cullen Potter, Adam Benak, Viktor Klingsell, Aidan Lane, Filip Ekberg, Philippe Veilleux, Benjamin Rautiainen, Roger McQueen, Caleb Desnoyers, Cole Reschny

Smartest honorable mentions: William Moore, Roger McQueen, Victor Eklund, Luka Radivojevic, Jack Ivankovic.

Mot-Competitive honorable mentions: Theo Hallquisth, Cole Reschny, Jacob Kvasnicka, Eddie Genborg, Braeden Cootes, Travis Hayes, Malte Vass, Brendan McMorrow, Ethan Czata, Charlie Cerrato, L.J. Mooney, Shane Vansaghi, Tyler Hopkins, Tomas Pobezal

Most Physical honorable mentions: Carter Bear, Jack Nesbitt, Peyton Kettles, Shane Vansaghi, Carter Klippenstein, Daniil Prokhorov

Strongest honorable mentions: Anton Frondell, Kashawn Aitcheson, Brady Martin, Cole McKinney, Porter Martone, Carter Klippenstein, William Horcoff, Sean Barnhill, Jack Murtagh, Daniil Prokhorov, David Bedkowski, Justin Carbonneau, Carter Amico, Hayden Paupanekis, Brady Peddle, Peyton Kettles

Most well-rounded honorable mentions: Eric Nilson, Jake O’Brien, Anton Frondell, Michael Misa, Tyler Hopkins

I would caution against taking some of these guys early. Schmidt, Benak and Mooney are all around 5'7 or really really small. They can light up the leagues they're in and maybe you'll get a guy like DeBrincat but at that size you just aren't going to know until they hit the pros.

From watching teams that regularly make Cup runs size can really matter and defense is a position where I would not be drafting a sub 6' player in this draft. It's one thing if there were someone like a Hutson but I don't see a player like that coming out of this particular draft.

For the Rangers in this draft---if we're picking 9 guys I'd be kind of aiming at 4 defensemen anyway and I'd be drafting some bigger players. I think the last few drafts drafting bigger has kind of paid off for us.

 

[EdJovanovski]

I would caution against taking some of these guys early. Schmidt, Benak and Mooney are all around 5'7 or really really small. They can light up the leagues they're in and maybe you'll get a guy like DeBrincat but at that size you just aren't going to know until they hit the pros.

From watching teams that regularly make Cup runs size can really matter and defense is a position where I would not be drafting a sub 6' player in this draft. It's one thing if there were someone like a Hutson but I don't see a player like that coming out of this particular draft.

For the Rangers in this draft---if we're picking 9 guys I'd be kind of aiming at 4 defensemen anyway and I'd be drafting some bigger players. I think the last few drafts drafting bigger has kind of paid off for us.

Schmidt absolutely sucks in my opinion. Watched him in person a few times with the Giants and he plays such a selfish and not-NHL style of game. I don't think I've ever seen a highly touted prospect look like their game would translate worse than his does. I would be absolutely shocked if he were to ever become an NHL player.

 

[JESSEWENEEDTOCOOK]

Just screwing around on FC Hockey

Yeah, no way it goes down like this, haha.

Focused on C and puck moving Ds, with a good G prospect and a meaty winger sprinkled in.

View attachment 1053740

I think Smith and Mrtka are ranked way too low on this list. I’d be shocked if either of those guys is there at our pick, and if Smith is there Drury should be running up to the podium to get him

 

[eco's bones]

Schmidt absolutely sucks in my opinion. Watched him in person a few times with the Giants and he plays such a selfish and not-NHL style of game. I don't think I've ever seen a highly touted prospect look like their game would translate worse than his does. I would be absolutely shocked if he were to ever become an NHL player.

If we're going to transform into a North South type team like the Panthers are we're going to need North South type players. Obviously at least a few of our players are going to have to be really really good players and maybe we can still get away with having a Panarin and a Fox type but the bulk of the team should have the mentality of hard forecheck and hard back check and pressuring other teams into making mistakes.

I also can't see a great reason for a throw some shit at the wall pick of a 5'9 center in the 6th round.....guys that almost never make it. Looking at Rempe, Edstrom, Roobroeck those are 6th round picks that actually can help our team. The later round picks if they do make it almost always become role players and bigger, more aggressive players are just better for filling roles on a team.

 

[TGWL]

I would caution against taking some of these guys early. Schmidt, Benak and Mooney are all around 5'7 or really really small. They can light up the leagues they're in and maybe you'll get a guy like DeBrincat but at that size you just aren't going to know until they hit the pros.

From watching teams that regularly make Cup runs size can really matter and defense is a position where I would not be drafting a sub 6' player in this draft. It's one thing if there were someone like a Hutson but I don't see a player like that coming out of this particular draft.

For the Rangers in this draft---if we're picking 9 guys I'd be kind of aiming at 4 defensemen anyway and I'd be drafting some bigger players. I think the last few drafts drafting bigger has kind of paid off for us.

I'm not advocating for most of them with the 12th. Just a ranking by NYtimes and based on skill they bring compared to their peers. Benak is either going to make some team very happy with the selection or very disappointed. 5'7 is small, but he's a really good player and has trunks for legs to make up for it. Unfortunately the risk there is too high for a team that needs to hit on prospects.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

McKenzies final draft list comes out this morning.

Always ends up being the best and most accurate list since it's based on scouts and inside info he gets on what teams are interested in.

Will be interesting to see who is around the 12-13 area.

Sounds like Martin is raising so the dream of getting him is likely gone.

 

[I Eat Crow]

Martin, Aitcheson, Mtrka, and Smith are going to be risers.

O'Brien, Eklund, Hagens are going to end up falling.

 

[Donny 77]

Does K'Andre Miller and Laferriere get you top 5 pick?

Put down the pipe bro.

 

[Lion Hound]

This draft to me is similar to the 2017 NHL draft. There was this 12 player consensus and then it dropped off significantly. Rangers that year had a solid position 7OA. Going into it most of the professionals keep reiterating it’s a weak class. Similar to 2025 there was a battle for 1OA that flipped flopped during the year. Nolan at first, the Nico. I’m 2025 it was Havens first now all accounts seem to point to Schafer.


I’m 2017 The two top centers for most of the year Nolan, and Hischier. Nolan held the rank almost the entire time. Hischier pushed him out a bit. are Hagans and Misa.


In 2017 there were 2 Defenseman that were in top 10 Mocks drafts and rankings. Cale Makar and Miro Heiskanen. This year it’s Schaefer and Mrtka.

In 2017 There was a big C in Vilardi that had people concerned due to a back injury. This year, very similar player even bigger but same story in McQueen.

In 2017 there was a Swedish C (Pettersson) who was garnering all sorts of attention for his playmaking ability. He rose through the rankings. This year there’s a Swedish sniper( Frondell) who is getting lots of love from the pro scouting community.

In 17 there was a 6’6 Rasmussen who was ranked as high as 5 and as low at 10. This years big guy is Martone who is all over the map.

There was Little Nick Suzuki. Who had all the telent in the world packed into a small frame. Big motor always buzzing. Always factored into games, this year it’s Eklund. Similar player but now on the RW. Pacesetter.

Rangers went off the board that year. I’m what was considered a solid top 12, they went to a player raked in the 20’s and botched it. I think they learned from their mistakes. I hope anyway.

If they keep the pick I’m hoping they stay within the consensus this time around. There will be a good player there. Whether or not it’s the one of the guys people here seem to covet is another story.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Bob's top 20 so far:

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

Of course nobody I want falls to us.

 

[JESSEWENEEDTOCOOK]

smith at 12 would be amazing

 

[The Crypto Guy]

No interest in a defenseman with so many decent centers available, but of course Bobs ranking has all the good forwards taken before we pick so I guess we would be stuck getting a dman or reaching back for another forward.

 

[I Eat Crow]

Bob's top 20 so far:

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

Of course nobody I want falls to us.

Not at all stunned to see Hagens where he is.

Flip Frondell and Desnoyers and O'Brien and Martin and my board looks very similar.

If the Rangers stay put, a really good forward is going to drop. Seattle at 8th is going to start a run on defensemen.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Full writeup:

With 'prodigious talent and boundless potential,' Matthew Schaefer tops McKenzie's NHL Draft Ranking | TSN

If, as expected, Matthew Schaefer is taken No. 1 overall by the Islanders, it will be unprecedented. That is, no No. 1 pick will have ever played so few games in his draft year as Schaefer.

www.tsn.ca