Official 2025 NHL DRAFT Thread

[Magua]

Don’t know if you do rankings but if so, who are your top 10 for 2025?

Mine are
1 Schaefer
2 Misa
3 Hagens
4 Martone
5 Frondell
6 Eklund
7 McQueen, yeah health is a big ?? but I think he has a higher ceiling than many
8 Bear
9 Desnoyers
10 Mrtka

Toe told me to watch another handful I might like. In this class, if I like anyone, they might go into my top 6-10. None of these guys can’t easily be leapfrogged. So I don’t know about rankings.

I’d probably take Schaefer 1st. Just a better watch than the consensus forwards; the best skater; super young. I’d have Hagens/Martone/Misa/Bear on a tier. Lot of ambivalence. Then I like Frondell and Potter the most. Then it’s another gap and my confidence slips. Not the biggest Eklund guy, but he’s clearly more skilled than the consensus centers. Just not sold his upside isn’t more 2nd line support scorer. Desnoyers, McQueen? I shrug. Floor guys, though Desnoyers seems better. O’Brien has moments where he could be ranked above, but honestly, he bugs me. Wrote an essay on him.

I’ve seen Carbonneau. His skill is legit middle 1st round. Better than the centers. But he’s supremely low motor and lazy. Doesn’t engage, stands still. He has the physical skills to not be. Definite bust potential; he’s certainly not vaulting anyone for me. I’ll watch Ryabkin, Smith, Lakovic, Mooney, Zharovsky, Kindel next. Eventually. Anyone could go into my 3rd/4th tier. My mother even.

 

[Captain Dave Poulin]

I'm loving that everyone is loving Martone.

Just gotta convince Cap to get on board.

Fart, he's a fat bastard who is named after a steak.

 

[FatTugboatFlahr]

Fart, he's a fat bastard who is named after a steak.

Flahr loves the sound of that.

 

[Captain Dave Poulin]

I’ve watched him only 2-3 times in the NHL, haven’t looked at a single paywall stat. If you told me he was mediocre, I wouldn’t have even minded given his age. I can describe every facet of his game like deadhead describing a prospect’s musculature. I KNOW how he was going to win despite or because he was one of the most non-traditional prospects I’ve watched.

Make sure you watch Carter Bear. Because he’s my Benson this class but with more normal NHL physical attributes. It’s so obvious that I’ll laugh in hindsight. Every way he wins on the ice scales up.

Can Bear play center in the NHL? Also, can Michkov? (I'm not being sarcastic - genuinely curious.)

 

[Magua]

Can Bear play center in the NHL? Also, can Michkov? (I'm not being sarcastic - genuinely curious.)

Michkov? No. That feels pointless and what a desperate team does. Just let the elite offensive winger be a winger. It’s not like skating is his forte.

Bear? Skillset-wise, there’s some chance he could switch to center. But I’m not banking on it. The idea intrigues me to test out in ways Qatar did not. But if he’s a LW, it doesn’t change my opinion.

Potter is on the small/slight side. But he reads the d-zone better than someone like O’Brien, and I think he can stick down the middle. Thrives on exits/entries.

 

[BillDineen]

Any thoughts on Mason West? Late bday, 6'6, from Minnesota. Seems like a high upside pick

Mason West - Stats, Contract, Salary & More

Eliteprospects.com hockey player profile of Mason West, 2007-08-03 Edina, MN, USA USA. Most recently in the USHL with Fargo Force. Complete player biography and stats.

www.eliteprospects.com

 

[Gregor Samsa]

What would the feeling be around here if the Flyers took massive swings for the fences? Like McQueen and Ryabkin with the first 2 picks and another all or nothing type of player with Edmonton’s 1st

 

[FLYguy3911]

Curious where you had Cody Glass. I am nowhere near your intellect and others when it comes to scouting but as a Winterhawks fan, watching Glass than Seth. Jarvis I couldn’t understand how Glass was a top five pick and Jarvis slipped.

Jarvis actually went earlier than expected if you can believe it. Scouch thought he was a second rounder and I was losing my mind listening to him talk about him that year.

I didn’t watch Jarvis’ class at all. @FLYguy3911 was a huge fan though.

I think I was the high guy and I still managed to have him one spot behind Drysdale. Whoops.

10 Mrtka

I can see the appeal, but he reminds me of Helge Grans (upscaled) from his draft year. Big RHD with flashes of skill but not as much substance. Feels 4ish.

This isn’t a great draft for D at the top, but I think Smith is much more talented from the bits I’ve seen. Better feet. Better hands. More creative. Shows potential as a stopper. He was just OK at the u18s so the hype has cooled down.

I’ve heard Hensler get talked up recently too but haven’t seen him much outside of the WJC and he looked meat and potatoes there.

Btw I don’t know why these kids keep going to Wisconsin in their draft years. He wasn’t even playing that much there.

 

[StoneColdAnimal]

It’s funny because I remember this one vividly. I did not like Cody Glass as much as others in my first few games. I moved him up because I wasn’t as confident back then. I thought he had good, not elite skill. Thought he was an NHL wing. I liked him. But my issue was he had serious issues physically. Lost it a lot, had trouble holding onto it with guys on him. Played more off puck in the OZ. He was competitive though, so you did wonder if physically he’d catch up. But he didn’t really, and the pace and the escapability just weren’t there to compensate.

It’s really easy to look good motoring up through an empty NZ in juniors….and then have no idea how to create space for yourself in the NHL. Because it isn’t just “there.” I need SOMETHING. Can you shield it exceptionally? Is it your burst? Do you have zero panic with sticks in reach? I struggle to like guys who I can’t imagine evading NHL checking and winning 1v1 somewhere someway. Short space skill + maneuvering is king. That’s why Cody Glass couldn’t cut it.

More WHL. I know why Yamamoto was a bust. I didn’t know what I know now. And I know why Stankoven wasn’t. Benson will be a fun case study. I’m pretty confident he’ll still get there for similar reasons. I can envision how he’ll win.

I didn’t watch Jarvis’ class at all. @FLYguy3911 was a huge fan though.

If my memory is correct, years ago, you liked a smallish Swede winger and thought he was vastly underrated. Do you recall who that was and whatever happened to him?

 

[flyersnorth]

What would the feeling be around here if the Flyers took massive swings for the fences? Like McQueen and Ryabkin with the first 2 picks and another all or nothing type of player with Edmonton’s 1st

Depending on what's at #6, I'm not sure I would take a massive swing.

If Martone or Hagens is there, I make that pick. Frondell I don't know enough about.

If Desnoyers is there, maybe consider exploiting Montreal and grab their two 1sts, then use those to make some bigger swings.

 

[iceman42]

I know you cant ignore 'Meh' guys because you need a few. My problem is the Flyers are loaded with 'Meh' guys, we need to take some swings at 'Wow' guys. It seemed they got the message, then lost the message.

 

[unbridledid]

Roger McQueen or death.
Also, trade COL and EDM 1st. Or death

ohhhhhhh....Cayden Lidstrom says hello. Too high risk with that pick.

If you were the Hawks and Misa and Schaefer were gone... who do you take at 3 ?

 

[BiggE]

ohhhhhhh....Cayden Lidstrom says hello. Too high risk with that pick.

If you were the Hawks and Misa and Schaefer were gone... who do you take at 3 ?

Hagens or Martone

 

[iceman42]

Hagens or Martone

no no no we need them to take one of Desnoyers/McQueen/JOB

 

[renberg]

I’ve heard Hensler get talked up recently too but haven’t seen him much outside of the WJC and he looked meat and potatoes there.

Btw I don’t know why these kids keep going to Wisconsin in their draft years. He wasn’t even playing that much there.

I don't know what went wrong with UW's hockey program. There was a time not so long ago when it was the campus rage. Team was good but then it's fallen off of a cliff.
Why go there? State Street still rocks and then there are the ladies. It's a tough combination to beat.

 

[Appleyard]

I don't know what went wrong with UW's hockey program. There was a time not so long ago when it was the campus rage. Team was good but then it's fallen off of a cliff.
Why go there? State Street still rocks and then there are the ladies. It's a tough combination to beat.

I think the ice size change has kind of hurt in a funny way. Used to be teams came in there and had not played big ice since probably HS... then UW are playing big ice every game and had a really big home ice advantage as a result. Masked at times maybe average recruiting classes.

But also... they often had kind of mid records in season and then turned it on in postseason under Granato. Kind of masked the team often being just "fine".

Mike Hastings has a good record and is considered a great coach... will be interesting to see how he does going forward.

 

[scumpup]

Any thoughts on Mason West? Late bday, 6'6, from Minnesota. Seems like a high upside pick

Mason West - Stats, Contract, Salary & More

Eliteprospects.com hockey player profile of Mason West, 2007-08-03 Edina, MN, USA USA. Most recently in the USHL with Fargo Force. Complete player biography and stats.

www.eliteprospects.com

stay away from the giant boys... they'll break your heart.

 

[scumpup]

What would the feeling be around here if the Flyers took massive swings for the fences? Like McQueen and Ryabkin with the first 2 picks and another all or nothing type of player with Edmonton’s 1st

taking McQueen or Ryabkin at 6 would be stupid. Even if it worked. If you can get Eklund Martone Frondell Hagens Bear Potter at 6 why risk it all on McQueen?

 

[Magua]

If my memory is correct, years ago, you liked a smallish Swede winger and thought he was vastly underrated. Do you recall who that was and whatever happened to him?

I wanted Berggren with the JOB pick (not like he hasn’t been better every year since). I had him top 10. But you had Kravtsov, Kotkaniemi, Hayton, Boqvist, Zadina, and Wahlstrom who actually went in that range, so I don’t think it looks any worse, which is sort of the point: there are no bonus points for drafting a consensus bust. He performed similarly to most of them at 2nd round value.

Berggren has skill (he dominated AHL from the jump), and Detroit doesn’t use him much, maybe he has more to offer in a different organization. Maybe he’s just not good enough. I’d point to a common theme for successes and not successes: pace, and I don’t mean skating speed. He always played under control, but it did veer into too casual for an average skater. Matters more to me now. I think purely skill-wise Benson and Berggren were close — canyon difference in the connective tissue of their games though.

 

[Gregor Samsa]

So messing around for a bit on the FC Hockey mock using consensus, I was routinely able to get this with the top 4 picks

6. Martone/Frondell/Desnoyers/McQueen
22. Martin/Kindel/Cootes
31. Aitcheson/Boumedienne/Fiddler
36. Boumedienne/Moore/Gastrin/McKinney

Highly doubt the draft falls this way but I’d be stoked if it did lol

 

[WolfOfBroadStreet14]

I really want Frondell. Think he’d thrive with Mich even if he ends up as a LW.

 

[TheKingPin]

I really want Frondell. Think he’d thrive with Mich even if he ends up as a LW.

He’s my third pick, but I agree. They would be really good together. Any of Hagens, Martone, Frondell and Rossi would be a very nice turnaround and proof they actually know what they are doing. Martin and Bennett would be terrible.