Official 2025 NHL DRAFT Thread

[Magua]

I fell asleep watching his game against Subury.

He was getting caved in.

I think he might be the worst “top prospect” I’ve ever watched? I wish I was exaggerating. If Toe sent me this guy’s tape as a 4th round target, I’d have still puked.

He pushes the puck around on his forehand. He actually has trouble cradling it. Not even under pressure! It’s Edward Scissorhands with pressure. He fires garbage shots. He has no 1v1 ability or escapability, so when guys close, he just does a panic sauce almost every time. Not even particularly strong on the boards. Skates like an ogre. I didn’t even see him hit anyone because he’s so behind the pace physically and mentally.

If someone is dying to make this guy the next Tyler Boucher, be my guest. I thought he had more skill!

 

[ponder719]

The Athletic has us taking Frondell at 6 (Desnoyers goes to Utah at 4, Hagens to Nashville at 5). I'm cool with that I would have been fine taking him at 4.

Frondell would be fine, but despite that, I would be apoplectic that Hagens, who I like better than anyone other than Schaefer and Misa, was there one pick higher and we didn't do anything to make it happen. It'd be an exact repeat of how I felt when Shane Wright dropped and we let him go to Seattle in favor of Gauthier.

 

[FlyguyOX]

Sign me up for Obrien. He's grown on me.

-Righty that wouldn't be stationed at Michkov's right circle like Frundell does
-Very young birthday
-Two athletes as parents
-Has not grown into his body yet

 

[ponder719]

That said, now that we're locked into 6th, I'm starting to wonder what has to get added to 6 to come away with Rossi...

 

[FlyguyOX]

That said, now that we're locked into 6th, I'm starting to wonder what has to get added to 6 to come away with Rossi...

Dude. They would be adding, not us.

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

I will say this, Flyers are still at least in the zone of good prospects before it drops off.

I find that the top 6 of Misa, Schaefer, Martone, Hagens, Frondell and Desnoyers are pretty much part of the top 2 tiers of the draft. I think it drops off after these 6.

 

[MrGuyPerson]

So...obviously moving down 2 spots is a bit of a bummer, but secretly I'm also a little happy they didn't win the lottery. I like Schaefer, but injuries are concerning to me. Also, I know Misa's production is elite, but Idk man. I'm just really not certain on him being a star in league. Martone? Incredibly certain. Misa? Nah. Hard to describe and I could be wrong, but personally I just dont see him as franchise changing talent when I watch him.

I wish the Flyers didn't move down, but they should still get a good player. Especially if people goes off board which it feels like some may. Regardless my preference at 6th :

First is a tie so the order can be disregarded for them.

1A James Hagens

Kid moved down quite a bit despite still having a solid year. I think the biggest thing working against him is not only did he not go way above a point per game, but his team and line were stacked. I think scouts expected more, truthfully i did too. That said this kids talent and IQ are still amazing. Outside of Martone, I think Hagens has the next best odds of being a star.

1B Anton Frondell

Everybody likes this kid man. The reason he is 1B and not 2 is actually think his play style might fit the Flyers the best. It is hard to watch him play and not think yeah him and Michkov would make magic. Cannon shot, solid skills, 2 way play, solid IQ, and he hits. Injury history is small asterisk though.

2 Jake O'Brien

This one was really close to tie as well, but the more I watch O'Brien the more impressed I am. I think he is a very high floor player with a star cieling. Great hands, great D, solid IQ, finishes checks. Really confident he is a center in the NHL. The drawback for me is he is a little slow, but overall I have a good feeling about this kid currently

3 Caleb Desnoyer

Really talented, good offensive instincts. My con that has O'Brien over him are is I am not 100% certain he ends up a center. Everytime I watch him play he is on the wing. Also not the fastest. NHL player for sure, but it feels like he has a lower ceiling than O'Brien

4. McQueen?

Question mark because i actually don't know if I'd take him given the injury stuff, but ranking him lower feels discourteous to how good this kid is. Legit has it all. Hard to watch and not think, "yeah, that kid is a future star"

5. Brady Martin

Hitting. Kid is a wrecking ball with a decent set of hands. Not confident he is a center though.

Late picks :

Ryabkin

This is the only one for now. Fascinating case with him. I even listened to few podcasts and was suprised to hear my exact thoughts echoed back to me. Slow. Wrecking ball. Hot head with a penchant for penalties. Out of shape? That said, his skill and IQ are undeniable. Very capable of being a great 2 way player(when he trys on D he is very good). Star cieling. The highest high for this kid would be a very skilled Center Russian Tkachuk brother of sorts. Definitely requires character assessment from orgs though. Kid was suspended multiple times with 70 PIMs in the USHL in what like 30 games? Need to know if he is willing to put the work to improve. Assuming he is and that he will not be a locker room/off ice problem, this kid could be a steal

 

[FlyerNutter]

I gotta say, I admire the loyalty to still dive head first into the future of this organization, so to speak.

We are all still married to this team, but I’m sleeping on the couch when it comes to them.

Even the fact that one has to seriously discuss some hard hitting low talent prospect, because that’s who the Flyers scouts might be infatuated with - just f***ing lame man.

 

[IronMarshal]

A few post lottery thoughts:

If Martone goes top 5, It looks like the Flyers will get one of Desnoyers, Frondell, or Hagens as I expect Misa, Schaefer and Martone (to Chicago?) to be gone.

I think it is possible that San Jose trades a 2nd with number two to NYI for number one to draft Schaefer. and the Islanders take Hagens instead of Misa (most of the Islander board on HF wants local boy and offensive producer Hagens) Leaving Chicago to pick between Misa and Martone.

If Misa and Schaefer are the top two picks, I think Chicago grabs Martone, who is definitely a need there. But if Both Martone and Misa are there, Chicago will be in a little quandary and could go either way or possibly trade down with Utah and take whichever one Utah doesn't take.

Utah could also trade down if they were more interested in Desnoyers or Frondell than Misa or Martone, but I think they would take whoever Chicago doesn't.

Nashville will take either Frondell or Desnoyers if Misa and Hagens are gone. If they have a choice between Hagens and either Desnoyers or Frondell, The Flyers will get whoever is left.

I think the Flyers like Desnoyers a lot, but I believe they would be happy with Hagens and possibly Frondell and have to believe they would love Misa or Schaefer but probably aren't even considering them at this point.

If they are left with Martone, they have to take him over Martin and McQueen unless McQueen's medicals come back clean at the combine. He is the wild card. If they draft Martone, look for them to try to package a RW with a later first (and maybe a second, or both firsts) to get a player or higher first (to gamble on McQueen or grab O'Brien or Martin).

Utah may be willing to trade back if they can get a defenseman in the deal. Maybe York and the 6 will get the 4th? Although I don't know why the Flyers would do that unless for Misa (and he is still miraculously on the board at that point) or if they love Hagens.

In the end, who knows? But it will be an interesting draft.

 

[FlyguyOX]

Martone shouldn't even be an option IMO. Center all the way.

 

[BigToe]

I'm not very fan into Mrtka yet, but I'm watching this kid dump the puck out of his own zone over and over like everything is a PK Shift in 1996. Is there any chance this is a coaching point? I'm leaning toward no because he seems uncomfortable in breakouts even when he tries, but I'm out of touch on the current Juniors environment.

I don't want to spend any more time on him if he's just not my style of Defenseman to consider this high. I'm not against the archetype if I don't love anyone else. But they have to give me a transition game.

Never had him in my top 20. Feels second pairy at most to me. Didn’t spend much time on him. Not my type.

 

[JojoTheWhale]

I can’t believe we’re still talking about drafting for positional fit or filling X attribute hole in the system in 2025. Then again, NHL teams still do it, so I’m on the side detached from reality. But not the odds.

 

[freakydallas13]

Given that, whether we pick at 4 or 6 doesn’t make a huge difference to me. In fact, picking slightly later might help us avoid overthinking and trying to be the smartest team in the room.

I think it will be th exact opposite. The team moved out of "there is a BPA and you don't have to think about it" range and now has "well there isn't a consensus here so the we're free to choose 'our guy'" range, and that terrifies me.

THIS team being given th ability to choose who they want without having an obvious homerun fall into their lap? Be afraid. Be very afraid.

 

[freakydallas13]

I can’t believe we’re still talking about drafting for positional fit or filling X attribute hole in the system in 2025. Then again, NHL teams still do it, so I’m on the side detached from reality. But not the odds.

You'd think the team would have learned after Jett Fitchanko, but here we are.

 

[Magua]

Can anyone tell me why Frondell is projected as a center? He didn’t play any center in the Allsvenskan games I saw. He looks like a wing. If that’s something that sways people, I’m not even sure it’s a thing.

I am a Frondell fan though. I think he’d be a nice sorta Boldy type, even if he doesn’t reach that ceiling. Strong pre-shot movement + finishing (care a lot more about former), cromulent passer, forechecking, skating doesn’t bug me honestly just needs garden variety power skating work.

Don’t think he’s a game changer, but we’re past that stage at 6th overall in this wretched class. I don’t know what the heck happened at the u18s, even if I don’t care, because I didn’t watch.

 

[FatTugboatFlahr]

I think he might be the worst “top prospect” I’ve ever watched? I wish I was exaggerating. If Toe sent me this guy’s tape as a 4th round target, I’d have still puked.

He pushes the puck around on his forehand. He actually has trouble cradling it. Not even under pressure! It’s Edward Scissorhands with pressure. He fires garbage shots. He has no 1v1 ability or escapability, so when guys close, he just does a panic sauce almost every time. Not even particularly strong on the boards. Skates like an ogre. I didn’t even see him hit anyone because he’s so behind the pace physically and mentally.

If someone is dying to make this guy the next Tyler Boucher, be my guest. I thought he had more skill!

I turned on some highlights prior just to get my feet wet. He legitimately didn’t score a single goal that wasn’t a wrist shot or one-time

A highlight package with ZERO creativity. Legitimately only off-the-rush writers and backdoor one-timers.

This kid makes Gauthier look like Mario Lemieux.

 

[Magua]

I turned on some highlights prior just to get my feet wet. He legitimately didn’t score a single goal that wasn’t a wrist shot or one-time

A highlight package with ZERO creativity. Legitimately only off-the-rush writers and backdoor one-timers.

This kid makes Gauthier look like Mario Lemieux.

Gauthier legit has soft hands and great physical skills. Brady Martin might not be an NHLer. Oliver Bonk’s skill package is more impressive.

I dare anyone to watch this out of morbid curiosity. Whoever takes this guy top 10 is now the worst drafting team in the league. Helen Keller could smell this pick being a train wreck.

 

[nosnhoj]

I think my preference at this point is Hagens > Martone = Frondell > Desnoyers

Hagens underlying numbers and 5v5 play were excellent despite his lower than expected point totals this year, so it seems like he has the best chance at being a solid 1C out of the T2 group. Martone, though not a C, looks good and in my view might be the BPA after Hagens. I'm not convinced Frondell is a center in the NHL (and to be fair, played most of the year at LW and then didn't show as much at C at the U18s) either and I think I'd rather have Martone as a W than Frondell as a W. Desnoyers looks solid all around but doesn't seem to have a skill that jumps out and screams elite. O'Brien and Eklund would be the next two at 6 that I could stomach but would be way less enthusiastic about.

 

[Gregor Samsa]

Draft Martone if he’s there, package one of Brink or Foerster for Rossi. Maybe Tippett instead of Brink/Foerster. Some GM/coach will say “I can fix him”

If Martone isn’t there take the leftover of the Hagens/Frondell/Desnoyers group

Utah is a wildcard in a couple ways: they aren’t scared to go off the board, and they could be a good trade up candidate for the Flyers. Briere has ammo. Would you stack a Edm/Col 1st and a 2nd on #6 for Hagens if he’s there. Ballsy move but there is your high end potential. A move like that could bite the Flyers though

 

[Larry44]

Central Scouting Final Rankings 2025.

Lots of good profiles of the top picks here for download:

https://media.nhl.com/public/news/18876

 

[FLYguy3911]

Hagens will go 5th. I know it.

 

[Gregor Samsa]

I still want to see Martone at center. f*** defense now that Tortorella is gone

 

[iceman42]

I was hoping on Hagens but with the move down I don't think that will happen. Now I have to hope for Frondell or Martone, which wont happen because of Brady Martin. Brady Martin sounds like a smaller, less skilled, Scott Laughton.

 

[Rebels57]

Gauthier legit has soft hands and great physical skills. Brady Martin might not be an NHLer. Oliver Bonk’s skill package is more impressive.

I dare anyone to watch this out of morbid curiosity. Whoever takes this guy top 10 is now the worst drafting team in the league. Helen Keller could smell this pick being a train wreck.

 

[Tarpongg]

Gauthier legit has soft hands and great physical skills. Brady Martin might not be an NHLer. Oliver Bonk’s skill package is more impressive.

I dare anyone to watch this out of morbid curiosity. Whoever takes this guy top 10 is now the worst drafting team in the league. Helen Keller could smell this pick being a train wreck.

I’ve watched every bit of film available on this guy since he became the “it” girl a week ago. Taking him at 6 would make Luchanko over Buium look savvy. I won’t get too worked up until it actually happens, but damnit if this isn’t just the guy that would epitomize this mgmt group