2025 NHL Draft Thread

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by BagoPucks

Enjoy it sandman. What a way to culminate all your hard work. Thank you for bringing us along on this ride.

Thank you, sir!

[cral12]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

This board is going to lose it's collective fecal matter if the Flames don't A move up, or B draft a center with pick 18.

Thanks to Sandman and Cral12 and others for the prospect reports though out the year. It's always a day of optimism, and let's hope if the Flames to make two picks today that Crazy Bacon Legs initial prognostication comes to fruition.

Many thanks, Sylvanfan - woke up this morning still riding high that the Flames drafted 2 guys I really coveted in this draft class and thought we could realistically get if we stayed put at 18th & 32nd.
Just extra cool as mock drafts are often so futile, that I was able to at least get both Flames picks correct!
https://upsidehockey.substack.com/p/...t-40-the-final

Day 2 should be a blast; enjoy all! Sandman and I appreciate all the support from these parts - keeps us motivated and going!

[fotze2]

Stupid question and nhl.com is a nightmare to navigate. Is the 2nd round broadcast anywhere?

[dammage79]

Originally Posted by fotze2

Stupid question and nhl.com is a nightmare to navigate. Is the 2nd round broadcast anywhere?

Sn has it on all channels

[Scroopy Noopers]

I can’t believe how hard that draft broadcast sucked. Unreal.

Teams voted 26-6 for this. Against Bettmans suggestion…. Just garbage.

You want war room privacy? Fans want entertainment from their entertainment source. Joooookkkkeee.

[cral12]

Well, way too early draft rankings analysis had Upside's stacking up mighty fine:

Analyzing the results of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft:
https://nhldraft.substack.com/p/anal...ts-of-the-2025

Long post and also includes some guys left on the board...

[cral12]

Just got reminded of @Arsenal14's analysis form a bit ago (May '24) looking at some of our older stuff (even pre-dating Upside Hockey)

"With this weighting it's very clear that McKenzie matches the actual first picks of the draft most years. Congrats to cral12 who moves into second place. ISS still is terrible and Craig Button remains right near the top.

The 2016 draft provided lots of room to beat the actual GM results for any expert who had Juolevi, Puljujarvi and Alexander Nylander out of the top 10.

On the other end few of the experts did well in 2017 where teams picked Heiskanen/Makar/Pettersson at 3/4/5 and pretty much no rankings came close to matching that (McKenzie was close with those players at 3/4/7)."

https://forum.calgarypuck.com/showpo...3&postcount=13

[FlamesDraftPrognosticator]

Time to revisit a take I got absolutely lit up for late last year—when I said some fans and amateur scouts can out-evaluate NHL professionals. In the 2024 draft thread, posters like Pepsifree, fotze2, Enochroot, and Wastedyouth dragged me for that as I was reflecting on Leshunov not being worthy of going #2 overall. I’m still holding to that. He’s a decent player, sure. But let’s be real - he never deserved that pick. One year later, as I mentioned in that thread a wave of prospects from the same class have already passed him by, with more to follow. Flames fans on CP would be calling for Craig Conroys head had made that choice and skipped Parekh. Guys like Dickinson, Buium, Catten or Demidov are just a few others that have surpassed him already too. It’s telling that Chicago reportedly tried to trade for Demidov during the 2024 draft—they knew they botched it.

Now on to Anton Frondell—another example that in time WILL prove that fans can sometimes evaluate talent better than the so-called experts (scouts, draft magazines, nhl media etc). I’ve said it again and again: Frondell is not Barkov 2.0. He’s not a point-per-game guy. He’s not elite-level. Unless he’s stapled to Bedard or potential McKenna, he’s not sniffing ppg production. His hands, vision, and defensive play just aren’t near elite. Scouts missed the mark, and a bunch of CP posters will too. Maybe he has one ppg season riding shotgun with Bedard and possibly McKenna but he’s closer to Nichushkin at best than Barkov. Is that #3 overall material? Not in my opinion. Chicago whiffed, time will tell and sad they could’ve had Demidov, Parekh or even this year Hagens and they passed on them all. Bedard must be wondering when he’s going to get some help.

[Bingo Jr.]

Originally Posted by FlamesDraftPrognosticator

Time to revisit a take I got absolutely lit up for late last year—when I said some fans and amateur scouts can out-evaluate NHL professionals. In the 2024 draft thread, posters like Pepsifree, fotze2, Enochroot, and Wastedyouth dragged me for that as I was reflecting on Leshunov not being worthy of going #2 overall. I’m still holding to that. He’s a decent player, sure. But let’s be real - he never deserved that pick. One year later, as I mentioned in that thread a wave of prospects from the same class have already passed him by, with more to follow. Flames fans on CP would be calling for Craig Conroys head had made that choice and skipped Parekh. Guys like Dickinson, Buium, Catten or Demidov are just a few others that have surpassed him already too. It’s telling that Chicago reportedly tried to trade for Demidov during the 2024 draft—they knew they botched it.

Now on to Anton Frondell—another example that in time WILL prove that fans can sometimes evaluate talent better than the so-called experts (scouts, draft magazines, nhl media etc). I’ve said it again and again: Frondell is not Barkov 2.0. He’s not a point-per-game guy. He’s not elite-level. Unless he’s stapled to Bedard or potential McKenna, he’s not sniffing ppg production. His hands, vision, and defensive play just aren’t near elite. Scouts missed the mark, and a bunch of CP posters will too. Maybe he has one ppg season riding shotgun with Bedard and possibly McKenna but he’s closer to Nichushkin at best than Barkov. Is that #3 overall material? Not in my opinion. Chicago whiffed, time will tell and sad they could’ve had Demidov, Parekh or even this year Hagens and they passed on them all. Bedard must be wondering when he’s going to get some help.

Levshunov is 19 man. Let's wait a bit before the I told you so's.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Imagine being that concerned about being “right” on the internet

[Jiri Hrdina]

For the record I think the Hawks should have taken Hagens too

[FlamesDraftPrognosticator]

Originally Posted by Bingo Jr.

Levshunov is 19 man. Let's wait a bit before the I told you so's.

It will be fun revisiting the debate every year.

[FlamesDraftPrognosticator]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

Imagine being that concerned about being “right” on the internet

If you look back at my original posts, they were simply observations about the player—not aimed at anyone personally. I got piled on by other CPers, including you, just for calling a prospect what I believe he is. It’s all part of a fun debate, Jiri. Time will tell, but people put too much stock into what the so called “experts” have to say and they shouldn’t.
Not every player can be a “monster” like Pierre Mcguire thinks.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by FlamesDraftPrognosticator

. It’s telling that Chicago reportedly tried to trade for Demidov during the 2024 draft—they knew they botched it.

They botched it 10 minutes after they made their pick?

All it showed is that they coveted both players, and tried to trade for Columbus' #4 pick to get Demidov.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by FlamesDraftPrognosticator

If you look back at my original posts, they were simply observations about the player—not aimed at anyone personally. I got piled on by other CPers, including you, just for calling a prospect what I believe he is. It’s all part of a fun debate, Jiri. Time will tell, but people put too much stock into what the so called “experts” have to say and they shouldn’t.
Not every player can be a “monster” like Pierre Mcguire thinks.

I have no issue with you disagreeing with experts or others on here. But if you really want us to consider you an expert, put your own lists out there instead of just telling people they are wrong.

And find you to be arrogant in your posting style when you say things like this

"Looking back a year later, it’s clear that anyone who viewed Artyom Levshunov as the undisputed No. 2 pick lacked strong talent evaluation skills."

Or this..
"Spotting top-tier talent is second nature to me including finding diamond in the rough, something I've done for years—and it's not as difficult as it seems."

People piled on you because of your approach and premature conclusions. Most of the replies I see are simply saying that more time is required.

I think people engaged with you entirely in respectful ways and there was no piling on despite your arrogance. But if you want us to somehow believe that you are this amazing talent evaluator put in the work, like Sandman does, and actually put out your thoughts and rankings.

And this was my reply to you at the time. If you think this is piling on, I don't know what to tell you

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

The decision on who to draft #2 would be on the GM ultimately. And he would be weighing other factors, not just the talent of the player. In the case of Demidov the Russian factor would have been part of the decision.

Bob spoke at length about this in his final rankings:


It is, however, one thing for a scout to rank Demidov at No. 2 overall; it’s quite another for an NHL general manager to make the decision to actually take him there.

“I have no problem personally ranking Demidov at No. 2,” said a scout, “but I couldn’t assure you my team would take him there if we were picking second overall. There’s a lot more that goes into it now, especially that high.”

No NHL GM, or North American-based executives/scouts, have had live viewings of Demidov this season, who played for SKA’s junior team in the Russian MHL.

Because of the various sanctions against Russia due to its attack of Ukraine, the best young Russian players have not been able to play against their international peers in International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) events such as the World Junior Championship, Hlinka Gretzky Cup and U-18 World Championship.

Interestingly enough, Demidov is the only Russian prospect in this draft who has been live, or in-arena, scouted by NHL GMs and/or North American-based scouts.

Demidov, a late 2005 birthdate, was a double underager on Russia’s Hlinka-Gretzky Cup team in the summer of 2021. He had two goals and five points in five games that year. He did not make the Russian team that played in the 2021 U18 World Championships in Texas when a couple of kids named Bedard and (Matvei) Michkov went head to head.

Having to scout Russians almost exclusively from video doesn’t preclude them from being taken high in the draft — Arizona took defenceman Dmitri Simashev sixth overall last year and Philadelphia chose forward Matvei Michkov eighth overall — but it does give pause to consider, especially depending on the viability of other top prospects.

“If you’re going to take a Russian in the top five picks, your owner has to be on board,” one scout said. “It’s not just a hockey decision. Your GM has to have an idea of how soon that [Russian] player will or won’t be coming to North America. It’s not insurmountable, but there are added layers to taking a Russian really high in the draft.”

Another scout, however, believes the Russian Factor is overplayed.

“The good ones always come over,” the scout said. “Maybe you have to wait a year or two or three, but history tells us the good ones come and they’re often worth the wait.”

And sometimes the wait isn’t as long as anticipated. Look no further than the news Tuesday that Michkov is leaving SKA to sign with the Flyers only one year after being drafted when the initial expectation was it would be a three-year wait.

NHL teams welcomed the opportunity to see Demidov in the flesh last week in Florida at a camp run by agent Dan Milstein. Demidov didn’t go on the ice — he’s recovering from a minor injury — but teams were able to meet and interview him. NHL Central Scouting was there to measure him, and others. He checked in at 6 feet, 1/2 inch and 192 pounds – an inch or more taller than he was previously listed at.

NHL teams who made the trek to Milstein’s camp were told Demidov is contractually obligated to play next season in Russia, but he could come to the NHL as early as the fall of 2025.

“It was good to meet the player, talk to him, get a better idea of who he is and a sense of when he might come over,” said one scout. “My takeaway was that he very much wants to be an NHL player and there are no big issues on that front.”

If that’s the case, then the scouts can focus on more traditional prospect evaluations.

Demidov has elite passing and goal-scoring skills. His hockey sense and competitiveness are viewed as outstanding. Some scouts say his skating is only average. Whatever size concerns that existed when he was believed to be under 6-feet tall no longer apply.

“If he isn’t a No. 1 offensive winger in the NHL, he’ll be a No. 2,” said a scout. “He’s not an elite skater, like Kirill Kaprizov, but he has elite skills and competitiveness.”

But some scouts question the competition he played against in the MHL, suggesting his productivity was inflated because of it.

“Sure, we would have preferred to see him in the KHL or VHL, but if he was there playing only a few minutes a game we would be complaining about that,” said a scout, laughing.

Given all of the above, seeing which team, and at which point in the draft he’s chosen, is going to be one of the most intriguing storylines of draft day.

https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/bob-mckenzie-...rini-1.2139912

TLDR: Get over yourself

[Calgary4LIfe]

Originally Posted by FlamesDraftPrognosticator

It will be fun revisiting the debate every year.

It will only be fun for as long as you are right. I am sure it will be crickets if Levshunov turns it up.


I don't see the need for patting yourself on the back. Who are you? Who is everyone else on the forum here? Just a bunch of people who enjoy talking about hockey. I guess I just find it funny how some people approach discourse on an anonymous forum as something they 'have to win' at.

[Jiri Hrdina]

It will be easy for him to claim he's right because Levshunov likely won't be the second best player in the draft. Betting the field is always going to have the odds on its side.

And to be honest I don't disagree that Chicago didn't make a great pick. I think they should have focused on adding pure skill to play with Bedard and instead went for a relatively safe pick. But I also understand the rationale of why they went for him because they really need a #1 dman in the pipeline. So it's not some sort of damning failure that they picked him.

[FlamesDraftPrognosticator]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

They botched it 10 minutes after they made their pick?

All it showed is that they coveted both players, and tried to trade for Columbus' #4 pick to get Demidov.

If things keep trending the way they are, Chicago may have missed on both last year’s No. 2 pick and this year’s No. 3. Watching it play out is going to be fun. As we’ve all said, there’s no room for error when you’re drafting that high. Those kinds of mistakes can set a franchise back years.
Leshunov and Frondell back to back years….

[Jiri Hrdina]

Define "miss"?

Are those guys going to bust? Probably not
Are they going to be important members of their team going forward? Probably
In 5 years will we look back and see that there was a better player that went after those guys? Also probably.

But that's almost always the case.

[FlamesDraftPrognosticator]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

It will be easy for him to claim he's right because Levshunov likely won't be the second best player in the draft. Betting the field is always going to have the odds on its side.

And to be honest I don't disagree that Chicago didn't make a great pick. I think they should have focused on adding pure skill to play with Bedard and instead went for a relatively safe pick. But I also understand the rationale of why they went for him because they really need a #1 dman in the pipeline. So it's not some sort of damning failure that they picked him.

You missed my comments as it’s embedded in the multiple threads, I’m being bolder he’s no where near the 2nd best player in the draft. That’s what I said.

It is damning too when there are already 3 dmen better than him in Parekh, Dickinson and Buiim. That’s not including any forwards.