F Michael Misa - Saginaw Spirit, OHL (2025 Draft)

[Juxtaposer]

Misa is not a 2C. He projects as a 1C or too winger. Don’t get it confused because you have Celebrini. Misa has all the capability in the world to turn Celebrini into the 2C

Never say never (Misa could explode post-draft to another level) but having watched them both extensively in their draft years (and being a huge fan of Misa), there's just no argument for Misa over Celebrini as prospects, and Mack has exceeded all expectations as an 18 year old #1C in the NHL.

It would be more of a Crosby-Malkin 1A-1B situation at center.

 

[Mattb124]

Misa is not a 2C. He projects as a 1C or too winger. Don’t get it confused because you have Celebrini. Misa has all the capability in the world to turn Celebrini into the 2C

In my limited viewings, I don’t see Misa supplanting Celebrini as 1C. And as I said above I am not just look at Celebrini, but rather looking at Celebrini as the 1C and Smith as the presumed future 2C. With that, I am not sure there is as much marginal value to adding Misa as there would be adding Schaefer.

In a vacuum I would take Misa over Smith, but again adding a marginally better top 2 C while passing over a potential #1 D just doesn’t seem optimal given the broader construction of the Sharks prospect pool.

 

[sd1976]

Never say never (Misa could explode post-draft to another level) but having watched them both extensively in their draft years (and being a huge fan of Misa), there's just no argument for Misa over Celebrini as prospects, and Mack has exceeded all expectations as an 18 year old #1C in the NHL.

It would be more of a Crosby-Malkin 1A-1B situation at center.

Well said. That’s where I was going with it. But I’m a bit higher on Misa having watched him extensively. Kid has it all offensively.

If that's the case, he should be the clear 1OA and one of the strongest 1OAs in recent history. Because Macklin was clearly 1OA and is proving to be a strong one so far.

If Sharks are lucky to pick him, he could be an amazing 1W or an elite 2C who would be 1C on many teams, and that's an envious lineup.

I really like Misa at 2 and maybe even pushing for 1, but I'm not sure I see him as that good that he would clearly make Celebrini into the 2C.

All I was saying is that he had the. Capability to do it. Macklin is great, but so is Misa is where I was going with it.

 

[Juxtaposer]

Well said. That’s where I was going with it. But I’m a bit higher on Misa having watched him extensively. Kid has it all offensively.


All I was saying is that he had the. Capability to do it. Macklin is great, but so is Misa is where I was going with it.

I mean, you could make the argument that anyone could be better than anyone because technically anything could happen. A meteor could take out 99.99% of the planet and then I might be one of the best 700 hockey players in North American and get to play in the NHL. The odds of Misa becoming better than Celebrini are not that dramatically slim, but the chance he makes Celebrini the 2C in SJ seem pretty small to me.

 

[Kingpin794]

Yeah I like Misa as much as the next person but wouldn't say he's on the same tier as Celebrini.

 

[Bjorn Le]

Misa is just as if not more dynamic than Celebrini, but Celebrini’s game translates better to the pro game. Misa feasts on lower competition and there will be a big learning curve for him to deal with at the NHL level. Not that Misa is unlikely to handle the curve, but he’s not likely to walk-in to the show and become a 30 goal/near PPG player at 18. Schaefer is similarly high end and looks a bit safer.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Yeah I like Misa as much as the next person but wouldn't say he's on the same tier as Celebrini.

If he was, he'd be a unanimous 1st overall, over a defenseman who has played like 30 games.

 

[JotAlan]

If he was, he'd be a unanimous 1st overall, over a defenseman who has played like 30 games.

And he should be.
Man, Schaeffer is good, but I really see a lot more hype than I should. The guy played 30 games coming off a not-so-good last season. I don't see that Makar/Hughes level talent.
The funny thing is that I feel like Misa's hype didn't explode due to his underwhelming last season, because he's currently on track for the biggest U18 season in the last 30 years. What he's doing is insane and he has it all. Great finisher, great shot, good playmaker, high IQ, great defense, has size, elite skating. I really don't understand. He should be the 1OA consensus these days, imo.
And I say this with a pain in my heart, because I'm a big fan of James Hagens and I believe he has the greatest potential in this draft.

 

[wetcoast]

The other two were also 1st overall picks. Considering Schaefer has like 15 games played, Misa might end up surpassing him between now and June.

While I would take Schaefer the difference between him and misa is so small and NHL teams are generally pretty conservative could see a few taking Misa at #1.

 

[Stewie Griffin]

And he should be.
Man, Schaeffer is good, but I really see a lot more hype than I should. The guy played 30 games coming off a not-so-good last season. I don't see that Makar/Hughes level talent.
The funny thing is that I feel like Misa's hype didn't explode due to his underwhelming last season, because he's currently on track for the biggest U18 season in the last 30 years. What he's doing is insane and he has it all. Great finisher, great shot, good playmaker, high IQ, great defense, has size, elite skating. I really don't understand. He should be the 1OA consensus these days, imo.
And I say this with a pain in my heart, because I'm a big fan of James Hagens and I believe he has the greatest potential in this draft.

I think we all agree it depends who ends up with the 1st pick. While Schaefer might be a risky pick, some of these teams might take the chance on him, considering they don't know if they'll get the chance to grab a defenseman with his potential at the top of a draft again.

You can't really use the mindset "we'll just draft a defenseman first next year"...because who knows what can happen in 12 months.

 

[wetcoast]

Exactly how I think. There's a desperation for Schaeffer, and okay, he's good. But he didn't play more than half the season, I would light a yellow flag and the hype for me is overrated. Plus, there's a great D vintage on the horizon with 2026 Verhoef, Rudolph, 2027 Dupont. I would choose Misa, I wouldn't look back and I would spend everything on bringing good D.
Celebrini-Misa wow, +Smith this is pure insanity for the next 10 years.

I don't think that the Sharks will be in the race for dupont in 2027 anyways, no matter who they draft this year.

If they are then a lot of their prospects will have failed miserably.

 

[JotAlan]

I don't think that the Sharks will be in the race for dupont in 2027 anyways, no matter who they draft this year.

If they are then a lot of their prospects will have failed miserably.

In fact I would be extremely surprised if the Sharks weren't fighting for Dupont in 2027. They had 47 points in 2023-24 and are on pace for 53 this season. Taking into account the finished 2023-24 season, they would need 30 points to get out of the last 5. That's an increase of 15 wins in two years. I don't think it would be that far-fetched to imagine that this scenario might not happen.
But if they develop well over the next two years (and I really hope that happens) they will still be bad enough to compete for Verhoeff in 2026.

 

[Juxtaposer]

I don't think that the Sharks will be in the race for dupont in 2027 anyways, no matter who they draft this year.

If they are then a lot of their prospects will have failed miserably.

Who exactly do you think in the Sharks system should be an impact player by 2026-2027? Yes, Celebrini and Smith should have taken the next step by then, and Askarov should be an established starter, and a good one at that, but who else? It'll in all likelihood be the rookie season of whomever we draft top-3 this summer, it may be Dickinson's rookie season (or his sophomore season at best and non-elite defensemen take years to become truly impactful), and it'll be the rookie season at best for guys like Chernyshov and Musty. If we don't get Schaefer, we'll still have a huge hole on D.

I'm certainly optimistic that we won't be in the Dupont lottery because I hope Grier will have made some aggressive trades to get some good players by then, but I don't expect any of our prospects currently outside the NHL to be impact players in that season unless we're lucky enough to get Schaefer.

 

[Star Platinum]

And he should be.
Man, Schaeffer is good, but I really see a lot more hype than I should. The guy played 30 games coming off a not-so-good last season. I don't see that Makar/Hughes level talent.
The funny thing is that I feel like Misa's hype didn't explode due to his underwhelming last season, because he's currently on track for the biggest U18 season in the last 30 years. What he's doing is insane and he has it all. Great finisher, great shot, good playmaker, high IQ, great defense, has size, elite skating. I really don't understand. He should be the 1OA consensus these days, imo.
And I say this with a pain in my heart, because I'm a big fan of James Hagens and I believe he has the greatest potential in this draft.

It's the weirdest thing how much people in the Prospects forum care about how good a year a prospect had in his D-1 year. It literally doesn't matter. What matters is how good you are the year you get drafted. If you were great the year before, that's nice, but teams are drafting the player you are now, not the player you were last year.