2025 NHL Draft Thread

[Teemu]

whats the adp for starting goalies right now? is it even worth spending high draft capital on one? we've spent two seconds since 2020 and neither look all that promising

Joshua Ravensbergen is probably going mid-1st. Ivankovic, Andreyanov, and Harenstam are the next batch in the 2nd or so, though all it takes is for one scout to fall in love with a guy (like the Hawks and Gajan)

 

[ColbyChaos]

then we should be concerned what they might do to 'speed it up'...one more tank year beyond this year and then see where the prospect pool is at, misa/mckenna would probably be the end of the teardown and the pool would be much more balanced

Don’t get me wrong I would love to be in the running for McKenna and think it is best for the team not to rush contention like Buffalo tried. It’s just how I feel it would play out if we are somehow 32nd next year. It would have to take a combination of injuries bad goalie play and the central being ridiculously stacked for it not to be seen as a failure by the higher ups most likely.

 

[Toews2Bickell]

Joshua Ravensbergen is probably going mid-1st. Ivankovic, Andreyanov, and Harenstam are the next batch in the 2nd or so, though all it takes is for one scout to fall in love with a guy (like the Hawks and Gajan)

I should've said what are the ADPs for starting goalies in the NHL over past whatever years, iirc there was a time where it was thought of being silly to spend high capital on one but maybe that has changed

Don’t get me wrong I would love to be in the running for McKenna and think it is best for the team not to rush contention like Buffalo tried. It’s just how I feel it would play out if we are somehow 32nd next year. It would have to take a combination of injuries bad goalie play and the central being ridiculously stacked for it not to be seen as a failure by the higher ups most likely.

Agree with what you're saying, its what is best for the rebuild, if Danny can't see that and wants to fire the entire staff for it then whatever because its what is right long term, they just need more up front to really have that ceiling we all want to see

 

[RememberTheRoar]

then we should be concerned what they might do to 'speed it up'...one more tank year beyond this year and then see where the prospect pool is at, misa/mckenna would probably be the end of the teardown and the pool would be much more balanced

I very much get the sense that Davidson plans to “speed it up.” I don’t think he even really wanted this elite forward in the draft. He openly said he didn’t expect to or want to be picking near the top again. Hard to believe that feeling isn’t magnified next season.

I do not think next season is a tank season, I think Davidson sees at least contending for a playoff spot.

 

[Hattrick Kane]

I very much get the sense that Davidson plans to “speed it up.” I don’t think he even really wanted this elite forward in the draft. He openly said he didn’t expect to or want to be picking near the top again. Hard to believe that feeling isn’t magnified next season.

I do not think next season is a tank season, I think Davidson sees at least contending for a playoff spot.

With all the smoke, I fully expect him to go all in on Rantanen or Marner should they make it to free agency.

 

[Toews2Bickell]

last time this team went all in on a big offseason acquisition to try to get back to contention was Seth Jones and they haven't been near a playoff spot and now likely want to shed his contract, just let the teardown play out ffs, its really not that much longer if they're patient and hit on their prior high picks

 

[Teemu]

I should've said what are the ADPs for starting goalies in the NHL over past whatever years, iirc there was a time where it was thought of being silly to spend high capital on one but maybe that has changed


Agree with what you're saying, its what is best for the rebuild, if Danny can't see that and wants to fire the entire staff for it then whatever because its what is right long term, they just need more up front to really have that ceiling we all want to see

It's pretty scattershot, but rounds 2 and 3 are good bets recently (Demko, Blackwood, Gustavsson, Kochetkov, Markstrom, Dostal, Sorokin, Skinner, Hill, Binnington)

 

[RememberTheRoar]

last time this team went all in on a big offseason acquisition to try to get back to contention was Seth Jones and they haven't been near a playoff spot and now likely want to shed his contract, just let the teardown play out ffs, its really not that much longer if they're patient and hit on their prior high picks

Trying to do it all through the draft can put you in the Sabers situation though. That has to be a concern.

Friedman has made the point several times (by way of his league sources) that tearing down and rebuilding into a contender is very hard, and that you need to be a UFA destination.

Colorado is maybe the exception to that, but they also got lucky as hell with a generational offensive defenseman.

 

[Toews2Bickell]

It's pretty scattershot, but rounds 2 and 3 are good bets recently (Demko, Blackwood, Gustavsson, Kochetkov, Markstrom, Dostal, Sorokin, Skinner, Hill, Binnington)

Has Gajan really been that terrible to write him off as a wasted pick? If so, yikes

 

[RememberTheRoar]

With all the smoke, I fully expect him to go all in on Rantanen or Marner should they make it to free agency.

Definitely. At the very least, I’m expecting an overpay for Boeser. But I think they come away with one of those three

 

[Toews2Bickell]

Trying to do it all through the draft can put you in the Sabers situation though. That has to be a concern.

Friedman has made the point several times that tearing down and rebuilding to a contender is very hard, and that you need to be a UFA destination.

Colorado is maybe the exception to that, but they also got lucky as hell with a generational offensive defenseman.

yeah very fair point about Buffalo and some others as well, think if you can get 3-4 blue chip players through the draft via tank and then hit on some mid round guys you're half way there, you still need your trades/ufa acquisitions to be on point to get all the way there, if anything the edge in the NHL has shifted to that side of things, look at Vegas

 

[Hattrick Kane]

Definitely. At the very least, I’m expecting an overpay for Boeser. But I think they come away with one of those three

Boeser is going to Minnesota most likely. Plus he’s one of the slowest skaters in the league. I would question Davidson a lot if he preached speed and then did the exact opposite.

 

[Teemu]

Has Gajan really been that terrible to write him off as a wasted pick? If so, yikes

It's too early to write him off but it looks grim. Worse, the consensus picks (Augustine & Fowler) are doing great.

 

[ColbyChaos]

With all the smoke, I fully expect him to go all in on Rantanen or Marner should they make it to free agency.

If they traded to pick Demidov they likely tried to get Stamkos Guentzel and co this past offseason.

Trying to do it all through the draft can put you in the Sabers situation though. That has to be a concern.

Friedman has made the point several times (by way of his league sources) that tearing down and rebuilding into a contender is very hard, and that you need to be a UFA destination.

Colorado is maybe the exception to that, but they also got lucky as hell with a generational offensive defenseman.

sabres arguably tried fast tracking the rebuilding trading a lot for ROR the offseason they drafted Eichel. They did that while still not having a Dcore, a goalie, or even a decent coach.

But even the Sabres I feel like most of the problems is just mental at this point. They shouldn’t be this bad still. Also doesn’t help the last 10 or so years the Sabres have basically had a different coach for what feels like 5 of those years off the top of my head they had Ted Nolan, Dan Bylsma, Granato, Krueger Ruff.

 

[RememberTheRoar]

yeah very fair point about Buffalo and some others as well, think if you can get 3-4 blue chip players through the draft via tank and then hit on some mid round guys you're half way there, you still need your trades/ufa acquisitions to be on point to get all the way there, if anything the edge in the NHL has shifted to that side of things, look at Vegas

Ya, but after this draft the hawks will have three blue chips with three more borderline (Korchinski, Rinzel, Nazar).

That very well could be it for the young high-end core. Then a whole bunch of young, cheap bottom-sixers coming up. The Hawks won’t need to pay a lot for the bottom half of the lineup for a long while, allowing them to invest heavy in the top.

 

[Toews2Bickell]

If they traded to pick Demidov they likely tried to get Stamkos Guentzel and co this past offseason.

sabres arguably tried fast tracking the rebuilding trading a lot for ROR the offseason they drafted Eichel. They did that while still not having a Dcore, a goalie, or even a decent coach.

But even the Sabres I feel like most of the problems is just mental at this point. They shouldn’t be this bad still

didn't they also give a monster contract to Okposo as well? they've done a lot of dumb things to 'compete', and they handled the Eichel situation horribly

 

[RememberTheRoar]

If they traded to pick Demidov they likely tried to get Stamkos Guentzel and co this past offseason.

sabres arguably tried fast tracking the rebuilding trading a lot for ROR the offseason they drafted Eichel. They did that while still not having a Dcore, a goalie, or even a decent coach.

But even the Sabres I feel like most of the problems is just mental at this point. They shouldn’t be this bad still

Ya, I don’t see it being buffalo bad either. But I think the Buffalo point is more you need to see success or the mental shit starts to become a thing.

 

[Toews2Bickell]

Ya, but after this draft the hawks will have three blue chips with three more borderline (Korchinski, Rinzel, Narar).

That very well could be it for the young high-end core. Then a whole bunch of young, cheap bottom-sixers coming up. The Hawks won’t need to pay a lot for the bottom half of the lineup for a long while, allowing them to invest heavy in the top.

the thing about these teardowns too is if you end them too early you just end up wasting 5-10 years because you give it time to play out but by the time you figure out you need to start over and 4-5 seasons went by, we're already half way home so losing all patience now would be unfortunate

 

[RememberTheRoar]

there is not enough to suggest that those 3 are blue chip prospects imo

I meant Bedard, Levshunov, and whichever of Misa/Hagens/Schaefer they get.

Not saying Korchinski, Rinzel, or Nazar ARE blue chippers — but the combo of them being better than a typical prospect is worth something. There’s a chance one elevates beyond expectations and becomes that fourth blue chipper you’re looking for.

 

[Larmer83]

Still believe Bedard is better served playing first line wing over the next year or two, and perhaps into the future. Misa at 1C, Boisvert at 2C, Moore at 3C. Plenty of other wing options to play up and down the lines with those three.

Perhaps someone that's watched North Dakota recently can comment but what little I saw early on seemed Boisvert was playing wing. Recent box scores show him taking only a handful of faceoffs with 3 players taking significantly more draws. Is he playing center?

 

[Toews2Bickell]

I meant Bedard, Levshunov, and whichever of Misa/Hagens/Schaefer they get.

Not saying Korchinski, Rinzel, or Nazar ARE blue chippers — but the combo of them being better than a typical prospect is worth something. There’s a chance one elevates beyond expectations and becomes that fourth blue chipper you’re looking for.

I misread your post, my bad, I removed that part after I realized it...it just feels like one more top 3 pick and max your McKenna odds and then its go time, unless there's some very very high end prospect in 27 as well and the pool needs more work to realistically contend in a few years...but next year would be year 4 of rebuild right? 5 years of a full teardown seems completely reasonable in the NHL

 

[x Tame Impala]

That is nigh impossible. We can only win 1st overall one more time and with the sharks having last place on lock this year I sincerely doubt we finish at 32 next year and if we do there would likely be heads rolling in the front office


Sharks have last place on lock already this season meanwhile I doubt we are 32nd bad next year either.


By a thousand miles yes

It's far from a lock. I would bet they do finish last overall but we're only 4 points up with 2 games in hand. 26 more games to play for them, a lot can happen. They don't really have anyone else to trade at the deadline IIRC and we may trade Jones so we'll see. Either way we've got to get lucky with our draft pick so I'm not too concerned about it.

 

[ColbyChaos]

It's far from a lock. I would bet they do finish last overall but we're only 4 points up with 2 games in hand. 26 more games to play for them, a lot can happen. They don't really have anyone else to trade at the deadline IIRC and we may trade Jones so we'll see. Either way we've got to get lucky with our draft pick so I'm not too concerned about it.

Being up in pts and having games in hand is a damn near death sentence. You underestimate just how bad the Sharks are. They aren’t even competetive or close in most games their goaltending is even worse than ours it’s like they have two 2025 Mrazec’s in net

 

[x Tame Impala]

Being up in pts and having games in hand is a damn near death sentence. You underestimate just how bad the Sharks are. They aren’t even competetive or close in most games their goaltending is even worse than ours it’s like they have two 2025 Mrazec’s in net

Probably but we’ll see

 

[TLEH]

Perhaps someone that's watched North Dakota recently can comment but what little I saw early on seemed Boisvert was playing wing. Recent box scores show him taking only a handful of faceoffs with 3 players taking significantly more draws. Is he playing center?

He’s been playing wing in game mostly.