Official 2025 NHL DRAFT Thread

[Magua]

That's where I have him lol

I’d say, “Fight me,” but it seems I already beat you to the punch.

I didn’t know who Bear was at 5pm, and now I’m willing to die for him. It’s funny like that.

 

[Strawberry Fields]

This Bear praise has been incredibly validating.

 

[scumpup]

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.

*guy

If the Flyers take Bear I wouldn't be mad. He also has a good name.

 

[mize370]

Hagens is a Long Island guy. Anyone think the Islanders trade down to 3 or 4 and take him there?

 

[scumpup]

Hagens is a Long Island guy. Anyone think the Islanders trade down to 3 or 4 and take him there?

I don't think there is any reality where that occurs

 

[10robinho10]

2025 NHL Draft Slovak prospect Patryk Zubek has told about interest from NY Rangers, Utah or Toronto

 

[hystyk1921]

Question, why are you supposedly tipping your f***ing hand for the draft?

Why yell at me, yell at Danny

 

[mize370]

I don't think there is any reality where that occurs

If thery are hell bent on taking Hagens, then it would not surprise me if they moved to 3rd and got a nice kicker for it too

 

[Appleyard]

This Bear praise has been incredibly validating.
View attachment 1039756

My biggest regret in the mock so far aha. (Albeit I really like Potter)

I have Bear and Potter both in my personal top 10... but somehow took Potter when Bear is a spot ahead of him on my list.

 

[flyersnorth]

All this talk about Bear got me to look up his stats.

The first thing I noticed when looking at the Silvertips leaders is Landon DuPont. Holy hell - 60 pts in 64 games as a 15 year old??

 

[Appleyard]

All this talk about Bear got me to look up his stats.

The first thing I noticed when looking at the Silvertips leaders is Landon DuPont. Holy hell - 60 pts in 64 games as a 15 year old??

Yeh, he is a rare generational defenseman. Barring a meteor strike he will be #1 in the 2027 draft.

He would probably be a top 5 pick in THIS draft if he was 2 years older and 18 right now.

I actually heard rumblings about him back in ~2019 when he was in Eisbaren Berlins youth system... and the grapevine saying that this 10 year old was better than some of the u-16 German national team players... took it with a grain of salt... but yeh, was probably true.

In recent memory Ekblad is the only 15 year old out of North America who has been close to Dupont... and still Dupont is miles ahead at same age, without being super physically developed like Ekblad was.

The "all-time 15 year old Canadian top 4" would have DuPont as #1 D.

Paul Reinhart-Landon DuPont
Greg Hawgood-Aaron Ekblad

basically the only 4 players in junior hockey's ~50 year top level history to be top 4 level guys at 15. And DuPont is the ONLY one who has been a clear cut #1 D at that age. And Hawgood ended up the worst of the bunch being a 1-dimension 500 game, 40 point a season PP QB...


He genuinely might be the best 15 year old defenseman of all time... Ekblad, Dahlin and Hedman are the best in recent memory... and at the same age they were all more than a year behind where DuPont is.

 

[BigToe]

My biggest regret in the mock so far aha. (Albeit I really like Potter)

I have Bear and Potter both in my personal top 10... but somehow took Potter when Bear is a spot ahead of him on my list.

Where do you have Ryabkin?

 

[flyersnorth]

Yeh, he is a rare generational defenseman. Barring a meteor strike he will be #1 in the 2027 draft.

He would probably be a top 5 pick in THIS draft if he was 2 years older and 18 right now.

I actually heard rumblings about him back in ~2019 when he was in Eisbaren Berlins youth system... and the grapevine saying that this 10 year old was better than some of the u-16 German national team players... took it with a grain of salt... but yeh, was probably true.

In recent memory Ekblad is the only 15 year old out of North America who has been close to Dupont... and still Dupont is miles ahead at same age, without being super physically developed like Ekblad was.

The "all-time 15 year old Canadian top 4" would have DuPont as #1 D.

Paul Reinhart-Landon DuPont
Greg Hawgood-Aaron Ekblad

basically the only 4 players in junior hockey's ~50 year top level history to be top 4 level guys at 15. And DuPont is the ONLY one who has been a clear cut #1 D at that age. And Hawgood ended up the worst of the bunch being a 1-dimension 500 game, 40 point a season PP QB...


He genuinely might be the best 15 year old defenseman of all time... Ekblad, Dahlin and Hedman are the best in recent memory... and at the same age they were all more than a year behind where DuPont is.

Thanks for this. He really does seem like a special player.

So.... McKenna and DuPont for us the next two years?

 

[FLYguy3911]

Yeh, he is a rare generational defenseman. Barring a meteor strike he will be #1 in the 2027 draft.

He would probably be a top 5 pick in THIS draft if he was 2 years older and 18 right now.

I actually heard rumblings about him back in ~2019 when he was in Eisbaren Berlins youth system... and the grapevine saying that this 10 year old was better than some of the u-16 German national team players... took it with a grain of salt... but yeh, was probably true.

In recent memory Ekblad is the only 15 year old out of North America who has been close to Dupont... and still Dupont is miles ahead at same age, without being super physically developed like Ekblad was.

The "all-time 15 year old Canadian top 4" would have DuPont as #1 D.

Paul Reinhart-Landon DuPont
Greg Hawgood-Aaron Ekblad

basically the only 4 players in junior hockey's ~50 year top level history to be top 4 level guys at 15. And DuPont is the ONLY one who has been a clear cut #1 D at that age. And Hawgood ended up the worst of the bunch being a 1-dimension 500 game, 40 point a season PP QB...


He genuinely might be the best 15 year old defenseman of all time... Ekblad, Dahlin and Hedman are the best in recent memory... and at the same age they were all more than a year behind where DuPont is.

Jay Bouwmeester depending on how you are determining 15 year olds. He made the Canadian WJC in his D-2!

 

[BillDineen]

My biggest regret in the mock so far aha. (Albeit I really like Potter)

I have Bear and Potter both in my personal top 10... but somehow took Potter when Bear is a spot ahead of him on my list.

Isn't the Achilles a major issue though with Bear?

 

[IronMarshal]

Isn't the Achilles a major issue though with Bear?

It wasn’t a complete tear/cut iirc. That means it will probably heal better. Achilles can be funny. Some guys, like Peyton Krebs don’t seem to skate as well as they did, other guys recover without issue. I believe It usually takes close to a year to recover from a full tear, however a partial as in the Bear case may be somewhat faster. He is worth a gamble in the teens. Terrific player who should be top 20 if no injury.

 

[Appleyard]

Jay Bouwmeester depending on how you are determining 15 year olds. He made the Canadian WJC in his D-2!

Yeh, my brain is so in junior hockey mode these days that my default is by year ahaha.

But yeh, Dupont was still ahead of him by some way at same age. If DuPont was half as good but 5 inches taller he would have gone to the WJC too ahaha.

 

[Appleyard]

Where do you have Ryabkin?

Tough. Probably somewhere around 15 still but yeh... he would be one were I a GM I would be doing all the digging and the most interviews with aha.

 

[Larry44]

My biggest regret in the mock so far aha. (Albeit I really like Potter)

I have Bear and Potter both in my personal top 10... but somehow took Potter when Bear is a spot ahead of him on my list.

What? You Goulbourned it?

 

[Appleyard]

What? You Goulbourned it?

Doing it on my phone I think I simply assumed Bear was gone without checking comprehensively ahaha.

 

[Larry44]

Doing it on my phone I think I simply assumed Bear was gone without checking comprehensively ahaha.

You were bound to make a mistake eventually, LOL!

 

[BigToe]

Tough. Probably somewhere around 15 still but yeh... he would be one were I a GM I would be doing all the digging and the most interviews with aha.

I have him at 11 and I have no idea if I'm way off or not lol.

 

[Larry44]

Tough. Probably somewhere around 15 still but yeh... he would be one were I a GM I would be doing all the digging and the most interviews with aha.

Any idea if Ryabkin will be coming in to Voorhees to have secret meetings with the Flyers team and management pre-Draft?

 

[Appleyard]

I have him at 11 and I have no idea if I'm way off or not lol.

Really tough one to gauge. Talent wise he is a top 6-7 pick... but from what I have heard he is very immature and teams worry about that and its impact on development. If I were a team picking ~10-14th or so I would really consider him. There is a non-zero chance you end up with one of the best 5 players in the draft with some luck...

From 2020-2024 he was on true star track without wavering. Like 100%, guaranteed star track.

Then this season? He looks a worse player than last year somehow. Part of me thinks that maybe putting on probably the 20lbs or so he did actually hurt his game. He looks slower. But tbh he also simply might not be in the best shape from what I have heard...

He was listed at 170lbs 18 months ago and now listed at 201lbs... and not all of that is muscle that is for sure ahahaha.

Dynamo were also dysfunctional to an enormous degree this year with a young coach who looked out of his depth. Only Limatov on a team that on paper was stacked had a good season.

But he has a very good shot, a high IQ, is physical to the point of being a Brad Marchand rat with muscle to back it up, can pass a puck, hand good hands... and when he wants to is very good defensively.

And in the North American junior league that is hardest to produce in? He produced at a level that usually gets a player taken 15-25th... and was then maybe their best player in the play-offs...

and despite him not being the best transition player? His xGF was unreal. Best on Muskegon. Best in the entire USHL... Over 63% xGF...

But you can watch 2 games of his and come away thinking he is a top 5 pick... or undraftable aha (not really undraftable but some NHL scouts will think so) he is so inconsistent with effort, and sometimes has no interest playing in a team structure.


You know what is funny? If he falls to #22... he might be a Flyer. I dunno, I have heard a few times they have been at a lot of his games in Muskegon. (albeit with Ryabkin, Radivojevic and Nestrasil a lot of teams have been watching them.)

 

[Appleyard]

Any idea if Ryabkin will be coming in to Voorhees to have secret meetings with the Flyers team and management pre-Draft?

No idea. But I have heard the Flyers have watched a LOT of Muskegon games.