I also wouldn't mind Mrtka.
Quality RH are hard to get.
Didn't Zell play RD for a bit?
Quality RH are hard to get.
Didn't Zell play RD for a bit?
Prospect Info: 2025 NHL Entry Draft
- Thread starter WhatTheDuck
- Start date
Hockey Duckie
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Lakovic feels like a taller Daniel Sprong. Right now, Lakovic looks like Tarzan, but plays like Jane. Will his game alter itself once he starts putting on more weight? His offense plus height makes him a top-15 pick, but everything else is what keeps him out of the top-10 convo.
Verbeek drafted Sennecke, but the difference is Verbeek denoted Sennecke plays like a PF despite being rail thin.
Verbeek drafted Sennecke, but the difference is Verbeek denoted Sennecke plays like a PF despite being rail thin.
- Apr 15, 2012
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Anaheim is in a place where if McQueen falls to 10, they should take him. High risk, high reward. We aren't in the early stages of a rebuild, where we'd need safe picks. We need to YOLO and go after the best talent.
Rooch
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Hockey Duckie
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LaCombe, Zell, and Hinds all played RD for seasons prior to going pro (AHL and NHL).
Hockey Duckie
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This year is different b/c the talent level is weaker. One player that was under-the-radar has already been shown to jump up in mocks in C Jake O'Brien. He was projected in the middle teens and leapfrogged to potentially the 6th or 7th pick overall. His best trait is his vision is at Zegras level, but in a 6'2 frame.
There is sleeper who has piqued interest in some circles is 6'4 C Jack Nesbitt. One of the NHL.com guys has us picking him at 10th OA. His progression between his D-1 and D+0 was tremendous while playing a physical game. Some will say he was riding the coattails of his teammates, but he surpassed a lot of his teammates between seasons. That gives the credit for his production on himself than others.
A lot of mocks have him going into late 20s/early 30s.
Here is Nesbitt's MyNHLdraft profile page
Jack Nesbitt | Jack Nesbitt Profile | Jack Nesbitt Scouting Report 2025
Jack Nesbitt scouting report for NHL Draft. Profile contains Jack Nesbitt stats, videos and written bios
www.mynhldraft.com
Anaheim4ever
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A 6'2 Zegras is a heck of a good prospect. This is why I find it hard to believe Martin goes before O'Brien when a number of the teams drafting in the top10 need a 6'2 playmaking Center and it will be hard to pass on O'Brien. Boston fans seem to want O'Brien.
Daniel Sprong seems pretty harsh. I'd say Lakovic is closer to a lesser Cutter Gauthier. Powerful shot, soft hands, and good skating technique although not a super burner. Not every player on the team has to be a cruncher but I agree that his compete level is below normal. That said, his projection ceiling is super high and that is what Madden said they are emphasizing with their top picks.
The worst scenario for the Ducks is that Shaefer goes 1st and then 8 forwards follow (Misa, Frondell, Desnoyers, Hagens, Martin, O'Brien, Martone, McQueen in no particular order). If that happens then the best available talent remaining would be Mrtka, Eklund, Bear, and Lakovic IMO. Their selection will all depend on who they think has the highest ceiling in 5 years. One could make a very strong case that Lakovic is that player.
Hockey Duckie
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Madden wants an overall high ceiling, not parts of a ceiling. Lakovic's offensive mind is what makes him a top-15 pick. It's the rest of his game that keeps him out of the top-10. He's abysmal at board battles, shot selection isn't great, and when a defender closes in on him fast, he panics. Right now, he's a great offensive, complementary top-6 player.
There is another 6'4 and 185 lbs player, but he actually plays like a power forward in Jack Nesbitt. He feels like a late bloomer that Madden could invest in, but I dunno if he pulls the trigger at 10OA. Nesbitt is put into all situations for his team. The highest placement for Nesbitt outside of the NHL.com guys is 16th at MyNHLdraft. Sportnet has him going 18th. A majority have him going late 20's or the 2nd round. The NHL.com guys have Nesbitt going 10OA or 12OA.
Here is a blurb about Nesbitt from The Hockey Writers:
Although, if Mrtka is there at 10OA, I'd be swayed for Mrtka.
I could see Nesbitt if madden wants to take a big swing. This is the draft to do it. Worth mentioning that Lakovic played on a truly awful team and had no support. Nesbitt played 3C on a stacked Windsor team and got a fair amount of first unit PP time. I’ll leave it to the professionals to sort out how that should affect their rankings.
I saw that both Button and Brock Otten have mocked Lakovic to the Ducks recently. They must see something. 19simon19 also likes him and is going to profile him at some point. My preference would be that one or two teams drafting 2-9 take a D but that is far from assured. If the draft goes poorly there isn’t going to be that much to choose from. Eklund is an obvious choice but we’ll see if verbeek will pull the trigger on a sub 6’ player as a top 10 pick.
Hockey Duckie
Registered User
Odd to be skeptical of Verbeek drafting a sub 6' player as a top-10 pick, but be okay with an only offensive finesse player as a top-10 pick. At least with Victor, he has strived playing against men as a sub 6' forward who plays like a PF and eagerly goes into board battles. And Victor's brother is looking good at the NHL level with the Sharks. There is more going for Victor than Lakovic at the draft table.
Remember, you incited Madden for the premise of who to select. Madden & Co like drafting players on who they can be in the future based on what they've presented in their D-1 and D+0 seasons. Nesbitt is a mix of Victor and Lakovic as a late bloomer. Madden loves late bloomers.
Still, there is a chance Mrtka or McQueen will be there at 10th OA. There is also a chance that Madden falls in love with RD Hensler and that our recent defensive draft picks tend to be better defensively when they go the NCAA route. Hensler has top-pairing talent, but that confidence is holding him back and we don't know if he'll take that big step to want to become a #1D, but he'd be a safe top-4RD. Then again, it could just be him adjusted to playing at the NCAA level as an 18-year old freshman.
Its not odd. Verbeek has emphasized size at every turn since he’s been here. Eklund is no doubt a top 10 talent today but they’ll be drafting for who they think will be the best player in 5 years. Could be eklund, lakovic, Nesbitt, Mrtka, or a half dozen others. We were all surprised about sennecke last year and I’m prepared to be surprised this year as well. It’s ok if you don’t like “my” player and vice versa. It’s just a discussion and a information sharing process. If lakovic has been mocked to the ducks at least twice by reputable draft guys then we should probably pay some attention to him...which is what I’ve tried to do.
Hockey Duckie
Registered User
I think you're misconstruing my criticism of your incorrect standard. Height isn't the only preference Verbeek has, but there is also playstyle. Sennecke and Lakovic share height and offensive production in common, but their game plays are different. The team sees Sennecke as a power forward and Lakovic is a finesse forward. Finesse forwards aren't a preference for Verbeek.
This is Lakovic's third season in the WHL and he still is referred to as a 6'4 and 185 lbs finesse forward. With almost the same measurements, Nesbitt plays a power forward game and it is his second second in the OHL. And if we're to use the standard of where they'll be in five years, then there appears to be more benefit in taking Nesbitt as he's able to provide more for the team as he's an all-situational player.
As for Victor being sub-6', his brother, William, is doing well in the NHL in his D+4 season. William put up more points than any Duck this season. Victor doesn't play a finesse style. His play is something that all teams would want, which is being a high motored, tenacious go getter forward. Victor is making it work against men in HockeyAllsvenskan and will be doing it in the SHL next season since Djurgardens make the jump to the SHL from HA.
Speaking of drafting sub-6' guys, Verbeek drafted two of them in last year's draft. With the 3rd pick of the 2nd round, Anaheim chose 5'11 C Lucas Pettersson. Then in the fourth round, selected 5'10 Alexandre Blais. We finally went with a higher offensive potential with our late 1st/early 2nd rd pick under Verbeek; a big thanks to Madden expanding Verbeek's horizon.
First you cite you go by Verbeek's preferences and then you go by mocks from a couple of people. Yet, with your Lakovic stance, you went with mocks first and then tried to fit him into Verbeek's preference and he doesn't match up. The odd part is I really liked Lakovic earlier until I did more deep diving. I've shied away from him since. I guess I have my own way of identifying future Duck prospects and hit on more of them such as Mac (2021, Murray), Minty (2022, Verbeek), and Carlsson (2023, Verbeek). No one picked Sennecke ahead of time.
Nesbitt has been mocked to the Ducks by a reputable draft guy from NHL.com (Morreale). Nesbitt does fit the type of player Verbeek likes and the potential upside that Madden likes to see as a late bloomer. And yet, I'm still hoping for Mrtka or McQueen over Nesbitt.
CSB Final ranking has Lakovic 14th and Nesbitt 15th on their NA Skaters list. Discovering this now, I find it hilarious. RD Hensler ranks 12th on CSB's Final rankings. Yet another player I think the Ducks might want to consider.
TheDarkWingThatDucks
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- Mar 20, 2025
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This isn’t my trying to come at you in an aggressive manner, but why do you constantly do this ? What proof do you have that Verbeek picked those guys because Martin expanded his horizon ? You do a lot of great work and then just state your opinion as fact.
And then in terms of not drafting Lakovic because he is a finesse forward….. you knew we would be drafting Leo, would Leo also be considered a power forward, over Adamo ?
If not, how did you know Verbeek was going to pick Leo ?
Hockey Duckie
Registered User
Because Verbeek said he needs all types of players to win in this past draft. There was a height minimum in his first two drafts. Were you here for Verbeek's first two drafts b/c this is common knowledge on these boards. This is why tomd keeps citing "Verbeek does not draft sub-6' players". It is obvious you totally missed that identification in this convo thread as you're just hung up on my thoughts in a vacuum. tsk, tsk, tsk...
The fact you're unable to distinguish talent level differences between Carlsson and Lakovic is scary. And it appears you are admitting you weren't here for the 2023 draft thread. Carlsson and Fantilli were on the same tier talent level and it was just those two on that tier level as obvious #1 overall talents if it were not for Bedard being in the same draft; it just boiled down to preferences on who to pick. One is about speed and pounding, the other is about calculating and protection. Lakovic is nowhere near the same stratosphere as those two, otherwise, Lakovic would be vying for #1 overall with Schaefer. Again, you are showing your ignorance in talent comparison.
Carlsson and Sennecke represent players who bring many talent stacking in their game that was already self-evident to the scouting department. IMO, Lakovic is lacking in talent stacks, hence the moniker of a finesse forward as a 6'4 and 185 lbs winger. (I'll disclose yet again that I really liked Lakovic upon initial viewings.) Could Lakovic evolve? Sure, but he hasn't done so in three WHL seasons. A fellow prospect with the same metrics in Nesbitt brings more talent stacks as a power center in only two OHL seasons (actually since his U16 season, look up short interview for OHL draft). If the scoring is taken away from either player, then which player can still be a positive benefit on the ice? RD Hensler has all the tools (talent stack) to be a top pairing D, but he hasn't made a huge leap in his rookie season in the NCAA. At worst, he would still be a top-4 RD in the future. Hensler would be a better bet for the Ducks than Lakovic's finesse only offense.
Lakovic, Nesbitt, and Hensler are all players who could be risers that the Ducks might take at 10th overall, just in case you forgot how this exercise convo started. My preferences are still RD Mrtka and C McQueen, because they're top-10 talents (McQueen could a be top-5/top-3 talent if healthy all season). 5'11 Victor Eklund has been a mainstay in the top-10 for a majority of mocks and rankings. But it took a detour on Verbeek's preferences, which tomd contorted to using a mock to force fit Lakovic into Verbeek's preferences and exclude others (namely Victor). But if using a mock as a standard, then why not Nesbitt? What about using CSB Final rankings? Then it would include Bear, Martin, and Hensler, since all three rank ahead of Lakovic.
Terry Yake
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Masch78
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Physicality isn't necessarily a thing how tall you are. Demidov is 6" and he was there with Beckett. Size is also more how you are build and not only how tall you are. So I would not be too strict on size. It might only be a factor if you have two players rated equally.
I wonder how big is a possibility that Ducks (Verbeek/Madden) trade down? And is any organisation willing to trade up?
How big is a gap (valuewise) between 10th overall and later 1st rounder + 2nd rounder?
Between 15 - 45 there is a lot undersized MEH-prospects like Cootes, Reschny, Kindel, Potter, Schmidt, etc. but there is also some bigger guys who has middle 6 -potential (Spence, Zonnon, Horcroft, Nestrasil, Vansaghi, etc).
How big is a gap (valuewise) between 10th overall and later 1st rounder + 2nd rounder?
Between 15 - 45 there is a lot undersized MEH-prospects like Cootes, Reschny, Kindel, Potter, Schmidt, etc. but there is also some bigger guys who has middle 6 -potential (Spence, Zonnon, Horcroft, Nestrasil, Vansaghi, etc).
Rasp
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- Apr 9, 2019
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I’d prefer they just take the guy they want at 10, I don’t care if it’s seen as a reach at the time. They’ve built enough good will to trust their top 10 picks.
I kinda always feel this way. If they pick some guy projected at 20 who is going to say it was a bad pick at this point?
I'm losing attachment to this pick because I unfortunately think there is a good chance it will get traded at the draft.
The pick being traded is certainly a possibility but history is not on the side of that happening.
Two things I'm curious about: first, why do you think the pick will get traded? Early first round picks rarely get traded this close to the draft. It's not unheard of, but it's fairly uncommon.
Second, why do you say "unfortunately"? If Verbeek trades the pick, it's for an immediate talent upgrade in the name of getting the team back to the playoffs. It's not considered an especially strong draft; we're looking at a middle 6 guy with that pick regardless. If we can use it to get a better middle 6 guy now, I'm all for it.
I do still think it's unlikely the pick gets traded just because the odds are against that kind of deal working out. But if it does, I'm hopeful that means a better roster next season.
