2025 NHL Draft Thread

[ColbyChaos]

This team is f***ing terrible it needs every and all good players possible. There is no luxury of selecting by position.

Then they shouldn’t have last draft…

Nor would we get anything of real value for Korchinski. We’d be lucky to get a late round 1st which won’t be worth shit.

Also what will be funny is seeing this board hype up the dmen from next draft and instantly undersell Schaefer just as this board is already underselling the supposed elite RD that was supposed to be Levshunov. Rinzel or Vlasic won’t be good enough next draft as this board will fall in love with the next draft eligible defenseman D prospect anyway

 

[TLEH]

Then they shouldn’t have last draft…

Nor would we get anything of real value for Korchinski. We’d be lucky to get a late round 1st which won’t be worth shit

So Korchinski sucks then? He’s a Top 10 pick. Either the pick is bad or he’s valuable.

 

[deytookerjaabs]

Korchinski looked great in the AHL games I watched. That's a big step at his age. NHL is another leap to take and we'll see what time has in store. If he was struggling in the A I'd be a bit more worried but he's often looked like the best player on the ice. I have the same optimism for Nazar too, it's hard to look that good in the AHL at that age. It's no guarantee they'll do that in the NHL but, again, it's a good sign.

 

[Space umpire]

If you win 1.01 then you just take Schaefer. KK is still too much of an unknown. I think he’s gotten better but I’m not sure what he is going to be. He isn’t a defensive dynamo and he doesn’t produce a lot of offense. Seth Jones is trash. Hopefully we can move him with 4 years left. Allan is a steady 5 or 6 type. Maybe a defensive 4 if he develops. EDM has sort of stagnated this year when asked to play more defensively. Levshunov still too much of an unknown. Kaiser has struggled. Rinzel I love but you never know what a guy is until pro hockey.

Schaefer - Levshunov
Vlasic - Rinzel
KK - UFA RD/Allan
Kaiser/EDM/Allan

Or

Vlasic - Lev
Allan - Rinzel
KK - UFA RD/Kaiser/EDM

Top one looks way better… but then you’re subtracting a Hagens/Misa from the mix. If they land Schaefer for real then they need to have a discussion about trading Kevin for a forward that is 20-21 and close to helping a roster as well.

EDM’s stats and style of play pretty much mirror Vlasic’s (-2 yrs)

But I’m guessing you’re not very familiar with him since you suggest he’s has stagnated trying to improve his defense.
His defensive game is fine, he’s been asked to open his game up more.
The fact is during his WJC he was asked in each game to cover the opposing top players and delivered flawlessly.

 

[Giovi]

EDM’s stats and style of play pretty much mirror Vlasic’s (-2 yrs)

But I’m guessing you’re not very familiar with him since you suggest he’s has stagnated trying to improve his defense.
His defensive game is fine, he’s been asked to open his game up more.
The fact is during his WJC he was asked in each game to cover the opposing top players and delivered flawlessly.

I agree with everything you said about EDM. But as far as a comparison between him and Vlasic goes, Vlasics mobility is much better than EDM's. I still think EDM's skating could be a detriment to him at the NHL level, unless it's improved quite a bit since his days in Junior.

 

[TheFridge]

EDM’s stats and style of play pretty much mirror Vlasic’s (-2 yrs)

But I’m guessing you’re not very familiar with him since you suggest he’s has stagnated trying to improve his defense.
His defensive game is fine, he’s been asked to open his game up more.
The fact is during his WJC he was asked in each game to cover the opposing top players and delivered flawlessly.

Vlasic was a shutdown D with excellent skating.

Del Mastro is a shutdown D with average (maybe a bit below average) skating.

They're not very similar players. I like Del Mastro but he's never projected to have much offense at higher levels.

 

[TLEH]

EDM’s stats and style of play pretty much mirror Vlasic’s (-2 yrs)

But I’m guessing you’re not very familiar with him since you suggest he’s has stagnated trying to improve his defense.
His defensive game is fine, he’s been asked to open his game up more.
The fact is during his WJC he was asked in each game to cover the opposing top players and delivered flawlessly.

His WJC is eons ago. Don't really care about that. He has stagnated trying to improve his defense. He was getting lit up this year because they asked him to play a more defensive role. I also.. LIKE EDM. I'm not trashing him or wanting to throw him away

 

[Chuck Testa]

Now tell me who impressed you from Canada at the WJHC? Martone played in three games. In first he played around 14min, against Latvia 7min and in last game he played almost 15min where he scored a goal. Lets forget about these games and see how he plays rest of the season.

Schaefer was impressive and McKenna looked good. Hindsight is 20/20 but I think Canada would have been far better off taking Cristall, Sennecke, Misa, Parekh, Yakemchuk, Lardis, etc over some of the players they picked.

That’s just me though . Overall the team was beyond lackluster

 

[MicronMega]

Leaving Sennecke off the team made no sense. Parekh although I am not a fan is a productive junior player who would help in a short tournament.

 

[Cold Steel on Ice]

I worry about Martone.He is an older prospect and a winger.He plays physical but is that going to translate to the NHL?His skating is just okay will he be able to create separation at the next level?Schaefer,Hagens or Miss have to be top 3 choices.Picking 4th or lower I would take Desnoyers.He does everything well and plays a complete 200 foot game and plays hard.

 

[TheFridge]

I worry about Martone.He is an older prospect and a winger.He plays physical but is that going to translate to the NHL?His skating is just okay will he be able to create separation at the next level?Schaefer,Hagens or Miss have to be top 3 choices.Picking 4th or lower I would take Desnoyers.He does everything well and plays a complete 200 foot game and plays hard.

6'3" players don't have to worry as much about creating separation. Martone's going to find time and space in the offensive zone by using his reach and size to protect and shield the puck.

There are a lot of average/slightly above average skaters in the NHL that are incredibly effective offensive players. Mark Stone, Leon Draisaitl, Jason Robertson, Mikko Rantanen, Sam Reinhart, etc.

 

[WarriorofTime]

The 2 teams that did not pick Demidov, had differing reasons. Both were smaller market teams, that didn't have as many resources as the Hawks. Getting a Russian player to play for them while using such a high pick is very risky. There is no gurantees.

Who is the last Russian that just outright didn't report to their NHL drafted team? By that logic, drafting an NCAA prospect (C. Gauthier) is "riskier” because they actually have leverage to become free agents unlike Russian guys whose rights never expire. The Russian factor only exists for very marginal prospects that would be fighting for an 11/12/13/14 forward spot or a 6/7 defenseman spot (think Kayumov/Shalunov). Almost all of them at least give it a go at some point, and the high-end guys only leave back for Russia if they bust and would be riding a waiver bus. Who cares if you get a Haydn Fleury, Jake Virtanen or Slater Koekkok to bounce around NHL/AHL rosters for a bit in such an outcome.

If Ducks/Jackets avoided Demidov because "Russia" they're fools.

 

[Castle8130]

Who is the last Russian that just outright didn't report to their NHL drafted team? By that logic, drafting an NCAA prospect (C. Gauthier) is "riskier". The Russian factor only exists for very marginal prospects that would be fighting for an 11/12/13/14 forward spot or a 6/7 defenseman spot (think Kayumov/Shalunov). Almost all of them at least give it a go at some point, and the high-end guys only leave back for Russia if they bust and would be riding a waiver bus. Who cares if you get a Haydn Fleury, Jake Virtanen or Slater Koekkok to bounce around NHL/AHL rosters for a bit in such an outcome.

If Ducks/Jackets avoided Demidov because "Russia" they're fools.

Like I explained in my other message, the Russian factor is not only getting them to play here, but also being able to see them live. There were some teams in the NHL that had maybe 1 or 2 guys in their staff that got to see him live. NHL teams do not draft players that they have hardly seen live. When the scouting meetings happen, the 1 Russian scout has to persuade the entirety of the other staff members that their player is the right pick. All the North American players get like 10+ looks from NHL staff members. The Russian players are seen by the majority of scouts purely on tape.

 

[WarriorofTime]

Like I explained in my other message, the Russian factor is not only getting them to play here, but also being able to see them live. There were some teams in the NHL that had maybe 1 or 2 guys in their staff that got to see him live. NHL teams do not draft players that they have hardly seen live. When the scouting meetings happen, the 1 Russian scout has to persuade the entirety of the other staff members that their player is the right pick. All the North American players get like 10+ looks from NHL staff members. The Russian players are seen by the majority of scouts purely on tape.

Jackets have a bunch of Russian guys on their roster and have had good success with some they drafted. I think they just liked Lindstrom because big forwards that can also score a lot are exciting to think about. It’d also not 1997, the opportunities to see Demidov on both tape and live (plays in a major city) are plentiful. With that high a pick, the GM himself will be very involved in the selection.