Official 2025 NHL DRAFT Thread

[Strawberry Fields]

Pencil Desnoyers in for the Flyers. From McKeen's latest rankings.

View attachment 998095

Brother's already in the system too! (Though I don't know if he even gets qualified at this point)

 

[JustJeff]

Do drafted college players still become unrestricted free agents after they use up their 4 years of eligibility? Getting through your ELC sooner notwithstanding, staying in college with a nice NIL deal then being free to sign anywhere he wants is the risk of drafting Hagens.

 

[Gert B Frobe]

Porter Martone: "If you're trying to win an NHL playoff series, Martone is exactly the kind of player you want: Big, mean and skilled. He's basically a long-lost Tkachuk brother."

SOLD

 

[Gregor Samsa]

Flyers doing the best they can to grab a top 4 spot. 1st and 2nd overall is out of the question barring a lottery win but 3rd is achievable if things go right. 4th is looking more and more likely every game.

If they draft 4th just grab the leftover of the Hagens, Schaefer, Misa, Martone group. Don’t worry about position as the Flyers need talent more than anything. They’ll be very bad for at least a few years so don’t have to worry about centers now.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

Do drafted college players still become unrestricted free agents after they use up their 4 years of eligibility? Getting through your ELC sooner notwithstanding, staying in college with a nice NIL deal then being free to sign anywhere he wants is the risk of drafting Hagens.

The NIL money isn’t that good. Hagens on ice development has like one more year max of being in college after this one. After that he’s probably legitimately in the mix to be on an NHL roster making NHL money.

Even in the bigger college sports their NIL money still can’t compare to their pro league counterparts.

 

[FLYguy3911]

We'll see what Bobby Mac's final list is, but if he is still the unanimous 1

He will be.

 

[WolfOfBroadStreet14]

I have some doubts the Flyers actually use all three of their 1sts, but if they do Misa/Hagens/Frondell, Ryabkin, B. Kindel would be a fantastic use of the three.

 

[Maurice of Orange]

I’d stay away from Hagens, the whole BC/Flyers thing would probably repeat itself like the Gauthier trade.

I do like Martone more and more, with a bit of strength conditioning he could be a beast in the making, Flys need to be inside the top 4.

If it’s the 1st pick the Flyers land by pure luck then Schaefer it is.

 

[FLYguy3911]

Hagens isn’t staying four years just like Cutter wasn’t.

The agency that represents Cutter just got acquired by Wasserman today. Not sure if that will or would have changed things but it just goes to show how quickly things can change.

 

[BernieParent]

Not sure if this was posted earlier but, fwiw, here’s McKeen’s latest top 32

1	Matthew Schaefer	D	Erie (OHL)	6-2/180	5-Sep-07	17	7	15	22	8
2	Michael Misa	C	Saginaw (OHL)	6-1/185	16-Feb-07	62	59	67	126	45
3	James Hagens	C	Boston College (NCAA)	5-10/175	3-Nov-06	35	10	25	35	24
4	Porter Martone	RW	Brampton (OHL)	6-3/205	26-Oct-06	54	32	60	92	72
5	Jackson Smith	D	Tri-City (WHL)	6-3/195	13-May-07	65	7	41	48	46
6	Caleb Desnoyers	C	Moncton (QMJHL)	6-2/180	11-Apr-07	56	35	49	84	39
7	Victor Eklund	LW	Djurgardens (HockeyAllsvenskan)	5-11/160	3-Oct-06	42	19	12	31	37
8	Anton Frondell	C	Djurgardens (HockeyAllsvenskan)	6-1/195	7-May-07	29	11	14	25	16
9	Roger McQueen	C	Brandon (WHL)	6-5/195	2-Oct-06	14	9	9	18	29
10	Lynden Lakovic	LW	Moose Jaw (WHL)	6-4/190	12-Dec-06	45	24	31	55	4
11	Radim Mrtka	D	Seattle (WHL)	6-6/205	9-Jun-07	41	3	31	34	40
12	Brady Martin	C	Soo Greyhounds (OHL)	6-0/175	16-Mar-07	55	30	37	67	64
13	Jake O'Brien	C	Brantford (OHL)	6-2/170	16-Jun-07	64	32	64	96	18
14	Cullen Potter	C	Arizona State (NCAA)	5-10/170	10-Jan-07	34	13	9	22	6
15	Justin Carbonneau	RW	Blainville-Boisbriand (QMJHL)	6-1/190	25-Nov-06	61	46	43	89	61
16	Kashawn Aitcheson	D	Barrie (OHL)	6-1/195	21-Sep-06	63	25	33	58	88
17	Cameron Reid	D	Kitchener (OHL)	6-0/190	8-Apr-07	66	14	39	53	44
18	Ben Kindel	C	Calgary (WHL)	5-10/175	19-Apr-07	62	34	64	98	39
19	Braeden Cootes	C	Seattle (WHL)	5-11/180	9-Feb-07	58	25	36	61	18
20	Carter Bear	LW	Everett (WHL)	6-0/180	4-Nov-06	56	40	42	82	77
21	Jack Murtagh	LW	USN U18 (USDP)	6-1/200	22-Aug-07	42	20	24	44	26
22	Cameron Schmidt	RW	Vancouver (WHL)	5-7/160	19-Jan-07	59	39	37	76	42
23	Malcolm Spence	LW	Erie (OHL)	6-1/200	22-Sep-06	62	32	38	70	55
24	Joshua Ravensbergen	G	Prince George (WHL)	6-5/190	27-Nov-06	50	33	12	2.93	0.903
25	Jack Nesbitt	C	Windsor (OHL)	6-4/185	12-Jan-07	63	24	39	63	72
26	Cole McKinney	C	USN U18 (USDP)	6-0/200	16-Mar-07	45	21	29	50	55
27	Eric Nilson	C	Djurgardens (Swe J20)	5-11/155	11-May-07	37	12	26	38	56
28	Logan Hensler	D	Wisconsin (NCAA)	6-2/190	14-Oct-06	32	2	10	12	27
29	Henry Brzustewicz	D	London (OHL)	6-2/200	9-Feb-07	65	10	29	39	73
30	Blake Fiddler	D	Edmonton (WHL)	6-4/210	9-Jul-07	62	9	22	31	36
31	Shane Vansaghi	RW	Michigan State (NCAA)	6-2/210	11-Oct-06	35	6	10	16	28
32	Bill Zonnon	C	Rouyn Noranda (QMJHL)	6-1/185	3-Oct-06

[th]TEAM[/th][th]HT/WT[/th][th]DOB[/th][th]GP[/th][th]G[/th][th]A[/th][th]PTS[/th][th]PIM[/th]

No Ryabkin.

 

[Fight4yourRight]

Who is the highest floor, lowest ceiling, safest and most vanilla player in that top ~ 15? That is who we are taking.

 

[BernieParent]

Porter Martone: "If you're trying to win an NHL playoff series, Martone is exactly the kind of player you want: Big, mean and skilled. He's basically a long-lost Tkachuk brother."

SOLD

I am warming to the idea of Martone even though a RW is the last position of need. I must add, though, that statements like "you win with Player X" generally annoy me as yet another intangibles overemphasis.

 

[JojoTheWhale]

He will be.

Am I crazy to be so staunchly on Misa > Schaefer? I just trust Forward projections at the top so much more and the production is in rarified air.

If Schaefer is a different tier of prospect, I understand it. But if they're similar prospects with similar 60th/80th Percentile outcomes, isn't the likelihood collective opinions are right flat out higher?

 

[Flyerfan4life]

Who is the highest floor, lowest ceiling, safest and most vanilla player in that top ~ 15? That is who we are taking.

whos off radar down at abot position #36

 

[FLYguy3911]

Am I crazy to be so staunchly on Misa > Schaefer? I just trust Forward projections at the top so much more and the production is in rarified air.

If Schaefer is a different tier of prospect, I understand it. But if they're similar prospects with similar 60th/80th Percentile outcomes, isn't the likelihood collective opinions are right flat out higher?

I mostly agree and have been quite vocal that I would lean forward over defenseman if all else is equal. I want stop short of speaking in absolutes in this situation because Schaefer does look like the real deal and probably the best defenseman since Dahlin. And to that point, Dahlin is great but not even the best defenseman in his class at the moment. Do I think Schaefer is better at his position than Misa is at his position (some don't think he is 100% a center)? Yes, but that still doesn't guarantee he will be a more impactful player unless he is challenging Makar for the Norris annually. And maybe he does...

As a big believer in track records, my only hesitation with Schaefer is you are putting a ton of weight into a couple dozen games. I want some level of certainty if I'm picking 1st overall. He didn't produce much at all in his D-1 (I'll have to do some digging but I think he had a really slow start, his second half is better). He was great at the u18s as an underager last year. He was great at the Hlinka. He was great at the US/CHL showcase, he was great in the couple u20 games he played, and the 17 games he played in the OHL he ended up with the highest PPG on Erie and he's makes the draft cut off by 10 days. You almost never see an overall #1 contender that young. He's probably going to be great, but it's still a bit more risky than you'd like.

Misa's stat line is incredible and maybe I'll do a deeper dive if I get my itch for hockey back, but my hunch is that his stat line is probably better than his scouting report. A few notes:

-Saginaw has to be one of the most high event teams we've ever seen in the CHL. ~600 goal events in 68 games!! That's nearly 9 total goals per game where the OHL average is about 7.
-Chernyshov scored at a much higher per game rate (of course he got to play with Misa an Co. for all of those games while they did not play with him all season).
-He got to play with one of the most skilled defenseman we've ever seen at that level.
-It was his third full season in the OHL. He had more points this year than the previous two combined.

 

[BiggE]

No Ryabkin.

Yeah, I know. These certainly aren’t my rankings. For me, he’s in the 9-14 range. That being said, due to the Russian factor, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s still on the board at 17/18. If so, he’s a guy I’d package a later first with a 2nd to move up and grab.

 

[BiggE]

I am warming to the idea of Martone even though a RW is the last position of need. I must add, though, that statements like "you win with Player X" generally annoy me as yet another intangibles overemphasis.

I’d feel better about the Martone if I thought DB had the stones to move Konecny at the draft for futures.

Of course, it’s the Flyers so I’m not holding my breath.

 

[BernieParent]

I’d feel better about the Martone if I thought DB had the stones to move Konecny at the draft for futures.

Of course, it’s the Flyers so I’m not holding my breath.

My fantasy scenario (posted somewhere previous) was trading Konecny to Buffalo for their 1st and taking Martone AND a potential 1C. Don't bother me with facts!

 

[dats81]

I'd be mildly surprised if they didn't take a C with their first pick (barring a lottery win and Schaefer being the obvious choice).

 

[scumpup]

Selfishly I want Misa because Watching him and Michkov crack open defenses would be so awesome.

 

[scumpup]

If we don't win the lottery, Ryabkin is my pick. If he's unenthusiastic about hockey... playing with Michkov who oozes enthusiasm might help.

 

[BernieParent]

If we don't win the lottery, Ryabkin is my pick. If he's unenthusiastic about hockey... playing with Michkov who oozes enthusiasm might help.

Ryabkin with the Flyers' own pick would be a massive reach (assuming they don't go on a run and drop out of top 10). I would package a later 1st with one or two 2nds to get him in the late teens, though. If need be, I would package the two 1sts. Ryabkin is the type of swing-for-the-fences pick the Flyers have to try.

 

[Appleyard]

Started on my CHL dataset for the year... always interesting to see and often throws up guys who are going to be under drafted but have NHL upside. (Kieron Walton was one last year...)

My "Big board" will probably end up somewhere in the 160-170 player range, IE guys who are "worth" using a draft pick on...

which funnily is slightly more than usual BUT there are a lot of overagers returning to the board from 1, 2 and even 3 years ago, because NHL teams left a lot of basically guaranteed top six/four AHL guys on the table who have a chance to be NHLers these last few years.

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

Ryabkin with the Flyers' own pick would be a massive reach (assuming they don't go on a run and drop out of top 10). I would package a later 1st with one or two 2nds to get him in the late teens, though. If need be, I would package the two 1sts. Ryabkin is the type of swing-for-the-fences pick the Flyers have to try.

If his skating gets up to par and there is a proper control on his shape/conditioning, he could be the player they are looking for in something like a 2C. Goddamn I hope the Flyers get to use their top pick on either Misa or Hagens.

 

[BernieParent]

If his skating gets up to par and there is a proper control on his shape/conditioning, he could be the player they are looking for in something like a 2C. Goddamn I hope the Flyers get to use their top pick on either Misa or Hagens.

Even though Martone may be BPA for their own pick, having Misa/Hagen's/Frondell as the prospect with 1C potential and then Ryabkin as the wild card would be a superinjection to the Flyers' shallow prospect pool.