2025 NHL DRAFT

[glenngineer]

"Game changers"? What do you mean? Wood might still be a decent NHLer? I don't have a lot of hope on that front, but I don't think ANYBODY in our current prospect group was EVER projected as a "game changer"?

It doesn't mean they won't be useful NHL players, however. "Game changer" is a really high bar, and I don't know why you would introduce that term?

Read the post from NoNeck you were referring to, that's where game changer came from.

Now you use the word, decent. Hope, decent and not on bust trajectory. This is the problem. We draft guys who might make it in the NHL, who might keep us in the mushy middle.

A game changer is a Paul Kariya, someone who drives play and makes those around him better. Sullivan was a guy like that. I don't care if we find one in the 1st or 7th round or anywhere in between. Until we start drafting guys like this, we will never be more than what we've been for 25 years. It's also mind boggling that we've never found a top 3 forward via the draft. How is that even possible?

 

[Armourboy]

Read the post from NoNeck you were referring to, that's where game changer came from.

Now you use the word, decent. Hope, decent and not on bust trajectory. This is the problem. We draft guys who might make it in the NHL, who might keep us in the mushy middle.

A game changer is a Paul Kariya, someone who drives play and makes those around him better. Sullivan was a guy like that. I don't care if we find one in the 1st or 7th round or anywhere in between. Until we start drafting guys like this, we will never be more than what we've been for 25 years. It's also mind boggling that we've never found a top 3 forward via the draft. How is that even possible?

Well alot of it is that most of the top line guys come from higher in the draft. Yeah you catch some guys later on but most of your hits will come higher up. The few years we've been higher up we either took a guy like Jones because he was by far the best left or Poile went with someone like Askarov or Suter.

Then you take the years Poile traded the first away, I mean you've basically cut your chances down to not much tbh.

 

[Kat Predator]

Glass is who I would compare to McQueen. Glass was 6th overall. Glass ended up with all sorts of injury issues that hampered development. When he is healthy for an extended period, you can get glimpses of why he was drafted early. Unfortunately, he is almost never healthy for extended periods. Overall, I think McQueen has a ton of talent but his health risks would keep me from drafting him with our 1st.

FWIW, Glass wasn't drafted because of his height. He was a dominant point producing player in juniors. And you are exactly right. Every now and then he shows flashes of that. But he hasn't been able to consistently stay on the ice. (Which is sad, because he's a good guy.)

 

[BigFatCat999]

Being autistic gives you something like an OCD like affect I spent a good hour studying and memorizing NHL draft trade charts to find the combinations for trades:

#5 + a 1st =#1
The lower two pics = #10

Theoretically Pittsburgh might be a good trade partner they want more youth. number 11 + 3rd for both of the lower first round picks.

The value is there to trade up to number 10, but would Anaheim trade for more youth?

So, # 1 or #2 is plus a low 1st

Or

#5 and #11?

 

[GeauxPreds1]

Well alot of it is that most of the top line guys come from higher in the draft. Yeah you catch some guys later on but most of your hits will come higher up. The few years we've been higher up we either took a guy like Jones because he was by far the best left or Poile went with someone like Askarov or Suter.

Then you take the years Poile traded the first away, I mean you've basically cut your chances down to not much tbh.

I think we have a development problem more than a drafting problem. Not to say we don't have a drafting problem because we do but when we do draft someone they are developed poorly. Look at just Dallas and st louis and all their top guys are drafted lower in the 1st or 2nd round. Nashville hasn't hit on any one. Evangelista is the best we've had in years and he's not that special. I have no idea how Nichol still has a job

 

[nine_inch_fang]

I think we have a development problem more than a drafting problem. Not to say we don't have a drafting problem because we do but when we do draft someone they are developed poorly. Look at just Dallas and st louis and all their top guys are drafted lower in the 1st or 2nd round. Nashville hasn't hit on any one. Evangelista is the best we've had in years and he's not that special. I have no idea how Nichol still has a job

It's not Nichol or Milwaukee.

What we've seen over the last few years is just gross negligence at the NHL level.

 

[NSH615]

It's not Nichol or Milwaukee.

What we've seen over the last few years is just gross negligence at the NHL level.

This is exactly it. Bring up a talented guy from Milwaukee and place him on the 4th line with McCarron and ask him to play a grinding style. Then also only give him 6 or 7 minutes of ice time. And that's if they are lucky to even get to see the ice.

 

[Predsanddead24]

I'd agree that the NHL level integration of young players is the biggest issue, but I also think we have overall drafting and development issues too. I think the biggest thing is just that we have a huge disconnect between the type of players we draft and what we then expect them to become.

 

[Armourboy]

I think we have a development problem more than a drafting problem. Not to say we don't have a drafting problem because we do but when we do draft someone they are developed poorly. Look at just Dallas and st louis and all their top guys are drafted lower in the 1st or 2nd round. Nashville hasn't hit on any one. Evangelista is the best we've had in years and he's not that special. I have no idea how Nichol still has a job

Well we did, but we traded them. Granted Fiala wasn't lower but he wasn't top 10 either.

I think part of the problem for us as fans is that it feels like it's been a while but when you factor in trading guys, waiving them or not having the pick to start with there hasn't been that many cycles since the Cup run.

Tolvanen, Tomasino and Parssinen are the cycle immediately following the Cup run. Askarov was your highest pick. We also tend to lose sight that the covid drafts were in there which limited scouting and I suspect some of those picks for several teams came down to plain ole luck.

 

[NoNecksCurse]

You all make great points about our issues drafting and developing forwards. We are the worst in the league. We have simply never done it unless we count Forsberg. He played 50 games in Milwaukee.

NO f***ING goalies in the first 3 rounds.

 

[NoNecksCurse]

Read the post from NoNeck you were referring to, that's where game changer came from.

Now you use the word, decent. Hope, decent and not on bust trajectory. This is the problem. We draft guys who might make it in the NHL, who might keep us in the mushy middle.

A game changer is a Paul Kariya, someone who drives play and makes those around him better. Sullivan was a guy like that. I don't care if we find one in the 1st or 7th round or anywhere in between. Until we start drafting guys like this, we will never be more than what we've been for 25 years. It's also mind boggling that we've never found a top 3 forward via the draft. How is that even possible?

I say Wood is a bust because of his trajectory. We are probably looking at Austin Watson with him. We drafted Watson at #18 and Wood at #15. You can sign a guy like Watson every summer for 2 million. Guys like that do nothing to change the trajectory of this franchise. We do not have a single prospect from what I have seen (do not claim to be an expert) that will do anything to elevate us back to contenders. Askarov was the best shot at that, and we traded him away to sign a midget to one of the worst goalie contracts in the league.

 

[Armourboy]

You all make great points about our issues drafting and developing forwards. We are the worst in the league. We have simply never done it unless we count Forsberg. He played 50 games in Milwaukee.

NO f***ING goalies in the first 3 rounds.

Our record would look a lot better but we tend to forget about a few guys mainly cause they got moved out and we don't think about them being Preds.

Now I was never a huge fan of Legwand but he wasn't bad by any stretch. Hartnell was a solid forward, but Liarplod fire sale. You hit on Hornqvist who was a super late pick, but traded. Erat was alright but we tend to lose him in the Forsberg wash. Radulov may have been the best of the lot but that was a mess. Then you get Fiala, Arvy, etc. and it ain't been all bad they just weren't here.

We also spent a lot of early draft capital on Dmen, most of which hit and goalies that didn't.

Then you factor in Poile trading picks away, plus there were some of those draft years that were God awful, almost no one in the league hit on anything.

I feel like I've done it in the past and I feel like there were alot of those years where we didn't miss out on much. We either hit with a Dman or pretty much any forward that was decent was already off the table. Might go back and do that again

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

I say Wood is a bust because of his trajectory. We are probably looking at Austin Watson with him. We drafted Watson at #18 and Wood at #15. You can sign a guy like Watson every summer for 2 million. Guys like that do nothing to change the trajectory of this franchise. We do not have a single prospect from what I have seen (do not claim to be an expert) that will do anything to elevate us back to contenders. Askarov was the best shot at that, and we traded him away to sign a midget to one of the worst goalie contracts in the league.

I don't think there is any chance that Wood is going to be Austin Watson! But what could happen with him is:

1) He plays 2nd or 3rd line in Milwaukee next year
2) He plays 1st or 2nd line in Milwaukee in 2026-27 with a couple games on the 4th line in Nashville
3) He is up and down between Milwaukee and Nashville (4th line) in 2027-28
4) He gets lost on waivers/traded for a 4th round pick
5) He goes somewhere else and eventually becomes a decent-ish 20g / 0.5ppg type of middle-six producer in the NHL

Basically, our script for forward prospects who have skill, but don't tick EVERY wishlist box of our NHL coaching staff.

OR

Since we're going to be vying for last place again next season anyway, I wouldn't mind a faster-track script:

1) He plays 1st line Milwaukee next year with a few callups to Nashville where he gets prime icetime in a scoring role
2) He plays full-time in Nashville in 2026-27 on a scoring line and is a 20g / 0.5 ppg player for us

Of course, there is some dependency on his individual performance attached to either of these blueprints, but I think either "the script" or the "fast-track" are roughly what he's capable of, he won't get anything more out of the slower approach, and the only difference is that in the "fast-track" he becomes a mediocre NHLer a lot sooner for us, while he might still have a little bit of "prospect shine" to the rest of the league, so that if we don't think he's going to fit or ever become better, we can probably get something for him in a trade rather than losing him on waivers or trading him for a 4th round pick.

And stop picking guys if you don't like their compete or skating or edginess or whatever. The only prospect who has passed through here in recent years who I thought really changed his style of play from Draft Day to the NHL was Tolvanen, and that was actually in the direction of what the Preds should have really LIKED! But the majority of time, the traits they display at 17-18 at the draft are pretty much the same traits they'll have as pros. So if those aren't a fit for your organization, just don't draft the guy. There are lots of other prospects out there.

 

[herzausstein]

We've got to start finding ways of getting our young forwards prospects to Nashville in a reasonable amount of time and given proper linemates that help to guide them.

Forsberg drafted in 2012 had his first full NHL season in 14-15. 2 AHL seasons (3 max) if they have top 6 aspirations.

Kemell, Schaefer, Weisblatt All need to have extended looks in the NHL next season. Kemell in the top 9 and Schaefer and Weissblatt as McCarron/Smith replacements. Svechkov and L’Heureux also need to have hard looks with better linemates.

I'd be interested in trying something like:
Forsberg RoR Kemell
L'Heureux Stamkos Evangelista
Bunting Svechkov Marchy
Schaefer/Smith Sissons Weisblatt

Spread out some of the youth and NHL experience. See what we got and move from there. Balance the time between the top 9 and give the 4th line 9-10 mins of Even strength TOI picking up someone additional PK minutes.

Bunting and Marchy can pick up some extra minutes subbing in on the 2nd and 1st lines if the situation calls for it but try and just roll what we got.

 

[jumb0]

Scott Wheeler mock:

5: Hagens
26: Ravensbergen
30: Ihs-Wozniak


Schaefer, Misa, Frondell, Desnoyers is the top 4

 

[herzausstein]

Scott Wheeler mock:

5: Hagens
26: Ravensbergen
30: Ihs-Wozniak


Schaefer, Misa, Frondell, Desnoyers is the top 4

Not too bad but it still seems like an oddity not to atleast grab 1 dman in the 1st round...

I'd rather grab fiddler over Ravensbergen then grab next best goalie with the later 1st if we are hellbent on spending a 1st on a goalie or just use our 2nd on a goalie instead of a first. Sure we will miss Ravensbergen but there should still be a really good prospect with our 2nd. Saros isn't going anywhere so we have a couple seasons to figure things out

 

[jumb0]

Not too bad but it still seems like an oddity not to atleast grab 1 dman in the 1st round...

I'd rather grab fiddler over Ravensbergen then grab next best goalie with the later 1st if we are hellbent on spending a 1st on a goalie or just use our 2nd on a goalie instead of a first. Sure we will miss Ravensbergen but there should still be a really good prospect with our 2nd

He mentions Fiddler as the other option at 26

 

[herzausstein]

He mentions Fiddler as the other option at 26

That's what I'd go with personally. Haven't really seen anything on Wozniak and he seems like an interesting choice

 

[hockey diva]

We've got to start finding ways of getting our young forwards prospects to Nashville in a reasonable amount of time and given proper linemates that help to guide them.

Forsberg drafted in 2012 had his first full NHL season in 14-15. 2 AHL seasons (3 max) if they have top 6 aspirations.

Kemell, Schaefer, Weisblatt All need to have extended looks in the NHL next season. Kemell in the top 9 and Schaefer and Weissblatt as McCarron/Smith replacements. Svechkov and L’Heureux also need to have hard looks with better linemates.

I'd be interested in trying something like:
Forsberg RoR Kemell
L'Heureux Stamkos Evangelista
Bunting Svechkov Marchy
Schaefer/Smith Sissons Weisblatt

Spread out some of the youth and NHL experience. See what we got and move from there. Balance the time between the top 9 and give the 4th line 9-10 mins of Even strength TOI picking up someone additional PK minutes.

Bunting and Marchy can pick up some extra minutes subbing in on the 2nd and 1st lines if the situation calls for it but try and just roll what we got.

If only Bozo would actually do it...

 

[wmupreds]

And stop picking guys if you don't like their compete or skating or edginess or whatever. The only prospect who has passed through here in recent years who I thought really changed his style of play from Draft Day to the NHL was Tolvanen, and that was actually in the direction of what the Preds should have really LIKED! But the majority of time, the traits they display at 17-18 at the draft are pretty much the same traits they'll have as pros. So if those aren't a fit for your organization, just don't draft the guy. There are lots of other prospects out there.

Yeah, this seems like part of the problem- we draft the guy that has the highest perceived upside and therefore value, but because they don't check the boxes of a player that the org wants, they never get a chance to show their value so even if we end up trading them we get little in return. Taking BPA is smart from an asset perspective, we just seem to be really good at minimizing actual asset value through our development process.

On a different note, if Hagens actually does drop to 5 as mocked and we grab him I would be thrilled with that outcome.

 

[Scoresberg]

I'm gonna lose it if we're going to spend another 1st rounder on a goalie..

 

[Armourboy]

I'm gonna lose it if we're going to spend another 1st rounder on a goalie..

I'm prepared for it. I think Trotz has backed himself into a corner with his prior stupidity so he will think he needs to correct it.

 

[Soundgarden]

I wouldn't be totally upset if it's our last 1st or one of our 2nds, picking Ravensburg, he's the top ranked goalie and it's a weak draft. I'd much rather just go two defensemen with the lower two firsts though.

 

[predhead1]

Well, the new Pope is from Chicago, so go ahead and pencil in the Hawks for McKenna next year.

 

[Predsanddead24]

I wouldn't be totally upset if it's our last 1st or one of our 2nds, picking Ravensburg, he's the top ranked goalie and it's a weak draft. I'd much rather just go two defensemen with the lower two firsts though.

Yeah we have picks 26, 30, and 35 or thereabouts depending on how the playoffs play out. I wouldn't hate the idea of trying to use one of them to get whatever goalie prospect we rate most highly. I get the resistance to that because of how the Askarov situation played out but that's a sunk cost at this point and our goalie pipeline is completely empty.