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Official 2025 NHL DRAFT Thread

Wheeler and Pronman did a joint 2 round mock draft - our picks were

6. O'Brien
24. Nesbitt
25. Hensler
36. Horcoff
40. Ryabkin
45. Genborg
48. Behm

Obviously not the correct order yet but close enough - I'd be pretty happy with that group.

I know we all have our preferences for 6 but they're all pretty closely grouped to each other. Any of Hagens, Martone, O'Brien or Frondell would be great picks at 6. (Not been gonna include Desnoyers becuase he's a shoe in for top 5 now)
 
Gregor Samsa said:
I know Martin is joked about here but I think he has similar upside as Desnoyers. Martin plays in the tougher league, they scored similar amounts of goals, and will probably have way more of an edge to his game. Desnoyers had 10 more assists than Martin but could that be related to playing on a much better team as assists are highly dependent upon teammates in a lot of instances?
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Martin looks like a future 4th liner to me from what i've seen. Skating is bad and very little creativity.
 
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flyersnorth said:
@Appleyard laid out why he thinks Rossi could produce at a 1C level, and there's also a chance that Desnoyers hits a low-end 1C ceiling.

And I agree with @Gregor Samsa that a guy like Michkov could elevate the players around him as well.

So, maybe no elite 1Cs, but the potential is there.
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Rossi/Desnoyers/Luchanko any or all could break out into their ceilings and that would be fantastic, I just personally am not getting my hopes up until I see it. I think any of the other talked about centers over Desnoyers have a higher chance of hitting that first line ceiling though, just Desnoyers has a high middle six floor.

Flyers are like always simultaneously close and far from competing. If they secure elite talent in forwards this year, and good young defense/forwarda next year and hit on Zavragin the flyers narrative could change overnight. Yet if we never hit we'll be here for a long time.

Flyers really really need to hit on a bunch of prospects this draft (possibility of getting SEVEN nhl forwards this draft, that's half the team.) and then we can further turn those hits into more value in perpetuity until we hit on our magic 1C 1D 1G milestone.

If i wanted to be "the smartest gm in the room" I could draft players specifically to flip them later for more higher end value...
 
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Gregor Samsa said:
Martin and O’Brien are a bit like ying and yang in a bunch of ways. I wonder what the odds are that either ends of as a C in the NHL
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Martin - Low. He plays like a winger. He can take Faceoffs, but his game is suited to the wing.

O'Brien - The question for me is not if he will be a Center, but will he be a 1st or 3rd line center. The more I watch his games the more I believe 1st is not unrealistic. I still would not guarantee it, but I do believe this kid will continue to get better and better
 
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scumpup said:
Flyers are like always simultaneously close and far from competing. If they secure elite talent in forwards this year, and good young defense/forwarda next year and hit on Zavragin the flyers narrative could change overnight. Yet if we never hit we'll be here for a long time.

Flyers really really need to hit on a bunch of prospects this draft (possibility of getting SEVEN nhl forwards this draft, that's half the team.) and then we can further turn those hits into more value in perpetuity until we hit on our magic 1C 1D 1G milestone.
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You could say that for nearly every other team in the league.

How many teams would add a starting goaltender, an elite forward, and another good young forward/dman and not have their narratives change overnight?
 
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Appleyard said:
His 5v5 scoring combined with the skating is a bit scary tbh

Very few guys with such a profile in CHL draft year have ever became a 1C. His skill is great... but if he was 6'0 on the dot I don't think many would have top 8.
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And how does his D-1 year compare
 
With regard to O'Brien, I just can't get over his static feet. He will never have the time and space he currently enjoys, and I don't think the issue is something that can simply be addressed with a skating “fix.” It seems like an innate part of his game—something that will be very difficult to (i) correct or (ii) overcome at higher levels.

Can his vision, hockey sense, and hands make up for that? Personally, I don’t think so. If everything breaks right, and it all clicks, then maybe he becomes a 1C in the mold of a guy like Kopitar... but that’s a big “if.”
 
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Magua said:
Didn’t watch u18s — and I don’t particularly put any weight into it, unlike the Flyers (!) — but what happened there? Was he at center or wing?
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C in the u-18s.

I think he was a bit knackered tbh. His ice time was very "managed"... only 1 game over 17:30.

but he had a very "early season J20 Frondell" performance in general. Drove play well (QF vs US only game where didnt get 50% Corsi, managed to break even in final despite the drubbing and him matching vs top guys) and created good chances but nothing went.

Sweden also basically didnt use him on the PP, less than 5 minutes over the 5 games.
 
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Appleyard said:
I do think it is funny how Bear has basically been forgotten about.

Fantastic EV scoring, very good defensively, good PKer, gritty, nasty player to play against, power-forward type game.

As things stand he is basically more skilled, higher IQ, better skating Brady Martin. (since they are both "Cs" who likely play wing at a higher level)
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One of my favorite guys to watch this year. Was gonna take him in the mock draft but I think Carbonneau has a higher ceiling so I went with him.
 
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BigToe said:
One of my favorite guys to watch this year. Was gonna take him in the mock draft but I think Carbonneau has a higher ceiling so I went with him.
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Yeh, he is such a pain in the ass to play against.

19/40 of his goals this year basically came from in the crease or right on the edge of it. Insane. He gets space for fun, never stops moving and is very skilled too.

If he was 6'2 people would be hailing him as the next Tkachuk.
 
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scumpup said:
the Toronto Maple Leafs.
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1000006344.jpg
 
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Thinking about it, there might be a decent chance Hagens falls to us. I don’t think Chicago or Utah would pick him. I think Nashville would but who knows with GM Trotz
 
I’ll be blunt: 2.5 games in, I don’t think Bear is good. I think I haven’t seen 5 better players in this class. Really doubted I’d find “My Guy” in this wasteland, but he’s a bang on the table pick. Love love love his game. Top 10 any class tape.

The small space skill, feet, and puck handling is high end. High motor; high pace. Brilliant passer and shooter combo. So f***ing good at anticipating contact on the walls and spinning off contact. Intuitive and shifty in the soft spaces, even off-puck he’s darty. This is what a top 6 winger actually looks like, and there’s a legit star 90th percentile. He’s even great defending and PKing. He’ll be better than whoever the Flyers take. I forgot their names after watching Bear.
 
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Magua said:
I’ll be blunt: 2.5 games in, I don’t think Bear is good. I think I haven’t seen 5 better players in this class. Really doubted I’d find “My Guy” in this wasteland, but he’s a bang on the table pick. Love love love his game. Top 10 any class tape.

The small space skill, feet, and puck handling is high end. High motor; high pace. Brilliant passer and shooter combo. So f***ing good at anticipating contact on the walls and spinning off contact. Intuitive and shifty in the soft spaces, even off-puck he’s darty. This is what a top 6 winger actually looks like, and there’s a legit star 90th percentile. He’s even great defending and PKing. He’ll be better than whoever the Flyers take. I forgot their names after watching Bear.
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Bear Potter and Kindel are my underrated center guys for this draft. I personally have them above Desnoyers/JOB but whatever.

Are any of them BPA at #6? no I don't think so. But in the 7-10 range for sure I take Potter.
 
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scumpup said:
Are any of them BPA at #6?
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I’ll call my shot and say Bear is BPA at #6, and we’ll look back at another whiff by the smartest drafting team in the league that I can be a broken record about.

A lot of scouting is having to squint and pretend, and I’m a negative Nancy, but very rarely guys make it this obvious.

tumblr_inline_p8lfrzElPi1rchhf3_500.gifv


*guy
 
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Magua said:
I’ll call my shot and say Bear is BPA at #6, and we’ll look back at another whiff by the smartest drafting team in the league that I can be a broken record about.

A lot of scouting is having to squint and pretend, and I’m a negative Nancy, but very rarely guys make it this obvious.

tumblr_inline_p8lfrzElPi1rchhf3_500.gifv


*guy
Click to expand...
That's where I have him lol
 
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