2025 NHL DRAFT Thread

[Kevin Musto]

You don't think Frondell can improve and has room to get better? Like... grow in skills. Work on Puck handling?

Of course.

I'm just saying Eklund is already better than him in those areas and has room to grow physically.

Frondell doesn't have an edge there just cause he's younger.

 

[bwanajamba]

What if Philly offers us the same deal KD offered to Columbus? Let's say they really like two different people in the top 6 of the class. If Philly offers the 24th or 25th overall pick and an unprotected 2026 first (in a much deeper draft), would you take it?

In this scenario, two teams jump in the the standings and Chicago falls down to 4th overall. Do you take the risk? If it pays off, you have 2 lottery tickets for McKenna or could grab some forwards in a deeper draft. Potentially even 2 picks in the top 5

View attachment 1022440

Tempting but I don't know if it's worth pushing the pick back a year. The Blackhawks last year were a historically awful team that had a ton of ground to make up to climb out of the basement. Columbus could be reasonably certain of a top 5 pick if they had taken that trade last year.

The Flyers on the other hand will probably be bad next year but I don't think that's a bottom five team without the ECHL-level goaltending they got this year. I assume they intend to address that in the offseason. If I'm right about both of those things you're giving yourself an extra ~15% chance at best to pick top 2 next year. In a more likely scenario you're getting another pick anywhere from 6 to 12ish. Even if you like next year's draft there are great prospects who will be available at 4 this year that will be at least comparable to that range next year, and obviously they'll be a year ahead. So I would lean towards no.

 

[statswatcher]

I'm just saying Eklund is already better than him in those areas and has room to grow physically.

we understand what you are saying, you didn't have to rephrase it. why am i supposed to believe on the strength of you merely asserting it that the 5'11" 160lb Oct 2006 birthday "has room to grow physically" whereas the 6'0" 196lb May 2007 birthday is "maxed out"? do you have literally anything beyond your crack scouting intuition to back up this assertion?

Frondell doesn't have an edge there just cause he's younger.

this is true, but the corrollary is that eklund doesn't have the edge there just because you said so.

 

[Mjul Qvist]

It's hard to give Frondell the age advantage when he's pretty much maxed out physically

Whereas Eklund has a lot more room for growth

Just because Frondell is now bigger doesn´t mean that he has maxed out.

 

[Mjul Qvist]

Eklund sounds like Lucas Raymond . Would he be comparable?

What I´ve seen his style reminds me more of Brandon Hagel than Raymond.

 

[dj Mahoney]

What I´ve seen his style reminds me more of Brandon Hagel than Raymond.

Not to shabby either . This draft seems to be somewhat underrated

 

[Mjul Qvist]

Not to shabby either . This draft seems to be somewhat underrated

Well that is just style wise not saying that he will be next Hagel but who knows. Brandon was drafted in sixth round though.

 

[Kevin Musto]

Just because Frondell is now bigger doesn´t mean that he has maxed out.

The way in which he plays won't evolve much further from a physical stand point.

Someone like Desnoyers in comparison is 6'2" 172lbs. If he puts on 25lbs, that could completely change what he's capable of doing.

Frondell doesn't have that kind of growth potential.

 

[BHawks77]

Of course.

I'm just saying Eklund is already better than him in those areas and has room to grow physically.

Frondell doesn't have an edge there just cause he's younger.

Just because Frondell is 200 lbs doesnt mean he cant get more strength and explosiviness! He doesnt need to add weight to do that! Man strength is a thing also if he can add mass without losing speed all the better.

Eklund will never get to Frondell size wise and like you said Frondell is younger so he has time to get good enough skill wise!!

 

[Kevin Musto]

Eklund will never get to Frondell size wise and like you said Frondell is younger so he has time to get good enough skill wise!!

yes but the point is that Eklund is so much smaller than Frondell and yet he's better in every facet of the game.

More room to grow physically, while Frondell has less room for growth and still worse than Eklund.

 

[Kevin Musto]

Eklund = advantage over competition, can get bigger

Frondell = no advantage over competition, can't get much bigger

Eklund, higher floor and upside
Frondell, decent floor and limited upside

 

[statswatcher]

yes but the point is that Eklund is so much smaller than Frondell and yet he's better in every facet of the game.

no, that wasn't the point everyone is taking issue with. no one should care about how you feel these two prospects compare to one another as players.

More room to grow physically, while Frondell has less room for growth and still worse than Eklund.

what are you talking about "room"? do you think there is some metaphysical limit on the size of swedish people at six-foot-flat-two-hundred-pounds? some deranged cousin of the square-cube law i am unaware of? if anything for the metaphor to work, "room" here would be age because you can only grow for a limited time, and thus that would be what either player is running out of, not literal physical space.

end of the day, how you feel about these players is irrelevant to the fact that you are making a stupid point trying to justify those feelings post-hoc.

 

[Ace Card Bedard]

Assuming Hawks hold onto #2,

Which teams might pass on Schaeffer and take Misa at #1?

Buffalo? They already have Dahlin, Power, Byram
Rangers? Fox, Miller, Schneider
Flyers? Drysdale, York, Sanheim

I suspect all three would still draft Schaeffer but one can dream.

 

[Hull2Roenick2Kane]

Assuming Hawks hold onto #2,

Which teams might pass on Schaeffer and take Misa at #1?

Buffalo? They already have Dahlin, Power, Byram
Rangers? Fox, Miller, Schneider
Flyers? Drysdale, York, Sanheim

I suspect all three would still draft Schaeffer but one can dream.

according to Tankathon apparently we are passing on Schaeffer and taking Misa at 1 also.

 

[giza]

Frondell has sneaked up the ladder for me.....he's at #3 overall.....although Martone is probably needed more organizationally.

 

[Kevin Musto]

The Frondell love here is getting gross

A reasonable pick around 8, but 3 or 4? Give me a break

Need a lotto win so I never have to hear his name again

 

[Cold Steel on Ice]

One player that doesn’t get mentioned is Acheson.He is tough and had over 20 goals in the regular season and is having a great playoff.I know we have a lot of defenseman in the pipeline but none like the skill set he has.Just a thought if we end up at 4.

 

[Muffinalt]

no, that wasn't the point everyone is taking issue with. no one should care about how you feel these two prospects compare to one another as players.

what are you talking about "room"? do you think there is some metaphysical limit on the size of swedish people at six-foot-flat-two-hundred-pounds? some deranged cousin of the square-cube law i am unaware of? if anything for the metaphor to work, "room" here would be age because you can only grow for a limited time, and thus that would be what either player is running out of, not literal physical space.

end of the day, how you feel about these players is irrelevant to the fact that you are making a stupid point trying to justify those feelings post-hoc.

You are aware that most internet scouts share the same opinion?

Frondell is more physically developed and has less leeway to develop more significantly.

Eklund is the reverse, he could add so much more weight yet because he's a twig.

 

[TheFridge]

Assuming Hawks hold onto #2,

Which teams might pass on Schaeffer and take Misa at #1?

Buffalo? They already have Dahlin, Power, Byram
Rangers? Fox, Miller, Schneider
Flyers? Drysdale, York, Sanheim

I suspect all three would still draft Schaeffer but one can dream.

Dahlin/Power/Byram is the only good threesome mentioned.

Fox is elite; Miller is inconsistent and Schneider is just a guy.

Sanheim is solid; York and Drysdale are WIPs but neither is much of anything right now.

 

[Hawkaholic]

Well, that does it. Frondell will be our pick, and he'll be great. Thanks for another gem, Musto!

 

[Hawkaholic]

I doubt teams will pass up the BPA because of what they currently have. This isnt the NFL.

 

[BHawks77]

The Frondell love here is getting gross

A reasonable pick around 8, but 3 or 4? Give me a break

Need a lotto win so I never have to hear his name again

How do you think we feel with your Ian Mitchell, Dylan Strome generational takes!! Maybe tone down your lovefest with "your guys" before accusing us of having different opinion to yours!!

Hell even paid professional scouts make bad picks and mistakes!! Nothing is certain with prospects, just look at Hagel!!

 

[ello]

Warming up to Desnoyers. Love his progression this year and if he hits he's the type you win with

 

[statswatcher]

You are aware that most internet scouts share the same opinion?

no i am not, but most of my replies to musto could just as well be addressed to "internet scouts" such as they are anyways.

Frondell is more physically developed and has less leeway to develop more significantly.

Eklund is the reverse, he could add so much more weight yet because he's a twig.

the average nhl player is about 6'1", 200lbs and 28 years old. eklund has to add 10 pounds to tie lukas reichel as the lightest blackhawk. frondell would walk in the door as the tenth heaviest. frondell is also already taller and heavier than the average male swedish adult (while again being six months younger than eklund). he is starting with a larger frame to build on, more body mass to build with, and more time in which to build.

i don't jibe with any conventional wisdom that would try to convince me that frondell is "maxed out" (and therefore unlikely to grow further into a larger than average nhl player) while at the same time holding that eklund has "room to grow" ( i.e. he has the *potential* to become an average to slightly underweighted nhl player) and treat it as a selling point for eklund and a demerit for frondell.

 

[ello]

no i am not, but most of my replies to musto could just as well be addressed to "internet scouts" such as they are anyways.

the average nhl player is about 6'1", 200lbs and 28 years old. eklund has to add 10 pounds to tie lukas reichel as the lightest blackhawk. frondell would walk in the door as the tenth heaviest. frondell is also already taller and heavier than the average male swedish adult (while again being six months younger than eklund). he is starting with a larger frame to build on, more body mass to build with, and more time in which to build.

i don't jibe with any conventional wisdom that would try to convince me that frondell is "maxed out" (and therefore unlikely to grow further into a larger than average nhl player) while at the same time holding that eklund has "room to grow" ( i.e. he has the *potential* to become an average to slightly underweighted nhl player) and treat it as a selling point for eklund and a demerit for frondell.

Some prospects certainly end up developing less physically compared to others, but yea its really unpredictable and often comes down to work ethic and random genetics

Anecdotally I would argue that really small wiry players that lack physicality are usually actually less likely to have the genetics/drive to fill out (some Hawks guys like this are Reichel, Sikura, Boqvist), whereas the smaller guys who are more tenacious and physical more often do reach that "man-level" of physicality needed to make it in the NHL (debrincat, nazar so far). I would agree with Musto that Eklund most likely falls into the latter category and I would bank on his developmental runway being impressive and it certainly helps that his brother has found a way.

re: Frondell. 200 pounds at 6'1 is objectively quite large for a 17 year old. How much more size can he put on? Is he going to play at 220? at 6'1? I'm not sure that would be feasible without compromising mobility, especially for a forward. At the same time though, strong people are usually much more likely to get stronger and I'm sure he has a ways to go in terms of learning how to take advantage of his weight and strength and it's not like he's bullying a bunch of kids right now. I'd say it all evens out for him at the end of the day.

Desnoyers is a guy that I think has a tantalizing amount of physical development left at 6'2 178. He could easily put on 25+ pounds without slowing him down and he certainly already plays a very engaged game and seems to have a good on ice work ethic at least.