HF Habs: 2025 NHL Draft: Part II

[TomKosto]

I'm only saying if there was ever a year to do it...
- Habs have two mid 1st round picks
- weak draft for skaters by all accounts
- Ravensbergen is the first goalie in a few years to be ranked in the 1st round on almost all lists

We're already talking about taking a good role player with the 16-17 picks who might not be top 6 F material or top 4 D material. If Habs scouts think Ravensbergen could be a star, they would have to consider him. He plays a pretty important position.

Honestly I dont know the guy, and yea you are right that with two picks we can try it. It’s just over the years ive been high on a lot of goalies prospect like Askarov/Knight/etc and wrong. There’s still time for thoses 2 but goalie dev is so impredictable. We have a lot of goalie prospects, Sam is not old, I would be surprise if they do.

 

[Garbageyuk]

Great might be a stretch. We certainly have some promising goalies but not sure we have a blue chipper sure thing. Ravensbergen intrigues me with that pedigree, size and athleticism but 16-17 might indeed be too early.

I’m just trying to wrap my head around how you can be impressed enough with Ravensbergen to want to draft him 16-17th overall, while simultaneously not thinking Fowler is a blue-chip goalie prospect.

Like, your take is that Fowler, Volokhin, Dobes, etc are not sure things (correct, btw), but Ravensbergen is? How? This dude was .901 during the regular season, and sub .900 in the playoffs this year - he was absolutely pedestrian aside from the W-L record, which was nice, but not really anything special.

It honestly reminds me a lot of the hype Zachary Fucale got in his draft year - I don’t get it at all. Except Ravensbergen isn’t even as good as Fucale was. Hopefully the Habs don’t make the same mistake here.

 

[Schooner Goon]

I’m just trying to wrap my head around how you can be impressed enough with Ravensbergen to want to draft him 16-17th overall, while simultaneously not thinking Fowler is a blue-chip goalie prospect.

Like, your take is that Fowler, Volokhin, Dobes, etc are not sure things (correct, btw), but Ravensbergen is? How? This dude was .901 during the regular season, and sub .900 in the playoffs this year - he was absolutely pedestrian aside from the W-L record, which was nice, but not really anything special.

It honestly reminds me a lot of the hype Zachary Fucale got in his draft year - I don’t get it at all. Except Ravensbergen isn’t even as good as Fucale was. Hopefully the Habs don’t make the same mistake here.

I'm not advocating for picking Ravensbergen and I'm not going to worry about save % for a 17-18 year old in the CHL. Tools, mental make-up and where you think they'll be in 5 years are the key. I have no idea what Habs scouts think of him. I'm only saying if there was ever a time to grab a potential star goalie, this might be the year to do it with two mid-1st round picks and a weak draft year. This thread is full of posts about us considering 3rd line players with limited upside at 16-17 overall.

 

[Garbageyuk]

I'm not going to worry about save % for a 17-18 year old in the CHL.

Crazy take. Like it or not, stats are always going to be a huge part of the picture. It’s like people forget that these days. The ability to put up sterling numbers in juniors is hugely indicative of potential success at the next level - take a look at Price, Holtby, Oettinger, Vasilevskiy, Shesterkin, Hill, etc’s numbers in juniors and tell me again that I shouldn’t be concerned with junior stats. All these guys were on an entirely different level than a guy like Ravensbergen.

Tools, mental make-up and where you think they'll be in 5 years are the key.

Like I said above, individual performance in juniors (stats) and results are a huge indicator of this in the vast majority of cases.

I'm only saying if there was ever a time to grab a potential star goalie, this might be the year to do it with two mid-1st round picks and a weak draft year.

All things considered, Ravensbergen isn’t even a high-end goaltending prospect, even if he is the top ranked goalie, so this is definitely not the year to do it. Also, the trend among winning and contending teams lately is that they are getting it done without a franchise goaltender because this allows them to allocate cap elsewhere. And before you cite the Panthers, Bob is over the hill, and they still would’ve won with nearly any other goalie - he hasn’t even been very good in the playoffs the last couple years. They’d be even stronger with that cap freed up to spend elsewhere.

This thread is full of posts about us considering 3rd line players with limited upside at 16-17 overall.

Well, you won’t find me among them, and I’m not sure what this has to do with taking a goalie at 16-17.

 

[Schooner Goon]

Crazy take. Like it or not, stats are always going to be a huge part of the picture. It’s like people forget that these days. The ability to put up sterling numbers in juniors is hugely indicative of potential success at the next level - take a look at Price, Holtby, Oettinger, Vasilevskiy, Shesterkin, Hill, etc’s numbers in juniors and tell me again that I shouldn’t be concerned with junior stats. All these guys were on an entirely different level than a guy like Ravensbergen.

Like I said above, individual performance in juniors (stats) and results are a huge indicator of this in the vast majority of cases.

All things considered, Ravensbergen isn’t even a high-end goaltending prospect, even if he is the top ranked goalie, so this is definitely not the year to do it. Also, the trend among winning and contending teams lately is that they are getting it done without a franchise goaltender because this allows them to allocate cap elsewhere. And before you cite the Panthers, Bob is over the hill, and they still would’ve won with nearly any other goalie - he hasn’t even been very good in the playoffs the last couple years. They’d be even stronger with that cap freed up to spend elsewhere.

Well, you won’t find me among them, and I’m not sure what this has to do with taking a goalie at 16-17.

Of course stats are part of the picture but there are many other factors that determine a player's chances at the next level. Otherwise Patrick Roy would have never been drafted. Besides, it's not like Ravensbergen is .870.

Bob is over the hill? Good grief! That disqualifies you from being taken serious about goalies. He turned Florida's playoff fortunes around two years ago on an 8th seed team when Alex Lyon fell behind vs the Bruins and Florida's backs were against the wall. He hasn't looked back since and almost won the Conn Smythe last year. We're seeing high end goalies like Vasilevskiy, Helleybuyck and others on higher seeded teams having awful stretches while Bob just keeps on winning. He saved 3 breakaways in the 1st period of Game 7 vs the Leafs after not facing a shot in the first half of the 1st period. One of the most clutch goalies of his generation and a sure thing hall of famer.

Anyhow again I'm not saying pick Ravensbergen, I'm saying if the Habs scouts think he (or any other goalie) have a decent chance to be a star, this might be a good year to draft a goalie. If they don't think any of them are worth it, pick a skater or trade the pick.

Are you going to tell me who you would take at 16-17 that is a lock to be a better than a middle of the lineup player?

 

[Garbageyuk]

Are you going to tell me who you would take at 16-17 that is a lock to be a better than a middle of the lineup player?

That’s a strawman argument; I never said there were any “locks” at 16-17, and there doesn’t need to be for Ravensbergen to make no sense for us there.

And nice try attempting to frame Roy’s junior numbers in the context of modern standards. That’s a false equivalency and you know it.

A lot of starting goalies were sub .900 even in the NHL at the time, in fact most were. It was a different era.

Roy’s numbers in junior were perfectly acceptable back then - most teams in that league in that era had starting goaltenders with GAAs in the 4.00-5.00 range, many even higher than that.

 

[Garbageyuk]

it's not like Ravensbergen is .870.

He’s not much better actually; he was .896 in the playoffs. These days, if you’re getting sub .900 goaltending, your team is going to lose ~95% of the time. Again, his regular season numbers weren’t terrible, but they weren’t good either, not by any stretch. A guy like Stuart Skinner, for example, put up significantly better numbers in the WHL at the same age.

 

[MarkovsKnee]

Disappointed that Fiddler isn't as mean as I thought he was.

He isn't. He's a cross between Kulak & Kovacevic. He's a good skater, and has size, but doesn't use it much. He's not a 1st rounder.

I'd take a shot at Carter Amico (RD) with US U18 team. He missed almost the entire season due to a knee injury (only 17 gp).

 

[Quatre Vingt Treize]

Maybe we'll draft Ravensbergen.

All this draft a goalie in first round talk I take it some of the shine must be coming off of Fowler. Just a weeks ago they were bowing down to him.

 

[OneSharpMarble]

More back issues for Cayden Lindstrom, thank goodness he didn't fall to us. Makes me very cautious taking McQueen.

 

[Habs Icing]

All this draft a goalie in first round talk I take it some of the shine must be coming off of Fowler. Just a weeks ago they were bowing down to him.

You do realize you are on the Habs forum? It's par for the course.

 

[Quatre Vingt Treize]

You do realize you are on the Habs forum? It's par for the course.

All the rage been for months was Fowler. Now it's let's draft goalie in first round. Can tell something drastic has changed.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Ravensbergen is in the first round conversation because of the quality of the draft, not really because of the quality of the prospect. I'd grade him similarly to Jacob Fowler in his class and Fowler was available in round 3, somehow to us.

 

[skidcells]

Name Position League GP Goals Assists Points
Matthew Schaefer LD OHL 17 7 15 22
Michael Misa C OHL 65 62 72 134
Porter Martone RW OHL 57 37 61 98
James Hagens C NCAA 35 10 25 35
Anton Frondell C Allsvenskan 29 11 14 25
Caleb Desnoyers C QMJHL 56 35 49 84
Viktor Eklund LW Allsvenskan 42 19 12 31
Roger McQueen C WHL 17 10 10 20
Carter Bear LW WHL 56 40 42 82
Radim Mrtka RD WHL 43 3 32 35
Brady Martin LW OHL 57 33 39 72
Jake O'Brien C OHL 66 32 66 98
Braeden Cootes LW WHL 60 26 37 63
Malcolm Spence LW OHL 65 32 41 73
Blake Fiddler RD WHL 64 10 23 33
Jackson Smith LD WHL 68 11 43 54
Justin Carbonneau LW QMJHL 62 46 43 89
Kashawn Aitcheson LD OHL 64 26 33 59
Lynden Lakovic C WHL 47 27 31 58
Ivan Ryabkin C USHL 21 15 9 24
Jack Murtagh LW USHL 44 20 25 45
Benjamin Kindle RW WHL 65 35 64 99
Cullen Potter C NCAA 35 13 9 22
Cole McKinney C USHL 47 22 29 51
Vaclav Nestrasil C USHL 54 17 22 39
Cole Reschny LW WHL 62 26 66 92
William Moore C USHL 51 22 22 44
Jack Nesbitt C OHL 65 25 39 64
Ryker Lee LW USHL 51 28 33 61
Bill Zonnon LW QMJHL 64 28 55 83
Joshua Ravensberger G WHL 51 3 0.901 3.901
Cameron Reid RD OHL 67 14 40 54
Logan Hensler RD NCAA 32 2 10 12
Theo Stockselius C J20 40 22 29 51
Eric Nilson C Allsvenskan 4 1 0 1
Eddie Genborg C SHL 28 2 0 2
Cameron Schmidt RW WHL 61 40 38 78
Jakob Ihs Wozniak LW SHL 13 1 1 2
Milton Gastrin C SHL 8 0 0 0
Daniil Prokhorov RW MHL 43 20 7 27
Mason West C USHS 31 27 22 49
Tomas Pobezal C SVK 42 15 8 23
Sacha Boumedienne LD NCAA 36 3 9 12
Henry Brzustewicz RD OHL 67 10 32 42
Alexander Zharovsky LW MHL 45 24 26 50
Ethan Czata C OHL 68 21 34 55
Shane Vansaghi C NCAA 36 6 10 16
William Horcoff C NCAA 18 4 6 10
Kurban Limatov LD MHL 46 8 15 23
Adam Benak C USHL 53 16 38 54
Charlie Tretheway RD USHL 53 6 13 19
Semyon Frolov G MHL 13 2.05 0.915 2.965
Viktor Klingsell LW SHL 3 0 0 0
Jack Ivankovic G OHL 43 3.05 0.903 3.953
Alex Huang RD QMJHL 64 7 33 40
Mateo Nobert C QMJHL 57 28 39 67
Will Sharpe LD WHL 66 9 35 44
Nathan Behm LW WHL 59 31 35 66
Gustav Hillstrom C SHL 18 1 1 2
Tyler Hopkins LW OHL 67 20 31 51
Mikhail Fedorov RW MHL 45 17 26 43
Burke Hood G WHL 42 3.13 0.91 4.04
Benjamin Kevan LW USHL 47 13 29 42
Filip Ekberg LW OHL 53 16 29 45
David Lewandowski C WHL 52 15 24 39
Vojtech Cihar LW CZEchia 43 4 5 9
Mikkel Eriksen C J20 40 22 21 43
Hayden Paupenakis C WHL 71 22 21 43
Matthew Gard C WHL 66 19 17 36
Lucas Beckman G QMJHL 52 2.65 0.914 3.564
Jeremy Loranger LW BCHL 52 39 61 100
Ethan Wyttenbach LW USHL 39 21 24 45
Carlos Handel RD QMJHL 52 3 23 26
Elijah Neuenschwander G SL 9 2.69 0.909 3.599
Kale Dach LW BCL 52 22 63 85
Bruno Osmanis LW Allsvenskan 27 1 6 7
Pytor Adreyanov G RUS 37 1.75 0.942 2.692
Cooper Simpson LW USHS 31 49 34 83
Zachary Morin LW QMJHL 56 16 20 36
Owen Griffin C OHL 62 22 29 51
Luca Romano C OHL 67 25 26 51
Malte Vass LD SHL 5 0 0 0
Arvid Drott RW J20 40 18 18 36
Carter Amico RD USHL 13 0 3 3
Peyton Kettles RD WHL 53 5 9 14
Max Westergard C SHL 4 0 0 0
Jacob Rombach LD USHL 52 3 15 18
Tommy Lafreniere C WHL 68 24 32 56
Aidan Lane RW OHL 13 7 6 13
Alex Misiak F USHL 22 7 10 17
Lasse Boelius LD Liiga 7 0 2 2
Conrad Fondrk LW USHL 40 13 14 27
Tomas Poletin LW Liiga 15 0 0 0
Matous Jan Kucharchik LW Cze2 20 1 3 4
Tanner Lam LW OHL 67 13 40 53
Shamar Moses LW OHL 66 12 36 48
Daniil Skvortsov LD OHL 59 5 13 18
Bryce Pickford RD WHL 48 20 27 47
Emile Guite LW QMJHL 59 16 14 30
Linus Funck RD J20 48 5 23 28
Donato Bracco LD USHL 53 5 22 27
Michael Svrcek LW J20 30 14 16 30
Jan Chovan C U20 39 11 12 23
Everett Baldwin RD USHS 22 10 10 20
Love Harenstam G J20 23 3.31 0.895 4.205
Sam Laurila LD USHL 57 8 33 41
Kristian Epperson LW OHL 58 27 53 80
LJ Mooney LW USHL 38 7 25 32
Aleksei Medvedev G OHL 34 2.79 0.912 3.702
Owen Conrad LD QMJHL 64 7 19 26
Philippe Veilleux LW QMJHL 64 40 47 87
Louis-Antoine Denault G QMJHL 41 3.13 0.902 4.032
Reese Hamilton LD WHL 59 4 10 14
Patrik Kerkola G Liiga 1 3.12 0.842 3.962
Maxim Agafanov RD MHL 35 6 8 14
Matej Pekar F WHL 64 17 15 32
Ondrej Stebetak G WHL 47 3.72 0.891 4.611
Ruslan Karimov LW OHL 66 15 14 29
Michael Pradel G SVK2 15 4.59 0.898 5.488
Brent Solomon RW USHL 8 4 2 6
Artyom Vilchinsky LD MHL 51 0 12 12
Ryan Cameron G USHL 1 8 0.778 8.778
Carson Cameron LD OHL 63 7 16 23
Max Psenicka LD CZEchia 16 2 0 2
Dakoda Rheaume-Mullen LD USHL 61 0 18 18
Quinn Beauchesne RD OHL 49 6 18 24
Brandon Gorzynski C WHL 68 17 25 42
Patryk Zubek LD SVK2 22 4 3 7
Travis Hayes RW OHL 65 21 30 51
Gavin Cornforth C USHL 57 24 25 49
Nathan Quinn C QMJHL 54 17 29 46
William Belle C USHL 51 4 12 16
Yaroslav Bryzgalov C USHL 49 9 6 15
Matthew Lansing RW USHL 40 8 9 17
Matthew Grimes LD USHL 52 4 9 13
Tinus Luc Koblar LW J20 43 8 13 21
David Bedkowski RD OHL 37 3 4 7
Edison Engle LD USHL 54 2 13 15
Simon Wang LD OHL 32 0 2 2
Luka Radivojevic LD USHL 31 1 18 19
Kirill Kutuzov RW MHL 47 12 13 25
Dominik Pavlik LW U20 20 3 5 8
Gabriel D'Aigle G QMJHL 55 4.52 0.883 5.403
Vit Zaheshky C WHL 46 3 12 15
Max Bleicher LD OHL 50 2 4 6
Yegor Murashev LW MHL 23 5 8 13
Maxim Gusev LD MHL 51 2 14 16

Cameron Reid is too low imho. I would consider him with 16/17 even if he is LHD.

 

[crosbyshow]

More back issues for Cayden Lindstrom, thank goodness he didn't fall to us. Makes me very cautious taking McQueen.

Somebody who are picking Mcqueen in the Top 10 is crazy...crazy .

If that dude with his back problems was 5.11 he would not be drafted in the first 2 rounds...but because he is 6.5 and people are totallly blind and crazy with height that dude will be pick a lot higher that he should be.

Lindstrom healthy was not even in my top 5 last year cause of his IQ and the dude missed 2/3 of the season with back issues....fans and I am sure most Gm and scouts atill wanted that dude in the Top 5....a total joke

People are so obsess with the f....6.0 that they loose all sens of logic, and evaluation

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

More back issues for Cayden Lindstrom, thank goodness he didn't fall to us. Makes me very cautious taking McQueen.

The long plane ride apparently led to a flare up in his back, which is concerning, to say the least I really wanted him at the draft for a while there too, despite everything. Thank god I just about never get the prospect I want!

 

[BLONG7]

The long plane ride apparently led to a flare up in his back, which is concerning, to say the least I really wanted him at the draft for a while there too, despite everything. Thank god I just about never get the prospect I want!

Gotta feel bad for the kid..............a back issue at any age is a game changer.........he could recover, and let's hope so, but these injuries ruin people's lives guys.
I have had bulging discs at L3 and L4.........and a herniated disc at L5........it's been brutal to be honest.....the last 5 years have not been fun.
Anytime I hear people with sore backs, I can't help but feel bad for them.............that said, so happy Demidov landed in our laps....

 

[Michoulicious]

Somebody who are picking Mcqueen in the Top 10 is crazy...crazy .

If that dude with his back problems was 5.11 he would not be drafted in the first 2 rounds...but because he is 6.5 and people are totallly blind and crazy with height that dude will be pick a lot higher that he should be.

Lindstrom healthy was not even in my top 5 last year cause of his IQ and the dude missed 2/3 of the season with back issues....fans and I am sure most Gm and scouts atill wanted that dude in the Top 5....a total joke

People are so obsess with the f....6.0 that they loose all sens of logic, and evaluation

I'll repost what I wrote on the prospect boards:

Lindstrom was a dnd for me in the top 10 because of the herniated disc, but on the tools he was certainly a top 10 talent. I've been told that I "was not a neurosurgeon" and that "teams had way more insight" (@WeThreeKings and many others around here), but no need to be a neurosurgeon to know a relapsing symptomatic herniated disc is very concerning for an young athlete in a contact sport. Most of the patients I see with relapsing pain are just happy to go back to normal daily function and know they are at risk of recurring bouts during their lives. The level of function required to be a professional hockey player is really, really high.

People saying McQueen is dnd in the top 10 because of his back are mistaken, however... If reports are real and it's spondylolysis, prognosis is much better than a disc for that kind of athletes. Way different pathologies.

I can understand the concerns on his lack of drive, consistency, etc. But on the injury front, if reports are true that it is indeed spondylolysis, this is not the same level of concern than with Lindstrom. Prognosis is excellent, chances of relapse after a long period of rest is very, very low.

 

[Michoulicious]

He isn't. He's a cross between Kulak & Kovacevic. He's a good skater, and has size, but doesn't use it much. He's not a 1st rounder.

I'd take a shot at Carter Amico (RD) with US U18 team. He missed almost the entire season due to a knee injury (only 17 gp).

I had him pretty high on my wishlist, but if he's too soft that is not good. I liked the fact he was a captain.

A Brayden Schneider 2.0 would be awesome at #16-17, but Brayden was mean and physical.

 

[Draft]

I'll repost what I wrote on the prospect boards:

Lindstrom was a dnd for me in the top 10 because of the herniated disc, but on the tools he was certainly a top 10 talent. I've been told that I "was not a neurosurgeon" and that "teams had way more insight" (@WeThreeKings and many others around here), but no need to be a neurosurgeon to know a relapsing symptomatic herniated disc is very concerning for an young athlete in a contact sport. Most of the patients I see with relapsing pain are just happy to go back to normal daily function and know they are at risk of recurring bouts during their lives. The level of function required to be a professional hockey player is really, really high.

People saying McQueen is dnd in the top 10 because of his back are mistaken, however... If reports are real and it's spondylolysis, prognosis is much better than a disc for that kind of athletes. Way different pathologies.

I can understand the concerns on his lack of drive, consistency, etc. But on the injury front, if reports are true that it is indeed spondylolysis, this is not the same level of concern than with Lindstrom. Prognosis is excellent, chances of relapse after a long period of rest is very, very low.

Kind of a weird case as we have him quoted speaking about the injury at different times.

In 2024, he says it’s a bulging disc.

Saskatoon’s Roger McQueen living up to high expectations in draft year

The 18-year-old Brandon Wheat Kings centre leads the Western Hockey League in goals and points.

www.ckom.com

In 2025, he says it’s a pars fracture and was never a bulging disc.

McQueen nears return from back injury

During a season in which so much has gone wrong on the injury front for the Brandon Wheat Kings, their fortune may soon be turning with lucky No. 13. Roger McQueen, 18, was back at practice in a norma...

www.brandonsun.com

The big worry would be that it’s two separate injuries and he’s had both a bulging disc and a pars fracture. If he had any imaging done for the first injury, I find it highly unlikely that it would have been misdiagnosed. Possible that he didn’t have thorough diagnostics done. Also possible that he misunderstood the information he was given and unintentionally started the rumour himself with that first interview. It may also be that he’s looking to downplay the severity of the injury. I’ve asked around a bit locally but haven’t heard anything.

Regardless, this would be something that the Habs medical team would want to have a long look at. If we keep the two 1sts, I’d take him even with back issues.

 

[David Suzuki]

I love Lucas Beckman from the Q. But I predict we might pick a huge project mid-round...a Guy that was supposed all that...and just....wasn't this year....Gabriel D'Aigle.

Denault from Quebec really impressed me in the playoffs too, he's massive and was really hard to score on even if his team wasn't very good.

 

[McGees]

Ya we lucked out with Lindstrom situation.
Timmins just couldn’t let that muscled specimen get past him despite injuries…
But if McQueen falls then we take him!!