Safe to say they have no intention to trade down then. I don't think you arrange for a celebrity announcement if there is a chance that you aren't making a high profile pick.
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It seems like that whenever a team has an option to sacrifice a future year's pick in order to keep the present day pick, they sacrifice the future. I don't know if I've ever seen it otherwise.
Safe to say they have no intention to trade down then. I don't think you arrange for a celebrity announcement if there is a chance that you aren't making a high profile pick.
She can still announce pick 18. Sounds like she is announcing all of the picks.
1 - Reports from the rink and from video viewings
2 - Analytics department contributes a mountain of data
3 - Mental performance specialist interviewing draft prospects for months and providing insight
4 - Strength-and-conditioning will analyze the testing results
5 - Concerns about speed or footwork ask skating consultant
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I really like HockeyProspect's coverage. They go pretty deep. Here's their Top-16 breakdown. I'll edit with some notes as I have the time.
Timestamps of interest:
#15 Ryker Lee - 10:15 (Might be an option at #32)
- For their money, the best puck-handler in the entire draft, ahead of even Hagens.
- Similar to Zharovsky that they make the ice a 'playground'. Can make overly risky plays.
- Impressive to do all this in his rookie year in the USHL.
- Skating is his biggest flaw. However, he had a growth spurt that may have contributed to his skating mechanics. Skates like he has a piano strapped to his back.
#14 Cole Reschny - 19:53
- First half of the season was tough to rank him. He was waiting for plays to happen instead of driving the play. This changed in the second half of the season.
- Skating technique is good. Needs power in his stride to become quicker. If his skating improves, he can be a C in the NHL.
- Him and Brady Martin are the most improved players in the second-half of the season.
- Small but plays big and isn't afraid of physicality.
- Not as gifted as Kindel in terms of his shot and passing but he's a better puck handler.
- Dominated Ravensbergen in the playoffs.
#12 Roger McQueen - 34:00
- Ranking is all based on upside and potential, not what he is today. He is very raw. Not a top-3 talent like other outlets are deeming him as. This player requires the most projection of any plater in this draft.
- Injury is an obvious concern. He did show he wasn't scared to be physical though leading up to his time off.
- Good north to south skating, needs work on agility, but for a 6' 5" player, he skates well.
- Great handler for such a big player. However, success rates with handling is still not great.
- Shot is average. Most of his goals will be scored within 5-ft of the net.
- Main concern is McQueen's playmaking ability. He's able to execute the simple passes (cycles, drop passes, give and go's, etc.). They did a review of all his passes over the whole year and McQueen did not complete a single saucer pass over a stick the entire season.
- Comparisons to Cayden Lindstrom are only because of the injuries. Lindstrom is way ahead of McQueen in all aspects of play at the time of their draft.
#10 Carter Bear - 55:00
- Personal favourites for HP. Incredible first half of the season. Put up the points with high-end compete. Every shift he plays like it's his last.
- Lost his C mid-season (Miettinen). Stats dipped but offensively because of this but he was still doing the right things.
- Bad injury to end his season. They've been told it is not as bad as an injury as Peyton Krebs had. He's already back skating and ahead of schedule. If not for the injury, they'd have him in the top-6 or 7.
- Skating isn't a strength. Not bad though. Interesting to see how the injury affects Bear's skating going forward.
- Brad sees this player (without the injury) as better than Hagens, Martone, McQueen, etc. and a top-6 talent in this draft.
- Handling and shot rates are comparable to Hagens. Very underrated offense. One-touch passing and processing skills are elite. Playmaking is good but Hagens is better.
- Bear is the Seth Jarvis of this class.
They also did 32-17 yesterday here:
Timestamps of interest:
#28 Ben Kindel - 36:10
- Not sure if his game will translate to the NHL because of his combo of below-average skating and size. Not many comparables in the NHL.
- The way he plays is Claude Giroux-like. Smart. Good playmaker. High compete, good vision, and great shot.
- His skating is the main drawback as he lacks power and side to side agility. Kindel has to default to teammates for zone-entries because of his poor skating.
- Excellent playmaker, especially on his backhand. However, his handling and driving rates are worse than expected, which contributed to his lower ranking.
#24 Alexander Zharovsky - 1:07:55
- Looked good in his few KHL games to end the year.
- He has tons of talent in a draft class that lacks talent. Lots of first rounders will be 3rd line players but Zharovsky has top-6 upside with his shot, vision, and hands. Really raw prospect with boom/bust profile.
- Not at the draft combine, no official measurements yet but listed as 6' 1". Curious to see his real size.
- Played with Topar in the MHL which is a tier below the top teams in the league. He started the season slow and needed time to figure out the league. Surged in the second half of the season.
- Similar to Dorofeyev in his draft year.
- Has confidence to pull off dekes and riskier plays, even in the KHL. Defensive play got better in the later-part in the season and held in the KHL.
- Dual-threat player. Top 10 shooter and playmaker in the draft. Skating needs work.
- High-risk player as he sets up lots of his offense from the top of the blue-line. Looks good when it works, will get reamed out if it doesn't in the NHL.
- Inside-driven player. Does not play on the perimeter.
#23 Braeden Cootes - 1:21:45
- Playoff performer. Captain of his team. Good compete. Lower ranking because of offensive upside.
- Wish the playmaking was better. Stick-handling can be up and down. Will be one of the safest picks in the draft. 3C projection in the NHL.
- Lots of secondary qualities. Really high floor. Good skater, great compete, very good shutdown defender and responsible off the puck. Good forechecker and backchecker.
- Shot mechanics need work to change the angle. One timer is decent.
- Playmaking rates are lower. He can occasionally make really nice passes but not enough to be projectible.
#21 Kashawn Aitcheson - 1:34:50
- Wasn't expecting the offense from his this season. He was sometimes playing bumper on the PP or playing the QB on the PP. Not sure how the offense translates to the NHL.
- Defense is lacking. If he was a better defender and his offense was secondary, he would have been ranked higher. Plays probably too many minutes a night with Barrie, even playing 30-min a night. Could contribute to his poorer defense.
- Can hit like Jacob Trouba 2.0 and can fight. Is a trash-talker.
- Skating is not very fluid. Not a concern to be in the NHL but if it doesn't improve, not sure how he'll be a top-4 D.
- He's a player that is perplexing. He can look completely different from one game to the next.
- Development is everything for this player. If the team that drafts him can build the foundation for him to work on, that's his best bet.
- Can be a good puck retriever, other times he's flat footed. Zone exits are also topsy-turvy.
- Skating has to be improved when you make so many mistakes. Lack of power in his stride.
- Puck movement might not be high-end enough to be a PP2 option. Could be a Dmitry Orlov type player. Weird player to scout. Some think he's a unicorn, others think he's not smart enough to make it.
#20 Cullen Potter - 1:44:05
- True 17yo prospect in the NCAA. Big step up from NTDP.
- Potter is a top-5 skater in the draft.
- If everything goes right, could be a top-6 forward. Can force things too much.
- Hockey sense is average. Better than Oliver Moore in his draft year. Played mostly as a C this year but projects as a winger.
- Small but wide-tracked skater, easier to hit. Can make many unique plays at full speed which forces D to back up. Can be a dangerous transition player.
- Puts himself in high-danger scoring opportunities.
- Not a great playmaker. Potter is more reactionary. If he gets in trouble, then he'll pass the puck. Adapts in real time. Is a quick-strike player.
- He is a play driver.
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Last edited by circle; 06-24-2025 at 05:06 PM.
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I think likely they'll keep the pick as well, but this tweet sounds a lot like he's also trying to drive prices up too, so not completely off the table.
Man I really want us to somehow get him. Seems like a great family, and very close with his brother.
Yeah. I would love for the flames to be aggressive in moving vets with full retention and moving their other picks in this draft to find a way to get Misa.
I know there is virtually zero chance they would trade Kadri let alone with 50% retention but if moving some combination of those pieces could get Misa, I would love to see it happen. Maybe not necessarily all of those pieces because they can’t retain salary on that many players and that’s a lot of assets to move for one player.
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