Thread: 2025 NHL Centers Reference and which picks were used to draft them
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Old 06-10-2025, 02:18 PM   #1
gvitaly
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Icon48 2025 NHL Centers Reference and which picks were used to draft them
I enjoyed all the discussion about how to get an elite C, and the picks required, so I attempted to do a more indepth look at the top centers in the NHL, how they performed, and where they were drafted.

I was looking into all the top 9 Cs that played last year and averaged more than 30 points per season over the last 3 seasons. I attempted to divide them into tiers, and gauge which draft pick on average would be required to draft a player of that calibre.

Tier 1 - Centers that average over 90 points over the last 3 seasons
McDavid, MacKinnon, Draisaitl, Hughes, Matthews, Crosby, Point, Barkov, Eichel, and Miller
Spoiler!


Average pick value,: 73.44 (2nd overall)
Average draft position: 10.6
1st overall: 5/10
top 5: 8/10
top 10: 8/10
top 16: 9/10
1st rounders: 9/10

One could argue that McDavid, MacKinnon, and Draisaitl deserve a bit of a super tier, but I decided that a top 10 center in the NHL would be a good starting point. I also based it on the regular season, so unfortunately playoff Sam Bennett didn't make the top tiers.

Tier 2 - Centers around a PPG
Thomas, Pettersson, Aho, Thompson, Scheifele, Hischier, Suzuki, Larkin

Spoiler!


Average pick value: 35.90 (9th-10th overall)
Average draft position: 15.3
1st overall: 1/8
top 5: 2/8
top 10: 3/8
top 16: 5/8
1st rounders: 7/8

This tier would probably be more contraversial. Pettersson had a bad year, Thompson plays a lot of RW, Celebrini probably should be in it, and Bedard might make it as well, but they don't quite get the support to make it.

Tier 3 - Reliable 70+ point centers
Tavares, Zibanejad, Celebrini, Hintz, Stamkos, Stutzle, Kopitar, Malkin, Duchene, Strome, Bedard

Spoiler!


Average pick value: 67.46 (2nd - 3rd overall)
Average draft position: 7.4
1st overall: 4/11
top 5: 8/11
top 10: 9/11
top 16: 10/11
1st rounders: 10/11

I omitted, both RNH, and Barzal from the list because they played mostly on the wing this year. I also think that Nudge got most of his points thanks to McDavid, but I could be biased. I'm not sure about Duchene, but I think he played enough C this year. Guys like Cooley, and Johnston are going to jump into this tier soon, but the body of work just isn't large enough yet.

Tier 4 -The 1b/2a Kadri tier
Monahan, Nelson, Horvat, Trocheck, Kadri, Giroux, Hertl, Eriksson Ek, Seguin, Granlund, Johnston, Dubois, Stephenson, O'Reilly, Cooley, Karlsson

Spoiler!


Average pick value: 28.96 (12th - 13th overall)
Average draft position: 23.6
1st overall: 0/16
top 5: 3/16
top 10: 6/16
top 16: 6/16
1st rounders: 12/16

I left Shcmaltz, McCann, and Benn out because I felt as though they played too much wing. I'm on the fence regarding Giroux, and Seguin for the same reason, but I included them.

Tier 5 -2nd line Cs averaging more points than Backlund
Zacha, Cozens, Jenner, Lindholm, Schenn, Bennett, Mittelstadt, Byfield, McTavish, Fantilli, Danault, Cirelli, Norris, Domi, Beniers, Carlsson, Chytil, Coyle, Compher, Couturier, Rossi, Wright, Backlund

Spoiler!


Average pick value: 38.51 (8th - 9th overall)
Average draft position: 14.9
1st overall: 0/23
top 5: 9/23
top 10: 14/23
top 16: 15/23
1st rounders: 20/23

I wasn't sure where to cut this tier, so I figured to use Backlund as a refernce. I excluded W. Smith, and Dach from the calculation because they didn't play much C this year. That said I fully expect W. Smith to transition to C sooner rather than later, and rise up the tiers.

Final Thoughts
As I was looking into the Cs in the NHL, I was surprised at just how many of them were drafted in the 1st round, or even in the first half of the 1st round. The elite centers, as expected, were almost exclusively drafted with a top 3 pick.

As I was compiling the list I was actually surprised at how many draws Duchene, and Giroux took. They could actually be low key great center/wing adds to whichever playoff team signs them.

Finally, I'm not calling for a scorched earth rebuild here, just creating a bit of a reference for myself to look at the various teams' center depth before free agency, so you all have a great day.

Reference - Full list by team:

Spoiler!
Last edited by gvitaly; 06-10-2025 at 02:29 PM.
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