kingsfan28
Its A Kingspiracy !
Guys like that you walk away from and don't risk assets. You know he's gonna demand a spot on the top 6 and pp time. Sounds like a Rutger McGroarty situation all over again. Hard pass.
2025 NHL Entry DRAFT Thread
- Thread starter King'sPawn
- Start date
Guys like that you walk away from and don't risk assets. You know he's gonna demand a spot on the top 6 and pp time. Sounds like a Rutger McGroarty situation all over again. Hard pass.
- Jul 1, 2003
- 22,054
- 25,125
Along with the ongoing playoffs throughout international leagues and in North America, there is one more tournament starting Wednesday - the IIHF U18 WJC.
Group A:
Canada
Finland
Latvia
Norway
Slovakia
Group B
Czech Republic
Germany
Sweden
Switzerland
USA
Because it's the U18, it generally has a LOT of draft eligibles (or players for future drafts).
Group A:
Canada
Finland
Latvia
Norway
Slovakia
Group B
Czech Republic
Germany
Sweden
Switzerland
USA
Because it's the U18, it generally has a LOT of draft eligibles (or players for future drafts).
Herby
Now I can die in peace
I don't think Howard is a bad guy or lacks character. He just has no desire to play in the AHL when he has more appealing options available, like returning to MSU. He’s simply using the leverage a player in his position has under the current CBA. I don’t blame him. If my choices were between playing in the minors or returning for a senior year on a national title contender, and then having the freedom to sign anywhere I wanted at age 22, I’d probably take that route too.
Howard isn’t some elite prospect. He’s not a Celebrini, Makar, Caufield, or Fantilli-type Hobey winner, but plenty of lesser players, including our own Laf, have made the jump straight from college to the NHL without spending time in the AHL. More and more players are seeing this and opting for another year of school over the AHL, especially now that NIL deals can come close to matching what he’d make in Syracuse next season.
If teams are uncomfortable with this process and players choosing their best options rather than the teams best options, maybe they should reconsider drafting NCAA players
Howard isn’t some elite prospect. He’s not a Celebrini, Makar, Caufield, or Fantilli-type Hobey winner, but plenty of lesser players, including our own Laf, have made the jump straight from college to the NHL without spending time in the AHL. More and more players are seeing this and opting for another year of school over the AHL, especially now that NIL deals can come close to matching what he’d make in Syracuse next season.
If teams are uncomfortable with this process and players choosing their best options rather than the teams best options, maybe they should reconsider drafting NCAA players
I'm using that tournament as an excuse to visit my friend in Dallas. If all goes to plan, I'll catch the semifinals. If I'm understanding the crossover correctly, it's a decent chance it'd be Sweden/somebody in the matinee and then USA/Canada in the night cap.
Unfortunately it sounds like the USNTDP has a couple mediocre classes back-to-back, so they might not be a guarantee to medal. Sweden and Canada will have the more interesting prospects, unfortunately some of them will be 2026 eligible.
Herby
Now I can die in peace
Yes, another really down class for the NTDP as far as elite talent. I thought the best prospect on the team when I saw them play this year was a 2026 draft eligible, JP Hurlbert a 2026 Michigan commit. He’s going to be a good prospect next year, but he’s no Kane, Hughes, Caufield, Matthews type, I think his standing out was more from the lack of elite talent in the 2007 group.
It will be interesting to see Will Horcoff playing for Team USA. Not sure if I can remember a player who played NCAA games playing in this tournament before. Usually it’s a chance to look at in-coming guys. I mentioned Horcoff earlier in this thread I think. The son of ex-NHL Shawn Horcoff, he is an intriguing 2nd/3rd rounder, a big boy with a bit more skill than I had expected but a lot of filling out and development to do. I could definitely see him as somebody the Kings could look to target as a long-term project down the middle. The Kings seem to value sons of former NHL players too (Turcotte, Madden, Helenius, Ward)
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My futile Mock 1.0 that'll rendered useless when the lottery happens in a couple weeks:
1. San Jose - LD Matthew Schaefer - Potential cornerstone D to go with Celebrini/Smith, seems like an obvious pick if SJ retains #1.
2. Chicago - C/LW Michael Misa - They tried to trade back into last year's top 5 for Ivan Demidov. So here they could possibly land a long term linemate for Bedard. Some question if Misa will be wing or center as a pro, but they'd have some flexibility here with Nazar/Moore/Boisvert as middle six options.
3. Nashville - C Anton Frondell - They've been looking for a #1 center for practically their entire existence. We'll see if the next tier of centers project to be more 2C types.
4. Philadelphia - C Caleb Desnoyers - Philly took a slightly undersized Jett Luchanko last year, so maybe that would scare them off of James Hagens. Desnoyers has been tearing up the QMJHL playoffs and as a bonus the Flyers have his older brother in the system.
5. Boston - C James Hagens - Hagens began the year as the presumed #1. He's had a decent freshman campaign at BC, but seems like he left scouts wanting a little bit more. Bruins taking a local college guy would be an easy PR win.
6. Seattle - RW Porter Martone - Maybe in an ideal world, Seattle would take a D but perhaps Ron Francis brough over the "don't take a D in the first round" mentality from his previous stint in Carolina. Some expected Martone to be like a Tkachuk brother style wise, but he may be more of a skilled winger (with some jam) that happens to be 6'3.
7. Buffalo - RD Radim Mrtka - Sabres are generally well-stocked everywhere but RD at the prospect and NHL level seems like they could use help. Mrtka joined the WHL midway through the season and produced more offense than expected (35 points in 43 games). But I'm not sure that offense will translate, but he still projects as a solid D who could provide secondary offense.
Anaheim trades #8 to Detroit for #12, #44, and a year's supply of Little Caesar's Crazy Bread. Yzerman calls up his apprentice Verbeek to leapfrog Pittsburgh for their choice of center prospects.
8. Detroit (via ANA) - C Jake O'Brien - Rising of late, but some worry that O'Brien's production is too reliant on the PP.
9. Pittsburgh - C Roger McQueen - We'll see if the Penguins fully embrace a rebuild. McQueen could be the first building block towards a post-Crosby/Malkin existence. Missed most of the year due to injury, huge with great stickhandling but production against better competition was disappointing.
10. NY Islanders - LD Jackson Smith - Lou left a mostly barren farm system so the Isles could use a little bit of everything. They drafted Cole Eiserman last year and picked up Cal Ritchie at the deadline, so maybe a D could make sense. Smith seems like an all situations defender but maybe not a PP1 type as a pro.
Rangers trade #11 to Columbus for #13 and a future 3rd.
Anaheim trades Trevor Zegras to Vancouver for #15 and a box of smoked salmon. Ducks nearly traded Zegras at last year's draft and it seems like it's time for both to move on. Vancouver seemingly shopping their pick for immediate help to try to coax Quinn Hughes into not leaving. Zegras being a Hughes family friend could be a bonus.
11. Columbus (via NYR) - LW Victor Eklund - CBJ moves up for Eklund who slips a bit due to positional needs of other teams.
12. Anaheim (via DET) - LW/C Carter Bear - Undersized heart and soul winger maybe will remind Verbeek of himself.
13. NY Rangers (via CBJ) - C Brady Martin - Adding a center prospect to be a long term replacement for Zibanejad/Miller/Trocheck seems like a safe bet.
14. Utah - LD Kashawn Aitcheson - Utah used a late 1st to draft Aitcheson's teammate Cole Beaudoin last year. Aitcheson sounds like a throwback Bryan McCabe type.
15. Anaheim (via VAN) - RD Logan Hensler - Ducks could use a RD as Gudas/Trouba are UFA after next season. Hensler had a decent freshman year at Wisconsin and some think there could be some untapped offensive potential.
16. Montreal (via CAL) - C Jack Nesbitt - Nesbitt has been trending up lately while being a teammate of Kings pick Liam Greentree. A 6'4 LH center could be a nice long term complement to Nick Suzuki and Michael Hage.
1. San Jose - LD Matthew Schaefer - Potential cornerstone D to go with Celebrini/Smith, seems like an obvious pick if SJ retains #1.
2. Chicago - C/LW Michael Misa - They tried to trade back into last year's top 5 for Ivan Demidov. So here they could possibly land a long term linemate for Bedard. Some question if Misa will be wing or center as a pro, but they'd have some flexibility here with Nazar/Moore/Boisvert as middle six options.
3. Nashville - C Anton Frondell - They've been looking for a #1 center for practically their entire existence. We'll see if the next tier of centers project to be more 2C types.
4. Philadelphia - C Caleb Desnoyers - Philly took a slightly undersized Jett Luchanko last year, so maybe that would scare them off of James Hagens. Desnoyers has been tearing up the QMJHL playoffs and as a bonus the Flyers have his older brother in the system.
5. Boston - C James Hagens - Hagens began the year as the presumed #1. He's had a decent freshman campaign at BC, but seems like he left scouts wanting a little bit more. Bruins taking a local college guy would be an easy PR win.
6. Seattle - RW Porter Martone - Maybe in an ideal world, Seattle would take a D but perhaps Ron Francis brough over the "don't take a D in the first round" mentality from his previous stint in Carolina. Some expected Martone to be like a Tkachuk brother style wise, but he may be more of a skilled winger (with some jam) that happens to be 6'3.
7. Buffalo - RD Radim Mrtka - Sabres are generally well-stocked everywhere but RD at the prospect and NHL level seems like they could use help. Mrtka joined the WHL midway through the season and produced more offense than expected (35 points in 43 games). But I'm not sure that offense will translate, but he still projects as a solid D who could provide secondary offense.
Anaheim trades #8 to Detroit for #12, #44, and a year's supply of Little Caesar's Crazy Bread. Yzerman calls up his apprentice Verbeek to leapfrog Pittsburgh for their choice of center prospects.
8. Detroit (via ANA) - C Jake O'Brien - Rising of late, but some worry that O'Brien's production is too reliant on the PP.
9. Pittsburgh - C Roger McQueen - We'll see if the Penguins fully embrace a rebuild. McQueen could be the first building block towards a post-Crosby/Malkin existence. Missed most of the year due to injury, huge with great stickhandling but production against better competition was disappointing.
10. NY Islanders - LD Jackson Smith - Lou left a mostly barren farm system so the Isles could use a little bit of everything. They drafted Cole Eiserman last year and picked up Cal Ritchie at the deadline, so maybe a D could make sense. Smith seems like an all situations defender but maybe not a PP1 type as a pro.
Rangers trade #11 to Columbus for #13 and a future 3rd.
Anaheim trades Trevor Zegras to Vancouver for #15 and a box of smoked salmon. Ducks nearly traded Zegras at last year's draft and it seems like it's time for both to move on. Vancouver seemingly shopping their pick for immediate help to try to coax Quinn Hughes into not leaving. Zegras being a Hughes family friend could be a bonus.
11. Columbus (via NYR) - LW Victor Eklund - CBJ moves up for Eklund who slips a bit due to positional needs of other teams.
12. Anaheim (via DET) - LW/C Carter Bear - Undersized heart and soul winger maybe will remind Verbeek of himself.
13. NY Rangers (via CBJ) - C Brady Martin - Adding a center prospect to be a long term replacement for Zibanejad/Miller/Trocheck seems like a safe bet.
14. Utah - LD Kashawn Aitcheson - Utah used a late 1st to draft Aitcheson's teammate Cole Beaudoin last year. Aitcheson sounds like a throwback Bryan McCabe type.
15. Anaheim (via VAN) - RD Logan Hensler - Ducks could use a RD as Gudas/Trouba are UFA after next season. Hensler had a decent freshman year at Wisconsin and some think there could be some untapped offensive potential.
16. Montreal (via CAL) - C Jack Nesbitt - Nesbitt has been trending up lately while being a teammate of Kings pick Liam Greentree. A 6'4 LH center could be a nice long term complement to Nick Suzuki and Michael Hage.
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- Jul 1, 2003
- 22,054
- 25,125
Schaefer/Dickinson long-term would be interesting for SJ.
Would be surprised to see Nashville pass on Hagens. He's the type of two-way forward they love to have.
Aitcheson to Utah after Beaudoin last year is adding some serious beef, but they are also pretty close to being NHL ready due to their already existing strength.
Would be surprised to see Nashville pass on Hagens. He's the type of two-way forward they love to have.
Aitcheson to Utah after Beaudoin last year is adding some serious beef, but they are also pretty close to being NHL ready due to their already existing strength.
Herby
Now I can die in peace
I'm definitely guilty of shoehorning Hagens to stay in Boston. Although it does sound like that Hagens-Frondell-Desnoyers grouping is pretty close like that cluster of last year's D. Frondell might be able to join Sweden for the U18s next week.
- Jul 1, 2003
- 22,054
- 25,125
Only 5-foot-11, too. He might be 6-foot-1 or 6-foot-2 by his draft year in 2027.
I just hope he doesn't get so hyped that he fails to meet unrealistic expectations and thus loses value.
Raccoon Jesus
Todd McLellan is an inside agent
Was really hoping Aitcheson would fall to the Kings but that seems unlikely
