2025 NHL Draft Thread

[Tbull8]

Reschny another Sask boy who would likely be stoked to be out west.
McQueen - Saskatoon
Lakovic - Kelowna
O'Brien - Denver
Bear - Winnipeg
Cootes - Sherwood Park

Thats a lot of Western Canadian forwards in the first round, and Denver may as well be Calgary too

[Bingo]

Very early draft rankings.

Only 3 rankings in the average so it's thin.

Flames groupings work the Montreal pick math in ... so today it's Florida and Jersey picks that fall into an overlapping range (24 & 28). Additionally the second round picks (Cgy / Col) fall into another overlapping range.

 	 	Player	Position	Average
 	1	James Hagens	C	1.67
 	2	Matthew Schaefer	D	2.67
 	3	Michael Misa	C	2.67
 	4	Porter Martone	RW	3.00
 	5	Anton Frondell	C	6.33
 	6	Victor Eklund	LW	7.00
 	7	Roger McQueen	C	9.67
 	8	Caleb Desnoyers	D	9.67
 	9	Jackson Smith	D	10.67
 	10	Eric Nilson	C	12.00

Flames	22	Cameron Schmidt	RW	20.33
Flames	23	Cullen Potter	C	20.67
Flames	24	Braeden Cootes	LW	21.67
Flames	25	Zeb Lindgren	D	22.00
Flames	26	Ivan Ryabkin	C	23.33
Flames	27	Kashawn Aitcheson	D	24.00
Flames	28	Jack Ivankovic	G	24.00
Flames	29	William Moore	C	25.00
Flames	30	Milton Gastrin	C	25.00

Flames	45	Anthony Allain-Samake	D	35.00
Flames	46	Jamiro Reber	LW	36.00
Flames	47	Adam Benak	C	36.50
Flames	48	Benjamin Kindel	RW	37.33
Flames	49	Bill Zonnon	Lw	38.50
Flames	50	Kurban Limatov	D	40.00
Flames	51	Alex Huang	D	40.00
Flames	52	Jack Murtagh	C	41.00

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by D as in David

Ryabkin totally out of the picture? I imagine it is pretty difficult to get eyes on him and his progress.

My apologies, I totally forgot him!!!

Ivan Ryabkin surpassed Matvei Michkov's U-17 scoring record in the MHL in 2023-24 by 2 points in 12 fewer games, he has all-world skill at his disposal. Everything you want in a top-C is here in this package, including speed, elite vision, the hands to make defenders look silly, and a slick release. He's also willing to get his nose dirty and throw his weight around, and he won't embarrass you defensively. The problem is that he seems to be mailing it in this year, with only 12 points in 15 MHL games, and rumours persist that he not only has a poor attitude, but also pays little attention to his conditioning. I still see him going in the first half of round #1 this summer......for now.

[Samonadreau]

Ya Ryabkin has been free falling in the rankings. Was a possible top 3 pick before this season and now I've seen him as low is 15.

[Sandman]

Notable Draft-eligibles at the WJC to Watch:

Canada:
-G Jack Ivankovic
-RW Porter Martone
-LD Matt Schaefer

Finland:
-LD Daniel Nieminen (D+1)
-C Topias Hynninen (D+1)

Germany:
-RD Carlos Handel
-LW David Lewandowski

Latvia:
RW Bruno Osmanis

USA:
-RD Logan Hensler
-C James Hagens

Czechia:
-LW Vojtech Cihar
-LD Tomas Galvas (D+1)

Slovakia:
-C Tomas Pobezal
-C Jan Chovan
-RD Luka Radivojevic

Sweden:
-RW Victor Eklund

Switzerland:
-G Elijah Neuenschwander

[Paulie Walnuts]

Which ones can we get with pick 25 and 32

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by Paulie Walnuts

Which ones can we get with pick 25 and 32

Lol, the usual suspects will be gone earlier in the first, and the rest are for later rounds....

I really like Pobezal, and I'm excited to see Osmanis.

[howard_the_duck]

Originally Posted by The Fonz

Cole Reschny with NJ's 1st rounder would be fantastic

From my hometown. Only NHL prospect that’s really ever come out of there. Don’t know the kid, but know the family, and he’ll be the hardest working player on the ice. Old school mentality, grew up on a farm, a pure throwback when compared to today’s hockey development machine.

[fotze2]

Originally Posted by howard_the_duck

From my hometown. Only NHL prospect that’s really ever come out of there. Don’t know the kid, but know the family, and he’ll be the hardest working player on the ice. Old school mentality, grew up on a farm, a pure throwback when compared to today’s hockey development machine.

That Macklin? Seems everyone that lives there is Reschny. There are some good younger Reschnys coming up.

[howard_the_duck]

Originally Posted by fotze2

That Macklin? Seems everyone that lives there is Reschny. There are some good younger Reschnys coming up.

Yes and yes. Big family.

[Sandman]

From what I've read, Reschny is an advanced stats darling. He's an even better player than his stats suggest, perhaps like a Brayden Point-type, stylistically.

[devo22]

no Frondell or Mrtka at the WJC? Too bad.

Race for 1st overall will really be interesting. Hagens gets 2+2 in the opener, not bad. Schaefer logged 20 minutes of ice time yesterday, with a goal and an assist ... for a kid who's only turned 17 (September birthday), that's mightily impressive on Team Canada.

[howard_the_duck]

Originally Posted by Sandman

From what I've read, Reschny is an advanced stats darling. He's an even better player than his stats suggest, perhaps like a Brayden Point-type, stylistically.

His coach and former Flame James Patrick compared him to Ryan O’Reilly, speaking highly of his 200 ft game. I think he’s intriguing for sure, and he probably goes lower than where he could or should go in the draft because of his size, bringing whoever picks him some good bang for their buck I’d wager.

[CliffFletcher]

Good chance this tournament cements Schaefer’s status as the #1 ranked prospect.

[Royle9]

Lewandowski looked quite good against a US team that essentially dominated them.
His play stood out the whole game I found.

[dammage79]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Good chance this tournament cements Schaefer’s status as the #1 ranked prospect.

Hagens is going to have his say . Too bad Misa wasn't in this tournament.

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by Royle9

Lewandowski looked quite good against a US team that essentially dominated them.
His play stood out the whole game I found.

Excellent observation Royle. I thought he looked fairly quick on his feet, and he was agitating the Americans quite a bit.

[Royle9]

Originally Posted by Sandman

Excellent observation Royle. I thought he looked fairly quick on his feet, and he was agitating the Americans quite a bit.

I think they said he plays in the WHL?
Either way he looked like a guy who’s going to get drafted this year.

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by Royle9

I think they said he plays in the WHL?
Either way he looked like a guy who’s going to get drafted this year.

I have him in my top-100…

[Sandman]

Lewandowski's goal from yesterday. Obviously, the American goalie would love to have this one back, but not a bad shot:

https://www.iihf.com/en/events/2025/...0/2-usa-vs-ger

Skating and pace with the puck are said to be his weaknesses, but I thought he kept his feet pumping hard yesterday, and he looks like he moves fine when he gets up to speed. He plays a bit of a power game, and is excellent defensively-he blocks shots and is good at taking away the middle from opponents.