2025 NHL DRAFT Thread

[Kevin Musto]

yes, I would agree with that.

guy can flat out produce offence at the US national program and was a point per game in college last year.

if the hawks want the guy with the highest ceiling that is not named Shaefer and Misa then Hagens is likely that guy.

I think there's a higher ceiling with Martone, compared to Hagens.

 

[deytookerjaabs]

I wouldn't compare Hagens to Kane. They aren't the same player, at all. For example Hagens' hands may be the best in the class, but Kane's are among the best of all time. Hagens is also a natural Center who actually backchecks and skates at a high level. That's neither here nor there, regardless. I compare the situation where there was a not so small group of fans who were adament Turris was the better pick because of size and position - despite an absolutely ridiculous disparity in skill shown in Jrs. Watching Hagens and Desnoyers now reminds me a lot of that very situation. The pure level skill Hagens has shown over the past few years is, as a whole, something I've never seen from Desnoyers even in small bursts.

I think Hagens slight come down to earth this year was deserved by the eye test.

No one questions his talent. On the rush he's a boss, a very deceptive slick passer who can make said passes at full speed. But he doesn't have hands so good he can back D off from a standstill.

Watching his line this year the wingers did the heavy lifting shift to shift in terms of puck protection. Hagens had a tendency to chip pucks when down low because he often couldn't come off the walls after a battle against the better teams. And if one had a nickel for everytime you hear "______ will grow into it" that person would have some serious laundry change for all the guys who don't get to that level worthy of dominant postseason NHL hockey. He even mentioned himself the difficulty in "going against some guys who are 25."

I remember a number of plays where he was 10ft from the paint with one guy to beat and he'd literally just pull up and try to distribute, a guy with monster hands doesn't pull up like that.

In his defense, what his game lacked didn't stop him from making other efforts to continue to try to score and try hard in general every shift. He has tenacity, but he relies heavily on open ice in the middle, something NHL'ers are far better at shutting down than even NCAA players.

 

[Kevin Musto]

One thing that often tips a team’s interest in certain players is when their scouts are continually seen at the player’s games, that could be overlooked in O’Brien’s case since the Hawks scouts would already be closely monitoring Lardis and Vanacker’s progress.

That's true.

I'm pretty high on O'Brien so I wouldn't be upset at all if we started to get some whispers linking him to the Hawks.

Industry is hot on him too. Rose two spots on Bob's list to claim 7th overall.

On Bob's final board, will he rise again one or two spots over Desnoyers or Hagens? Depending on if those guys shrink at the combine, I wouldn't rule it out. O'Brien is a legit 6'2".

 

[feichter33]

For me, I think I'm okay with Hagens or then Frondell. But, we need, need, NEED some size with picks 24 and 34. Something like:

3=*whoever*
25th=Spence
34th=Nestrasil

I consider our back end basically set, so don't waste draft resources on that for this year.

 

[featherhawk]

I think there's a higher ceiling with Martone, compared to Hagens.

might be, that said a higher ceiling for Martone (if he reaches it) is IMO contingent on the position that he is placed in where as hagens (if he reaches it) a more likely to reach his ceiling and is IMO less contingent on the position that he is placed in.

 

[Kevin Musto]

might be, that said a higher ceiling for Martone (if he reaches it) is IMO contingent on the position that he is placed in where as hagens (if he reaches it) a more likely to reach his ceiling and is IMO less contingent on the position that he is placed in.

what do you mean by position in this context?

 

[The Dark Knight]

nothing wrong with that if that is what he turns out to be

Honestly if he can be like a Toews, I’d be very happy with him at 3rd overall. I do wonder if his skating can improve as he fills put his frame. He’s only 172 lbs.

 

[Cashman]

Did you watch a lot of North Dakota games this year?

Tried to watch as much as I could on the youtubes.

 

[ello]

That's true.

I'm pretty high on O'Brien so I wouldn't be upset at all if we started to get some whispers linking him to the Hawks.

Industry is hot on him too. Rose two spots on Bob's list to claim 7th overall.

On Bob's final board, will he rise again one or two spots over Desnoyers or Hagens? Depending on if those guys shrink at the combine, I wouldn't rule it out. O'Brien is a legit 6'2".

Yeah me too. He’s a legit 6’2 centreman with perhaps the best raw combo of hands and creativity in this draft. If there’s a swing for the fences in this draft it would be him and I wouldn’t be too upset

 

[featherhawk]

what do you mean by position in this context?

where they play and who they play with, PP, PK, time on ice etc...

 

[Kevin Musto]

Yeah me too. He’s a legit 6’2 centreman with perhaps the best raw combo of hands and creativity in this draft. If there’s a swing for the fences in this draft it would be him and I wouldn’t be too upset

I agree.

It's the runway with him.

You can look at a Hagens or Frondell and they're better than O'Brien today... but in 5 years? That's the important game to play when you're drafting and O'Brien could get to a level that the others won't.

The playmaking and vision is elite... and there are very few players in the draft with any elite attributes at all. Hands/puckhandling is high end. And he's one of those guys that slows the game down at will. Very poised.

And just from a character stand point, he wears a letter, and he gets engaged in post whistle scrums to stand up for his guys. I don't have insight in the locker room, but I can assume that he's well liked there.

Another interesting tidbit is that OHL coach's poll had really high results for him. He was named smartest player in the east, ahead of Martone. 2nd best playmaker in the east, ahead of Martone again. And 2nd best stickhandler in the east... again ahead of Martone.

A good combine showing and a great interview with the Hawks and he could easily be the pick at 3 imo.

 

[MHO]

What do you guys think about the idea to trade ALL of the Hawks' picks in the 2025 draft except 3OA to a team like Pittsburgh or Boston with bare prospect cupboards who may need quantity for 7 or 9OA? Then we could end up with Martone AND Desnoyers or O'Brien. I know it didn't work out for Ditka but this is different.

Would you want that? Would you think KD would do it? Would Boston or Pittsburgh? I'd take quality over quantity at this point.

 

[Cashman]

I agree.

It's the runway with him.

You can look at a Hagens or Frondell and they're better than O'Brien today... but in 5 years? That's the important game to play when you're drafting and O'Brien could get to a level that the others won't.

The playmaking and vision is elite... and there are very few players in the draft with any elite attributes at all. Hands/puckhandling is high end. And he's one of those guys that slows the game down at will. Very poised.

And just from a character stand point, he wears a letter, and he gets engaged in post whistle scrums to stand up for his guys. I don't have insight in the locker room, but I can assume that he's well liked there.

Another interesting tidbit is that OHL coach's poll had really high results for him. He was named smartest player in the east, ahead of Martone. 2nd best playmaker in the east, ahead of Martone again. And 2nd best stickhandler in the east... again ahead of Martone.

A good combine showing and a great interview with the Hawks and he could easily be the pick at 3 imo.

If you can not get Misa, I think O'Brien is the guy. The problem is, I am not sure you have to draft him at #3, but do you want to chance a trade back?

 

[Kevin Musto]

If you can not get Misa, I think O'Brien is the guy. The problem is, I am not sure you have to draft him at #3, but do you want to chance a trade back?

If he's your guy, I think you just take him.

On Bob's list he rose to 7, so he's a player that's trending up. He could move up again, but worst case he stays at 7.

Correct me if I'm wrong but Utah, Philly, and Boston probably aren't looking to move up.

So trading down with Nashville might be the only option, without missing him.

Is it worth it just to drop 2 spots? I feel like you just take him 3rd at that point.

 

[deytookerjaabs]

Tried to watch as much as I could on the youtubes.

I only saw a few games but the ones I did Boisvert looked like he has a lot to learn still on the defensive side of the game. He really looked like a Freshman out there and I think his coach didn't trust him much of the time but for good reason. Kind of lost on basic assignments, he has a lot of junior habits. And, the whole point of going to the NCAA is to iron some of that out.

And the eye test did match the stat test, best scorer on the team but also at the bottom of his team in +/- while tallying up the most points.

Hoping him putting in for transfer isn't some prima donna thing because at BU he'll still be expected to play some semblance of a 200ft game, I would assume.

That's why I'm really confused at how everyone has already penciled him into the Blackhawks top 6, his game on the other side of the puck needs to get way better to even be sub par at the NHL level. Yet you hear all this stuff about his toughness or grit, huh?

 

[Cashman]

I only saw a few games but the ones I did Boisvert looked like he has a lot to learn still on the defensive side of the game. He really looked like a Freshman out there and I think his coach didn't trust him much of the time but for good reason. Kind of lost on basic assignments, he has a lot of junior habits. And, the whole point of going to the NCAA is to iron some of that out.

And the eye test did match the stat test, best scorer on the team but also at the bottom of his team in +/- while tallying up the most points.

Hoping him putting in for transfer isn't some prima donna thing because at BU he'll still be expected to play some semblance of a 200ft game, I would assume.

That's why I'm really confused at how everyone has already penciled him into the Blackhawks top 6, his game on the other side of the puck needs to get way better to even be sub par at the NHL level. Yet you hear all this stuff about his toughness or grit, huh?

I can agree with this.

I think that this transfer will be a step up as well as a step in the right direction for his maturation. He is still just 19yrs old. I think he is gritty with the boxing background. That is a major reason why I like him.

 

[RaquetPeanutSteering]

O'Brien, Bear and McQueen are far and away the most intriguing guys in the draft, for me. Bear skirts McQueen territory because they are both only injuries away from probable top 5 consideration. Bear should occupy the top 10 spot currently being occupied by Martin, but achilles injuries are so scary.

If O'Brien works on his skating and finds his shot, he could be the one guy teams in the top 5 regret passing on.

 

[deytookerjaabs]

I can agree with this.

I think that this transfer will be a step up as well as a step in the right direction for his maturation. He is still just 19yrs old. I think he is gritty with the boxing background. That is a major reason why I like him.

Ah, that's where it came from!

 

[Kevin Musto]

O'Brien, Bear and McQueen are far and away the most intriguing guys in the draft, for me. Bear skirts McQueen territory because they are both only injuries away from probable top 5 consideration. Bear should occupy the top 10 spot currently being occupied by Martin, but achilles injuries are so scary.

If O'Brien works on his skating and finds his shot, he could be the one guy teams in the top 5 regret passing on.

O'Brien replaced McQueen for me.

Because McQueen was the guy I was looking at who was a legit center, tall, silky mitts, lots of upside... but with his injuries I'm really concerned he'll never play full seasons in the NHL.

But O'Brien is basically the same dream as McQueen. Not quite as tall, but the tradeoff is his passing is much better and he's also a lot younger than McQueen.

I like Bear too, but yeah he has the injury concerns as you mentioned.

I think O'Brien's skating will improve. There are a couple easy tweaks he can make that will get him there. But with the way he plays, he also doesn't need blazing straight line speed. It also got better. If you look at O'Brien game 1 of the season vs end of the season, the skating is better.

Same deal with the shot. Much more velocity off the pull now compared to the start of the season. But he is a guy that will always pass first. I think he exhausts every other option before he decides to shoot. True playmaker.

 

[DisgruntledHawkFan]

O'Brien plays such a junior game. No thanks top ten. Extremely gifted player though.

 

[Kevin Musto]

O'Brien plays such a junior game. No thanks top ten. Extremely gifted player though.

I think that's too short sighted.

You're not drafting the guy who is closest to slotting into the NHL lineup today.

 

[Hattrick Kane]

I think that's too short sighted.

You're not drafting the guy who is closest to slotting into the NHL lineup today.

He’s not a play driver. He never did much whenever he wasn’t near Lardis, who very much drove Brantford’s offense.

 

[Kevin Musto]

He’s not a play driver. He never did much whenever he wasn’t near Lardis, who very much drove Brantford’s offense.

I'm not sure how you define driving the play in this instance.

When together, he was Lardis' primary setup man. So many of his goals this season were from O'Brien manipulating time and space to create those passing lanes.

If you define driving the play as being the one to pull the trigger, then no O'Brien doesn't do that much. But he was definitely generating offensive opportunities for his lines.

You can picture just how well that would work playing with high end scorers like Bedard and Nazar (and hopefully Lardis).

 

[RaquetPeanutSteering]

He’s not a play driver. He never did much whenever he wasn’t near Lardis, who very much drove Brantford’s offense.

Was hoping he'd step up in Lardis' absence, but that never happened and he closed out poorly with a prime chance to push his name up boards.

 

[TheFridge]

There's no misunderstanding about what you mean by a 50 point player. The point is you're placing it as an upper limit and it's an extremely easily achievable point total that yes, even tweener bums can accidentally run into now and then. Even if you were saying it as a median outcome it would still be low for how scouts see the player. It's pure smoke.

If Desnoyers career production is 25, 45, 55, 60, 50, 54, 65, 55, 68, 58, 57... then what is he? My point was it's far more likely that Desnoyers is a 50-point centre than a 70-90 point centre. Again, maybe he could hit 70 in a good year but what a player does consistently is what they are.