2025 NHL DRAFT Thread

It's really not that crazy.

Even scouts that are high on Frondell and Desnoyers will tell you they only see them as 2nd liners.

What do you see Lardis being? I think he's easily a top 6er. He could be in that role as soon as next season. Why trade him for guys that might be able to do that in 3 years?

Lardis is definitely top-6 or bust but I don't see him in the NHL next year, no. There's going to be an adjustment period for him trying to score as a pro.

I don't get how you think Lardis will be in the NHL next year in a top-6, as a 20-year-old, but you thought there was zero chance 23-year-old Dominic James could fill a depth role in the NHL as soon as next season.
 
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This is not even a top 10 wild take for him.

And I call him out plenty for being a loon. With that being said, I can absolutely see where he’s coming from.

Top 5 picks bust or disappoint all the time. Lardis just scored 70 goals in the OHL. Yes it’s only a minor league, but there’s a reason that so few do it.

With those two, their offensive upside could be limited. In that case, having a Debrincat type career would make him the better player. But that’s looking past draft status and looking at what’s in front of you.

Lardis is super one-dimensional right now. Sure, it's been a great dimension in junior but he's not going to be able to score as much off the rush as a pro. He's going to have to fight for ice more, get involved more in the cycle and find his spots while being active in the cycle. And as a smaller guy that didn't really have to do that the past couple years, it's going to be an adjustment for him.
 
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I don't get how you think Lardis will be in the NHL next year in a top-6, as a 20-year-old, but you thought there was zero chance 23-year-old Dominic James could fill a depth role in the NHL as soon as next season.
With James it was specifically this roster. He's simply not beating out everyone currently under contract + potential UFA signings.

Only place he may get a 4th line role (or 13F) is on a cap strapped contender that just needs a cheap body on an ELC.
Lardis is super one-dimensional right now. Sure, it's been a great dimension in junior but he's not going to be able to score as much off the rush as a pro. He's going to have to fight for ice more, get involved more in the cycle and find his spots while being active in the cycle. And as a smaller guy that didn't really have to do that the past couple years, it's going to be an adjustment for him.
All of that was said about DeBrincat too. And yet 30 goal rookie season. Never even sniffed the AHL.

We'll see what happens, but I'm not ruling Lardis out for making the team out of camp.
 
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Lardis is super one-dimensional right now. Sure, it's been a great dimension in junior but he's not going to be able to score as much off the rush as a pro. He's going to have to fight for ice more, get involved more in the cycle and find his spots while being active in the cycle. And as a smaller guy that didn't really have to do that the past couple years, it's going to be an adjustment for him.
I mean, so was Debrincat. And Debrincat wasn’t even a great skater either. Lardis is a ++ skater. So his game actually lends itself pretty well to being more sound defensively, which he himself has said is the plan to work on next year.

Yeah the Hawks are likely full next year so he he’ll be in Rockford to start, plus the unknown severity of his knee injury. But I also won’t be shocked if he starts lighting up the AHL in a hurry. You can teach defensive awareness and positioning and the likes, but offensive prowess is something you either have or you don’t. Which is why his ceiling is so high.

A good comp for him is Jesper Bratt. Very similar style players.
 
Another 3 assists tonight for low ceiling bum and future Musto meltdown catalyst Caleb Desnoyers. 20 points in 9 playoff games now.
 
Yeah I'm in the same boat there. In this draft, I don't see a true top line driver outside of Schaefer on the back-end. Looking at the 3 of Misa, Frondell, and Desnoyers I see all 3 as top 6 forwards in their own right. When trying to project Misa, I see him as more of the same with what we got. I know he's 6'0" or 6'1", but he doesn't play a very strong game. He's not great in the dirty areas of the ice and when you have guys the size of Nazar and Bedard as the core you build around, I don't like the fit. My proposal is to draft Frondell out of the 3 because not only does he play a heavier game, but he has an Elite shot and excels in the dirty areas. He wins a ton of board battles, net front battles, and probably ends up an NHL center

Agree 100%. I was team Misa, but I think I'm off of him a little bit. I'd be fine if he's the pick and root for him, but now I have some concerns about his size and overall ceiling/impact. And so thus, as you say, he's more of the same of what we have.

I think I'm starting to be team Frondell as well. His physicality and board battles with that shot and overall scoring would compliment Bedard/Nazar so freaking well. The only thing I wish he was better at is skating. That's a huge plus for Misa.

I want all our guys to be plus plus skaters. We are building that identity, might as well go all in. Lets be the fastest team in the league.

Unfortunately in this year's draft that aren't fast and heavy guys at the top. Eklund is the closest but he's a rough guy, not heavy.

Actually I'm hoping now most that we jump up for Schaefer. He's in his own tier. He fits our style. He would make our d-core universally dominant. It would be really exciting. And then we could speculate on the D trades and bring in the very right fit for our team.
 
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lol no

Lardis is better than Frondell and Desnoyers

In a good draft year, Frondell and Desnoyers aren't even taken in the top 10

Oh boy, here we go again. I bet you haven´t even seen Frondell play. But whatever. Everyone has their right to say what they like even if it´s wrong.
 
All of that was said about DeBrincat too. And yet 30 goal rookie season. Never even sniffed the AHL.

We'll see what happens, but I'm not ruling Lardis out for making the team out of camp.

What are you talking about? You watch these guys play, right? Even in junior DeBrincat was more engaged physically than Lardis is and DeBrincat carried the puck way less as a junior than Lardis does. The concern with DeBrincat as a junior was way more about size than it was about how he played or scored.

I mean, so was Debrincat. And Debrincat wasn’t even a great skater either. Lardis is a ++ skater. So his game actually lends itself pretty well to being more sound defensively, which he himself has said is the plan to work on next year.

Yeah the Hawks are likely full next year so he he’ll be in Rockford to start, plus the unknown severity of his knee injury. But I also won’t be shocked if he starts lighting up the AHL in a hurry. You can teach defensive awareness and positioning and the likes, but offensive prowess is something you either have or you don’t. Which is why his ceiling is so high.

A good comp for him is Jesper Bratt. Very similar style players.

See above.
 
Occasionally you start to build back your credibility, and then you say something like this.

I mean, wut? Lol

I mean I could see a world to be honest. Lardis is very high ceiling but low floor. The other two are high floor but lower ceiling. It could got the way of opposites and Lardis hitting like crazy and ending up as the best of the three.

No way to know right now obviously and there is a reason Frondell/Desnoyers are regarding top 5 picks while Lardis was a 3rd rounder.

But I will say, the Desnoyers/Frondell types are always so difficult to get right. Will they be Kotnakienmis? PLDs? Haytons? Or Toews, Barkov, Rantanens? I don't think it's realistic to know for certain either way.
 
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Agree 100%. I was team Misa, but I think I'm off of him a little bit. I'd be fine if he's the pick and root for him, but now I have some concerns about his size and overall ceiling/impact. And so thus, as you say, he's more of the same of what we have.

I think I'm starting to be team Frondell as well. His physicality and board battles with that shot and overall scoring would compliment Bedard/Nazar so freaking well. The only thing I wish he was better at is skating. That's a huge plus for Misa.

I want all our guys to be plus plus skaters. We are building that identity, might as well go all in. Lets be the fastest team in the league.

Unfortunately in this year's draft that aren't fast and heavy guys at the top. Eklund is the closest but he's a rough guy, not heavy.

Actually I'm hoping now most that we jump up for Schaefer. He's in his own tier. He fits our style. He would make our d-core universally dominant. It would be really exciting. And then we could speculate on the D trades and bring in the very right fit for our team.
Eklund is a really nice player. I see him going in the 7-12 range mostly because of his size and position. He will be drafted beneath the actual value he brings to an NHL team. It happens every time because GM's love prioritizing more premium qualities/positions

Any player the Hawks select with a premium selection like top 10-15 is a player they clearly see as a top 6 F or top 4 D. The sum of all parts, the Hawks already have Bedard, Nazar, and very likely one of Lardis/Kantserov in that top 6. To add another undersized forward to the core isn't something I see KD doing. That's why with the Hawks having a surplus of defenders and only one of Kantserov/Lardis fitting in, I see them making a huge splash this off-season. Maybe we go after and RFA like John-Jason or Mason Mctavish or maybe it's another premium selection. All I know is KD's leash has been getting shorter and needs to do something big to please the team/ownership

Schaefer is a huge difference maker on the blue-line. I know Rinzel looks good, but Schaefer is an incredibly gifted skater with phenomenal offensive ability.
 
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How does Martone fit in with this roster? I don't think a Martone and Bedard line will work with their skating, LW at that point probably isn't going to matter.

Can Martone skate well enough to keep up with Nazar's elite skating?

Potentially still leaves you in the same situation of not having quality linemates for Bedard to play with.

I think I'd prefer Frondell and him potentially being another C over Martone. Even if he can't stick at C it sounds like from what I read he played really well at LW. That could potentially pair well with Bedard if he also can't stick and he's moved to RW.
 
How does Martone fit in with this roster? I don't think a Martone and Bedard line will work with their skating, LW at that point probably isn't going to matter.

Can Martone skate well enough to keep up with Nazar's elite skating?

Potentially still leaves you in the same situation of not having quality linemates for Bedard to play with.

I think I'd prefer Frondell and him potentially being another C over Martone. Even if he can't stick at C it sounds like from what I read he played really well at LW. That could potentially pair well with Bedard if he also can't stick and he's moved to RW.
I am not a prospect expert/guru like many of you. But to me this team desperately needs size, skill and grit, to win battles on the boards and in front of the net. I don't think you're going to fill every role with a speedster.
 
What is there to suggest that Martone can't play with either Bedard or Nazar?

If the report by Powers is true that their list after Schaefer/Misa is Frondell and Desnoyers then maybe that just suggest they want someone they can project as a center and less about concerns around Martone
 
Can Martone skate well enough to keep up with Nazar's elite skating?
He can't physically keep up with Nazar's speed, but he can mentally.

Martone has the highest IQ in the draft.

He knows how every play is going to unfold well in advance, so he knows how to position himself in the right spots, and where to send the puck. He's he kind of player that works smarter, not harder.

I keep going back to Strome for Martone.

From a processing standpoint, he can excel at the NHL level.
 
What is there to suggest that Martone can't play with either Bedard or Nazar

I don't know about Nazar, not claiming too, genuinely curious how they'd pair. Would Nazar skate him out of position to where he's always behind trying to play catch up?

Does any other team have a legit top line with two average skaters as the core? I'm drawing a blank on Robertson's linemates.
 
Maybe they just want to hedge the risk that Bedard is not a long-term center if their short list is 3 projected centers and Schaefer. Nazar looks like 1 of the 2 top 6 centers going forward.
 
Maybe they just want to hedge the risk that Bedard is not a long-term center if their short list is 3 projected centers and Schaefer. Nazar looks like 1 of the 2 top 6 centers going forward.
Desnoyers and Frondell aren't even 100% centers.

Unless it's at 3C, their odds of sticking at center are the same if not worse than Bedard.
 
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All I know is KD's leash has been getting shorter and needs to do something big to please the team/ownership

Schaefer is a huge difference maker on the blue-line. I know Rinzel looks good, but Schaefer is an incredibly gifted skater with phenomenal offensive ability.
Can you tell me who your sources are for this comment, or where you read it?
 

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