2025 DRAFT Thread

[Vector]

15. Vancouver Canucks: Justin Carbonneau, RW, Blainville-Boisbriand (QMJHL)​

The Canucks will explore their options on the trade market with the 15th selection at the draft, but if they stick and pick, they’ll need to add offensive juice to their lineup above all other considerations. Carbonneau would fit the bill, and do so with the sort of “heavy skill” template this team is desperate for. — Thomas Drance

Corey Pronman mock draft

To be clear about this one, it's a mock draft done by The Athletic staff with the beat writers picking for the teams they cover. Pronman just organizes it and gives his thoughts at the end.

 

[ManVanFan]

To be clear about this one, it's a mock draft done by The Athletic staff with the beat writers picking for the teams they cover. Pronman just organizes it and gives his thoughts at the end.

You feel the soft Canuck fans will be very triggered by this. Lol.

 

[SelltheTeamFrancesco]

NHL Draft Lottery: Five players the Canucks could target if they retain the 15th pick

The Canucks could land a good prospect at No. 15, or they could put the pick in play in a trade for a proven centre

theprovince.com

Shane Malloy names 5 players the Canucks could target.

 

[ManVanFan]

NHL Draft Lottery: Five players the Canucks could target if they retain the 15th pick

The Canucks could land a good prospect at No. 15, or they could put the pick in play in a trade for a proven centre

theprovince.com

Shane Malloy names 5 players the Canucks could target.

I like Shane Malloy, his time writing that book. He listened to what was being said. I don't think he is wrong with any of those players either. They will all be in the range but there's no way Canucks should draft any of those players. Those players are useless to the Canucks unless they are entering a rebuild.

 

[Jerry the great]

NHL Draft Lottery: Five players the Canucks could target if they retain the 15th pick

The Canucks could land a good prospect at No. 15, or they could put the pick in play in a trade for a proven centre

theprovince.com

Shane Malloy names 5 players the Canucks could target.

Hensler and Boumedienne have little appeal IMO.

Malcolm spence is a guy that will play, i just wonder how much upside there is to his game. guys with decent but not great production in junior because they're essentially strong skating fully developed adults are kind of risky IMO.

I'd rather target guys that need to (but should) fill out, who produce despite being smaller because they're fearless. Eklund, for example, is a kid out there thriving against men despite his physical limitations. I know he'll likely be gone, but who knows.

Another type i kind of like are the beanpoles who will also eventually fill in...particularly if they're not shy about mucking it up and have good skating mechanics. despite the somewhat mediocre production i kind of like Jack Nesbitt at 15.

 

[kcunac]

Brady seems like he’s rising. Just read 4 mocks online with him in top 10. In contrast lots of qs on Mcqueen who could fall and 3 had Eklund slipping to Detroit at 13. Reschny seems possible. If so hope he can gets a growth spurt.

 

[credulous]

that would be a decent outcome for the Canucks.

looking at the list, the top 10 is quite strong.

I know the draft is labelled as "weak", it might be week from depth perspective, but the top part of the 1st round is strong.

IMO, Schaefer/Misa/Hagens/Martone all are legit top 2 picks in a lot of drafts.

i know next to nothing about the chl kids but hagens is one of the worst top ncaa prospects in a decade. there's only 5 months between him and eiserman, eiserman had a better freshman year, looks like the better prospect and was a mid first pick in 2024

if hagens is a top 5 pick in this draft it's one of the worst of the last decade imo

 

[credulous]

Hensler and Boumedienne have little appeal IMO.

hensler is legit. i think he'd be a great pick at 15. boumedienne i think is good too but 15 is probably a little high for him and he's too much like hronek and willander. would be hard to fit them all on the same blueline

 

[Jerry the great]

hensler is legit. i think he'd be a great pick at 15. boumedienne i think is good too but 15 is probably a little high for him and he's too much like hronek and willander. would be hard to fit them all on the same blueline

Hensler has dropped in the draft rankings (was once talked about as a top 5 pick) because the offensive game hasn't materialized at all and it isn't from lack of opportunity (almost 2 min PP TOI in the NCAA last season).

He's one of the oldest players in the draft, he's already a fantastic skater and solidly built. where's the upside coming from?

It wouldn't be an off the board pick at 15, but there's a perceived floor to his game that I don't think exists and a ceiling which appears obvious, that is being totally disregarded.

 

[Attack Vector]

I think Roger McQueen slips, I don’t see teams betting a top 10 draft pick on a player that hasn’t proved his draft status.

 

[ManVanFan]

Hensler has dropped in the draft rankings (was once talked about as a top 5 pick) because the offensive game hasn't materialized at all and it isn't from lack of opportunity (almost 2 min PP TOI in the NCAA last season).

He's one of the oldest players in the draft, he's already a fantastic skater and solidly built. where's the upside coming from?

It wouldn't be an off the board pick at 15, but there's a perceived floor to his game that I don't think exists and a ceiling which appears obvious, that is being totally disregarded.

I was just looking at the past 15 years of NCAA u19 D and he ranked tied for 6th worst in plus minus. The only guy around him to have an NHL career was Trouba. There was about 15 other guys that have been middling around in the AHL though. Wisconsin wasn't good this year and I only watched them play twice. The physical attributes are there. I wonder if he comes to the NHL he's got Mason Lohrei type defending.

 

[Breakers]

So the 1st overall pick out of the OHL (presumptive) has less hype than Owen Powers draft year

so its been:
Power
Dahlin
Ekblad

 

[Jerry the great]

I was just looking at the past 15 years of NCAA u19 D and he ranked tied for 6th worst in plus minus. The only guy around him to have an NHL career was Trouba. There was about 15 other guys that have been middling around in the AHL though. Wisconsin wasn't good this year and I only watched them play twice. The physical attributes are there. I wonder if he comes to the NHL he's got Mason Lohrei type defending.

That probably says more about the team than the player, though he didn't get much of a sniff on the PK, which is kind of a tell IMO.

 

[SelltheTeamFrancesco]

Hensler and Boumedienne have little appeal IMO.

Malcolm spence is a guy that will play, i just wonder how much upside there is to his game. guys with decent but not great production in junior because they're essentially strong skating fully developed adults are kind of risky IMO.

I'd rather target guys that need to (but should) fill out, who produce despite being smaller because they're fearless. Eklund, for example, is a kid out there thriving against men despite his physical limitations. I know he'll likely be gone, but who knows.

Another type i kind of like are the beanpoles who will also eventually fill in...particularly if they're not shy about mucking it up and have good skating mechanics. despite the somewhat mediocre production i kind of like Jack Nesbitt at 15.

I like Shane Malloy, his time writing that book. He listened to what was being said. I don't think he is wrong with any of those players either. They will all be in the range but there's no way Canucks should draft any of those players. Those players are useless to the Canucks unless they are entering a rebuild.

I like Shane Malloy maybe not for his ranking so much but they way he think about how he values players in the draft. I don’t like Hensler, Boumedienne, or Spencer. I like Aitcheson he has top 4 written all over him plus you got to love the way he plays. I personally don’t have Carbonneau that high but if you need offence he might be one of the most dynamic players in the draft. The article was more just for people to read more on some different prospects.

 

[ManVanFan]

That probably says more about the team than the player, though he didn't get much of a sniff on the PK, which is kind of a tell IMO.

He was second worst on the team and there was a couple D that were pluses. Watching highlights a lot of his points came from the power play. Just that bad 5v5?

 

[Just A Bit Outside]

I’d be livid if they kept the pick and drafted a dman.

 

[credulous]

Hensler has dropped in the draft rankings (was once talked about as a top 5 pick) because the offensive game hasn't materialized at all and it isn't from lack of opportunity (almost 2 min PP TOI in the NCAA last season).

He's one of the oldest players in the draft, he's already a fantastic skater and solidly built. where's the upside coming from?

It wouldn't be an off the board pick at 15, but there's a perceived floor to his game that I don't think exists and a ceiling which appears obvious, that is being totally disregarded.

how much upside do you want in the middle of the first? he's got pro size, he's an advantage skater, an advantage transition player (both ways) and he's got the athleticism and tenacity to be a very good in zone defender. his offensive game isn't great but he's got the tools to develop one

wisconsin was a bad team all year and he's was a freshman. it's not suprising his counting stats don't look good

 

[Jerry the great]

He was second worst on the team and there was a couple D that were pluses. Watching highlights a lot of his points came from the power play. Just that bad 5v5?

points were split evenly between PP and ES.

 

[Jerry the great]

how much upside do you want in the middle of the first? he's got pro size, he's an advantage skater, an advantage transition player (both ways) and he's got the athleticism and tenacity to be a very good in zone defender. his offensive game isn't great but he's got the tools to develop one

wisconsin was a bad team all year and he's was a freshman. it's not suprising his counting stats don't look good

I look for situations with at least some asymmetry in the reward/risk relationship. guys that thrive despite temporary impediments (size, strength, team depth) vs guys that aren't thriving despite a lack of impediments. extremely limited success vs NCAA talent when you already have pro size, skating, athleticism and get PPQB1 right out of the gate is somewhat concerning....hence the disinterest.

 

[ManVanFan]

points were split evenly between PP and ES.

Yikes. This draft is so very difficult. After 12th it really feels as if you are picking someone who could go either 13th or 40th. Lol.

 

[credulous]

I look for situations with at least some asymmetry in the reward/risk relationship. guys that thrive despite temporary impediments (size, strength, team depth) vs guys that aren't thriving despite a lack of impediments. extremely limited success vs NCAA talent when you already have pro size, skating, athleticism and get PPQB1 right out of the gate is somewhat concerning....hence the disinterest.

okay. i don't think that is a very useful viewpoint when dealing with mid-tier ncaa programs. you're talking about an 18 year old competing against 22 year olds. not everyone is going to be physically and athletically mature enough to stand out in that situation

 

[Jerry the great]

okay. i don't think that is a very useful viewpoint when dealing with mid-tier ncaa programs. you're talking about an 18 year old competing against 22 year olds. not everyone is going to be physically and athletically mature enough to stand out in that situation

the point was that he kind of already is physically mature.....at 6'2 ~200lbs with two seasons of the development program under his belt.

It's why people were talking about him being a top 5 pick with top pair all situations potential at the start of the year.

now he's projected to be a mid 1st rounder who might play in your top 4.

 

[credulous]

the point was that he kind of already is physically mature.....at 6'2 ~200lbs with two seasons of the development program under his belt.

It's why people were talking about him being a top 5 pick with top pair all situations potential at the start of the year.

now he's projected to be a mid 1st rounder who might play in your top 4.

yeah but the canucks pick in the mid first and it's a weak draft. getting a possible top 4 defender with upside is about what you can expect imo. i'm not claiming hensler is some future all star here

 

[ManVanFan]

Isles - Schaefer
Sharks - Martone
Hawks - Misa
Utah - Hagens
Preds - Frondell
Flyers - Desnoyers/O'Brien
Bruins - Desnoyers/O'Brien/McQueen
Krak - Martin/Mrtka
Sabres - Martin/Mrtka
Ducks - Eklund
Pens - O'Brien/McQueen
Rags - Smith/Aitcheson
Jackets - Hensler
Canucks -

I'd call that best fit for all teams needs. The dream is that the Penguins go off the board and don't pick a center. Rangers with Miller, Zibin, Trochek hopefully not looking at another center. Jackets already have too many centers.

 

[kcunac]

If we have to draft a d-man it better be Aitcheson (assuming Mrtka is taken).