Prospect Info: 2025 NHL Entry Draft

Pronman released his April ranking.

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

Kind of what I'm thinking Desnoyers and O'Brien stock going up. Centers with size.
With 6'2 O'Briens playmaking/passing ability being so good like pre-draft Zegras it makes me wonder if he could go top 5. Aitcheson in the top10 is very bold when there is still Mrtka, Jackson Smith, Bear, Martin, Lakovic, Carbonneau.
 
Last edited:
Pronman released his April ranking.

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


There is still a clear #1 despite Schaefer's long absence. It speaks volumes of his talent and the fact he's an early Sept birth and missed the 2026 draft by a week or so. I am surprised about Frondell and/or Eklund not being pushed up into the Tier 2 range. Mrtka absent in tiers 2 and 3 is a choice.

For comparison, CSB Final had O'Brien as the 4th best NA skater and Mrtka the 5th best skater.

For those without subscription, here are Pronman's tiers.

Tier 1: All-Star
1. Schaefer

Tier 2: Bubble All-Star and Top of the lineup player
2. Misa
3. Desnoyers
4. Hagens
5. Martone

Tier 3: Top of the lineup player
6. Frondell
7. O'Brien
8. Eklund
9. McQueen
10. Aitcheson
11. Smith

CSB Final Rankings, NA Skaters

1744957528583.png
 
There is still a clear #1 despite Schaefer's long absence. It speaks volumes of his talent and the fact he's an early Sept birth and missed the 2026 draft by a week or so. I am surprised about Frondell and/or Eklund not being pushed up into the Tier 2 range. Mrtka absent in tiers 2 and 3 is a choice.

For comparison, CSB Final had O'Brien as the 4th best NA skater and Mrtka the 5th best skater.

For those without subscription, here are Pronman's tiers.

Tier 1: All-Star
1. Schaefer

Tier 2: Bubble All-Star and Top of the lineup player
2. Misa
3. Desnoyers
4. Hagens
5. Martone

Tier 3: Top of the lineup player
6. Frondell
7. O'Brien
8. Eklund
9. McQueen
10. Aitcheson
11. Smith

CSB Final Rankings, NA Skaters

View attachment 1016916
Kind of reminds me of how Silayev's ranking was all over the place last year with some listing him in the top5 and others listing him in the 10 to 15 range.
O'Brien seems like this years Sennecke in that he's climbing up rankings and could go higher than expected, what if teams are projecting what he will be in 4 years as opposed to a guy who reaches the NHL quicker. Is he a string bean like Sennecke ? O'Brien is listed as 170 pounds & 6'2 while a guy like Martin is listed as 174 pounds & 6'0.
 
Kind of reminds me of how Silayev's ranking was all over the place last year with some listing him in the top5 and others listing him in the 10 to 15 range.
O'Brien seems like this years Sennecke in that he's climbing up rankings and could go higher than expected, what if teams are projecting what he will be in 4 years as opposed to a guy who reaches the NHL quicker. Is he a string bean like Sennecke ? O'Brien is listed as 170 pounds & 6'2 while a guy like Martin is listed as 174 pounds & 6'0.

Most mocks tend to rank prospects based upon what they have done recently than do projections four years from now.

Mrtka rose because he made the switch to NA (WHL) from Czechia. He's wildly produced in the WHL while playing like 30 minutes a game. iirc, Mrtka has the highest scoring rate in the WHL that is a first time draft eligible defensive prospect.

As for O'Brien, his production wasn't a huge spike like Mrtka. In O'Brien's first 33 game, he score at a 1.24 ppg rate and a -7 rating. In final 33 games, he put up a 1.73 ppg rate and a +5 rating. Also, I think O'Brien got lost in the mix since his team is loaded with drafted players until O'Brien made a push in the 2nd half, showing he isn't a complimentary piece riding the coattails of the drafted players. I've seen one video scouting report showing how O'Brien's passing game is similar to Zegras' vision.

O'Brien is still slim, but I think Sennecke is slimmer b/c he's taller and still growing.

Both Mrtka and O'Brien don't turn 18 until June. That gives these prospect extra time to develop because of their. And if they're producing like this now, then there could be more into the future. The thing with height is your wing span is larger. Which also means your stick radius in also longer. A player can be more disruptive with a longer stick radius.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Anaheim4ever
Most mocks tend to rank prospects based upon what they have done recently than do projections four years from now.

Mrtka rose because he made the switch to NA (WHL) from Czechia. He's wildly produced in the WHL while playing like 30 minutes a game. iirc, Mrtka has the highest scoring rate in the WHL that is a first time draft eligible defensive prospect.

As for O'Brien, his production wasn't a huge spike like Mrtka. In O'Brien's first 33 game, he score at a 1.24 ppg rate and a -7 rating. In final 33 games, he put up a 1.73 ppg rate and a +5 rating. Also, I think O'Brien got lost in the mix since his team is loaded with drafted players until O'Brien made a push in the 2nd half, showing he isn't a complimentary piece riding the coattails of the drafted players. I've seen one video scouting report showing how O'Brien's passing game is similar to Zegras' vision.

O'Brien is still slim, but I think Sennecke is slimmer b/c he's taller and still growing.

Both Mrtka and O'Brien don't turn 18 until June. That gives these prospect extra time to develop because of their. And if they're producing like this now, then there could be more into the future. The thing with height is your wing span is larger. Which also means your stick radius in also longer. A player can be more disruptive with a longer stick radius.
Either Mrtka or O'Brien is who I want them to draft as far as realistic guys who could be there at #8.
So O'Brien is like a 6'2 version of Zegras and I've read that he's got more 2way game in him than Z.
Mrtka is a perfect fit because he could play with LaCombe or Mintyukov. Can Solberg play on his offside btw ?
LaCombe/Mrtka
Mintyukov/Moore
Solberg/Luneau

With O'Brien they could either have him center his own line or have him on the wing on McTavish line as a replacement for Zegras if he's traded. Running 3 scoring lines would be cool.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hockey Duckie
Just take Martin

I can really see this being a guy Verbeek would have honed in on himself. The relentless competitiveness and hard hitting nature can't be understated, yet he's also very smart and well rounded offensively. Better shooter than Desnoyers and O'Brien, although I do expect both to go higher based on physical projection. Martin reminds me of Sam Bennett, won't be the biggest superstar but a guy you win with, and one that made a team Canada roster over bigger name stars due to his overall game. He could elevate our skill guys as a hard-nosed compliment
 
  • Like
Reactions: MMC
I have some guys I like for who the Ducks should take but my advice for this draft is not to get too attached to one player b/c you'll only have about a 10% chance of hearing the Ducks call his name. Unless, of course, the Ducks win the lottery.
 
I have some guys I like for who the Ducks should take but my advice for this draft is not to get too attached to one player b/c you'll only have about a 10% chance of hearing the Ducks call his name. Unless, of course, the Ducks win the lottery.
Thats why I fall in love with 8 guys so we forsure take atleast one of them..... And then the Ducks go off the board and break my heart like they did in 2021 and 2024 lol.
 
I can really see this being a guy Verbeek would have honed in on himself. The relentless competitiveness and hard hitting nature can't be understated, yet he's also very smart and well rounded offensively. Better shooter than Desnoyers and O'Brien, although I do expect both to go higher based on physical projection. Martin reminds me of Sam Bennett, won't be the biggest superstar but a guy you win with, and one that made a team Canada roster over bigger name stars due to his overall game. He could elevate our skill guys as a hard-nosed compliment

Everyone loves these types of players, but Martin's talent ceiling may not be enough when compared to players still available at 8. Reading from Martin's MyNHLdraft page, he sounds like Victor Eklund without that top-6 offensive talent. With the selections of Carlsson and Sennecke, Verbeek & Co draft forward prospects with higher ceilings in the top-10... or top-3.

1745000459321.png
 
Here is the top 15:
View attachment 1015489

They have consistently been high on Smith and low on Frondell all season.


Here is the video discussing their rankings. These are some of my favorite videos to watch about prospects.

Edit: Gonna put notes on my watch since people dont have an hour to watch people talk.
  • Based on their comments the 1-3 is clear in order and separated from the rest. Then 4-6 is another bunch.
  • They continue to love Jackson more then anyone.
  • Sounds like they would have McQueen at 4 if they knew his injury in the playoff is minor.
 
Last edited:
I like the way eklund plays, but can he play that way at his size in the NHL?

Victor Eklund is listed at 5'11 and 161 lbs by Central Scouting's Final Euro rankings.

William Eklund, Victor's older brother, is listed by EP at 5'11 and 181 lbs today. When William was drafted 7th overall, he was listed at 5'11 and 176 lbs by 2021 CSB Final rankings. This season, William put up 58 pts (17g, 41a) for the San Jose Sharks. He has scored more points than any Duck this season.

William Eklund NHL stats
1745004761807.png


If Victor's older brother can handle the NHL after a few years of development, then it's not farfetched that Victor can play tenaciously, provided he adds the necessary weight. Victor has been playing against men in Sweden's second mens tier (HockeyAllsvenskan) for the past season and a half.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Wheatens
I love the thought of Martin but taking a player at 8OA with a likely ceiling of 3rd line is probably more risky than taking a HR swing on a guy like McQueen or a higher ceiling guy like Eklund.
 
Disagree on that being his ceiling
likely ceiling was the term I used...just like Gaucher was supposed to have a middle-six ceiling and now it's pretty clear he's a 4th line guy. Ceilings are routinely not achieved. I love Martin but I'm not sure he's the BEST option at 8OA. But that depends on who is available when the Ducks make their selection. I said about 3 weeks ago that Martin is a total Pat Verbeek pick and I won't cry if they do select him...but I might be a little frustrated depending on who they left on the table...just like the Gaucher pick.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Anaheim4ever

Users who are viewing this thread

Ad

Ad