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2025 NHL DRAFT Thread

Who should we pick 3rd overall (assuming Schaefer and Misa are gone)?

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x Tame Impala said:
There’s zero reason for us to pay anything significant to get to 1st OVR. NYI would be choosing to make a non BPA selection for a hometown kid. We’d be just fine with whoever (whomever?) we take at #3.
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it's "whoever" because it's the subject of the predicate "we take". it's confusing because the example is a complex sentence where the dependent clause ("whoever we take at #3") is itself the object of a larger complex sentence structure (with "we" as the subject, and "being fine with" as the predicate), which muddies the water by forcing you to do this subject-verb-object analysis at different nested levels of the sentence.
 
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HawksDub89 said:
From David St Louis’s EP scouting report for Martone in the Canadia v Austria game.

“Porter Martone's skating has rarely looked as good as in this game this season. Forced to play at a higher pace, he was using crossovers to add bursts to his forward strides, catching up to opponents and getting ahead of them in the neutral zone. He made picks plays to create space for teammates, pushed the line of defence as F1 off the rush, got involved defensively, and went to the net, finding space at the far post for passes. He almost scored from that position.“

This is just a snippet, but obviously provides some validation to the reports that his skating has taken significant strides this season.
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Or, he's very lazy.
 
Toews2Bickell said:
this trade talk is going to be silly all summer...this team is nowhere near contention, just make the pick
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I’d trade up for Schaefer if we can. 3rd OVR + TOR 1st + FLA 1st is as high as I’d go. That’s probably too much if there isn’t a huge gap between these top 5 guys like it’s being said around the internet.
 
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MHO said:
I wouldn't love the pick if it's Martone. I get the idea of a big forward to pair with Bedard and he's big with vision and hands. But so is Pat Maroon. His skating does not look good.

I'd rather use #3OA on a guy who's a better skater and use later picks on guys with this profile and less regarded and try to improve their skating. I'll also say that I don't fully understand how some guys improve their skating and some guys don't.
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Pat Maroon, lol ok. Tell us you don't know puck without telling us.

His skating is completely fine, he's 18, big and will only get better with it. Guys later in the rounds won't have near the talent level Martone has, and will just be 3rd or 4th liners at best who can only play 10-12mins a night.
 
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x Tame Impala said:
I’d trade up for Schaefer if we can. 3rd OVR + TOR 1st + FLA 1st is as high as I’d go. That’s probably too much if there isn’t a huge gap between these top 5 guys like it’s being said around the internet.
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I should clarify - trade scenarios that involve the 3rd pick for older players already in the league...don't even know who would fit the timeline that would be worth it
 
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NHL.com mock lol
 
MHO said:
That's completely fair. Martone is likely a better skater and could me more skilled than Maroon. He could be great but I don't want to bet #3 overall on a guy whose skating I don't like.

Also I've seen big guys like Belchetz and Simon Wang and they skate quite well. And please don't get me wrong, I don't want them taking Wang that high either.
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Yeah for me the cautionary tale is Lafreniere. I loved loved loved him coming in and ... he just never was able to play the same game, his skating and pace was really low and we saw how much this limited him. I mean we see how it bottlenecks Bedard too.

I like Martone's IQ, playmaking and size, but it's not guarantee he can just up his pace like that and improve on the skating. I get he is average there, but he will have to excel reaaaaaally hard at the other areas to be a top 3 pick.

I think pace is innate like physicality or edge, of course you can improve some but guys don't really change their fundamental style of play that much, it's not realistic to expect that.

I'm not saying I would never pick him, but I'm deathly afraid of his lack of pace and slower first step. I can't shake how Laf turned out.
 
NYI is in a weird spot, right? Obviously Schafer is the best pick, or the very least arguably the best pick, but James Hagen is the local pick who happens to be a massive Isles fan. I think Isles wants Hagen but the lowest they can trade down and still be guarantee to get him is at 3 maybe 4th pick.

We know the recent history of trades between the two franchises probably means at some point Hawks/Islanders will probably talk.

So if this happens (and I am not saying it will but IF) what would the cost be for the Hawks to move up two spots (and I do believe trading up is an option)?
 
eklund2chicago said:
I see a lot of talk about Martone being the pick and thought that I would share something that I
I wrote on the Blackhawks Reddit sub where I try to explain who we will pick and why.
And for reference this isn’t just about glazing Frondell. For instance, I have Hagens ahead. This is just speculation of who I think we will take.

I know that a lot of you won’t agree with how I view the player but I think, if we’re being honest with ourselves, it’s pretty likely that Frondell will be the pick if Misa isn’t available, based on what this front office values.

This is what I wrote:

If Michael Misa isn’t available at 3 I’m pretty certain that Anton Frondell will be the pick and here’s why:

Reason #1: Rumours - In a recent The Athletic Hockey podcast Corey Pronman and Chris Peters reported live from the U18s in Texas that scouts are really high on Frondell and that some teams perhaps have him as their top forward. Scott Powers also wrote in an article a while back that Frondell is (among others) an option for Chicago.

Reason #2: Philosophy - The current front office has clearly stated that they value some qualities above others in players, especially skating and compete. Frondell isn’t the best skater but he has a powerful stride once he gets going. Compete on the other hand he has for days. He is also a great two way player, which KD also seem to value highly when you look at previous draft picks. Martone isn’t the best skater and the same goes for Desnoyers, who are other options at 3. Hagens is agile but doesn’t have the highest top speed. My point is that of the top forwards in this drafts (outside of Misa) Frondell fits what the Blackhawks are trying to build the most.

Reason #3: Anton Frondell as a player (the most important reason) - I feel like there is a narrative out there that Frondell isn’t that great of a prospect so I’m going to lay out why that’s far from the truth. Going into the year, Frondell was seen as one of the top prospects in the class. He had a great D-1 with stellar production in the Swedish J20 as a 16 year old. Unfortunately his spring last year as well as his fall got ruined by injuries, which led to his draft stock tanking in the public eye but not so much among scouts (he was five in January in Makenzie’s ranking). After finally coming back from injury he was excellent. Frondell finished the season with the highest producing rate of an U18 player in Hockeyallsvenskan of all time, beating out William Nylander and David Pastrnak. He also did this while playing third line minutes. Frondell acctually had the highest points per 60 minutes among all players in the entire league. For reference, Hockeyallsvenskan is a top 10 league on the planet and he did this as a 17 year old.

So outside of his production, what is it that makes Frondell’s game so appealing? Frondell is measured at 6ft (think that this will be adjusted til at least 6’1) but he plays like he’s 6’5. The kid is bullying grown men with his strong frame and fearless mentality, which is something that surely will transfer to the NHL. Frondell also has an elite shot and he’s really good at finding open lanes so that he can use it.

One fair criticism of Frondell is his transitional game, in which he often refers to his linemates. I don’t think he’s ever going to be an elite transitional player but it’s worth noting that he’s not horrible at it, he just knows his linemates (often Victor Eklund) excels at it more and therefore he lets him transport the puck to the offensive zone. It’s from the blue line and onwards where Frondell is in his habitat and where he can do it all. As I said, his shot and physical play is his best qualities but his IQ is really good as well.

Reason #4: The other options - This is just not about how good Frondell is, it’s also about the other options and why I don’t think they are as likely to be picked.

Porter Martone - Has an interesting profile but his production regressed throughout the year and his skating isn’t the best, which is something this front offices values. He is also one of the oldest players in the draft.

James Hagens - Personally I have Hagens above Frondell but Hagens is a small (maybe but not guaranteed) center and we have a few of those already. Therefore and combined with his mediocre season he won’t be the pick.

Caleb Desnoyers - Is similar to Frondell in how he competes but isn’t the best skater. I kind of thought that he would be an option but then Peters and Pronman talked about how high scouts view Frondell and it seems like it’s consensus that he’s ahead of Desnoyers.

They are all great players but based on what I think Davidson wants Frondell seems more like that player.

With this said, I’m pretty sure that Anton Frondell will be the pick (if Misa is not available, he seems like everything KD wants in a hockey player).
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I wouldn't be surprised if it's Frondell. If NYI doesn't go with Schaefer then who knows but if NYI goes BPA I could see it. Hell, I could see the Hawks taking him regardless.

Frondell also has that factor where the guys who like him think he belongs at the top of the draft while others might not even have him top 10. Lev was like that too. Some rankings had Lev well out of the top 5 and some had him at 2. The Hawk scouts seem to love certain NHL success traits in terms of physical abilities over skill/IQ/points.

They also probably see him as a power play snipe threat to open the ice for the rest of the guys.

Plus, we seem to see guys struggle less here when they come out of leagues that have older players. The junior to AHL/NHL pipeline is a tougher bet right now.
 
Kevin Musto said:
Loved St-Louis' video on Martone.

It's good to see a big outlet like EP dispel the myth of Martone being a power forward. I swear some people look at size + PIM and then draw a conclusion.
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I wouldnt say he’s not a power forward, but he certainly does not have the Tkachuk/Perry aspects to his game that most people seem to think he does. Very much a more modern/less heavy model of the power forward. I’ll go back to Matt Boldy as a comp
 
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