2025 NHL Draft Thread

[Canada 02]

Hockey Writers top 32

https://thehockeywriters.com/2025-nh...-early-top-32/

[sureLoss]

Originally Posted by UKflames

Is a player that keeps getting injured a red flag or do we not worry at this point in their career?

More concerning for me is missing evaluation time for the scouts.

For example a guy like Eiserman was in contention to be 1st OA pick this time last year.

But after evaluating him fully, he dropped down the rankings because scouts felt he didn't develop other aspects of his game.

Now lets suppose Eiserman was injured for most of last season, a team might have been tempted to take him higher than he went based on the early evaluation.

[dammage79]

Well if Frondell drops out of the top 10 due to injury, he's going to be a steal for the team that gets him.

Then again, I look to Anaheim who surprised everybody and took Beckett Senneke 3rd OA after his injury plagued season after a strong final 5th of his playing season.

[Snuffleupagus]

Another player to watch closely is RHD Peyton Kettles, Peyton will be one of the youngest players in the 25 draft as he just just turned 17 and is already 6'5,195lbs. believe it or not his best asset is his skating but he also uses his size and reach very well, I expect him to get a bigger role in the line-up for Swift Current and by June could very well have the beast tag on him.

[bigrangy]

Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus

Another player to watch closely is RHD Peyton Kettles, Peyton will be one of the youngest players in the 25 draft as he just just turned 17 and is already 6'5,195lbs. believe it or not his best asset is his skating but he also uses his size and reach very well, I expect him to get a bigger role in the line-up for Swift Current and by June could very well have the beast tag on him.

I watched him in the Hlinka specifically cause he seems like he had a intriguing set of tools but I didn’t come away impressed. Just a guy. I mean, probably fine in the 2nd round on but I wouldn’t expect an impact pro-level player.

[butterfly]

Originally Posted by dammage79

Well if Frondell drops out of the top 10 due to injury, he's going to be a steal for the team that gets him.

Then again, I look to Anaheim who surprised everybody and took Beckett Senneke 3rd OA after his injury plagued season after a strong final 5th of his playing season.

Isn't Senneke injured again? Thought I heard someone mention missing all of camp.

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by bigrangy

I watched him in the Hlinka specifically cause he seems like he had a intriguing set of tools but I didn’t come away impressed. Just a guy. I mean, probably fine in the 2nd round on but I wouldn’t expect an impact pro-level player.

He was still 16 and playing little minutes, I'm not saying he'll ever be as good as Schaefer but with a bigger role he could get into the 1st round.

[Royle9]

Thats a shame for Frondell, almost guarantee he slips out of the top 5.
Suspected his injury is not good, only because his camp won't disclose it.

[robertsfanatic]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

https://twitter.com/user/status/1830953895050535311

you've convinced me - this is who i want us to draft! (besides Hagens)

[sureLoss]

McKenzie's top 20 preseason rankings are out:

https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/james-hagens-...raft-1.2176638

Interesting to see a Goalie in the top 20

McKenzie also notes that Schaefer is the most likely to beat our Hagens for 1st OA.

McQueen had 1st OA vote from one scout and a 2nd OA vote from a 2nd scout out of the 10 NHL scouts surveyed.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Maybe bottom 5 this year and tank for McKenna in 26.

[Tbull8]

We’re going to get McQueen. Just a gut feeling but I would be pumped

[Bonded]

Get Misa and the Flames will have the best brother either way

[Sandman]

W Jakob Ihs-Wozniak will be a big riser IMO. He has things to work on, but he’s a 6’3” winger with good speed, and though some consider him to be a playmaker, he actually displays a wicked shot and a nose for the net. Stickhandling and 1-on-1 skill are another strength of his, but he needs better focus in the defensive zone.

In 2023-24, he put up an astronomical 50 points in 36 J20 games, and only turned 17 in February. I thought he looked good at the Hlinka, but I wish he would use his size more to his advantage.

[FlamesAddiction]

Is 2025 considered to be a strong draft class? It seems like there are quite a few players that have been hyped for a while, at least in the top 10.

[stemit14]

Originally Posted by Tbull8

We’re going to get McQueen. Just a gut feeling but I would be pumped

The tools he has make him such an intriguing prospect. His numbers aren’t as impressive as some others but that’s why he’s ranked at 6th instead of 2nd/1st. My hope is that he’ll have a monster season this year and the flames somehow win one of the lottery picks and take him at 2nd/3rd overall. If he has a similar season to last year (impressive but inconsistent), he’ll probably go outside the top 8 picks.

Having a fast and skilled #1/#2 center that is 6’5” is such a unicorn in the league. Seems like in every draft, someone takes a chance with a top 10 pick on a guy like that (Lindstrom in 2024; Byfield in 2020). For some reason, it’s rare for them to reach their potential and, when they do, it usually takes longer for them to reach that potential compared to other skilled forwards taken at the top of the draft. I’d be totally fine with the flames taking that chance but I would love to see him have a dominant draft year to make the pick feel less risky on day one.

[looooob]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

McKenzie's top 20 preseason rankings are out:

https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/james-hagens-...raft-1.2176638

Interesting to see a Goalie in the top 20

McKenzie also notes that Schaefer is the most likely to beat our Hagens for 1st OA.

McQueen had 1st OA vote from one scout and a 2nd OA vote from a 2nd scout out of the 10 NHL scouts surveyed.

9 Centers- perfect. grab 2

[YyjFlames]

Originally Posted by stemit14

The tools he has make him such an intriguing prospect. His numbers aren’t as impressive as some others but that’s why he’s ranked at 6th instead of 2nd/1st. My hope is that he’ll have a monster season this year and the flames somehow win one of the lottery picks and take him at 2nd/3rd overall. If he has a similar season to last year (impressive but inconsistent), he’ll probably go outside the top 8 picks.

Having a fast and skilled #1/#2 center that is 6’5” is such a unicorn in the league. Seems like in every draft, someone takes a chance with a top 10 pick on a guy like that (Lindstrom in 2024; Byfield in 2020). For some reason, it’s rare for them to reach their potential and, when they do, it usually takes longer for them to reach that potential compared to other skilled forwards taken at the top of the draft. I’d be totally fine with the flames taking that chance but I would love to see him have a dominant draft year to make the pick feel less risky on day one.

Canucks' Athletic beat writer Thomas Drance did a piece on the Penticton prospect tournament highlighting a few of the intriguing prospects. He talked about how difficult it was to evaluate Vilmer Alriksson, who's a big 6'6 player.

Interesting comments that might shed a little light on why really tall players are tough to project and peg down:

[...]One scout suggested to The Athletic that some players make hockey look easy, and Alriksson makes it look near impossible. Another scout, however, pointed him out as “his guy” at this tournament. He went on to suggest that, in his assessment, Alriksson had the skill set and tools to “pop” as a potential NHL option within a couple of years.

Opposition defenders seemed to be able to pass and shoot through him with relative ease when he was cutting off the top. It seemed like a physical limitation more than anything to do with defensive awareness or hockey IQ. His physical stature simply makes it easier for skilled defenders to play the puck through his legs than it would be against a 6-2 winger in the same position.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/577...ers-prospects/

[stemit14]

Originally Posted by YyjFlames

Canucks' Athletic beat writer Thomas Drance did a piece on the Penticton prospect tournament highlighting a few of the intriguing prospects. He talked about how difficult it was to evaluate Vilmer Alriksson, who's a big 6'6 player.

Interesting comments that might shed a little light on why really tall players are tough to project and peg down:





https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/577...ers-prospects/

That’s an interesting take on exceptionally tall centres. I could see that being a physical limitation for them that opposing players could take advantage of. The common concern I’ve typically seen in drafting big, power forwards that have dominated in junior is one of two things:

A) He’s only dominating because he’s so much bigger and developed than the other kids he’s playing against. Won’t be able to use his size as effectively in the NHL.
B) He doesn’t use his size enough to his advantage (i.e. he isn’t physical enough).

It’s funny because it’s two ends of the same spectrum but you see both criticisms of big power forward prospects. Can anyone think of the last time a 6’5” (or taller) player was a legit #1 or #2 center in the NHL? There might be a few in the league right now… I’m not sure.

[sch19lks]

Roger McQueen with 4 goals tonight in Brandon’s season opener. I’d absolutely love this guy as a Flame. 6’5” centre with a ton of skill? Yes please