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Official 2025 NHL DRAFT Thread

Are we absolutely sure that being as tall as McQueen is an advantage? Or that the NHL evaluates those guys well? Is this maybe as simple as Scheifele playing forever and one of the biggest outliers you will ever see? If we look at the last 15 drafts...

1st round Forwards 6'5"+
Dean Letourneau
Daniil But
Michael Rasmussen
Logan Brown
Riley Tufte
Tage Thompson
Michael McCarron

2nd round Forwards 6'5"+
Serron Noel
Isaac Ratcliffe
Hunter Smith

There's one hit in there and he was available for a late round pick because he was horrendous, then turned into a star in one of the oddest developmental cycles anyone will ever see. This list is absolutely terrifying.

What if we expand that to 6'4" just to see?

1st round Forwards 6'4"
Matthew Wood
Conor Geekie
Filip Bystedt
Quinton Byfield
Kirby Dach
Lawson Crouse
Alex Tuch
Valeri Nichushkin
Frederik Gauthier
Nick Bjugstad
Alex Chiasson

2nd round Forwards 6'4"
Jack Berglund
Jani Nyman
Colton Dach
Egor Sokolov
Raphael Lavoie
Albin Eriksson
Egor Korshkov
Gabriel Gagne
Paul Bittner

Well it's certainly better at least. I would argue that Byfield should be considered a completely different class of prospect, but we've still got some nice hits like Tuch and Nichushkin. Bjugstad played for a long time, albeit not all that well. Wood and Geekie need time to see what they are. Still not inspiring.

You can find guys that tall who turn into sneaky big hits like Voronkov, but they tend to be lower on consensus boards.

Please note that I automated this list, so if the database was wrong on a height, I apologize and will happily edit.
 
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JojoTheWhale said:
Are we absolutely sure that being as tall as McQueen is an advantage? Or that the NHL evaluates those guys well? Is this maybe as simple as Scheifele playing forever and one of the biggest outliers you will ever see? If we look at the last 15 drafts...
Click to expand...
I agree with what you're saying, but i'd trade all the grip strength in the world for Daniil Butt
 
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JojoTheWhale said:
Are we absolutely sure that being as tall as McQueen is an advantage? Or that the NHL evaluates those guys well? Is this maybe as simple as Scheifele playing forever and one of the biggest outliers you will ever see? If we look at the last 15 drafts...

1st round Forwards 6'5"+
Dean Letourneau
Daniil But
Michael Rasmussen
Logan Brown
Riley Tufte
Tage Thompson
Michael McCarron

2nd round Forwards 6'5"+
Serron Noel
Isaac Ratcliffe
Hunter Smith

There's one hit in there and he was available for a late round pick because he was horrendous, then turned into a star in one of the oddest developmental cycles anyone will ever see. This list is absolutely terrifying.

What if we expand that to 6'4" just to see?

1st round Forwards 6'4"
Matthew Wood
Conor Geekie
Filip Bystedt
Quinton Byfield
Kirby Dach
Lawson Crouse
Alex Tuch
Valeri Nichushkin
Frederik Gauthier
Nick Bjugstad
Alex Chiasson

2nd round Forwards 6'4"
Jack Berglund
Jani Nyman
Colton Dach
Egor Sokolov
Raphael Lavoie
Albin Eriksson
Egor Korshkov
Gabriel Gagne
Paul Bittner

Well it's certainly better at least. I would argue that Byfield should be considered a completely different class of prospect, but we've still got some nice hits like Tuch and Nichushkin. Bjugstad played for a long time, albeit not all that well. Wood and Geekie need time to see what they are. Still not inspiring.

You can find guys that tall who turn into sneaky big hits like Voronkov, but they tend to be lower on consensus boards.

Please note that I automated this list, so if the database was wrong on a height, I apologize and will happily edit.
Click to expand...
Yeah but Eric Lindros was big and good 35 years ago so teams (especially this one) needs to keep chasing that high.
 
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What is amusing to me is often they miss big boys who have really nice underlying profiles...

Kieran Walton might not become anything, but his 5v5 profile said "maybe I can be a middle 6 NHLer" all over it... ignored until 6th. When probably should have gone in something like the 3rd. Without hindsight...



The Protas brothers... both drafted kind of 10-20 picks later than maybe should have been based off their 5v5 profile too.

Buuut all 3 were "soft big boys" so ofc that gets a minus rating.
 
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WolfOfBroadStreet14 said:
Your top 4 would be Misa, Hagens, Martone, and Schaefer then?
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It seems the boring consensus, but I do think it feels accurate, in some order. I think everyone else I've watched is noticeably 1-2 tiers off. I assume there's a couple guys I'd be higher on than consensus if I dig deeper now. Very unsatisfying stuff if the Flyers f*** this up. None of the others strike me as course altering picks. Like I said, each of those top 4 could be nitpicked....

Misa is in his 3rd year of juniors and seems extremely well-rounded offensively, but he might not have that elite trait (skating, if I had to pick) out of a 1st overall. Great tape, but I'm not being smacked in the face like this is The Misa Draft.

Schaefer could be a play pushing 1D, but I don't think he's truly elite on cycle/PP offense (it's certainly weaker than his rush game, although he does pop good 1v1 moves). Maybe a tick short of elite skating too. But then he barely played this year and is almost a 2026. If his profile and tape is reminiscent of a closer-to-ceiling Harley, would that be disappointing? I don't think so, but also because the forwards aren't exactly putting themselves a tier above. I'm very hard on defensemen, especially in the top few picks; it usually doesn't have enough ROI. He's not Dahlin, but he's one of the cleaner easiest scouts in recent years. Love his blend of skill and decision making, and it feels like every shift I've seen.

Martone needs to improve his skating and needs more help getting and skating pucks than the others. So, maybe he needs that elite transporter next to him. He flashes, so I'm not pessimistic, and he could hit a higher ceiling. But his short area/boards game is maybe the highest end of the forwards. Not a lot of guys that size can use their stickhandles and body together like him.

And Hagens doesn't really feel any less skilled than Misa, you're just weighing a disappointing season that could be explainable. I didn't love the couple BC games I caught, but I also didn't love him with Perreault+Leonard, who suck up a lot of oxygen with the puck. That worked better with Will Smith standing still waiting.
 
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Magua said:
If his profile and tape is reminiscent of a closer-to-ceiling Harley, would that be disappointing?
Click to expand...

EvolvingHockey/Wild has Harley 2nd to Hughes for the Norris, so there are some old victory laps to be had there. :laugh:

bafkreigtopc7pbre65xbncxz67tifkjlof66jync5wsskjj5r3vhywoq4a-jpeg.jpg
 
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JojoTheWhale said:
EvolvingHockey/Wild has Harley 2nd to Hughes for the Norris, so there are some old victory laps to be had there. :laugh:

bafkreigtopc7pbre65xbncxz67tifkjlof66jync5wsskjj5r3vhywoq4a-jpeg.jpg
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I knew you’d say that haha, and that rhetorical question was for…..not you. I was just implying that he might not have that higher level creativity of a consistent 80 point guy. Schaefer does an incredible amount right in every facet. He’s far better than Power to me, but I didn’t even have him top 6 in his class. Almost every D at the top has been overdrafted recently. I’ve been down on almost every one. Would I take Schaefer over draft eligible Luke Hughes? Now, that’s a good one. I’m ambivalent.

I had Harley 8th in his class and said this, “I know this isn't popular, but a guy like Byram…doesn't have the upside of Harley to me, whether he hits it or not.”
 
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Magua said:
I had Harley 8th in his class and said this, “I know this isn't popular, but a guy like Byram…doesn't have the upside of Harley to me, whether he hits it or not.”
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I remember you guys loving Harley because I watched ~15 minutes of just him and no one else, but was mystified why he wasn’t a top 10 guy. You and others (rightly) dopeslapped me and said I was months behind on that one.

There’s a guy who used to work for Calgary in the public sphere who said their entire department was trying to talk the front office into going up to get him. The GM said everyone loved him and therefore it was impossible. Then he went 18th. 🤷
 
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JojoTheWhale said:
I remember you guys loving Harley because I watched ~15 minutes of just him and no one else, but was mystified why he wasn’t a top 10 guy. You and others (rightly) dopeslapped me and said I was months behind on that one.

There’s a guy who used to work for Calgary in the public sphere who said their entire department was trying to talk the front office into going up to get him. The GM said everyone loved him and therefore it was impossible. Then he went 18th. 🤷
Click to expand...

Harley was a bit upright skating. He improved it. Schaefer is already there. Harley, not unjustly, was hit-or-miss off puck. Schaefer is already there, at least I think. The skill is similar. There’s less projection jumps. It’s possible Harley is/was an even better OZ passer. Definitely wasn’t as dangerous activating.

It really just goes back to how hard it is to find a 1C outside the top 3 annually. Unless the Flyers win the lottery the Schaefer discussion won’t matter. The funniest possible outcome is Martone (RW) being the last one left at 4th and the Flyers taking a center instead, and the Reddit army defend it NOT being a fit pick after Briere does an interview saying it was a fit pick, but they leak to ASF that they really wanted Hagens.
 
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Magua said:
Harley was a bit upright skating. He improved it. Schaefer is already there. Harley, not unjustly, was hit-or-miss off puck. Schaefer is already there, at least I think. The skill is similar. There’s less projection jumps. It’s possible Harley is/was an even better OZ passer. Definitely wasn’t as dangerous activating.

It really just goes back to how hard it is to find a 1C outside the top 3 annually. Unless the Flyers win the lottery the Schaefer discussion won’t matter. The funniest possible outcome is Martone (RW) being the last one left at 4th and the Flyers taking a center instead, and the Reddit army defend it NOT being a fit pick after Briere does an interview saying it was a fit pick, but they leak to ASF that they really wanted Hagens.
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Suzuki went 13OA so it’s possible.
 
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So is it a foregone conclusion that Misa and Schaefer are 1 and 2 in whatever order?

Let’s say the draft stays the same as it is now. What does Nashville do?
 
LEAKED FLYERS DRAFT BOARD

Schaefer (will go 1oa)
Hagens (will go before we get there)
Martone (will not be there)

--- players actually available ---
O'Brien
Desnoyers
McQueen (will be there)


late 1st and early 2nds?
More scott laughtons.
 
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