2025 NHL DRAFT

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Wheeler in his newest rankings mentions Misa as a center.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6194607/2025/03/25/nhl-draft-prospects-2025-rankings-top-64/

"The 2025 draft, made up of 2007- and late-2006-born players, has seen Erie Otters defenseman Matthew Schaefer and exceptional status Saginaw Spirit star center Michael Misa pull away from a pack at the top of the class for me."

Yeah, everything in that writeup indicates that he is 100% a center

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Would be interesting if we get the lottery and Sharks are 2nd or 3rd if they'd be willing to give among sweetener to pick 1st to grab Schaefer and then we grab one of Hagens/Misa/Frondell

I think that could be a very useful pursuit in the off chance we win the lottery. While it may be true that Schaefer is overall the best player in the draft, I don't know if it's "by much", and we certainly have the need (or at least the longstanding eternal desire) for a center.

It might be risky, though.... say only San Jose really wants Schaefer that badly. You don't want to trade some other team up only for them to take your guy instead of Schaefer. And if San Jose was picking #2 and felt like you wouldn't take Schaefer, then they might just sit and wait it out. Unless you were 100% truly prepared to actually take Schaefer and they could be convinced of that.

Would be fun. I'm not sure how much I trust Trotz to handle all of this. Watch him trade our 1st pick for "immediate help".

 

[Flgatorguy87]

I'll say, if we get 1st overall and we don't hit on the player, then it should be enough to move on from Mr. Trotz and this staff. That might mean at least 2 or 3 more years of Trotz as well though, to give him time to "fix" things around here with his drafting.

 

[Weber to Josi]

f*** that

if we pick 1st overall, depending on who is #2 we either pick Misa or we trade down and grab another prospect or more draft picks and Settle with Frondell, Desnoyers, etc

We shouldn't even take a D-man in the first round this year

We need forwards with legit top 6 upside

I mean we have top six potential:
Wood
Kemell
Svechkov
L’Heureux
Stiga
Surin
Edstrom
Fink
Nilsson

We have too 4 potential:
Molendyk
Gibson



I would be alright with drafting defense

 

[Weber to Josi]

Like BBB said, you're looking at sites which simply haven't updated for 2024-25. Lots of sites don't update things like that (or height/weight) very often. Misa has played center all this year. He played center in minor hockey. Yes, as a younger player in the OHL granted exceptional status to start early in junior, he was shifted to LW. Now in his draft year he's back to center.

I mean, I don't know how we as people looking at where he's "listed" really matters though... just go through and read all the people who actually watch him play. He is playing center. What more is there to say? How can you even have a belief or be shocked about something when you don't even listen to the people who do watch him, let alone watch him yourself?

Thanks for the explanation.
I never said I’m not listening to people that watch him I was just saying what all sites list him as.
Tomasino was drafted as a centre. I think really it’s up to the nhl team to decide where they fit best.

 

[Scoresberg]

Did a couple of viewings on McQueen. Man, that guy's interesting. HUGE body, surprisingly fluid skater and can make plays for himself and for others. Probably doesn't use his size as much as you would like but he gets by. The willingness to go to inside is what stands out and that's ultimately the best way to use your frame to create chances.

I'm seeing a lot of Johansen and Tage Thompson in him. Probably closer to Thompson than Joey because of his shot but skating has a similar long, powerful stride. If he has the mindset Joey ultimately never did, I'd say watch out for this kid. People need to remember when Joey turned it on, he was the best player on the planet for a few months in '17.

That being said, I think this is the guy I want if we drop to #5.

 

[Weber to Josi]

Did a couple of viewings on McQueen. Man, that guy's interesting. HUGE body, surprisingly fluid skater and can make plays for himself and for others. Probably doesn't use his size as much as you would like but he gets by. The willingness to go to inside is what stands out and that's ultimately the best way to use your frame to create chances.

I'm seeing a lot of Johansen and Tage Thompson in him. Probably closer to Thompson than Joey because of his shot but skating has a similar long, powerful stride. If he has the mindset Joey ultimately never did, I'd say watch out for this kid. People need to remember when Joey turned it on, he was the best player on the planet for a few months in '17.

That being said, I think this is the guy I want if we drop to #5.

100%!

My list is

1. Schaefer
2. Misa
3. Martone
4. Hagens
5. Mcqueen
6. Frondell

Anyone outside of this is a disappointment imo

 

[Scoresberg]

100%!

My list is

1. Schafer
2. Misa
3. Martone
4. Hagens
5. Mcqueen
6. Frondell

Anyone outside of this is a disappointment imo

I'm going as far as saying that Martone is #6 on my list. He's an interesting prospect as well with his size and physicality over the others on that list but his skating is just uninspiring and heavy. I get some guys can get by despite being not-good skaters but the tkachuks and jasonrobertsons are just so rare these days that I'm not sure I'd be willing to take that chance with us. Also, he's a winger which makes him more unattractive than the top guys.

1. Schaefer
2. Misa
3. Frondell
4. Hagens
5. McQueen

Frondell/Hagens are almost interchangeable for me, depending on the day almost, lol.

 

[herzausstein]

100%!

My list is

1. Schafer
2. Misa
3. Martone
4. Hagens
5. Mcqueen
6. Frondell

Anyone outside of this is a disappointment imo

I'd personally prefer not to draft Martone unless there isnt one of the centers available like Misa, Hagens, Frondell, or McQueen. Really need a center. As we have seen this year, shitty center depth can really drag a team down. There are other issues as well like age but seriously we have tried to wedge a 3/4C in sissons into the 2C for much of the season. I like our center prospects like Surin, Svechkov, Edstrom but unless one of them really overachieves there isn't a real 1C there

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Martone has such a good name, though...

But I agree, he would not be an auspicious pick for us, given how Wood is going, given our need for a C. That probably means he'll turn out to be a superstar, but I think we're right to look right past him in this draft pretty much no matter how things play out.

 

[Scoresberg]

Martone has such a good name, though...

But I agree, he would not be an auspicious pick for us, given how Wood is going, given our need for a C. That probably means he'll turn out to be a superstar, but I think we're right to look right past him in this draft pretty much no matter how things play out.

He is drawing some Corey Perry comparisons even, which means his ceiling is super-interesting. The direction the game is going, I do think those guys will be unicorns one day (if they aren't already). They are going to be valuable if they're able to provide that dominate, mean and physical presence. Martone's a fascinating prospect with those attributes but yeah, I'd agree, I think ultimately we should go after a premium position.

 

[AintLifeGrand]

I mean we have top six potential:
Wood
Kemell
Svechkov
L’Heureux
Stiga
Surin
Edstrom
Fink
Nilsson

We have too 4 potential:
Molendyk
Gibson



I would be alright with drafting defense

Wood- middle six potential if he hits (if)
Kemmell- trending towards bust . Most likely a 20/20 guy if he hits
Svechkov- maybe tops out as a 50-60pt guy if he reaches full potential . Could very well be relegated to a career 3rd line center
L’hereux- tops out as an effective 3rd line winger who can play on the 2nd unit pp
Stiga-middle six upside
Surin- bottom six , maybe middle six upside
Edstrom- middle six upside

Fink- I will give you
Nilsson- jury is out

We don’t have a true blue chip forward prospect outside of Fink

 

[AintLifeGrand]

I'd personally prefer not to draft Martone unless there isnt one of the centers available like Misa, Hagens, Frondell, or McQueen. Really need a center. As we have seen this year, shitty center depth can really drag a team down. There are other issues as well like age but seriously we have tried to wedge a 3/4C in sissons into the 2C for much of the season. I like our center prospects like Surin, Svechkov, Edstrom but unless one of them really overachieves there isn't a real 1C there

Martone sounds like a rich man’s Matthew Wood so while I wouldn’t be pissed if we drafted him, I’d prefer Frondell or Eklund

 

[AintLifeGrand]

Did a couple of viewings on McQueen. Man, that guy's interesting. HUGE body, surprisingly fluid skater and can make plays for himself and for others. Probably doesn't use his size as much as you would like but he gets by. The willingness to go to inside is what stands out and that's ultimately the best way to use your frame to create chances.

I'm seeing a lot of Johansen and Tage Thompson in him. Probably closer to Thompson than Joey because of his shot but skating has a similar long, powerful stride. If he has the mindset Joey ultimately never did, I'd say watch out for this kid. People need to remember when Joey turned it on, he was the best player on the planet for a few months in '17.

That being said, I think this is the guy I want if we drop to #5.

Nolan Patrick v2 … you’re smarter than this

I’d take him with the TBL
Pick tho

 

[Scoresberg]

Nolan Patrick v2 … you’re smarter than this

I’d take him with the TBL
Pick tho

Where are you drawing the Patrick comparisons from? Is it the injuries? Because from that aspect, they're two completely different scenarios, Patrick had serious head injuries (I recall something to do with migraine) whereas McQueen has back issues.

And obviously, if the doctors think it will affect him long-term then I'm more leery of McQueen also. But I'm not going to pretend I know as much as the doctors so it's not up to me to make the decisions. Injuries-aside, McQueen's the best prospect in my eyes after the Big Four/Five.

 

[Scoresberg]

Also, getting lost in all this speculation is that I think our scouting staff will lean towards Hagens if we land a top-four pick. We drafted Teddy Stiga last year who plays on the same team as Hagens so you know that our scouts have gotten plenty of looks at Hagens and their chemistry together as well.

Hagens has also performed very well on the international stage which is one area our scouting staff seems to really value as well.

 

[Gnashville]

Excuse my ignorance but who are the top centers in the draft. That is Trotz unicorn. Picking this high he has to go with a C

It is a “2 way” Center that Trotz always wants one that can play Defense and chip in 40 points a season

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Based on last night, I figure we'll head into the lottery at #6. It'll be 1-SJ, 2-CHI, 3-BUF, 4-PHI, 5-SEA, 6-NAS. Then some team below us will win one of the lottery picks. So we'll pick 7th.

At #7, I'm confident none of Schaefer, Frondell, Misa, or Hagens will be available. So it'll be down to McQueen, Martone, and I guess maybe Desnoyers or Smith? Somehow it is probably going to be Martone and McQueen picked. So we're getting Desnoyers. Because we just had to win 3 or 4 extra games at the end of the season.

 

[Scoresberg]

Based on last night, I figure we'll head into the lottery at #6. It'll be 1-SJ, 2-CHI, 3-BUF, 4-PHI, 5-SEA, 6-NAS. Then some team below us will win one of the lottery picks. So we'll pick 7th.

View attachment 999705

At #7, I'm confident none of Schaefer, Frondell, Misa, or Hagens will be available. So it'll be down to McQueen, Martone, and I guess maybe Desnoyers or Smith? Somehow it is probably going to be Martone and McQueen picked. So we're getting Desnoyers. Because we just had to win 3 or 4 extra games at the end of the season.

Would remind me of 2023 when Pärssinen scored that nice goal in the last game of the season and that lifted us from the 13th pick (Benson, legit NHL'er already) to 15th (Wood).

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Would remind me of 2023 when Pärssinen scored that nice goal in the last game of the season and that lifted us from the 13th pick (Benson, legit NHL'er already) to 15th (Wood).

If it's any consolation, we probably would have picked Yeager at 13 instead of Benson. Or still just picked Wood.

 

[AintLifeGrand]

Based on last night, I figure we'll head into the lottery at #6. It'll be 1-SJ, 2-CHI, 3-BUF, 4-PHI, 5-SEA, 6-NAS. Then some team below us will win one of the lottery picks. So we'll pick 7th.

View attachment 999705

At #7, I'm confident none of Schaefer, Frondell, Misa, or Hagens will be available. So it'll be down to McQueen, Martone, and I guess maybe Desnoyers or Smith? Somehow it is probably going to be Martone and McQueen picked. So we're getting Desnoyers. Because we just had to win 3 or 4 extra games at the end of the season.

I could see Hagens dropping


Martone will be off the board by then as well; I’d be surprised if San Jose or Chicago doesn’t pick him

 

[herzausstein]

Based on last night, I figure we'll head into the lottery at #6. It'll be 1-SJ, 2-CHI, 3-BUF, 4-PHI, 5-SEA, 6-NAS. Then some team below us will win one of the lottery picks. So we'll pick 7th.

View attachment 999705

At #7, I'm confident none of Schaefer, Frondell, Misa, or Hagens will be available. So it'll be down to McQueen, Martone, and I guess maybe Desnoyers or Smith? Somehow it is probably going to be Martone and McQueen picked. So we're getting Desnoyers. Because we just had to win 3 or 4 extra games at the end of the season.

I still think we only have 3 more wins in us putting us at 68 points. Means Philly and above only need 3 points in their remaining games to stay above us. In the race to the bottom, we really need to lose to Philly in regulation. We lost to them earlier in the season in overtime.

Our record this season against the remaining teams is 7-7-1. I'm hoping we don't find a way to fall out of the top 4 since that would ruin the consolation prize of a high end draft pick.

 

[Weber to Josi]

Wood- middle six potential if he hits (if)
Kemmell- trending towards bust . Most likely a 20/20 guy if he hits
Svechkov- maybe tops out as a 50-60pt guy if he reaches full potential . Could very well be relegated to a career 3rd line center
L’hereux- tops out as an effective 3rd line winger who can play on the 2nd unit pp
Stiga-middle six upside
Surin- bottom six , maybe middle six upside
Edstrom- middle six upside

Fink- I will give you
Nilsson- jury is out

We don’t have a true blue chip forward prospect outside of Fink

So you are saying fink is going to be a top six guy for sure in your opinion and guys like wood, Svechkov, kemell, stiga, surin, and edstrom have no chance in your opinion of being top six guys?

I fink you may be wrong my friend. But that’s just me lol

 

[herzausstein]

The way I see them:

Wood - top 6 or bust. I don't think his game would translate into a bottom 6 role.
Kemell - very slight improvement year over year in scoring rates. Seems to be decent physically and defensively. I think he will be more middle 6.
Svechkov - I see 2C as his peak and 3C as his more likely outcome
L’Heureux - hard to nail this one down. He has held his own in the NHL so far and pretty minimal penalty trouble. I think he has a shot at top 6.
Stiga - good year in NCAA. Trusted in a variety of roles. Possible 2nd line player
Surin - very slow start in KHL but is very young. Type of game this organization loves. I can see him as a top 6 winger or 2C.
Edstrom - bottom 9C. I don't see him as top line potential. Started strong in SHL but that died off. Very slight year of year improvement though. Need to see him in MIL to get a better read.
Fink - if size doesn't hold him back top 6 potential
Nilsson- good rookie SHL season. Maybe middle 6

We have too 4 potential:
Molendyk - agreed
Gibson - agrees


Then we have several players that can be bottom of the lineup and fillers
Schaefer
Weissblatt


And some wildcards
Ufko - no clue if he can translate his game to the NHL but he is a smart player
Chystyakov - id say top 4 if he comes to usa
Gojsic
Marques
Norringer
Gustafsson

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

I think on a list like the above, we're going to find that half of those top listed players - the 9F and 2D - simply won't stick in the NHL at all. The way we develop players. Sure, today we perceive upside as you all have listed.

I won't be surprised if we end up getting only about 3 F and just 1 D out of that group, however. Even while not disagreeing with the upsides mentioned as of today. We're just that bad at developing players at the top level.