HF Habs: 2025 NHL Draft: Part II

[Lockin17]

My hopes for the draft

#16 : Hensler
#17 : Bear
#41 : Ryabkin
#49 : Horcoff

 

[WeThreeKings]

there is always 2 or 3 guys droping out the top 10 every mock draft.
Wonder who it would be??
Eklund, Martin , Mrtka ?

Won't be Martin or Mrtka. Eklund definitely.

 

[Artaud]

Jason Bukala posted his final top 80 draft ranking on Sportsnet today.

Scout's Analysis: Ranking the top 80 prospects for the 2025 NHL Draft

With the scouting season complete, Jason Bukala shares his own personal ranking of the top 80 prospects for next week's NHL Draft after following the class all season.

www.sportsnet.ca

His top 20.

No. 1: Matthew Schaefer
No. 2: Caleb Desnoyers
No. 3: Michael Misa
No. 4: James Hagens
No. 5: Porter Martone
No. 6: Anton Frondell
No. 7: Roger McQueen
No. 8: Victor Eklund
No. 9: Brady Martin
No. 10: Radim Mrtka
No. 11: Carter Bear
No. 12: Jake O’Brien
No. 13: Jackson Smith
No. 14: Kashawn Aitcheson
No. 15: Braeden Cootes
No. 16: Ben Kindel
No. 17: Cole Reschny
No. 18: Justin Carbonneau
No. 19: Jack Nesbitt
No. 20: Bill Zonnon

The dream of Bill Zonnon in the 2nd seems far fetched...

This is the guy I want the most. Yes he's a late birthday, but the progression curve is there and the change of position to center makes it even more impressive.

He's a true Habs fan that started playing hockey because of Subban. Great story.

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

2025 NHL Draft Consolidated Rankings

CalgaryPuck's Owner's version featuring 18 different rankings

upsidehockey.substack.com

An agregate of a whole bunch of rankings, apparently.

 

[TheBuriedHab]

I think the guy that falls outside the top 10 is Hagens.

 

[Vachon23]

The dream of Bill Zonnon in the 2nd seems far fetched...

This is the guy I want the most. Yes he's a late birthday, but the progression curve is there and the change of position to center makes it even more impressive.

He's a true Habs fan that started playing hockey because of Subban. Great story.

Trade up to go get him

 

[GlassesJacketShirt]

Trade up to go get him

We have so many picks as is, I'd be more than fine with taking a swing at him with a move up to late first round.

His first few strides have to be re-worked, no question; once he gets going his speed is perfectly fine, but getting there is a problem.

 

[Goldenhands]

There's valid concerns about Eklund being able to play his game with how slight he is and more than a few scouts believe his offensive potential is being overrated. I like him a lot, but I can see them passing.

There's plenty of other guys in that range who would be amenable to take. But they won't pass on Bear if he is there, he is the apt description of everything they are looking for.

He is already battling growth men and winning a good share of puck battles, he is light, but highly combative and never gives up on plays. Kid was driving Sweden's 2nd line at the WJC and looked really good, you rarely see it from a 17 yrs old one.

This draft is too thin in term of pure talent to pass on what I think is a surefire top 6 winger. Wont be there anyway at 16 OV.

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

A week from now McKenzie's list will be released, or it will just be starting the show, so you'll have a decent idea as to who should be there at 16/17

 

[WeThreeKings]

He is already battling growth men and winning a good share of puck battles, he is light, but highly combative and never gives up on plays. Kid was driving Sweden's 2nd line at the WJC and looked really good, you rarely see it from a 17 yrs old one.

This draft is too thin in term of pure talent to pass on what I think is a surefire top 6 winger. Wont be there anyway at 16 OV.

I dont think he will be either, but i dont think he's going top 10 either.

 

[MarkovsKnee]

I dont think he will be either, but i dont think he's going top 10 either.

I don't see Eklund getting past #13 Detroit. They love Swedes.

 

[Artaud]

We have so many picks as is, I'd be more than fine with taking a swing at him with a move up to late first round.

His first few strides have to be re-worked, no question; once he gets going his speed is perfectly fine, but getting there is a problem.

I agree he's far from a perfect prospect. However, skating can be improved.

For those who read French, I highly recommend reading this write-up.

Les Québécois au repêchage : Bill Zonnon ou l’importance du symbole

Le Montréalais est classé au 31e rang des espoirs nord-américains en vue du repêchage de la LNH.

ici.radio-canada.ca

For those who dont speak French, here's the lowdown : Zonnon's family comes from Togo and knew nothing about hockey until Bill saw PK on TV as a kid and became obsessed with him and the sport, because PK looked like him. Now, he's about to be a first round draft pick. Hockey is so often a sport you are "born into", inherited from a dad passionate about the sport, and that makes Zonnon special in that regard. You can't question his passion, and you can't teach passion. Just ask Laine.

It's a human piece, not so much scouting related, but it also really speaks of Subban's impact as a black figure in the history of this team. In a year where there are more Québécois in the NBA finals than the NHL finals, I find issues related to the demographics of the sport fascinating.

 

[HabsMD97]

Mocks putting Hensler out of the top 15 are out of touch with reality. This isn't a great draft for defencemen and he's basically guaranteed to play in the NHL. I just don't see a world where 1 of ANA, CBJ, BUF don't take him. They all need a RHD. Would love to draft him with one of our picks though.

 

[The Last Red]

Grant has called a few things but I don't think he deserves credit for calling Demidov. He's nailed a few draft predictions for the Habs.

He's a good resource all in all, you just need to know what to use him for. He's a super homer who will never criticize management, so some of his takes come off as very cringe. He is very good at getting a pulse for what the Habs are thinking, and most of it comes from experience and speculation rather than a pure grift like other "insiders". He is also impressively good at calling late risers in the draft, and I think he's still in enough scouting circles where that helps him.

Yeah. Grant might not have direct connections with the Habs but he probably still knows enough NHL employed amateur scouts to get a sense about what teams are considering doing at the draft . . . and scouts seem to like to talk.

 

[Goldenhands]

I dont think he will be either, but i dont think he's going top 10 either.

It will be interesting to see if guys like Martin, O'Brien goes before him, I would pick Eklund over both personally.

 

[WinterLion]

Mocks putting Hensler out of the top 15 are out of touch with reality. This isn't a great draft for defencemen and he's basically guaranteed to play in the NHL. I just don't see a world where 1 of ANA, CBJ, BUF don't take him. They all need a RHD. Would love to draft him with one of our picks though.

RHD tend to go higher on draft day... He definitely has slipped from last year, but may be a bit over scouted at this point.

You are probably right that he goes high.

I think Mrtka goes top 10 personally.

 

[WinterLion]

I agree he's far from a perfect prospect. However, skating can be improved.

For those who read French, I highly recommend reading this write-up.

Les Québécois au repêchage : Bill Zonnon ou l’importance du symbole

Le Montréalais est classé au 31e rang des espoirs nord-américains en vue du repêchage de la LNH.

ici.radio-canada.ca

For those who dont speak French, here's the lowdown : Zonnon's family comes from Togo and knew nothing about hockey until Bill saw PK on TV as a kid and became obsessed with him and the sport, because PK looked like him. Now, he's about to be a first round draft pick. Hockey is so often a sport you are "born into", inherited from a dad passionate about the sport, and that makes Zonnon special in that regard. You can't question his passion, and you can't teach passion. Just ask Laine.

It's a human piece, not so much scouting related, but it also really speaks of Subban's impact as a black figure in the history of this team. In a year where there are more Québécois in the NBA finals than the NHL finals, I find issues related to the demographics of the sport fascinating.

I would be so happy if we found a way to draft him. I think he is going to have a great career!

 

[AHShadow]

It will be interesting to see if guys like Martin, O'Brien goes before him, I would pick Eklund over both personally.

Apparently Utah like Martin a lot so he can go as high as 4. Also both are Cs so wouldn't be surprised they both go higher than Eklund.

 

[Goldenhands]

Apparently Utah like Martin a lot so he can go as high as 4. Also both are Cs so wouldn't be surprised they both go higher than Eklund.

Thats a possibility if we look at most public lists, but sometimes the hype on those lists get catched up on draft day, or in a re-draft years later. Personally I think both Martin and O'Brien are overrated.

 

[crosbyshow]

A lot of things can happen...it is all over the place this year.

BUTTON'S LIST TODAY FO EXAMPLE.

He has :

Reschny 14tH

Bear 17th

Kindel 27th

 

[WeThreeKings]

Mocks putting Hensler out of the top 15 are out of touch with reality. This isn't a great draft for defencemen and he's basically guaranteed to play in the NHL. I just don't see a world where 1 of ANA, CBJ, BUF don't take him. They all need a RHD. Would love to draft him with one of our picks though.

Don't be surprised if Hensler goes after 20. He might be a RD but his arrow hasn't exactly been pointing upward for two years now.

It will be interesting to see if guys like Martin, O'Brien goes before him, I would pick Eklund over both personally.

They will. I would take Eklund over OBrien. Hes a perimeter playmaker.

 

[Kennerback]

A lot of things can happen...it is all over the place this year.

BUTTON'S LIST TODAY FO EXAMPLE.

He has :

Reschny 14tH

Bear 17th

Kindel 27th

Hagens fans are upset that Button placed McQueen at 5 and Hagens at 8.

 

[DemidovSZN]

You should also take into consideration that all of these mock drafts are by fake scouts who often have no hockey background and never see these players live. When Grant mentions Prokhorov as high as he did the result will be that the other content creators will bump him up their list as well. They are literally in a circular information pool with no connection to actual scouts.

Grant was a part time scout for one season. He was never a scout before or after that again. His connections are not remotely as strong as he makes them out to be and his sense of authority is mostly self generated. He is better than most of the clowns that you will see from Mckeens, THW etc but he has zero connection to any real inside information.

These lists should be looked at as entertainment and perhaps templates for individuals to explore and try and come to their own conclusions.

The only lists that matter are the NHL list that are put together by real scouts who go to real gmes and talk to real prospects as well as their real teammates, real coaches and real family members. We have zero access to these lists other than draft day slip ups where lists are photographed lol. These scouts have watched these prospects for years and are not going off of isolation clips from their most recent work.

Anyways.....my point is that fake scouts chum the water for other fake scouts to feed on and "risers" and "fallers" are often formed in a circular fashion that is within a closed ecosystem with little to no real access to the ecosystem that they are reporting on.

He definitely has strong connections. It’s wilfull blindness to say otherwise at this point.

And whatever you think about him he still does a phenomenal job watching the prospects and building his draft guide which is always good year after year.

 

[Kennerback]

He definitely has strong connections. It’s wilfull blindness to say otherwise at this point.

And whatever you think about him he still does a phenomenal job watching the prospects and building his draft guide which is always good year after year.

He was a scout once but he leveraged himself to where he floats in the periphery of the media. He knows Button and Snake, people like that… Whatever some Habs fans or scouting bloggers might think about him, they recognize him. There’s no such thing as bad publicity. It’s easier for him to strike a conversation with a scout than it is for me.

 

[DemidovSZN]

If he slides to the 2nd round, okay. But no way at 16/17. The skating is bad and he benefitted a lot from his elite linemates. You’re essentially hoping he turns into an Adam Lowry type. I don’t think that’s good enough for mid-1st

What elite linemates? He played with Abraham, JC Lemieux, Spellacy and sometimes a young Beltchez. He didn’t play with Protas or Greentree other than on the PP at a certain point in the season and he was the net front guy.