Pre-Game Talk: 2025 NHL Draft Thread
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2025 NHL Draft: Top 10 undrafted standouts from the World Juniors
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Yeah, it definitely seems that way. Two years ago had high end talent and depth. Last year's draft had quite a bit of depth but no real gamebreakers. This year's definitely seems weaker. I would love Hensler or Desnoyers, but we'll win our way out of contention for those guys. It'll be a Blues-y forward like Spence I'm sure.
I look at a guy like Bill Zonnon that played against Pekarcik yesterday. He is the second leading scorer in the Q and has been slated in the lower first round to 2nd. He is 6'4". Plays physical. Great hands. He knows where to go. Good shot. Good passer. Honestly is kind of like Austin Burnevik. He eventually gets where he needs to, but his skating is slow and choppy. I see a guy you take a swing at in the 3rd or 4th round normally or over draft him if you have a bunch of picks as a home run swing kind of guy. Someone will take a chance thinking his skating can improve that much.
If we end up picking in the teens again this year, I think our best options are gonna be either Ivan Ryabkin or Radim Mrtka. Two guys who came into the season with high projections, couldn’t make it work in Europe, and made their way to NA to revive their draft chances which were both plummeting. They are gonna have too much uncertainty attached to them to go top-10, but if you want traitsy, high-talent guys at positions of need, that’s gotta be what you’re aiming for.
Desnoyers regrettably won’t fall to us unless the bottom falls out of the season. I wouldn’t want to touch someone like McQueen, who is on the Nolan Patrick career path. Is Justin Carbonneau someone who falls, and if he does, does he have the same upside as Ryabkin?
Lots of hockey left to play until June still, but as of right now they look like our best options.
Desnoyers regrettably won’t fall to us unless the bottom falls out of the season. I wouldn’t want to touch someone like McQueen, who is on the Nolan Patrick career path. Is Justin Carbonneau someone who falls, and if he does, does he have the same upside as Ryabkin?
Lots of hockey left to play until June still, but as of right now they look like our best options.
Not sure I see Mrtka lasting into teens. Thinking Fiddler and O’Brien might be best options for us where we look to be slotting.
What's your take on Tretheway.
Honestly, I don't have a good read on him just yet.
I haven't seen anything to suggest he'll put up points at the NHL level. But I also think he might be the best current defensive player in this class(especially around the net). My gut wants to put him in the same general category as Badinka, Emery and Elick from last year, but that might be under-selling him with as badly as the USNTDP has played this year.
I think he is more of a Paul Fischer type just being overplayed because they just are not very good this year. He is not near the skater these 3 guys are or as big.
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He was one of the guys I focused on in the US-CHL game and wasn't impressed. That said, the US team was so overmatched it probably wasn't fair evaluation of the US D.
Pronman had him 27th in July and says he skates well
“Zonnon was an important player on an impressive Rouyn-Noranda team this season. He offers a lot of desirable traits to an NHL team. He’s a 6-2 wing who skates quite well; he has great hands and he can beat defenders with pace. He has solid hockey sense and can create off the perimeter. He killed penalties this past season as well.”
Wheeler has him as an honorable mention after the first 32.
“There are about a dozen players in the honorable mentions who also belong in that fourth tier and factor into the first-round conversation at the moment. That group includes six players from my first list (forwards Filip Ekberg, Jack Murtagh and Jordan Gavin, and D Donato Bracco, Carter Amico and Owen Conrad) that I still really like, as well as towering D Artyom Vilchinsky (I want to see how he does in the fall), CHL D Reese Hamilton and Cameron Reid (both of whom some in their leagues believe are first-rounders), USHL forward Ben Kevan, OHL forward Jake O’Brien (who I just want to see score more and who was quiet, though snakebitten, at Hlinka), and QMJHL forward Bill Zonnon.”
It’s unorthodoxed to say the least. Very choppy and is normally a trailer as he doesn’t seem to keep upPronman had him 27th in July and says he skates well
“Zonnon was an important player on an impressive Rouyn-Noranda team this season. He offers a lot of desirable traits to an NHL team. He’s a 6-2 wing who skates quite well; he has great hands and he can beat defenders with pace. He has solid hockey sense and can create off the perimeter. He killed penalties this past season as well.”
Wheeler has him as an honorable mention after the first 32.
“There are about a dozen players in the honorable mentions who also belong in that fourth tier and factor into the first-round conversation at the moment. That group includes six players from my first list (forwards Filip Ekberg, Jack Murtagh and Jordan Gavin, and D Donato Bracco, Carter Amico and Owen Conrad) that I still really like, as well as towering D Artyom Vilchinsky (I want to see how he does in the fall), CHL D Reese Hamilton and Cameron Reid (both of whom some in their leagues believe are first-rounders), USHL forward Ben Kevan, OHL forward Jake O’Brien (who I just want to see score more and who was quiet, though snakebitten, at Hlinka), and QMJHL forward Bill Zonnon.”
I wonder if Mrtka goes in the top10. We have had a couple of reaches the past few years on swift skating defenseman with size. Simashev and Silayev come to mind. Both those guys were picked 5-10 picks ahead of where they were projected if I remember correctly. However if Mrtka goes somewhere in the 14-20 range (where I expect the Blues to land) I would absolutely take him. I would also be interested in Desnoyers (would have to fall a bit IMO) and Hensler (probably closer to pick 14 than pick 20). Players I would stay away from Ryabkin ( I just don't think his game will translate to the NHL where there is far less room) Lakovich (gentle giant, has size but doesn't use it) and Spence (when one scouting report I read listed one of his + qualities as "one of the best chirpers out there.." Really? 3rd rounder maybe but please god no in the 1st).
I like O'Brien a lot. If we ended up with him after playing ourselves out of a premium pick, it would still be a great draft. We NEED to hit on that first this year both with us needing another higher end prospect and with us not having a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th.
Huge O’Brien fan! Very good playmaker. I guy you have to watch a few times to appreciate. See a few guys score and realize later O’Brien made it happen. Threaded the needle, set a pick, took a hit, laid a hit, won a faceoff, etc. I see Robert Thomas talent.
Blue collar blues type player
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A 6'6" 200-lb defenseman scoring nearly PPG in juniors who's not yet 18 years old? Sign me up. I'd be surprised if he makes it to us but hopefully so. I want all the Czechs.
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I haven't really followed this draft that much, and I probably won't either. Any of the guys projected in the mid teens right now that I'll fall in love with will probably shoot up the draft board like Sennecke did. Even Luchanko was gone before we were drafting.
There will still likely be players to find where we are picking, but it might be more of a situation where it's someone that's projected in the 20s that looks better than where they are ranked. Somewhat similar to Thomas. He was someone that many of us liked in that draft year and he started the season off looking more like a late 1st and then climbed a bit in the rankings as the season went on, but was still underrated. Looking at the last year's draft, someone like Hage.
There will still likely be players to find where we are picking, but it might be more of a situation where it's someone that's projected in the 20s that looks better than where they are ranked. Somewhat similar to Thomas. He was someone that many of us liked in that draft year and he started the season off looking more like a late 1st and then climbed a bit in the rankings as the season went on, but was still underrated. Looking at the last year's draft, someone like Hage.
1- Simashev was a massive reach(rated in the 20's by a lot of guys).
A lot of the "experts" had Silayev as a top 5 guy(some as high as #2).
2- Malcolm Spence is a LOT more than just a "chirper". Guy has size, speed, a plus shot, solid puck skills and a decent two-way game for his age. Probably more of a Barbashev/Neighbours type than a true top 6 forward, but he's not a "3rd rounder". He might be a reach in the top 15, but if we manage to slip into the PO's he's a guy I'd definitely be looking at.
And as I just said how I haven't been tracking the draft, we are closer to drafting 6th, than making the playoffs, I guess we are more likely to get a high pick than I thought.
Yeah, unless we go off on a crazy winning streak were in line for a 8-12th overall pick.
It's VERY difficult to out-lose teams as we have seen from the last two years. 6th might be closer than playoffs but it's a huge gulf. Also this is a maddening team that is definitely going to compete hard down the stretch even out of the playoffs and it simply will not drop that far. I would be very surprised with an earned top 10 pick, like shocked probably. I am assuming it's pick 14-16
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