2025 NHL Draft Thread

[Toews2Bickell]

Schaefer is an incredible player. But, how do you ignore the holes upfront when you already have Korchisnki, Levshunov, Rinzel, Vlasic etc? How will you ever pay that much on the back end and not score goals?

how did dallas, vegas, florida, tb etc build great forward groups with minimal top 5 picks, time for gm and co to earn keep

 

[dreadpirateroberts]

They might not have top 10 prospect pools at the moment, but Carolina and Dallas are definitely the cream of the crop when it comes to scouting, especially relative to their draft position. The Wild have been pretty successful too.

 

[dreadpirateroberts]

I'm curious to see how Schaefer stacks up to guys like Heiskanen, Hughes, and Makar when they were coming out as prospects.

 

[Kevin Musto]

how did dallas, vegas, florida, tb etc build great forward groups with minimal top 5 picks, time for gm and co to earn keep

That's the thing.

Players like Artamonov and Cristall have been available for the Hawks regime to grab... and then they just don't.

 

[MHO]

They might not have top 10 prospect pools at the moment, but Carolina and Dallas are definitely the cream of the crop when it comes to scouting, especially relative to their draft position. The Wild have been pretty successful too.

For teams to stay good for a long time in this day and age, they either need to:

1. Be able to find stars and NHL quality role players in the later first round and later rounds of the draft

2. Hit big on stars at the top of the draft, hope that the stars remain stars for extended periods of time, and keep drafting NHL quality role players in the later first round and later rounds of the draft

They also need to avoid giving out bad contracts to both internal and external free agents. It seems so easy right?

 

[x Tame Impala]

In theory I’ve got no problem loading up D prospects. Always take the best player. Nothing is set in stone yet with any of them aside from Vlassic. If our D core is so stacked 5 years from now we put can put Jones on the 3rd pairing we’re going to be in a great spot. Defense does take longer to develop too.

 

[Mjul Qvist]

In theory I’ve got no problem loading up D prospects. Always take the best player. Nothing is set in stone yet with any of them aside from Vlassic. If our D core is so stacked 5 years from now we put can put Jones on the 3rd pairing we’re going to be in a great spot. Defense does take longer to develop too.

And you can always trade players to get what you need after all.

 

[Sinbad]

Schaefer is an incredible player. But, how do you ignore the holes upfront when you already have Korchisnki, Levshunov, Rinzel, Vlasic etc? How will you ever pay that much on the back end and not score goals?

Just because you have a surplus of young d-men doesn’t mean you have to keep them all, they become assets that can be used to help fill voids in other positions groups on the roster or prospect pool. This is why you always go BPA, it gives you the most organizational strength moving forward.

 

[Chelios]

If you think Shaefer is the best player, especially if that is the consensus and he is by far and away the best dman in the draft, you do one of two things: 1) take him and figure out the rest later; or 2) you trade the pick to move down slightly and get a kings ransom to do so.

 

[Hawkaholic]

If you think Shaefer is the best player, especially if that is the consensus and he is by far and away the best dman in the draft, you do one of two things: 1) take him and figure out the rest later; or 2) you trade the pick to move down slightly and get a kings ransom to do so.

I think you just draft him. Who cares what prospects we already have?

 

[GIADF]

The more I read about these prospects, the more I'm hoping we end up with a top 3 pick.

Although I'm looking forward to seeing more of Misa this year. Something about him is less exciting than the idea of Hagens, Martone, or Shaefer but I'm far from a prospect expert.

 

[Toews2Bickell]

That's the thing.

Players like Artamonov and Cristall have been available for the Hawks regime to grab... and then they just don't.

Yes - recall you slamming the table on some of these players and they should be taking swings at every single one of these types of guys going forward (outside their top 5-10 picks where you just need to walk away with a good player at a low probability of busting because a bust is so detrimental to a rebuilding roster with infinite holes).. they're doing OK at defense and goalie is just as a random as it gets that it can more easily be addressed via UFA/trade - teams can only start one and they become available more frequently (Askarov)...but yeah, take Schaefer if he's BPA but after that just go heavy at forward for the forseeable future and hope to get lucky on some guys

 

[Toews2Bickell]

The more I read about these prospects, the more I'm hoping we end up with a top 3 pick.

Although I'm looking forward to seeing more of Misa this year. Something about him is less exciting than the idea of Hagens, Martone, or Shaefer but I'm far from a prospect expert.

feels like a very 2019 esque draft with the one defenseman in the top 4 and a bunch of forwards but no clear cut order after 1, Hughes (Hagens) then the field at forward and Schaefer (Byram) at defense

In theory I’ve got no problem loading up D prospects. Always take the best player. Nothing is set in stone yet with any of them aside from Vlassic. If our D core is so stacked 5 years from now we put can put Jones on the 3rd pairing we’re going to be in a great spot. Defense does take longer to develop too.

lets say Korchinski pans out and you have Vlasic for the next 8 years or whatever making 4.6 per on your third pair, thats an embarrassment of riches and a good problem to have or KK is on the 3rd pair as a strictly OFD/PP2 guy but shielded from the tougher matchups come playoff time

 

[Toews2Bickell]

Do any of these forwards have special traits or are they just the best of a weaker group? Know Misa was granted exceptional status etc

 

[Kevin Musto]

Do any of these forwards have special traits or are they just the best of a weaker group? Know Misa was granted exceptional status etc

That's what's bumming me out the most watching this draft class. There's a lack of standout qualities in these players that get me excited when I watch them.

A lot of these guys are jack of all trades, masters of none. Many of them feel like safe bets to be middle sixers, without the potential for more.

Here's what I'd say for the top 5 forwards right now:

-Martone's IQ is top notch
-Hagens is a really good skater
-McQueen has soft hands
-Misa is the best of the all-rounder types
-Spence has that dog in him

You saying they're "the best of a weak group" is apt.