2025 NHL DRAFT

[Porter Stoutheart]

TBH, I don't think this year's draft has the mythical unicorn in it.

Misa/Frondell/Hagens could still be the best players we have ever drafted in the 1st round. They still aren't going to be MacKinnon/Crosby/McDavid level players, though. We get our kick at that particular can next year with Gavin McKenna.

 

[Weber to Josi]

I’m quite happy Philly, Seattle and Buffalo all won last night and we lost in regulation!! Woot!!
Let’s get that number one centre!!

 

[hockey diva]

McKenna is already going to Pittsburgh due to them needing a heir to Crosby. #thedraftlotteryisn'tfixed wink wink

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

I think this is the right draft to make it all about taking the 1C hopeful with our 1st pick. Even if we win the lottery! Yes, Schaefer is ranked #1. But he's not like some slam-dunk generational 1OA guy either. He has risen to the top in a relative weaker draft year, but I don't think the accolades are pouring in for him to be the next Bobby Orr. We really need the 1C.

Imagine Schaefer is going to be the next... who?... Ryan Suter? Roman Josi even? Maybe an occasional Norris Trophy candidate? A Pietrangelo/Morrissey/McAvoy level of player? That's really good. But... I'm still willing to roll the dice on the 1C. You can go ahead and argue those kinds of non-generational #1D are more important than a non-franchise-superstar more generic 1C. But given our history and our ability to draft good D in later rounds, I'm taking the shot at the potential 1C guy no matter what.

Disagree. Schaefer looks like he could be top 5 d in league. Think Miro Heiskanen with maybe bit more offense. He looked great at u18 as underager and then dominated Hlinka. He is Celebrini level prospect to me and nobody else in this draft is. I know we have historically lacked 1c, but who is our 1d going forward? Josi’s days as 1d are nearing end and nobody else projects close to that. I like Misa, but Schaefer is best D prospect out of CHL since Drew Doughty and best anywhere since Dahlin. Passing on him would be mistake we regret for a decade or more.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Disagree. Schaefer looks like he could be top 5 d in league. Think Miro Heiskanen with maybe bit more offense. He looked great at u18 as underager and then dominated Hlinka. He is Celebrini level prospect to me and nobody else in this draft is. I know we have historically lacked 1c, but who is our 1d going forward? Josi’s days as 1d are nearing end and nobody else projects close to that. I like Misa, but Schaefer is best D prospect out of CHL since Drew Doughty and best anywhere since Dahlin. Passing on him would be mistake we regret for a decade or more.

I love Miro Heiskanen. But... yeah, there is NO WAY I take that player over any potential even modest 80-90 pt #1C. We are going to be able to put together a quality D group no matter what. We just never get anything like a #1C, that's the rarer commodity for us.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

I love Miro Heiskanen. But... yeah, there is NO WAY I take that player over any potential even modest 80-90 pt #1C. We are going to be able to put together a quality D group no matter what. We just never get anything like a #1C, that's the rarer commodity for us.

Would you rather have Sheiffele over Miro? Because that feels like what we are looking at potentially. Seems to me guy like Miro is much more impactful.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Would you rather have Sheiffele over Miro? Because that feels like what we are looking at potentially.

Yes I would.

Scheifele (personality aside) is roughly a PPG center who will put up 1,000 pts in his NHL career. I will take that, and celebrate, joyously.

While at the same time daring to dream on Draft Day that the guy we pick might just be even better. He probably won't be. I don't think it's any kind of safe bet to imagine that this year's crop will produce a better player than that. But who knows... it's also not completely impossible. Regardless, I will take that over a Heiskanen, yes, all day, every day.

And just to put that into context, I also believe Heiskanen is better than Makar, Fox, Hughes, Josi, etc types of players. So it's not just that I'm down-selling Heiskanen as a named example! I know exactly how good he is.

 

[Soundgarden]

Would you rather have Sheiffele over Miro? Because that feels like what we are looking at potentially. Seems to me guy like Miro is much more impactful.

Without a doubt. Scheifele has 9 straight seasons of 60+ points with six PPG seasons and a 40 goal season included in there.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

Yes I would.

Scheifele (personality aside) is roughly a PPG center who will put up 1,000 pts in his NHL career. I will take that, and celebrate, joyously.

While at the same time daring to dream on Draft Day that the guy we pick might just be even better. He probably won't be. I don't think it's any kind of safe bet to imagine that this year's crop will produce a better player than that. But who knows... it's also not completely impossible. Regardless, I will take that over a Heiskanen, yes, all day, every day.

And just to put that into context, I also believe Heiskanen is better than Makar, Fox, Hughes, Josi, etc types of players. So it's not just that I'm down-selling Heiskanen as a named example! I know exactly how good he is.

Fair enough. I think we can agree would be great if team had both!

 

[Scoresberg]

I agree with BBB, I wouldn't mind having Schaefer instead of one of the centers. I don't think any one of Misa, Frondell or Hagens are surefire PPG 1C's in the NHL. They COULD be but they're not slam dunks. There's not a Celebrini, Bedard, Carlsson or maybe even Fantilli in there.

Whereas Schaefer seems like a defenseman who could dominate the league for 10-15 years. I've said this before and I'll say it again - we need all the ELITE talent we can get now, preferably on a premium position which a defenseman is.

 

[ShagDaddy]

If they draft Schaefer while Misa, Hagens or Frondell are still on the board I’m done with this organization.

 

[beardawg]

I almost hope we're #4 or 5 so the Schaefer temptation is gone and we can grab Frondell or McQueen

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

I almost hope we're #4 or 5 so the Schaefer temptation is gone and we can grab Frondell or McQueen

These are fun days. Based on not even watching any of these players, I will say if we grab McQueen, we deserve our fate. He's not even Johansen at this point. Frondell, sounds good, Misa or Hagens, sure. But McQueen is some advanced hopium injection. Once the top tier are all off the board, ok, THEN you can start debating the dice roll on him vs. Desnoyers etc as the consolation prizes. But you can't put him into Tier 1.

Will be fun to read these hot takes 5 years from now.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

I agree with BBB, I wouldn't mind having Schaefer instead of one of the centers. I don't think any one of Misa, Frondell or Hagens are surefire PPG 1C's in the NHL. They COULD be but they're not slam dunks. There's not a Celebrini, Bedard, Carlsson or maybe even Fantilli in there.

Whereas Schaefer seems like a defenseman who could dominate the league for 10-15 years. I've said this before and I'll say it again - we need all the ELITE talent we can get now, preferably on a premium position which a defenseman is.

Do you think that Schaefer is a surefire #1D, btw?

Last year in the OHL he had a 54-3-14-17-8-+21 line. Then he missed most of this season. I mean, he's obviously good. But how "elite" is he vs. the forward crop? Again, I just don't see anybody claiming he's going to be "generational" on D. He's Pietrangelo, maybe Niedermayer, etc. Which is not chopped liver by any stretch. Just doesn't seem to me that he's such a slam dunk to take over even the CHANCE at a PPG 1C.

It's not really any slight on Schaefer... just I don't see people arguing he's any more of a sure bet to hit "franchise" player level than the forwards? Good bet to be a 40-60pt 2-way top-pair D. That's a good player. But so is a 80-pt #1C. I know for sure which one is harder for us to find. That might not be the same equation for every team in the NHL. Some teams already have that F. We don't.

 

[Scoresberg]

Do you think that Schaefer is a surefire #1D, btw?

Last year in the OHL he had a 54-3-14-17-8-+21 line. Then he missed most of this season. I mean, he's obviously good. But how "elite" is he vs. the forward crop? Again, I just don't see anybody claiming he's going to be "generational" on D. He's Pietrangelo, maybe Niedermayer, etc. Which is not chopped liver by any stretch. Just doesn't seem to me that he's such a slam dunk to take over even the CHANCE at a PPG 1C.

It's not really any slight on Schaefer... just I don't see people arguing he's any more of a sure bet to hit "franchise" player level than the forwards? Good bet to be a 40-60pt 2-way top-pair D. That's a good player. But so is a 80-pt #1C. I know for sure which one is harder for us to find. That might not be the same equation for every team in the NHL. Some teams already have that F. We don't.

I do think he's a surefire #1D, yes. And don't take just my word for it, as it is, Schaefer is the clear 1OA right now in this draft according to the scouts around the league.

A #1D, who can play in any situation, eat up 25-30 minutes a night while producing offense is a player we will be looking for for YEARS after Josi can't go anymore.

And hey, I get your point as well. I know just how much we NEED and long for a top-line center who can be an offensive force - the time to get it is pretty much now or never. But for me, I wouldn't be DISAPPOINTED if we ended up with Schaefer. We can't afford to be too picky at this point, either.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

I do think he's a surefire #1D, yes. And don't take just my word for it, as it is, Schaefer is the clear 1OA right now in this draft according to the scouts around the league.

A #1D, who can play in any situation, eat up 25-30 minutes a night while producing offense is a player we will be looking for for YEARS after Josi can't go anymore.

And hey, I get your point as well. I know just how much we NEED and long for a top-line center who can be an offensive force - the time to get it is pretty much now or never. But for me, I wouldn't be DISAPPOINTED if we ended up with Schaefer. We can't afford to be too picky at this point, either.

No, I won't be DISAPPOINTED with Schaefer... if we pick him #3 or #4 in the draft, say. That kind of Seth Jones scenario where he falls into our laps, that's a win.

If we win the lottery and pick him over a 1C candidate? That's where I'm going to be questioning the pick.

Of course, there is basically like a 10% chance we win the lottery and even get the chance to pick Schaefer. So it's probably not worth putting too much energy into the debate, not when there is a 90% chance we are picking somebody else! At least let's wait and see if we win the lottery. That happens during the first round of the playoffs, right? If we win and have the #1 pick, we can spend all of May and June debating this point!

 

[Flgatorguy87]

You can have physical players that have skill and power. We just don't.

Yeah, it's not an either or situation. It's a both for good teams.

 

[Scoresberg]

Just finished watching Hagens' Boston College play Bentley in the NCAA Regionals. BC won 3-1 and advanced. Hagens scored the GWG and had one assist as well. He was one of the best players in the game.

Some thoughts on the game:

- Hagens played with Perreault and Leonard on the top line and on the top powerplay unit. They were a dangerous line all game as they should.

- Many think Hagens is purely a finesse player but that's not the case. Sure, he makes flashy plays but the first things you notice about him are his skating and compete level. He's constantly CRAVING for the puck and wants to be the guy to get it done. This is an important quality in a potential top player. He's only 18 yrs old but battled well all game, obviously he needs to add some muscle and pounds going forward.

- BC's 1PP defenseman is probably one of the worst PP defensemen I've ever seen. Easy to figure out why their PP sucks.

- I could see Gabe Perreault turning into something fantastic. Just absolutely brilliant offensively.

- Stiga just hustles and never quits on plays. It was a tight game overall so I don't think he stood out much offensively but neither did most players. I think he could blow up next year in the NCAA when he gets top line minutes and top PP minutes. He's a solid player all-around.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

Do you think that Schaefer is a surefire #1D, btw?

Last year in the OHL he had a 54-3-14-17-8-+21 line. Then he missed most of this season. I mean, he's obviously good. But how "elite" is he vs. the forward crop? Again, I just don't see anybody claiming he's going to be "generational" on D. He's Pietrangelo, maybe Niedermayer, etc. Which is not chopped liver by any stretch. Just doesn't seem to me that he's such a slam dunk to take over even the CHANCE at a PPG 1C.

It's not really any slight on Schaefer... just I don't see people arguing he's any more of a sure bet to hit "franchise" player level than the forwards? Good bet to be a 40-60pt 2-way top-pair D. That's a good player. But so is a 80-pt #1C. I know for sure which one is harder for us to find. That might not be the same equation for every team in the NHL. Some teams already have that F. We don't.

Niedermayer and Petro are both HOF players. Both have multiple Cups, each winning for 2 franchises that had never won before they got there. Really not sure what more you could ask for from a draft pick.

 

[wmupreds]

I think we’ve been so starved for a 1C as a franchise that we’re forgetting the Preds defenseman factory hasn’t been a real thing for quite a few years now. I don’t think it’s the seeming slam dunk that we’ll find dmen like it used to be. If Schaefer truly is that much better of a prospect and we end up with the 1OA I think it makes sense to take him.

 

[beardawg]

These are fun days. Based on not even watching any of these players, I will say if we grab McQueen, we deserve our fate. He's not even Johansen at this point. Frondell, sounds good, Misa or Hagens, sure. But McQueen is some advanced hopium injection. Once the top tier are all off the board, ok, THEN you can start debating the dice roll on him vs. Desnoyers etc as the consolation prizes. But you can't put him into Tier 1.

Will be fun to read these hot takes 5 years from now.

I certainly wasn't implying i want McQueen over Misa or Hagens. I just don't think they're going to be available outside of the top 3, and we likely aren't picking higher than 3 unless we win the lottery. Shaefer at 3 or McQueen at 5? Id rather the option to take McQueen at 5. If he wasn't hurt much of the year I think he's a top 5 lock

 

[beardawg]

And to add- picking 3, specifically behind SJ and CHI, is probably a best case scenario because Shaefer is certainly off the board at #2 if SJ doesn't take him at 1. Leaves one of Hagens or Misa for us

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

Assuming Schaefer and Misa go 1/2, I could see either Frondell or Desnoyers at 3 ahead of either Hagens or McQueen.

 

[Predation]

#1C or bust. I will lose my shit if Trotz picks a defender if we land in the top five.

 

[NoNecksCurse]

zero chance NoNeck takes a defenseman at #1. He would trade down before that. He knows our history with 1Cs, and he knows the fanbase would lose their shit if we took the defenseman.