2025 NHL Draft: Lose a ton for Porter Martone

[coooldude]

@LilLeeroy given you seem to be a Hagens fan, do you have him at 1OA or 2 behind Schaefer?

 

[Star Platinum]

I do find it a little funny that all the lists seem to be pretending that Mrtka isn’t going top 10.

18 points in his first 20 WHL games, massive human, okay enough skater, right handed defenseman in a draft that has some meh defense. A GM is gonna take him top 10 and go golfing after.

Is he getting PP1 time to rack up all those assists? How does he look handling and passing the puck?

 

[LilLeeroy]

@LilLeeroy given you seem to be a Hagens fan, do you have him at 1OA or 2 behind Schaefer?

I'm not really a prospect ranker, but I really don't like late rising guys like Schaefer especially when their rise is happening when they aren't playing games. Very Trey Lance vibes.

 

[Barrie22]

I'm not really a prospect ranker, but I really don't like late rising guys like Schaefer especially when their rise is happening when they aren't playing games. Very Trey Lance vibes.

How is Schaefer a late riser? Before the season he was ranked 2nd by the person who has 1 of the best rankings for how nhl teams are thinking.

And as one of it not the youngest players in the draft, he came into the season and took his play to the next level. Hence why he has become an almost guaranteed 1st OA.

 

[Zarzh]

all this anti hagens talk is starting to sound like cope for when we pick 3rd.

I'd much rather have Schaefer or Misa.

 

[LilLeeroy]

How is Schaefer a late riser? Before the season he was ranked 2nd by the person who has 1 of the best rankings for how nhl teams are thinking.

And as one of it not the youngest players in the draft, he came into the season and took his play to the next level. Hence why he has become an almost guaranteed 1st OA.

If that happens that will be great with the Sharks having at least of 75% chance of not picking 1.

 

[Kcoyote3]

Is he getting PP1 time to rack up all those assists? How does he look handling and passing the puck?

Yeah he’s getting pretty much all the minutes. PP, ES, PK. Decent passer. Is trying to carry the puck more but I wouldn’t call him a natural at it. Good wrist shot from the point.

It’s more a function of he’s one of the best they’ve got so he’s getting all the minutes thrown at him.

 

[Juxtaposer]

How is Schaefer a late riser? Before the season he was ranked 2nd by the person who has 1 of the best rankings for how nhl teams are thinking.

And as one of it not the youngest players in the draft, he came into the season and took his play to the next level. Hence why he has become an almost guaranteed 1st OA.

Literally the only criticism the Hagens guys have for Schaefer is "small sample size". Ignoring that he was an OHL 1OA selection, was the best defenseman as an underage at the U18 last May, was by far the best player at the Hlinka this summer, played at an elite level in the OHL this fall/winter despite coming off mono, and was by far the best player as an underager on the Canadian WJC team (which, while they underperformed, had a lot of highly skilled 19 year olds). Yes, his production wasn't great as a 16 year old rookie defenseman in the OHL... whose is? His team was bad and he had two personal tragedies occur. It's insane to me to criticize his D-1 OHL production like some gotcha.

Looking through the early pages of this thread, I called Schaefer my favorite for this draft as far back as May 7th, 2024. He's a riser in the sense that he quite literally got visibly better every single game I've seen him play, but I was sure he was a top-5 pick before this season even started.

 

[Barrie22]

Literally the only criticism the Hagens guys have for Schaefer is "small sample size". Ignoring that he was an OHL 1OA selection, was the best defenseman as an underage at the U18 last May, was by far the best player at the Hlinka this summer, played at an elite level in the OHL this fall/winter despite coming off mono, and was by far the best player as an underager on the Canadian WJC team (which, while they underperformed, had a lot of highly skilled 19 year olds). Yes, his production wasn't great as a 16 year old rookie defenseman in the OHL... whose is? His team was bad and he had two personal tragedies occur. It's insane to me to criticize his D-1 OHL production like some gotcha.

Looking through the early pages of this thread, I called Schaefer my favorite for this draft as far back as May 7th, 2024. He's a riser in the sense that he quite literally got visibly better every single game I've seen him play, but I was sure he was a top-5 pick before this season even started.

So did bob mckenzie as he had him ranked 2nd for the preseason rankings, by midseason mckenzie bumped him up to 1st as the clear number 1.

 

[Sharksfan66]

As others have said, they never paired Burns and Vlasic together when Vlasic as good. Splitting them up made sense not only from a role perspective but a chemistry perspective.

Anyways, back to the draft: EP's mid-season rankings came out and there are no big shockers. (1) Schaefer, (2) Hagens, (3) Misa, and (4) Martone make up the cohort of guys in competition for #1, but they don't truly think anyone but Hagens can snatch it from Schaefer. If McQueen comes back fully healthy and produces at an elite level, he could rise into the top-4. J. Smith, Eklund, and Bear round out a second tier. Things open up at #9 with a big tier into the early 20's which encapsulates the rest of the first round grades. Shallow first round, moderately decent second round as they see it.

Can ask me more specific questions if anyone has them.

It's probably early to ask but do you have thoughts on who you'd like to see the Sharks draft with our 2nd round pick?

 

[Gecklund]

Literally the only criticism the Hagens guys have for Schaefer is "small sample size". Ignoring that he was an OHL 1OA selection, was the best defenseman as an underage at the U18 last May, was by far the best player at the Hlinka this summer, played at an elite level in the OHL this fall/winter despite coming off mono, and was by far the best player as an underager on the Canadian WJC team (which, while they underperformed, had a lot of highly skilled 19 year olds). Yes, his production wasn't great as a 16 year old rookie defenseman in the OHL... whose is? His team was bad and he had two personal tragedies occur. It's insane to me to criticize his D-1 OHL production like some gotcha.

Looking through the early pages of this thread, I called Schaefer my favorite for this draft as far back as May 7th, 2024. He's a riser in the sense that he quite literally got visibly better every single game I've seen him play, but I was sure he was a top-5 pick before this season even started.

Yeah I think I’ve had Schaefer at one really since I started paying attention to this draft.

Now I will say that I still do like Hagens and if he’s there at 2 (assuming Schaefer went 1) I take him and am happy.

 

[Juxtaposer]

It's probably early to ask but do you have thoughts on who you'd like to see the Sharks draft with our 2nd round pick?

Trade it for a top-4 defenseman, if I'm being honest.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

If that happens that will be great with the Sharks having at least of 75% chance of not picking 1.

Better than any other team will have which is the best result our team can hope for this season.

 

[Kcoyote3]

Watching Martone tonight, he had a real bad period and Misa already at 3 points in his game. Yeah the gap might start to widen given Martone's recent play and Misa just keeps on chugging. Will have to keep watching. Martone made a few good plays but his pace was pretty low and he had more than a few giveaways.

 

[Juxtaposer]

Watching Martone tonight, he had a real bad period and Misa already at 3 points in his game. Yeah the gap might start to widen given Martone's recent play and Misa just keeps on chugging. Will have to keep watching. Martone made a few good plays but his pace was pretty low and he had more than a few giveaways.

Misa truthers rise.

 

[Jargon]

From everything I’ve read, I really like Misa. He sounds like a Marleau/Couture type of complementary player that would be very useful to the team. We could also always use more speed, too.

 

[TheBeard]

Watching Martone tonight, he had a real bad period and Misa already at 3 points in his game. Yeah the gap might start to widen given Martone's recent play and Misa just keeps on chugging. Will have to keep watching. Martone made a few good plays but his pace was pretty low and he had more than a few giveaways.

I’m not convinced he’s surefire top 4 anymore. I’m convinced either Bear or Eklund take his spot.

 

[coooldude]

I’m not convinced he’s surefire top 4 anymore. I’m convinced either Bear or Eklund take his spot.

I don't think Bear or Eklund take 5OA, although Eklund is beloved. I think they're like Cattonb(C, yes, but smaller) and Iginla. I think McQueen, Desnoyers, Frondell, Smith, or one of the RDs like Mrtka sneak into 4 if Martone is the dropper. But Eklund would maybe be the top winger choice. And anything could happen.

 

[Kcoyote3]

I still don’t think he gets out of the top 4, but his last three games have been pretty bad.

 

[Celly4Celebrini]

all this anti hagens talk is starting to sound like cope for when we pick 3rd.

if we pick 2, id prefer Misa. If we pick 3 i hope whoever has 2 prefers Hagens,

Hes getting a bit of the Shane Wright deal. Not considering playstyles. but he was long thought to be #1 until his draft year where he lost his appeal. Im sure many people would have said the same about not wanting Wright as just being "cope"

I'm not really a prospect ranker, but I really don't like late rising guys like Schaefer especially when their rise is happening when they aren't playing games. Very Trey Lance vibes.

as a Rams fan i loved that the 49ers took Lance. What i will say is that Lance was the equivalent of a guy playing Jr. A rising quickly due to projections and not his play. It also was the result of a positional void at QB that has immensely more pressure and need to get right than any other position.

 

[Hodge]

I’m not convinced he’s surefire top 4 anymore. I’m convinced either Bear or Eklund take his spot.

No way. Martone should be our 2nd choice after Schaefer. His production is on par with Misa and his size and RH shot are sorely lacking in our prospect pool.

I don't really care how engaged he looks in the OHL. He's probably bored playing in a league he's too good for.

 

[wickedwitch]

I still don’t think he gets out of the top 4, but his last three games have been pretty bad.

With regards to the draft itself (and not eligible prospect rankings), I don't think Martone falls out of the top 4 unless he plays terribly for the remainder of the season. As long as his numbers are remotely decent (say >1.5 points/game), I think he goes top 4. It's very easy to picture some team falling in love with his size and thinking they can turn him into the next Tkachuk. If anyone falls at the draft, it's going to be Hagens. (Which would be very stupid by teams 3 and 4.)

 

[Crewouse]

No way. Martone should be our 2nd choice after Schaefer. His production is on par with Misa and his size and RH shot are sorely lacking in our prospect pool.

I don't really care how engaged he looks in the OHL. He's probably bored playing in a league he's too good for.

You mentioned earlier that prospects should be judged for their draft year, it doesn't seem like a great look for Martone if he can't be bothered to lock in

 

[Pinkfloyd]

No way. Martone should be our 2nd choice after Schaefer. His production is on par with Misa and his size and RH shot are sorely lacking in our prospect pool.

I don't really care how engaged he looks in the OHL. He's probably bored playing in a league he's too good for.

I don't think a right shot with size up front is sorely lacking in our prospect pool. We got enough of them to not overvalue those attributes. What we don't have is anyone other than Smith that projects out to be a top six center. I'm not sure why we've bought into this notion that someone like Hagens or Misa is something we already have when we don't and if we do, it's one guy that may not ever switch back to the pivot.

 

[Hodge]

You mentioned earlier that prospects should be judged for their draft year, it doesn't seem like a great look for Martone if he can't be bothered to lock in

He's still scoring 2 points per game which is elite draft year production in the OHL.

I don't think a right shot with size up front is sorely lacking in our prospect pool. We got enough of them to not overvalue those attributes. What we don't have is anyone other than Smith that projects out to be a top six center. I'm not sure why we've bought into this notion that someone like Hagens or Misa is something we already have when we don't and if we do, it's one guy that may not ever switch back to the pivot.

Who else do we have? Halttunen and Lund are extremely unlikely to make the NHL and not even remotely on the same level as Martone.