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2025 NHL Entry Draft Thread

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2025 NHL Mock Draft: Post-draft lottery top 32

Schaefer, Misa and Hagens are among the top projected picks in 2025.
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31. Washington Capitals: Milton Gastrin, C (Modo, Sweden U-20)
I love Gastrin’s game. I think he’s a legit first-round prospect. He’s so smart, cradles the puck well and competes as hard as anyone. Mix in above-average skating and great defensive zone awareness and I’m seeing a player that reminds me of David Edstrom from two years ago. I have absolutely no concern about Gastrin not becoming an NHLer because he thinks and operates at such a high level.
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I don't think he's quite as good as Edstrom was at the same age but he's pretty good.
 
Langway said:
www.nytimes.com

2025 NHL Draft prospects: Corey Pronman updates his ranking ahead of the lottery

How did Corey Pronman's 2025 NHL Draft big board change ahead of the lottery and with the 2025 IIHF U18 World Championships concluded?
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2025 NHL Draft: Scouting reports on 120 prospects from U-18 World Championship

From future stars to potential hidden gems, here's everything you need to know about what happened at the 2025 U-18 World Championship.
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Lots of post-U18, pre-lotto content. Lakovic & Spence seem like a couple wingers up their alley if they slide. Otherwise Zonnon/Gastrin/McKinney would be fine value Cs. Ryabkin, Nestrasil, Reid, Zharovsky, Murtagh, Ravensbergen, Moore, Potter, Ihs-Wozniak and maybe someone like Wang (as a longer-term play) seem like the main pool of talent in that late 20's, late 30's range. With Boston's second being so high they should stick to their board, as they're bound to be in a position to get someone with a first round grade. First round this year may not be a high bar compared to some years but I'd resist thinking they need to grab a RD or goalie at 37. If it lines up, sure, but it seems likely to leave some value on the board.

Big picture, depending on how the playoffs play out I'd also have to think these picks should be on the table for an immediate boost wherever needed (3C standing out most glaringly).
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Lots of guys I love right around where we'll be picking based on this list. Primarily Ryabkin, Ravensbergen, Moore.
 
A 1st overall pick in the metro ... meh.

Edit : just watch the video of the lottery. After the 3rd ball comes out the odds are :
PIT, PHI, NYI and CHI are each at 18.2% to be 1st overall
SJS, SEA, BUF at 9.1%

So yeah, we avoided the awful scenario where PIT takes 1st overall.
 
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Weird draft, when most top guys are either injured or finish the season with subpar play. Hagens to NYI writes itself, doesn't it? After losing their previous #1 overall 1C to his hometown team, they get a chance to draft a hometown kid to set things right.

As for the Caps draft strategy... just draft the player with highest potential. We have players locked up long-term on most core positions and multiple legit prospects who seem due to become NHL mainstays. The management is patient, Hershey is the best club in the AHL, I'm not worried about circumstance-dependent developmental difficulties.
 
Acallabeth said:
Weird draft, when most top guys are either injured or finish the season with subpar play. Hagens to NYI writes itself, doesn't it? After losing their previous #1 overall 1C to his hometown team, they get a chance to draft a hometown kid to set things right.

As for the Caps draft strategy... just draft the player with highest potential. We have players locked up long-term on most core positions and multiple legit prospects who seem due to become NHL mainstays. The management is patient, Hershey is the best club in the AHL, I'm not worried about circumstance-dependent developmental difficulties.
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I don't see them drafting Hagens. The top is crowded since nobody really has stepped up after Schaefer got injured and for Schaefer it's the lack of playing time. Misa had a magical regular season but if the OHL fans are already calling him one of the biggest chokers in recent history you'd think the NHL has noticed too. Frondell had a poor start to the season and never really got into the conversation to begin with but he's creeping right back in to that ~4 range. As for Hagens he got really dinged for his play down the stretch and you'd figure he's closer to ~4 than 1 at this point. Bob only had him 5th in his latest rankings.

Schaefer was unanimous nr.1 in Bob's rankings and even if he didn't play after that injury, there's really nobody that even challenged him all that much. Would be very surprised if Isles didn't take him but then that begs the question what would they do with Dobson who had a poor year. Even if they don't want to take D at 1 there are very few people who even consider Hagens above Misa at this stage. If they truly want Hagens they can afford to trade down to atleast #3 and still get him, no doubt.
 
trick9 said:
I don't see them drafting Hagens. The top is crowded since nobody really has stepped up after Schaefer got injured and for Schaefer it's the lack of playing time. Misa had a magical regular season but if the OHL fans are already calling him one of the biggest chokers in recent history you'd think the NHL has noticed too. Frondell had a poor start to the season and never really got into the conversation to begin with but he's creeping right back in to that ~4 range. As for Hagens he got really dinged for his play down the stretch and you'd figure he's closer to ~4 than 1 at this point. Bob only had him 5th in his latest rankings.

Schaefer was unanimous nr.1 in Bob's rankings and even if he didn't play after that injury, there's really nobody that even challenged him all that much. Would be very surprised if Isles didn't take him but then that begs the question what would they do with Dobson who had a poor year. Even if they don't want to take D at 1 there are very few people who even consider Hagens above Misa at this stage. If they truly want Hagens they can afford to trade down to atleast #3 and still get him, no doubt.
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This.

I'd be stunned if Hagens goes #1 or even #2. McKenzie's latest (which is basically a pulse of how teams are feeling since the rankings are based on team scout impressions) has him #5 behind Misa, Martone, and Frondell. Also, when you compare his season head-to-head against Celebrini who went 1OA last year, it's not even close.

Hagens 24-25 - 11 goals, 26 assists, 37 points in 37 games [BC]
Celebrini 23-24 - 32 goals, 32 assists, 64 points in 38 games [BU]

FWIW, I still think Misa goes #2. Are you really going to discount one of the best draft year seasons in OHL history because he had one tough playoff series? I also have questions about Martone, Frondell, and Hagens.
 
trick9 said:
Schaefer was unanimous nr.1 in Bob's rankings and even if he didn't play after that injury, there's really nobody that even challenged him all that much. Would be very surprised if Isles didn't take him but then that begs the question what would they do with Dobson who had a poor year. Even if they don't want to take D at 1 there are very few people who even consider Hagens above Misa at this stage. If they truly want Hagens they can afford to trade down to atleast #3 and still get him, no doubt.
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Do they need to do anything with Dobson? Schaefer is left-handed, they could become a dominant 1st pairing or lead 2 top-class D pairings. Would make the team very defender-heavy, but Schaefer seems a pretty safe pick.
I don't know about consensus though. With all top players having question marks, this draft is bound to be very unpredictable.
Kazer said:
FWIW, I still think Misa goes #2. Are you really going to discount one of the best draft year seasons in OHL history because he had one tough playoff series? I also have questions about Martone, Frondell, and Hagens.
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Wasn't Misa pretty pedestrian in last year's playoffs as well?
Also, FWIW, 'experts' say that none of this year's prospects is on Celebrini's level...
 
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Silky mitts said:
If NYR keeps their pick this year their 26 pick goes to pens and takes them out of McKenna sweeps
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I was still under the impression that the decision on if the pick that moves is this year or next was automatic based on the Rags possibly winning the lottery. Since they didn't I was understanding that the pick automatically moves this year. If they did, then the pick would have been the 2026 one. Is this not correct, its a decision the Rags get to make?
 
kicksavedave said:
I was still under the impression that the decision on if the pick that moves is this year or next was automatic based on the Rags possibly winning the lottery. Since they didn't I was understanding that the pick automatically moves this year. If they did, then the pick would have been the 2026 one. Is this not correct, its a decision the Rags get to make?
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Dubas said it was NYR's call after they made the trade, found something from today, Rangers' deadline to decide is 6/25

Kolzilla said:
But then PITT would have two possible cracks at getting #1OA :eek3:
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Which is why NYR should give the Pens their pick but we'll see
 
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Acallabeth said:
Do they need to do anything with Dobson? Schaefer is left-handed, they could become a dominant 1st pairing or lead 2 top-class D pairings. Would make the team very defender-heavy, but Schaefer seems a pretty safe pick.
I don't know about consensus though. With all top players having question marks, this draft is bound to be very unpredictable.

Wasn't Misa pretty pedestrian in last year's playoffs as well?
Also, FWIW, 'experts' say that none of this year's prospects is on Celebrini's level...
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He was. 3 points in 4 games this year (Saginaw played 5 so he must have missed a game). 11 points [4+7] in 17 last year. I looked up Cristall's stats for comparison sake. In his draft year, he had 1 goal 0 assists in 4 playoff games. He had 4 assists, 0 goals, the year before in 5 games. This year, he has 20 goals and 37 points in 14 playoff games. It's data, but you don't want to overweight any particular small sample size for the same reason that you don't want to overweight any particular WJC.
 
NYI seems to be in no-man’s land roster construction-wise. This could be a golden ticket to kickstart a semi-rebuild.
They have:

Palmieri, 34
Lee, 34
Pageau, 32
Horvat, 30
Barzal, 27
Tsyplakov, 26
Holmstrom, 23

Pulock, 30
Pelech, 30
Dobson, 25
Romanov, 25

Sorokin, 29

They have Cal Ritchie, Cole Eiserman, and now probably Matthew Schaefer as top prospect.

They were bit by the injury-bug this year, but are they good enough short term to not lock intro trading away some pieces that would bring back some nice prospects or picks? Dobson, Romanov and Barzal would bring back a lot. Barzal might even fetch TVR, Milano, Lapierre, Cristall and the 31st OA 😝

And then to build around Schaefer and McKenna ;)
 
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MW6 said:
NYI seems to be in no-man’s land roster construction-wise. This could be a golden ticket to kickstart a semi-rebuild.
They have:

Palmieri, 34
Lee, 34
Pageau, 32
Horvat, 30
Barzal, 27
Tsyplakov, 26
Holmstrom, 23

Pulock, 30
Pelech, 30
Dobson, 25
Romanov, 25

Sorokin, 29

They have Cal Ritchie, Cole Eiserman, and now probably Matthew Schaefer as top prospect.

They were bit by the injury-bug this year, but are they good enough short term to not lock intro trading away some pieces that would bring back some nice prospects or picks? Dobson, Romanov and Barzal would bring back a lot. Barzal might even fetch TVR, Milano, Lapierre, Cristall and the 31st OA 😝

And then to build around Schaefer and McKenna ;)
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no thanks on Barzal and surely not throwing in 2 top prospects and a first. NO WAY
 
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MW6 said:
NYI seems to be in no-man’s land roster construction-wise. This could be a golden ticket to kickstart a semi-rebuild.
They have:

Palmieri, 34
Lee, 34
Pageau, 32
Horvat, 30
Barzal, 27
Tsyplakov, 26
Holmstrom, 23

Pulock, 30
Pelech, 30
Dobson, 25
Romanov, 25

Sorokin, 29

They have Cal Ritchie, Cole Eiserman, and now probably Matthew Schaefer as top prospect.

They were bit by the injury-bug this year, but are they good enough short term to not lock intro trading away some pieces that would bring back some nice prospects or picks? Dobson, Romanov and Barzal would bring back a lot. Barzal might even fetch TVR, Milano, Lapierre, Cristall and the 31st OA 😝

And then to build around Schaefer and McKenna ;)
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With a competent GM, NYI could retool and be competitive in ~2-3 years. They have some good trade pieces and probably will have a deep prospect pool after this and next year's drafts.

The only thing I see on that roster we may realistically want is Pageau (if cheap)
 
Kolzilla said:
With a competent GM, NYI could retool and be competitive in ~2-3 years. They have some good trade pieces and probably will have a deep prospect pool after this and next year's drafts.

The only thing I see on that roster we may realistically want is Pageau (if cheap)
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They need to get a little more youth and speed in the lineup
 
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