2025 NHL DRAFT Thread

[Toews2Bickell]

If they can swing it, absolutely.

I know KD would like Eklund.

Frondell with the first pick, and then moving up for Eklund would be fun since they play together (with Marcus Kruger btw).

I don't think Eklund falls past 10 though. Jumping from the Toronto pick to 8-10 seems challenging. Maybe if next year's Florida pick is involved.

Is Eklund a guy you're really sold on? its not inconceivable that Florida has Ekblad and Bennett leave and Bob ends up eventually slowing down, another long playoff run sees them start to see some wear and tear next year and maybe just maybe that pick ends up in the lotto some percent of the time with some small McKenna equity, maybe you just move it anyway and assume its 20-30 range very often

 

[BLKHKhockey]

Who is the smartest player in this draft?

 

[Kevin Musto]

I like him but I feel like he’s more flashy than his brother, but not as good.s

Yeah William is better. William Eklund in this year's draft would go top 3.

Is Eklund a guy you're really sold on? its not inconceivable that Florida has Ekblad and Bennett leave and Bob ends up eventually slowing down, another long playoff run sees them start to see some wear and tear next year and maybe just maybe that pick ends up in the lotto some percent of the time with some small McKenna equity, maybe you just move it anyway and assume its 20-30 range very often

I wouldn't say I'm 100% sold.

I'm sold on the skill set and motor. I get this nagging feeling about his size though.

Who is the smartest player in this draft?

Martone.

 

[BLKHKhockey]

Martone.

Not a great skater though right?

 

[Kevin Musto]

Not a great skater though right?

Correct.

He'd be a bit below NHL average.

The IQ is undeniable though.

 

[Muffinalt]

He'll make it work, I just don't know to what extent.

If I could guarantee that he could add 30lbs, I'd strongly consider him top 5.

I think I'd feel better if he had a July or August birthday. Gives you much more runway.

Great high motor skillset, and embraces contact. At the very least I could see his floor being a less violent Andrew Shaw. But could he elevate to something closer to Brad Marchand?

Well I'm biased and have been Eklunds fan since the beginning of the season. I'd pick him 3rd right now behind Schaefer and Misa.

I know it's off the consensus, but he has that Koneckny type mentality and plays so much bigger than his size.

Imagine Koneckny with Marner's skating.

I just love the guy. I say I'm biased though is because I always tend to overlove guys that are that physical at that size.

 

[Castle8130]

Matthew Schaefer - 2025 NHL Draft Prospect Profile - The Hockey Writers NHL Entry Draft Latest News, Analysis & More

Although there isn't a consensus first-overall pick this year, Matthew Schaefer has quickly become an early favourite as the top choice.

thehockeywriters.com

Read this, Schaefer sounds like a stud. I think it'd be dumb to trade away that pick for any sort of deal mentioned in this thread. Draft a top 10 forward next year. Then have an elite top 4 D core for the next 15 years + Bedard + top line forward + all our other forward prospects + Knight. Doesn't sound so bad to me.

Weird that they say Schaefer is not a consensus 1st oa. Bob Mckenzie’s mid-season ranking literally says Schaefer is the clear consensus #1 oa. My new top 5 for the Hawk specifically is:

Schaefer
Frondell
Desnoyers
Misa
Hagens

KD showed last year he wants to add more size. Passing on Hagens would make sense of that. O’brien has looked good in these playoffs, but I wouldn’t exactly call him a 200 ft player. More of an offensive playmaker type. I doubt he’s in consideration where we pick

 

[Muffinalt]

Weird that they say Schaefer is not a consensus 1st oa. Bob Mckenzie’s mid-season ranking literally says Schaefer is the clear consensus #1 oa. My new top 5 for the Hawk specifically is:

Schaefer
Frondell
Desnoyers
Misa
Hagens

KD showed last year he wants to add more size. Passing on Hagens would make sense of that. O’brien has looked good in these playoffs, but I wouldn’t exactly call him a 200 ft player. More of an offensive playmaker type. I doubt he’s in consideration where we pick

I was just thinking about this, they did an admirable job bringing in more size last year with Boisvert, Vanacker, Pridham, Spellacy and Mustard all heavy boys.

The first three especially are going to be huge moving forward, to compliment the smaller speedy skaters we have.

Well, even the smaller guys we have are all pretty competitive. Nazar, Moore, Kantserov are all hard on pucks and go to the trenches.

It's only Bedard and Lardis who are a bit more perimeter.

I love the identity of the team. Speed and toughness, it will so fun to watch in a few years.

 

[Kevin Musto]

Weird that they say Schaefer is not a consensus 1st oa. Bob Mckenzie’s mid-season ranking literally says Schaefer is the clear consensus #1 oa. My new top 5 for the Hawk specifically is:

Schaefer
Frondell
Desnoyers
Misa
Hagens

KD showed last year he wants to add more size. Passing on Hagens would make sense of that. O’brien has looked good in these playoffs, but I wouldn’t exactly call him a 200 ft player. More of an offensive playmaker type. I doubt he’s in consideration where we pick

Why Desnoyers over Misa and Hagens?

 

[Toews2Bickell]

Is there any risk of the rankings being big brained a bit too much? For months Hagens and Martone were penciled in as top 4 picks, maybe even top 2 for a period of time

 

[Darkstar]

Is there any risk of the rankings being big brained a bit too much? For months Hagens and Martone were penciled in as top 4 picks, maybe even top 2 for a period of time

I believe both are being over scouted and nitpicked. I think both have way more offensive upside than someone like Desnoyers has shown so far.

 

[Kevin Musto]

Is there any risk of the rankings being big brained a bit too much? For months Hagens and Martone were penciled in as top 4 picks, maybe even top 2 for a period of time

As far as I'm concerned it's still Schaefer > Misa > Martone > Hagens

You can change the order after Schaefer, but those guys are the top 4

 

[Castle8130]

Why Desnoyers over Misa and Hagens?

I see Desnoyers Two-way ability and overall compete level to be high end. He has also been a great producer in the last few games I’ve seen of him showing skill against tough competition. He is well liked by teammates, is always aware of where to be, and has a great frame to build on. There’s a ton of room for growth at 6’2” and 175 lbs. Even at that shrimpy weight he holds his own physically.

I don’t see any Elite physical attributes in Misas game and the playmaking is questionable. I don’t think he’s a 200 ft player either. Having said that, I do think he has elite hockey IQ, a great knack for the net as a natural goal scorer, and plays the game at a quick pace (more so quick not fast).

Hagens being low is half because he hasn’t improved a ton this year and half because I think he’s a bad fit for the Hawks specifically. He has pretty poor balance and adding another undersized forward with that attribute is a tough sell to me.

Picking in the top 3, I want the prospect I draft to have elite attributes. Hagens has some (edge work, vision, puckhandling), but as mentioned, not a good fit. Plus some other concerns.

 

[Crow]

Don’t even want to throw names out there because it’s impossible to know who shakes loose. Maybe a stud on a team that doesn’t fit timeline for team: think David Pastrnak.

Or a great prospect that isn’t established like Simon Nemec ++.

Or guys that have weird rumors around them before like Quentin Byfield.

I’m really not sure until everyone’s dirty laundry comes out post season.

What if Quinn Hughes decided Cancouver was too toxic and you traded 2025/2026 unprotecteds with Korchinski or something.

Every proposal I’d throw out right now would seem ridiculous but there are guys that shake loose sometimes. Not counting in it tho.

I got you, I could see a situation where player and team aren’t on the best terms and I would welcome that kind of trade.

 

[Toews2Bickell]

I see Desnoyers Two-way ability and overall compete level to be high end. He has also been a great producer in the last few games I’ve seen of him showing skill against tough competition. He is well liked by teammates, is always aware of where to be, and has a great frame to build on. There’s a ton of room for growth at 6’2” and 175 lbs. Even at that shrimpy weight he holds his own physically.

I don’t see any Elite physical attributes in Misas game and the playmaking is questionable. I don’t think he’s a 200 ft player either. Having said that, I do think he has elite hockey IQ, a great knack for the net as a natural goal scorer, and plays the game at a quick pace (more so quick not fast).

Hagens being low is half because he hasn’t improved a ton this year and half because I think he’s a bad fit for the Hawks specifically. He has pretty poor balance and adding another undersized forward with that attribute is a tough sell to me.

Picking in the top 3, I want the prospect I draft to have elite attributes. Hagens has some (edge work, vision, puckhandling), but as mentioned, not a good fit. Plus some other concerns.

There was an NHL dot com mock with some comps for the top 4 that I cant find rn but they had a Clayton Keller for Hagens, Stamkos for Misa and Perry for Martone...Do those seem fair?

 

[puterwiz53]

Suppose the Hawks win the first over all pick, why not dangle this pick to see what other teams will offer? They could probably get a good haul.

 

[Kevin Musto]

Suppose the Hawks win the first over all pick, why not dangle this pick to see what other teams will offer? They could probably get a good haul.

I mean, you always listen. I wouldn't actively dangle it though.

You'd have to get one hell of an offer to give up Schaefer.

 

[Toews2Bickell]

Schaefer-Rinzel
Vlasic-Levshunov

as much as we need forwards that would be a nasty nasty nasty top 4 for the next decade

 

[Kevin Musto]

Schaefer-Rinzel
Vlasic-Levshunov

as much as we need forwards that would be a nasty nasty nasty top 4 for the next decade

Yup.

You don't even need to worry about the bottom pairing at all.

Those 4 guys in their prime, nobody in the league will have a D group that good.

 

[Toews2Bickell]

Yup.

You don't even need to worry about the bottom pairing at all.

Those 4 guys in their prime, nobody in the league will have a D group that good.

maybe an EDM-Crevier bottom pair, nice combo for playoff type hockey...then KD would need to get to work on the forward group, lots of cap and draft capital to address it, KK, Allan and Kaiser as trade chips, they could do it with enough patience

 

[Castle8130]

There was an NHL dot com mock with some comps for the top 4 that I cant find rn but they had a Clayton Keller for Hagens, Stamkos for Misa and Perry for Martone...Do those seem fair?

I like that Keller comparison for Hagens a lot. Hagens decision making is one of his bigger weaknesses which is unlike Keller, but other than that, I see a ton of similarities in size, skill, puck-handling ability, etc.

Tough for me to agree with any comparisons for Misa and Martone. I see Misa becoming a top 6 goal scoring right winger. At the moment, I cannot think of someone like him, but I definitely do not see Stamkos in Misa.

Martone is tricky because he is a bigger player that can play both a net front presence type and be effective by the hashmarks. Anything from the blue-line in Martone is gold. He isn't a 200 ft player, he is on the slower side, and isn't overly strong on checks. He wins battles in front of the net for rebounds, but his strength doesn't overwhelm opponents. Some good, some bad. Fun fact about him is that the OHL coaches poll voted him top 3 in 3 categories; Most dangerous person in the goal area, highest hockey IQ, and best playmaker.

 

[RememberTheRoar]

I like that Keller comparison for Hagens a lot. Hagens decision making is one of his bigger weaknesses which is unlike Keller, but other than that, I see a ton of similarities in size, skill, puck-handling ability, etc.

Tough for me to agree with any comparisons for Misa and Martone. I see Misa becoming a top 6 goal scoring right winger. At the moment, I cannot think of someone like him, but I definitely do not see Stamkos in Misa.

Martone is tricky because he is a bigger player that can play both a net front presence type and be effective by the hashmarks. Anything from the blue-line in Martone is gold. He isn't a 200 ft player, he is on the slower side, and isn't overly strong on checks. He wins battles in front of the net for rebounds, but his strength doesn't overwhelm opponents. Some good, some bad. Fun fact about him is that the OHL coaches poll voted him top 3 in 3 categories; Most dangerous person in the goal area, highest hockey IQ, and best playmaker.

I saw a Kyle Connor comp on Misa from one of those sites. That one doesn’t seem too bad.

 

[Mjul Qvist]

Blackhawks first line in 2026-27 season opener:

Lardis-Bedard-Martone
Vlasic- Rinzel

 

[Nazzz]

Who is the smartest player in this draft?

Desnoyers.

Also mention Martin, Martone and Bear

 

[BHawk21]

I want to get into that 8-10 area with assets again.

Korchinski + 2nd for Rangers 10th? OBrien Mcqueen Bear maybe a dropping Eklund or Desnoyers


There are not many options at D early in the draft I wonder if we are moving off of Korch if the draft is a good time to do so.