Prospect Info: 2025 NHL Entry Draft

[tomd]

Here is Scott Wheeler's first mock top 10:

1. NYI - Schaefer
2. SJS - Misa
3. CHI - Frondell
4. UHC - Desnoyers
5. NSH - Hagens
6. PHI - Martin
7. BOS - O'Brien
8. SEA - Martone
9. BUF - McQueen
10. ANA - Mrtka
View attachment 1032090

I could see that but I think Buffalo might bite on Mrtka at 9 leaving the Ducks with an interesting decision at 10.

 

[Rasp]

I just dont see us taking Mrtka. Without his height he is a bit meh and its not like we dont have size on D anyway.

Konnor smith 6'6
William Francis 6'5
Noah Warren 6'4
Ian Moore 6'3
Tyson Hinds 6'3
Drew Helleson 6'3

We take a F this draft because it will be best available AND fill a greater need.

 

[Sendhelp2Anaheim]

I just dont see us taking Mrtka. Without his height he is a bit meh and its not like we dont have size on D anyway.

Konnor smith 6'6
William Francis 6'5
Noah Warren 6'4
Ian Moore 6'3
Tyson Hinds 6'3
Drew Helleson 6'3

We take a F this draft because it will be best available AND fill a greater need.

I do think Forward needs to be our priority... and there are plenty of forwards that should be available at our pick.

 

[shach1]

Seeing that mock made me sad. If we stayed at 8, we could have got Martone?

 

[Sendhelp2Anaheim]

Seeing that mock made me sad. If we stayed at 8, we could have got Martone?

If martone falls down to 8... i wonder what it would cost to move up from 10

 

[tomd]

If martone falls down to 8... i wonder what it would cost to move up from 10

Martone is a RW and after drafting sennecke last year I would be surprised if they drafted another RW this year.

 

[Sendhelp2Anaheim]

Martone is a RW and after drafting sennecke last year I would be surprised if they drafted another RW this year.

Fair, tho i still think our Right side is weakest side (offense and defense).

I also see Martone as 3rd best player in draft so if he starts to fall id have serious interest in jumping on him. Having Terry Sennecke Martone on the right side isnt a terrible problem to have.

Who are you leaning towards at this point at the 10 spot? I feel like we have a lot of depth at every position... i think our biggest need is prob top 6 winger, top 9 center, and maybe RHD.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

I just dont see us taking Mrtka. Without his height he is a bit meh and its not like we dont have size on D anyway.

Konnor smith 6'6
William Francis 6'5
Noah Warren 6'4
Ian Moore 6'3
Tyson Hinds 6'3
Drew Helleson 6'3

We take a F this draft because it will be best available AND fill a greater need.

Height isn't the big factor for Mrtka. His move to NA displayed an array of talent that was not seen before due to limited playing time with the Czechia men's league. With Seattle of the WHL, Mrtka showed off his skating, effective offense, defense, and relied upon playing 30 mins a game. He scored 3g + 32a in 43 games and a team high +10 rating. All of that helped Seattle turn their misfortunes around. That's also why he jumped from a project late 20s selection to a potential top-10 pick.

Note: Mrtka played 43 games with Seattle. Probably got injured for three games.

We need a RD who can be a top-4, two-way RD, which we have not discovered one yet in our system. Luneau's an offensive machine, but still offensive defensively.

 

[tomd]

Fair, tho i still think our Right side is weakest side (offense and defense).

I also see Martone as 3rd best player in draft so if he starts to fall id have serious interest in jumping on him. Having Terry Sennecke Martone on the right side isnt a terrible problem to have.

Who are you leaning towards at this point at the 10 spot? I feel like we have a lot of depth at every position... i think our biggest need is prob top 6 winger, top 9 center, and maybe RHD.

Assuming the top 9 goes as wheeler predicted I d be focused on either McQueen or Lacovik. Mrtka is an option but not an exciting one and I assume the ducks will want a high upside guy. Bear and Eklund are just too small for me. Talent really drops off after those 5 guys.

 

[Anaheim4ever]

I do think Forward needs to be our priority... and there are plenty of forwards that should be available at our pick.

Team is also good at getting Dmen later in the draft than that they are with Forwards so if the BPA is a forward in top10 they should just go with it. So Madden will probably find a Dman later in the draft as usual.

 

[Sendhelp2Anaheim]

Assuming the top 9 goes as wheeler predicted I d be focused on either McQueen or Lacovik. Mrtka is an option but not an exciting one and I assume the ducks will want a high upside guy. Bear and Eklund are just too small for me. Talent really drops off after those 5 guys.

Im on the fence on Mcqueen (but i also assume hes going higher based on the needs for centers ahead of us), i also think Buffalo is highly likely to go Mrtka

Lakovic is def a guy thats growing on me from a talent stand point.... Lakovic would give us a really big/skilled top 6/9

 

[91Fedorov]

Assuming the top 9 goes as wheeler predicted I d be focused on either McQueen or Lacovik. Mrtka is an option but not an exciting one and I assume the ducks will want a high upside guy. Bear and Eklund are just too small for me. Talent really drops off after those 5 guys.

I personally wouldn't mind Eklund. I think your take is probably more in line with PV's though.

 

[airforceones25]

Sitting at 10… bearing one of the top prospects starting to slide and us putting together a package to move up, I think it’s best to swing for the highest upside and IMO that’s McQueen. Right handed shot that can play all forward positions. Strome will be gone soon enough and Zegras or Terry may eventually become change of scenery candidates.

 

[tomd]

Sitting at 10… bearing one of the top prospects starting to slide and us putting together a package to move up, I think it’s best to swing for the highest upside and IMO that’s McQueen. Right handed shot that can play all forward positions. Strome will be gone soon enough and Zegras or Terry may eventually become change of scenery candidates.

The good thing about sitting at 10 is that the Ducks are going to be able to choose from a few options to get a good player with solid upside. That said, I don't expect any of the teams picking in the top 7 will want to move down...I sure wouldn't unless it was for an overpayment. McQueen will be one of the intriguing story lines at the top of the draft as will Brady Martin.

 

[Sendhelp2Anaheim]

The good thing about sitting at 10 is that the Ducks are going to be able to choose from a few options to get a good player with solid upside. That said, I don't expect any of the teams picking in the top 7 will want to move down...I sure wouldn't unless it was for an overpayment. McQueen will be one of the intriguing story lines at the top of the draft as will Brady Martin.

Agreed just looking at the teams ahead of us

teams that desperately need Centers
Blackhawks, Mammoths, Predators, Bruins, Flyers
I imagine at least 4 and possibly all 5 of those teams go Center(1 possibly going Martone)

Seattle is prob the hardest team to predict, i think theyd love Martone to fall to them but could see them jumping on a dmen. Sabres i have a Dmen penciled in.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Big event to look forward to is the Jun 1 - 7, which is the NHL combine. We should know where McQueen's health is as well as medicals. If he is able to workout, then that would be a positive sign for him.

 

[cheesymc]

Big event to look forward to is the Jun 1 - 7, which is the NHL combine. We should know where McQueen's health is as well as medicals. If he is able to workout, then that would be a positive sign for him.

If he doesn’t work out but is medically cleared like Lindstrom last year would we flag him? Tough decision but I think we pass with there being other options.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

If he doesn’t work out but is medically cleared like Lindstrom last year would we flag him? Tough decision but I think we pass with there being other options.

Unlike most lottery teams, the Ducks have a plethora of top-10 picks already as well as picks outside the top-10 that are panning out to take a chance on McQueen being a long term project. McQueen possesses top-3 talent. His back injury is different from Lindstom's, which has been said to be normal for some kids who spiked up in height/weight. What is positive for McQueen is that he was able to return at the end of the season, but had back problems again. He is listed at 6'5 and 192 lbs, which means his body has grown out faster than his body can adapt. For reference, Sennecke was 6'3 and 192 last season.

The question to ask is are the other talents top-10 worthy or are they 3C/ #4D. This is a weak draft. Like you surmised, it's gonna be a tough decision.

 

[cheesymc]

Unlike most lottery teams, the Ducks have a plethora of top-10 picks already as well as picks outside the top-10 that are panning out to take a chance on McQueen being a long term project. McQueen possesses top-3 talent. His back injury is different from Lindstom's, which has been said to be normal for some kids who spiked up in height/weight. What is positive for McQueen is that he was able to return at the end of the season, but had back problems again. He is listed at 6'5 and 192 lbs, which means his body has grown out faster than his body can adapt. For reference, Sennecke was 6'3 and 192 last season.

The question to ask is are the other talents top-10 worthy or are they 3C/ #4D. This is a weak draft. Like you surmised, it's gonna be a tough decision.

Mcqueen was my favorite prospect at the start of the season when I expected us to make a top 5 selection. He would add a different element for sure… but Lindstrom was also a favorite of mine (and I think he’s much more talented) and he missed the entire season of development. If there’s other players in the same tier it wouldn’t make sense to take that risk. However, I would be down if we picked him after trading back… like acquiring Willander + 15th pick for the 10th + 2nd + other prospect. Then it definitely would be worth the gamble. I like his motor, versatility, and grit more than Martone.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Mcqueen was my favorite prospect at the start of the season when I expected us to make a top 5 selection. He would add a different element for sure… but Lindstrom was also a favorite of mine (and I think he’s much more talented) and he missed the entire season of development. If there’s other players in the same tier it wouldn’t make sense to take that risk. However, I would be down if we picked him after trading back… like acquiring Willander + 15th pick for the 10th + 2nd + other prospect. Then it definitely would be worth the gamble. I like his motor, versatility, and grit more than Martone.

Last year, my range of 4 were Lev, Dickinson, Lindstrom, and Demidov. When we picked Sennecke, I understood why they passed on Lindstrom (back issues), Demidov (Russian situation unknown at the time), and did the Ducks want another LD in Dickinson? Oddly about the latter, we drafted three LD's in the draft in Rd1 Solberg, Rd 3 Tarin Smith, and Rd 7 Darels Uljanskis.

We were picking 3rd last year. This year, we're picking 10th with a possibility of a top-3 player available to draft. This is a lot better situation than last year with Lindstrom. If we're going to swing for the stars and McQueen is there, then we draft McQueen at 10OA because he probably won't last long after 10th.

IMO, RD Willander is a hot commodity who has had two years in the NCAA and did well. He was the #11 pick in the 2023 draft, meaning he's a lot closer to the NHL than whoever we draft at 10th OA in this year's draft. I'd be happy to trade the #10 for Willander straight up, but I doubt Vancouver wants draft picks and would rather swap for Zell or Minty... with the thought they're going to lose Quinn Hughes.

 

[All Mighty]

The Athletic’s prospect writers did a podcast on some draft stuff (they will probably do one of these almost every Friday until the draft):

 

[Vino]

I don't care that much which player they take 10th overall, because I believe Ducks will get a pretty good prospect anyway. But I hope that Madden picks later rounds at least a couple meaner and grittier players, because Ducks - just like Gulls - are pretty soft team now.

 

[KickHisAssZegrass]

With Q on board and OK from management to spend to the cap, I think the pick will be traded. I just don't think they'll be relying on Free Agency to fill in the roster and theyll tap into their surplus of tradeable players and picks/prospects .

 

[tomd]

With Q on board and OK from management to spend to the cap, I think the pick will be traded. I just don't think they'll be relying on Free Agency to fill in the roster and theyll tap into their surplus of tradeable players and picks/prospects .

If they can find a team willing to trade a top 6 forward in the 22-25 age range for 10OA then more power to them. Unlikely though IMO.

Would you trade zegras for 9OA? Exactly.

 

[cheesymc]

With Q on board and OK from management to spend to the cap, I think the pick will be traded. I just don't think they'll be relying on Free Agency to fill in the roster and theyll tap into their surplus of tradeable players and picks/prospects .

It's normally safer to keep the pick. What players are on the table that could make an instant and long-term impact?

Peterka would be an impact player and a cheaper option over Marner, but the Sabres (Anaheim of the East) don't want more picks and are in the same situation as us. Minny wouldn't trade Rossi for a pick either.

Maybe Ramus Andersson if Calgary can't extend him, and if they planned to go after UFA defensemen? But is he worth it with one year remaining if we can't extend him?

Devils noted that they will make some big changes. Maybe we can obtain RH Mercer or RHD Nemec but would need to either eat a bad contract like Palat, or package a good prospect to include riskier contracts in Meier or Hamilton. Meier would give us a power forward and Hamilton could help our PP though. A Mercer/Hamilton would probably cost us quite a bit unless they just want to unload Hamilton's contract.

Lightning might want cap flexibility and cheap young contracts in return too. Isaac Howard + Cernak/Cirelli/Paul? Would probably need the 1st + someone like Zellweger in return.