Pre-Game Talk: 2025 NHL Draft Thread

[LogosBlue]

Jackson Smith's stock is rising. Great shot, lots of offense and 6'-3".

 

[PerryTurnbullfan]

Jackson Smith's stock is rising. Great shot, lots of offense and 6'-3".

He's a REALLY good skater too, but we have an overload of LHD. He is as close to a young JBO that I've seen skating wise.

 

[LGB]

Jackson Smith's stock is rising. Great shot, lots of offense and 6'-3".

Is there something you’ve seen to make you say he has a great shot? 2 goals this year isn’t exactly inspiring. Overall though he is definitely a player I like a lot.

 

[Mike Liut]

Jackson Smith's stock is rising. Great shot, lots of offense and 6'-3".

I’d have no probably taking him around 9 or 10 if all the centers are gone

 

[Mike Liut]

I’d have no probably taking him around 9 or 10 if all the centers are gone

Problem. Typo

 

[bleedblue1223]

I'd go into the draft expecting Smith to be gone before us, just because he's a defenseman. Schaefer will go #1, and I bet a needy team will probably take Smith before us. I'd love for us to get at least a top 8 pick this year, then I'd feel more comfortable getting the guy we want, as opposed to whatever is left.

I'll also be curious which player gets over-drafted, could easily see Mrtka being drafted ahead of where many have him ranked because he'd RHD, size, and raw potential.

 

[LGB]

I'd go into the draft expecting Smith to be gone before us, just because he's a defenseman. Schaefer will go #1, and I bet a needy team will probably take Smith before us. I'd love for us to get at least a top 8 pick this year, then I'd feel more comfortable getting the guy we want, as opposed to whatever is left.

I'll also be curious which player gets over-drafted, could easily see Mrtka being drafted ahead of where many have him ranked because he'd RHD, size, and raw potential.

I would say Smith is more of a raw potential pick than Mrtka. I definitely expect Mrtka to go top 10. I think everything is already there for him to be a good NHL defender and good on breakouts. He seems to have great awareness of where everyone is on the ice and is able to use his decent hands and size to often draw in 2 defenders and get the puck to a teammate or into space where a teammate can skate into it. Smith has rare tools, but is a little more chaotic at this point. Definitely would expect his play selection to improve over time though obviously.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

I would say Smith is more of a raw potential pick than Mrtka. I definitely expect Mrtka to go top 10. I think everything is already there for him to be a good NHL defender and good on breakouts. He seems to have great awareness of where everyone is on the ice and is able to use his decent hands and size to often draw in 2 defenders and get the puck to a teammate or into space where a teammate can skate into it. Smith has rare tools, but is a little more chaotic at this point. Definitely would expect his play selection to improve over time though obviously.

I like smith, but I don’t see that he is significantly better than Lukas Fischer.

 

[LetsGoBooze]

Really hoping we choose a forward, our team needs scoring on multiple levels.

 

[LGB]

I like smith, but I don’t see that he is significantly better than Lukas Fischer.

I need to make it a point to watch a Sarnia game. Jackson Smith is a top 10 talent all day so if that's true good for us.

 

[Memento]

More I think about it, the more I'm warming up to the idea of McQueen, Desnoyers, Frondell, or O'Brien, if we don't win the lottery and stay in this range (if we do, I gotta say, Misa is my choice for #1). If we dealt Schenn, maybe even Binnington, we could possibly get two firsts (albeit from playoff teams in a weak draft), but I'm warming up to Bill Zonnon or Ivan Ryabkin with extra firsts. Ottawa makes sense, but I wonder if another team would do something for Binnington. I think Ellis/Zherenko deserve a chance at the NHL level.

 

[ezcreepin]

Preferably I'd like to take a center with our 1st. I'm hoping we are able to snag another 1st or 2nd this year to get another defenseman to shore up things a bit. I think we have a glut of great 2nd and 3rd pairing defenseman, but none that are remotely a lock for the first pair. Parayko is getting older and there's no one right now that is close to taking over his spot or minutes.

Burns, Lindstein, and Fischer all seem to be progressing well and can take spots in the top 4. To a lesser extent, I think Loof and Kessel could potentially slot on the 3rd pair (I'd like to see Loof get some reps). Let Jiricek marinate for a good long while before bringing him up if he can stay healthy. Mayich is surprisingly playing good points wise and McIsaac is putting up roughly half a point a game (thought he was one of the only standout defenseman at the prospect tourney/exhibition). Unless Ralph has a huge step in progression, I think he's going to need at least 2 more years. Would be nice though if he could slot in on the 2nd pair like Parayko did in 2026 or 2027.

I think the reality is we desperately have to trade for prospects who are ready to take the next step. Unfortunately, all of our forwards who seem to be part of the core moving forward are our only trade chips to get someone like that, and I always hate trading away our own developed players. I think it would be a huge mistake to trade anyone of Bolduc, Snuggerud, Dvorsky, Stenberg, and Kaskimaki.

 

[LogosBlue]

Is there something you’ve seen to make you say he has a great shot? 2 goals this year isn’t exactly inspiring. Overall though he is definitely a player I like a lot.

Granted he doesn't shoot alot but when he does he picks a corner. He's given to pass more often than shoot. His skating and passing are top notch but i think his shot is underrated because he doesn't choose to shoot often.

 

[PerryTurnbullfan]

Foley's Midseason 2025 NHL Draft Guide - 200 Player Grades and Scouting Reports

Dive into the 2025 NHL Draft class with Recruit's Head of Amateur Scouting, Gabriel Foley, as he shares his midseason grades.

www.recruitscouting.com

This is an awesome expanded look at this year's draft.

 

[LGB]

Ben Kindel is a guy I'm starting to consider. He isn't super dynamic, but the scoring is elite, and I think he's one of those guys like Gabe Perrault was where they really just understand how to convert chances. I'll be interested to see how he measures because although he's listed at 5'10 I don't think he looks too small out there.

 

[ezcreepin]

Really hoping we choose a forward, our team needs scoring on multiple levels.

Not only that, we desperately need help on center. I think Dvorksy will absolutely be a good player and he's most certainly the only player right now who looks like they can take care of the position, but I think we'd be silly not to draft another center this coming draft. Unless of course there is a defenseman that we should absolutely take with our pick.

Ben Kindel is a guy I'm starting to consider. He isn't super dynamic, but the scoring is elite, and I think he's one of those guys like Gabe Perrault was where they really just understand how to convert chances. I'll be interested to see how he measures because although he's listed at 5'10 I don't think he looks too small out there.

He's an interesting player and one I was taking a look at. 5'10 isn't necessarily small, but it's not that big either (though who cares - if the player is good, select them). I don't know much about him, but he does play with Oliver Tulk who I believe should be given a tryout at camp this coming year. I haven't watched footage of Kindel yet, but Tulk has a pretty dangerous and accurate shot. Not very hard, but he seems to pick corners as well as scoring in close on the goalie. Kindel is only 5 goals off of Tulk and at 17 I think that is pretty outstanding. In the event we do select Kindel somewhere, I would hope they have taken a look at Tulk and would give him a tryout.

Edit: Looks like Kindel and Tulk are similar in the ways they score. I just watch a little bit of footage, and he seems to score in the same ways Tulk is. Not sure about shot accuracy as I haven't look at his goals this year, but idk, I think it'd be interesting to take a look.

 

[DatDude44]

Was watching Roger Mcqueens shift by shift and then some highlight vids on Youtube. Not ready to bang the drum that we need to get him. But man there's something there with that kid.

6'5 Center with serious skill, and smarts. Looks like a natural center, not just a big skilled kid they stuck there. If we don't go after a high end D, i'd be hard pressed to not give Mcqueen a serious look if we're picking in the top 5-10. Reminds me alot of Beckett Sennecke

 

[LGB]

Was watching Roger Mcqueens shift by shift and then some highlight vids on Youtube. Not ready to bang the drum that we need to get him. But man there's something there with that kid.

6'5 Center with serious skill, and smarts. Looks like a natural center, not just a big skilled kid they stuck there. If we don't go after a high end D, i'd be hard pressed to not give Mcqueen a serious look if we're picking in the top 5-10. Reminds me alot of Beckett Sennecke

Haven’t seen much of McQueen yet. Hopefully he can get back on the ice soon.

 

[kimzey59]

Was watching Roger Mcqueens shift by shift and then some highlight vids on Youtube. Not ready to bang the drum that we need to get him. But man there's something there with that kid.

6'5 Center with serious skill, and smarts. Looks like a natural center, not just a big skilled kid they stuck there. If we don't go after a high end D, i'd be hard pressed to not give Mcqueen a serious look if we're picking in the top 5-10. Reminds me alot of Beckett Sennecke

The upside is undeniable. Tons of Getzlaf in the kid.
That said; the back injury scares the bejesus out of me.

 

[SirPaste]

If I am the Blues I am avoiding McQueen simply because of the injury worries. After the Jiricek situation we simply cant afford to have a repeat situation with our first round pick this year. Obviously its early and time will tell but the Jiricek pick is very worrisome at this point, if we had the same thing happen two years in a row it would be catastrophic to the retool.

 

[DatDude44]

The upside is undeniable. Tons of Getzlaf in the kid.
That said; the back injury scares the bejesus out of me.

What're the details there? I know he's hurt but how bad/long term is it?

If I am the Blues I am avoiding McQueen simply because of the injury worries. After the Jiricek situation we simply cant afford to have a repeat situation with our first round pick this year. Obviously its early and time will tell but the Jiricek pick is very worrisome at this point, if we had the same thing happen two years in a row it would be catastrophic to the retool.

For sure, what's the deal with Mcqueens injuries? Is he maybe a boom or bust kinda guy that could drop outside the top 10?

 

[kimzey59]

What're the details there? I know he's hurt but how bad/long term is it?


For sure, what's the deal with Mcqueens injuries? Is he maybe a boom or bust kinda guy that could drop outside the top 10?

From a week ago:

"He Can Be a Force in the NHL": How Roger McQueen Could Be A Steal At the 2025 NHL Draft

NHL scouts are debating the 2025 draft class, examining how Roger McQueen’s injury could make him a steal in the bottom half of the top ten

rg.org

I can't see him dropping out of the top 10 because the upside is so high; but I do see him falling to around pick #10(7-9 seems right for him). IMO he's the last forward I'd consider in the top 10 range. Back injuries are nothing to mess around with.