21. Owen Pickering
Attributes
Stats
- The tall defender spent one year in the WHL with Swift Current after the draft before turning pro. Bounced around between Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre for a while before eventually becoming a lower pair staple for several seasons. However he found a lack of NHL interest in free agency last summer so spent the season playing in Kazakhstan of all places. Never developed mobility or any sense of translatable offensive skills and his NHL future is in jeopardy.
22. Nathan Gaucher
Attributes
Stats
- After spending another year in the QJMHL and then two full seasons in the NHL, Gaucher has been a staple bottom six player for the Ducks and Rosebuds in the NHL. He's incredible defensively (seriously - 20's for checking, pokechecking and positioning and an 18 determination) but has never been a point producer.
Editor's note: EHMN tends to handle these types of players very poorly - they should be better and more valuable than the sim represents them as.
23. Jimmy Snuggerud
Attributes
Stats
- Snuggerrud, like Gaucher, also turned into a very impressive defensive forward presence after a longer development path that saw two seasons at the University of Minnesota and then three full AHL seasons before cracking the Blues line-up. Actually has some good offensive technical traits but just hasn't been able to crack even the 30 point scoring threshold.
24. Danila Yurov
Attributes
Stats
- The well-rounded winger has been a star since arriving in 2023-24 from the KHL. Last year was a bit of a down year but prior to that Yurov had compiled point totals (in a 70 game season) of 68, 61, 62, 62, and 60) and goal totals of 30, 26, 35, 39 and 32 with an all-star appearance. Not overly flashy but just super productive and consistent and also a great player for Team Russia (62 points in 63 games). A steal at this point in the draft.
25. Sam Rinzel
Attributes
Stats
- Rinzel spent three years at the University of Minnesota before turning pro, making the Blackhawks from the jump with no AHL time. In retrospect - that may not have been a great thing - he's been a regular NHL player but in a depth role and some of his attributes just didn't take off like they potentially could have with perhaps a slower development track. A solid veteran lower pair defender at this point but not much else going on.
26. Filip Mesar
Attributes
Stats
- Despite being a skilled and high upside player as a prospect, the Slovak forward has been a major disappointment for the Habs and found himself playing in the ICEHL last season with little NHL interest. Played for Kitchener in the OHL after the draft and then with Laval but his NHL record since then is mediocre - 14 goals and 28 points in 155 games. Looks like being a high-level Euro league player is his future.
27. Filip Bystedt
Attributes
Stats
- Bystedt is a huge, burly center who was a bit of a project pick and that bore out - one season post-draft in Sweden followed by 4 full years in the AHL without a single call-up. Eventually made it with Sharks as a decent bottom six forward with size and defensive ability but the past two years he's been back in Sweden and is likely to remain in Europe for the foreseeable future.
28. Jiri Kulich
Attributes
Stats
- Kulich was another slow-burn developer with one year in the Q with Cape Breton followed by 4 years in the AHL. Once he arrived with the Sabres, he was something of a depth player as Buffalo had amassed an impressive collection of young prospects all arriving in the NHL around the same time. Fed up with his role, he signed with Tampa this past off-season and responded with a career high 23 goals. Not very speedy or creative but good all-around skills and scoring ability, an Ondrej Palat-lite role on Tampa seems to fit him well.
29. Maveric Lamoureux
Attributes
Stats
- The absolutely towering blueliner has already been something of a journeyman in his NHL career but despite limited offensive skills and mobility, his presence is valued by NHL clubs. Played one more year in the Q and three in the AHL before making the league. Great defensively and a real intimidating presence - he has played for Arizona, the Rangers, Portland (where he won the Cup) and now Buffalo where he is coming off his most productive season with a modest 20 points.
30. Brad Lambert
Attributes
Stats
- Lambert was once viewed as a game-changing prospect at a young age but fell on draft night almost out of the first round entirely. It turns out he should have slid further. The first prospect in this draft to not even appear in any NHL games, Lambert tried his luck in the WHL in his post-draft season before three seasons in the AHL with zero call-ups. Headed back to Europe where he has jumped around between 4 Finnish-based clubs already - further showing the lack of stability he has had since he was young. As fast as ever but never developed much in the technical or mental departments - certainly not enough to make the grade in the NHL. Sometimes guys fall in the draft for a reason with a lot of red flags despite physical ability - Lambert may be the new poster boy for that.
31. Isaac Howard
Attributes
Stats
- From a much-hyped bust at pick 30 to a totally un-hyped STEAL at 31. Howard spent two years at Minnesota-Duluth before turning pro and making the Lightning straight away. His first few years saw him make slow gains but then Howard exploded and hasn't stopped getting better. At or near the point-per-game mark the last four seasons, he's coming off his best yet, now with the Kings, with 32 goals and 85 points in 70 games in the 2031-32 season to go along with 19 points in 12 games in the American Championship where he was a first-team all-star and runner up for best forward of the entire tournament. A delightfully smart and skilled star with the hunger to get better.
Editor's Note: Howard's potential ability (PA) is set at only 155. Which is second line territory. But in this game he came loaded with elite level consistency. This is further proof that EHM is not a game where CA/PA are the be all, end all of a player's development ceiling. Conor Geekie, from this draft for example, had a much higher PA but in this particular sim was a letdown. Mental attributes matter, development path matters, usage matters. I may do a sim tomorrow and Howard with the same PA becomes a bust. That's the beauty of it.
32. Reid Schaefer
Attributes
Stats
- A big two-way forward, Schaefer was picked by Edmonton to eventually provide the kind of gritty, versatile mid-six depth that all successful teams have. And early on it looked promising, he made the Oilers full-time after only one more season in the WHL and put up 13 goals and 27 points in 65 games by his age 23 season. But that would be his high point as he kind of regressed into a 4th line role before ending up out of the NHL entirely with a British EIHL team.