Prospect Info: 2025 NHL Entry Draft

[WhatTheDuck]

We're going around in circles here so we can just agree to disagree on Desnoyer and his ceiling. I will say that if the Ducks draft in the 4-7 range I could see them taking Desnoyer...especially with Madden habitually over drafting out of the Q.

More to my point regarding this draft...I don't see any sure fire top line forwards in this draft. Misa might be the closest but definitely not guaranteed. Schaeffer looks like he could be a top pairing on D. Hagen and Martone look line 2nd line players to me and I'm concerned about whether Martone can reach even that level.

"Surefire first line" types are lacking. But in their absence I really like these Misa and Desnoyers types who have first line potential (IMO) but a strong fallback in the possibility of a Kadri/Bennett/Kesler type presence down the middle. We don't score enough but we also don't have nearly enough players who bring significant value beyond their production. A heart and soul type player who is also a top six capable center, could go such a long way. We have a lot of good pieces but are missing the glue

 

[Rasp]

We're going around in circles here so we can just agree to disagree on Desnoyer and his ceiling. I will say that if the Ducks draft in the 4-7 range I could see them taking Desnoyer...especially with Madden habitually over drafting out of the Q.

More to my point regarding this draft...I don't see any sure fire top line forwards in this draft. Misa might be the closest but definitely not guaranteed. Schaeffer looks like he could be a top pairing on D. Hagen and Martone look line 2nd line players to me and I'm concerned about whether Martone can reach even that level.

Damn you're dissing my boy Martone what don't you like about him?

I see him as a top 6 physical winger who can score from the hard areas. He is the type of guy that will score with players hanging off him like what Cronin was saying he is wanting the players to be. Best case he ends up like Tkachuk

 

[tomd]

Damn you're dissing my boy Martone what don't you like about him?

I see him as a top 6 physical winger who can score from the hard areas. He is the type of guy that will score with players hanging off him like what Cronin was saying he is wanting the players to be. Best case he ends up like Tkachuk

I worry about his pace at the NHL level. Heavy feet. I'd love to be wrong though.

 

[Rasp]

I worry about his pace at the NHL level. Heavy feet. I'd love to be wrong though.

He won't be a speedy player but even with average skating he will be able to impact games with his physicality

 

[tomd]

He won't be a speedy player but even with average skating he will be able to impact games with his physicality

I guess I'm still traumatized by the memory of Nick Ritchie

 

[Hockey Duckie]

"By the time we get to the draft, he may very well end up being a top three pick. His details and compete level present a game mature beyond his years. " - Sam Cosentino


"Much of the talk about Desnoyers this year will surround his successful CV, as it should. He’s a proven winner already at multiple international tournaments with Canada, and he’s the one driving the bus most nights for Moncton. I like his physical play, even though he’s not huge. I think he’s a great playmaker and he’s one of the smarter centers in this draft. He might not be the flashiest, but at the very least, Desnoyers is going to be a middle-six center because he does so many great things away from the puck" - Steve Ellis

"Desnoyers entered the year as a lottery-pick favourite. Despite playing in the much-maligned QMJHL, Desnoyers has maintained that momentum, with his over 1.5 point-per-game production and projectable two-way game solidifying his spot in the early first round.

While not always a high-pace player, Desnoyers has poise, excellent vision, and a solid puckhandle in tight spaces. He’s a committed and typically responsible defensive player who is especially effective when he flashes the higher-level physicality he can often bring. Thanks to a hot start, Desnoyers is likely to be the first QMJHL player off the board this spring." Luke Sweeney, Dobber prospects

The Next Generation: Caleb Desnoyers - Video - TSN

The next generation of hockey players are making their mark and TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button shares his observations of Moncton Wildcats centre Caleb Desnoyers.

www.tsn.ca

These are the latest reports I can find. No one really capping his upside at anything but really just a lot of raving about how high his floor is. High floor does not equal lack of ceiling.

The video from Button - does that not sound what the Ducks are lacking?

You have just one media scout thinking Des will be a top-3 pick. The rest are saying middle-6 or top-6, but I do hear two-way forward who isn't flashy. Central Scouting Mid-terms, NA has Des ranked #7. That doesn't include any Euro skaters.

It's cool that you're hyped about him, but you're going overboard. Everything is all potential, but we'll never really know until years later. But Des is projected in the top-10. He can climb up higher as the season goes. Why can't you just accept a majority of the scouting reports and rankings don't see Des more highly than you? Me... I'm just soaking in all the info and like reading up on prospects. I like reading your reports on all the prospects scouting you share.

This is a weak draft, as being shared on here. I still believe there's LD Shaefer at #1 and then a big gap between him and #2. Especially so when scouting media are still adamant that Shaefer will go #1 if he doesn't play the rest of the season. That isn't one media saying this, there are a quite a few.

 

[WhatTheDuck]

You have just one media scout thinking Des will be a top-3 pick. The rest are saying middle-6 or top-6, but I do hear two-way forward who isn't flashy. Central Scouting Mid-terms, NA has Des ranked #7. That doesn't include any Euro skaters.

View attachment 966262

It's cool that you're hyped about him, but you're going overboard. Everything is all potential, but we'll never really know until years later. But Des is projected in the top-10. He can climb up higher as the season goes. Why can't you just accept a majority of the scouting reports and rankings don't see Des more highly than you? Me... I'm just soaking in all the info and like reading up on prospects. I like reading your reports on all the prospects scouting you share.

This is a weak draft, as being shared on here. I still believe there's LD Shaefer at #1 and then a big gap between him and #2. Especially so when scouting media are still adamant that Shaefer will go #1 if he doesn't play the rest of the season. That isn't one media saying this, there are a quite a few.

Nothing overboard about it, you are the last person here who should suggest that of anyone. There is zero reason to be calling this prospect "second line ceiling" and that's what the entire conversation was about. Projection and ceiling not being synonyms . As I stated, none of these reports are really putting a ceiling on this player just yet, but more raving about how high his floor is. I wasn't hyping anything, I literally copy and pasted other people's words to make a point that no reports were calling him a low ceiling player. It's like you didn't even read the convo and wanted to talk down to someone. That whole post you quoted was other people's quotes

 

[WhatTheDuck]

Bob Mck released his first list, the most relevant as it polls ten actual NHL scouts


1. Schaefer
2. Hagens
3. Misa
4. Martone
5. Frondell
6. Desnoyers
7. McQueen
8. Eklund
9. O'Brien
10. Smith

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Bob Mck released his first list, the most relevant as it polls ten actual NHL scouts


1. Schaefer
2. Hagens
3. Misa
4. Martone
5. Frondell
6. Desnoyers
7. McQueen
8. Eklund
9. O'Brien
10. Smith

With Bob releasing his list, now will you pipe down on your overreaction of low ceiling/high ceiling/ look at all of these other scouting reports since you don't listen to anyone else that gives you sources?

 

[Anaheim4ever]

If the Ducks are picking #5 I hope they pick Desnoyers over McQueen and Frondell.
If they end up at #6 I hope they trade the pick for a Top line player unless someone good dropped to #6.

 

[WhatTheDuck]

With Bob releasing his list, now will you pipe down on your overreaction of low ceiling/high ceiling/ look at all of these other scouting reports since you don't listen to anyone else that gives you sources?

Lol A) didn't overreact
B) he proves my point, has Desnoyers right up at #6, hardly a stretch to suggest someone ranked #6 by Bob at mid term may be top 3-5 by draft day
C) none of the sources I was "given" disproved my point. None of them are calling him a "low ceiling player", that was the entire argument that you still clearly are not grasping. What the hell are you even talking about, refusing to listen to anyone else - I was the one who posted all the other quotes smart guy, asked you guys to show me where he was being called a low ceiling player - he wasn't.

 

[WhatTheDuck]

This all boils down to misuse of terms, if you are wanting to discuss a realistic projection - don't use the word ceiling, it has a different meaning.

 

[Gliff]

We're going around in circles here so we can just agree to disagree on Desnoyer and his ceiling. I will say that if the Ducks draft in the 4-7 range I could see them taking Desnoyer...especially with Madden habitually over drafting out of the Q.

More to my point regarding this draft...I don't see any sure fire top line forwards in this draft. Misa might be the closest but definitely not guaranteed. Schaeffer looks like he could be a top pairing on D. Hagen and Martone look line 2nd line players to me and I'm concerned about whether Martone can reach even that level.

This isn’t true at all by the way. I went back and looked at every pick Madden has been here for and broke them down by league and the Q is not even close to his top.

It was like a year ago so I’m not going to find the post, but if I remember correctly it was the OHL by far.

 

[WhatTheDuck]

2025 NHL Draft: Top 10 goaltenders you need to know

Ravensbergen, Ivankovic and Andreyanov lead the pack of 10 goalies making noise this year.

www.dailyfaceoff.com

Seems like a strong crop of goalies this year

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

This team just needs so much help in every area.

I wouldn't mind another potential top-10, maybe even top-5 pick but with Cronin in charge of coaching and player development I have my doubts on how these players will eventually progress

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

With Bob releasing his list, now will you pipe down on your overreaction of low ceiling/high ceiling/ look at all of these other scouting reports since you don't listen to anyone else that gives you sources?

Actually crazy that you would tell anyone to calm down on overreactions lol

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

Bob Mck released his first list, the most relevant as it polls ten actual NHL scouts


1. Schaefer
2. Hagens
3. Misa
4. Martone
5. Frondell
6. Desnoyers
7. McQueen
8. Eklund
9. O'Brien
10. Smith

guess the guys I’d realistically like to get are
Martone
desnoyers

Don’t think well be in posistion to get misa/hagans

Not a fan of McQueen

Don’t know enough about frondell to make a fair judgment

 

[tomd]

guess the guys I’d realistically like to get are
Martone
desnoyers

Don’t think well be in posistion to get misa/hagans

Not a fan of McQueen

Don’t know enough about frondell to make a fair judgment

If the Ducks are out of the top 4, I wouldn't be at all surprised if they went a bit off the board and took O'Brien or Smith. Both are rising.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Actually crazy that you would tell anyone to calm down on overreactions lol

- I told others that Mac should be in the #3 conversation, which included CSB final rankings, wjc-18 scouting video from bigwhite06, and his production in a Swiss Men's league as the sources for Mac. Many believed that Mac wasn't even a top-10 pick. I'm not telling everyone that Mac should be in contention at #1 overall, over-elevating his talent. Ducks select Mac #3 overall.

- A similar instance was touting LaCombe should be in the conversation with Minty and Zell. Two seasons ago at Dev camp, I denoted how LaCombe's figure-8 drill skating was just as smooth as Zellweger's. Some posters didn't like that. Last year, people didn't like that I said LaCombe was helping the team win despite making mistakes on the ice. Now, he's our best defenseman... not just our best youth defenseman.

- Another instance was saying that Cronin's offense sucked and didn't know how to win after the 2023-24 season b/c the numbers reflected it. Nope, this board was loud in denying that Cronin could be worse than Eakins. This season, the same production is occurring and everyone is on board criticizing Cronin.

Correct details matter. I contest for things to be in the conversation, not above it.

---

Des is being ranked around 6th overall on some mocks is great. He has moved up into the conversation (see draft ranking image below). We still got the second half of the season to go and things can change. But the extreme hyping of Des now comes off like he should go #1 overall and cannot be any lower. IMO, LD Shaefer is the #1OA and there's a huge gap right now. Shaefer is even younger than Des. It could change and Des can challenge #1OA, but he isn't today. I'm indifferent with the top-10 forwards in this draft.

Caleb Desnoyers' EP page draft rankings as of Jan 25, 2025.

- MyNHLdraft has him ranked 7th.
- Tankathon has him ranked 8th.

This Des business is completely different situation from me.

This "projection vs ceiling" thought process makes no sense. Technically, every drafted player has a high ceiling, but the probability of reaching said high ceiling is more often quite low. This is why we call players drafted outside the top-15 who shine are called finds; those drafted from the 3rd round and higher that shine are called gems.

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

- I told others that Mac should be in the #3 conversation, which included CSB final rankings, wjc-18 scouting video from bigwhite06, and his production in a Swiss Men's league as the sources for Mac. Many believed that Mac wasn't even a top-10 pick. I'm not telling everyone that Mac should be in contention at #1 overall, over-elevating his talent. Ducks select Mac #3 overall.

View attachment 967070

- A similar instance was touting LaCombe should be in the conversation with Minty and Zell. Two seasons ago at Dev camp, I denoted how LaCombe's figure-8 drill skating was just as smooth as Zellweger's. Some posters didn't like that. Last year, people didn't like that I said LaCombe was helping the team win despite making mistakes on the ice. Now, he's our best defenseman... not just our best youth defenseman.

- Another instance was saying that Cronin's offense sucked and didn't know how to win after the 2023-24 season b/c the numbers reflected it. Nope, this board was loud in denying that Cronin could be worse than Eakins. This season, the same production is occurring and everyone is on board criticizing Cronin.

Correct details matter. I contest for things to be in the conversation, not above it.

---

Des is being ranked around 6th overall on some mocks is great. He has moved up into the conversation (see draft ranking image below). We still got the second half of the season to go and things can change. But the extreme hyping of Des now comes off like he should go #1 overall and cannot be any lower. IMO, LD Shaefer is the #1OA and there's a huge gap right now. Shaefer is even younger than Des. It could change and Des can challenge #1OA, but he isn't today. I'm indifferent with the top-10 forwards in this draft.

Caleb Desnoyers' EP page draft rankings as of Jan 25, 2025.
View attachment 967068
- MyNHLdraft has him ranked 7th.
- Tankathon has him ranked 8th.

This Des business is completely different situation from me.

This "projection vs ceiling" thought process makes no sense. Technically, every drafted player has a high ceiling, but the probability of reaching said high ceiling is more often quite low. This is why we call players drafted outside the top-15 who shine are called finds; those drafted from the 3rd round and higher that shine are called gems.

Cool it with the overreactions

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

If the Ducks are out of the top 4, I wouldn't be at all surprised if they went a bit off the board and took O'Brien or Smith. Both are rising.

Really just depends where our pick lands... but id be pretty disappointed at either guy at 5.

 

[tomd]

Really just depends where our pick lands... but id be pretty disappointed at either guy at 5.

I agree but it sure looks like the fun will start at pick number 5. The top 4 looks pretty set but #5 is wide open and it could be a surprise pick. In January of their respective draft years, no one was predicting Gauthier at 5 and Sennecke at 3. Just to give two examples.

The one thing that is disappointing to me about this draft is that there are relatively few risers. It's just not a good or deep draft IMO.

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

I agree but it sure looks like the fun will start at pick number 5. The top 4 looks pretty set but #5 is wide open and it could be a surprise pick. In January of their respective draft years, no one was predicting Gauthier at 5 and Sennecke at 3. Just to give two examples.

The one thing that is disappointing to me about this draft is that there are relatively few risers. It's just not a good or deep draft IMO.

True, its kinda funny reading some of the prospects profiles and stuff after 4-5ish.

Obviously still a bit early to fully judge these kids, tho i imagine a dmen or 2 will jump into the conversation of top 5 picks... it always seems like Dmen make late pushes in the draft lists.

Nothing really overly excites me outside of hagans, misa, martone tho.

 

[WhatTheDuck]

If the Ducks are out of the top 4, I wouldn't be at all surprised if they went a bit off the board and took O'Brien or Smith. Both are rising.

O'Brien's rise really jumped out on Bob's list the other day.

No. 9: Jake O’Brien. The Brantford Bulldogs 6-foot-2 centre has elite hockey sense, high-end playmaking ability and is a wizard on the half wall on the power play. He has moved up from No. 14 on the pre-season list. The scouts ranked him as high as sixth and as low as 17th.

 

[lwvs84]

Just based off reading scouting reports and knowing how the Ducks draft, I think the draft list will look something like
Schaefer (seems to be close to consensus #1)
Martone (size and no need for a C)
Hagens/Misa
Desnoyers
Frondell

I'd avoid McQueen due to injuries