Scouching’s Preliminary 2025 NHL Draft Ranking

Written By Will Scouch

Welcome one and all to Scouching’s preliminary NHL Draft rankings for the 2025 NHL Draft taking place in searing hot, sprawled out Los Angeles, California! This hockey season has been quite an interesting one as an evaluator. Reflecting on old rankings, watching players rise through the ranks and sniff professional hockey has been a valuable experience, and trying to carry any lessons forward into this season is the main goal. Of course, all while still having some fun with some players that you really would love to see at the highest levels one day, even if chances may be slim. We’re doing writeups on my first four tiers of talent this season, with full writeups on the whole list coming in June.

Before we get into the list, it might be helpful to take the time to briefly outline my philosophy so you can get in my head a little bit and understand where I come from a little better when I see the game. If you take 10 different evaluators, you’ll probably get some differences in priorities and preferences, so knowing what you’re getting into should add to the experience. At my core, I focus on possession. Hockey is a game in two fundamental states. You have the puck, or you don’t. The ultimate goal should be to find players who are as good at gaining and maintaining possession in some way, getting the puck into a desirable location, and getting the dang thing into the net as much as possible. In my view, the priority should be in that order. You can’t have the third aspect without the second, and you can’t have the second without the first. As such, I see speed, tenacity, competitiveness, and quickness as key, both mentally and physically. I don’t care so much about how big you are, how good of a shooter you are, how hard you hit, I just care about what you do on the ice and if you’re moving the needle in the right direction. In my experience, the best young needle movers with regards to competitiveness, pace, and creativity are the ones of who are often hardest to find when they grow up big and strong to be NHL players one day. I value players who elevate who they play with more than anything. They’re dependable every shift, they're focused on the ultimate task of the game situation, and they think creatively to make baby steps happen that ultimately lead to scoring chances, and ideally some goals go in here and there.

With regards to goalies, I’m no real expert there, but I’m trying. I can’t provide detailed breakdowns, but our guest Goalie Man David Phillips will be coming back to the site with his goalie ranking for the 2025 NHL Draft. For me though, I believe this is a solid year for goaltending in multiple areas. I’ve penciled in Joshua Ravensbergen, Pyotr Andreyanov, Jack Ivankovic, and Love Härenstam as top two round options worth the swing this year. Kam Hendrickson, Martin Neckar, and Roberto Leonardo Henriquez are names further down the board that could be nice pickups to stash away late.

I’ll also note that the positions listed are almost universally those from the games I’ve specifically watched and tracked of these players. A defenseman is listed by either handedness or the side of the ice they play on should it be the opposite to his natural shooting side (i.e., RSD is a left handed defender playing on the right side).

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Tier 1 - Which Beatle is Best?

  • Seriously. If you ask 10 random Beatles fans, you won’t get a consistent answer. It could come down to personal preference, some weird interaction or thing one of the Beatles did that draws them to that individual, it’s just an impossible question to really answer firmly.

    With the question of who should be #1 in the 2025 NHL Draft, my mind has shifted literally in the last week after doing a swing through some of the highest rated names on my board. Schaefer missed a period of the season with mono (not fun), but every time I’ve seen him both live and on tape, he’s just gotten better and better. My last tracked game was one of the most outstanding offensive performances I’ve ever gathered for a defenseman in my many years of doing this. Schaefer has simply unbelievable potential in his game. I do have some concerns with his low mental bar of “I’m going to jump into the rush” and not keeping opposing forwards in mind which has burned him here and there. He also isn’t the most punishing physical defender, nor is he always the most intense puck retriever, at times inviting unnecessary pressure and board battles deep in his own end. All those things can be worked on, and with his youth, you can tell that there’s still a level of physical development to go in his game.

    All that aside, Schaefer is outstanding, with potential to be a terrific defenseman at even strength and on the power play. He’s explosive in a straight line, manages gaps on defensive rushes well, with strong stick checks and small area passing, and his ability to quarterback a rush through his skating ability and his pass vision is remarkable. He finds ways to sneak pucks through feet and bodies to his linemates, and these passes are crisp and pinpoint accurate far more often than not. He protects the puck well in the offensive zone and can get deep into enemy territory fending off pressure and firing pucks into the slot as if he were a forward on the ice. He simply brings such a great all-around game to the ice with flaws that are very minor in the big picture. Considering he missed key time, the improvement in his game to my eye and in my data game over game has been staggering, and while I may not have him at 1 at the end of the season, I won’t be surprised if he manages to stay here. The youth, the explosive skating, the confidence and creativity, it’s just so excellent and would bring a huge positive shift to any NHL team’s defense group

  • Michael Misa has grown on me more and more as time has gone on this year. Seeing him in person a little while back in London was a total game-changer. The pace of his game has been raised from what I remember last year, but what has really been impressive is his 200 foot impact on the game. He isn’t the most physical centre you’re going to come across, but it simply does not matter. Efficiency, intelligence and refined simplicity is the name of Misa’s game, and I mean that in the most positive way I can. A quicker skater than he looks with great forechecking ability, Misa can turn almost any play into anything anywhere on the ice. Leaving him uncovered in the offensive zone, he finds ways to make himself a target and he'll make you pay in some way. He can score, but he’s just as equal a playmaking threat. He battles through pressure quite well as well, and the only real concern to me is that there isn’t particularly an “elite” trait there that could put Misa among the best in the world one day. The feel for the game and efficiency in his game certainly comes close though, and I’ve been more and more a fan of Michael Misa every single time I’ve seen him.

    There’s just not much Misa doesn’t bring to the table. He can gain possession of the puck well, move it himself quickly, find linemates and hit them with clean and clear passes, and once in the offensive zone, he’s lights out. Averaging a goal and an assist every game is simply an astounding achievement almost halfway through the OHL season. You don’t get there without being a well rounded, intelligent player.

  • Hagens slots in at 3 which surprises me more than anyone, probably. He was an absolute wizard last year, showcasing speed, creativity and tremendous rush playmaking abilities. He’s somewhat undersized, but he has the confidence and pure quickness to work around it. Yes, he hasn’t scored a tremendous amount this year, but four goals in his last four games has brought his shooting percentage up to 10.6% which still trails typical values. On the other hand, my viewings of him don’t lead me to believe that he’s destined to be a consistent high end goal scorer. He struggles to get into dangerous space on and off the puck, doesn’t apply enough pressure to cause dangerous turnovers, and there is a bit of a concern about the pace of his game on a shift to shift basis. I’ve seen him explode up the ice, but not as much as I had hoped to this point, and the defensive intensity can waver.

    That said, Hagens is still an excellent playmaker, using skill, creativity and unpredictability to distribute the puck and find his linemates around the ice. Paired with speedy, aggressive players like Teddy Stiga seems to bring better off-puck results from Hagens, but Gabe Perreault and Ryan Leonard bring finishing ability, skill and creativity that have connected with Hagens’ profile well. I expect a strong back half, and this is an extremely close group at the top. You could argue him at 1, but considering where I recall past elite NCAA forwards in the NHL Draft, I have always come away wanting more from Hagens than names like Celebrini, Hughes, and even Power and Johnson. You see flashes, but the shining light hasn’t quite been there in my viewings.

  • Martone has been on my radar since his Toronto Jr. Canadiens days, and he’s blossomed into a tremendously balanced and talented athlete. There are so many great traits in his game that you can depend on every shift of the game. While he isn’t the fastest player out there, he’s a great defensive zone breakout instigator, finding targets and cleanly getting passes through traffic. On his line he’s a well balanced shot taker and shot creator, resulting in creating over 50% of his teams shot attempts in my sample. An excellent and efficient puck carrier through a strong combination of unpredictable skating patterns and pure strength, Martone makes up for his lower pace game by tactically marching the puck up the ice in a variety of ways.

    We came away extremely impressed with his read of his own game and understanding of his place on a hockey team as a leader and offensive cornerstone in our Game Tape episode on him as well. It was pretty clear after our interview why he’s a captain at this age, and how his team has found itself so successful this season with him at the helm. The combination of smarts, skill, power, and finishing ability are tantalizing. The concerns about the pure pace of his game are evident, as he can have gaps closed too quickly without the elite quickness or skill level to evade those forechecks, and he can often make the first play possible in the offensive zone rather than a better one, leading to worse shot selection and slot pass attempts than you would like, but long term I think the future is extremely bright for Martone. Is he a major NHL line driver one day? Probably not, which keeps him lower in my top tier, but he’s about as talented a supporting player can be. Strength, confidence, personality, skill, passing ability, there’s so much to love about Martone’s game that with the right surroundings, he could have a heck of a career ahead of him.

Tier 2 - Just Some Dang Good Hockey Players

  • Let me start off by saying this tier, especially in the first few slots, is exceptionally close. I labored over this range for a very, very long time but at the end of the day, very few players this year have wowed me like Victor Eklund has. While not as creative or evasive in tough board situations as his brother William, he is much more of a pure, high octane, high pace northbound winger that I think could project to the NHL quicker than William did. He’s aggressive, physical at times, with great reads on his forechecks and continuously moving the puck in the right direction. His possession numbers are spectacular to this point, largely driven through miniscule rates of dangerous shot attempts against, which he certainly factors into with his high pace and relentless energy off the puck in multiple areas of the ice. He has a shot that can clearly beat pro level goaltending in Sweden, but I’d like to see him limit his perimeter chances a bit more and try to gain some better positioning, but he’s a slender 18 year old playing at a high level, so some forgiveness needs to be considered on that.

    In a year where there aren’t a ton of joy-inducing hockey players, he’s definitely one of them. A tremendous puck carrier with speed, skill and deception in full stride, with excellent off-puck results, a great shot to rely on, and some serious offensive potential as a playmaker here and there, Eklund has quickly become one of my favorites this year. I’m not sure of where his ceiling is as an NHLer and I think his size and possession-heavy positive results might hold him back somewhat which puts him in this tier. That said, he spent stretches in that top tier. Would I consider him for first overall? Probably not. Would I consider him over Porter Martone? It’s closer, but still, probably not. 5th overall? I couldn’t see myself seriously considering someone else… but again, it’s close.

  • I get into long, drawn out conversations about this player but I always come back to the same adage once the words die down.

    “I lllllllllike him.”

    In my experience, Jackson Smith is a rare type of player in a draft class. Where a player like Dmitri Simashev brought a remarkable combination of size, mobility, physicality and simple pass vision, Smith brings a much more exciting combination of insane skating fluidity, a high-end skill level for a big man, and a punishing physical defensive style of play that may need some refinement, but really endears itself to you quickly. He absolutely deconstructed an NTDP player in the first shift of the CHL USA Prospects Challenge in London while strongly quarterbacking a breakout with his shifty footwork and clear vision of the ice in front of him and was a physical presence in both games.

    He is often maligned for his decisionmaking and hockey sense, but in my experience this season, I believe this has been significantly more under control since the Hlinka Gretzky tournament in August. His breakouts with Tri-City are often not completed on the other end very well, which makes his results look worse than they should be in my data. Needless tips into the offensive zone that are turned over, pucks bouncing off sticks like the eggs in that drill in The Mighty Ducks movie, and plenty of other somewhat frustrating events fuel some less than ideal results for Smith in my work. This is why I do what I do though, because I don’t believe what I’m tracking. He relies on passing so much there, but I’ve seen his abilities as a carrier and primary rush quarterback, and when playing with elite linemates against the NTDP, Smith seemed much more comfortable and drove the puck up the ice well.

    In my work, he hasn’t lost a carried puck transition, but he doesn’t try it much. He can overcommit on defensive rushes looking for a big hit and get left behind or outmuscled, but strength will come in time, and the willingness is there in spades. That said, his actual defensive metrics are excellent, facing a massive workload of defensive zone cycles that he breaks up often, with a surprisingly high number of offensive zone turnovers generated with plenty of hits to gawk at.

    He brings so much to the game that NHL teams covet. Sure there are some issues to be worked out, but I’m not convinced things are all that bad, and with time, Smith could become a devastating physical threat in the NHL with skill, offensive creativity and confidence that should be nurtured carefully.

  • Supposedly this is the first somewhat hot take according to my ranking tracking of others, but I feel very good about this one. Cullen Potter is one of, if not the most exciting and curious players in this entire class. I’m stunned at how people simultaneously are questioning his hockey sense or physical game when from what I can gather, this is a 17 year old college freshman playing pretty strong minutes at the centre position when he’s still listed as a winger everywhere I look. That’s a tough job and every single game I see, Potter looks more and more and more comfortable. My last viewing, I bumped him a slot or two, but there was a little Palpatine-like voice telling me to put him in the top group because of how much this guy could bring to the game. He’s an absolutely electrifying combination of speed and skill unlike many, many others in this draft class, let alone this tier. His passes at times are hard with pinpoint accuracy all over the ice. He’s taken or set up 63% of ASU’s shot attempts in my sample and I find that much of his lack of production seems to stem from some poor shot selection in the OZ, but also linemates that just don’t have the same creativity or pace in their game that seems to hold Potter back somewhat.

    He’s fast as heck, he commands possession of the puck, he forechecks extremely well, and he’s had some unbelievable highlight moments here and there. I could easily see Potter continue to gain momentum as he gets more and more comfortable in a tough level of competition, but the game I just tracked of his against a little school called Minnesota-Duluth was by far his most impressive of the season. He’s a wizard with the last name Potter. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.

    I’ll leave you with a thought experiment. How would Logan Cooley have looked if he were playing 3rd line for the University of Minnesota instead of first line with the NTDP a few years ago? I get the feeling Cooley might not have looked like a tremendous and productive player at that level at that time. The NTDP just hasn’t looked the same without Potter, but I think it’s admirable that he’s challenged himself in the NCAA so quickly, and that ASU has obliged him. It’s a fun place to play hockey, a fun program, and Potter is a fun player. There’s lots to love, even if there’s a bit of a ways to go, but I think he deserves to be right up here with these names.

  • A player I loved while watching him in the offseason, Bear has really blossomed into an impressive, well rounded complimentary offensive player. Decently efficient in offensive transitions, Bear really comes alive off the puck or in the offensive zone. A physical force, he’s throwing hits more than many this year, but he has some moments of electrifying skill and finish that are just as exciting as some of the names ahead of him. A player who has slowly worked his way up my board as I’ve preferred him over others one slot at a time, but a player I’ve never stopped to think I’m overvaluing. In this class, Bear is an imposing player with talent on both sides of the puck. If he can be a bit more of a contributor through scoring area playmaking at 5v5 and work through pressure to battle for more scoring chances for others, then the sky’s the limit for Bear. He brings so much that you just want and need in the NHL: Size, a willingness to use it, skill, shot quality, raw power, and a great natural motor and flow to his game. I may be swayed to take a few names after him instead, but it’ll take some serious discussion considering how projectable I feel his game is.

  • Another player I enjoyed watching in the summer before this season got going but it didn’t take long for me to go “oh this guy is for real for real”. Lakovic is a shot-driven analytical machine, and I love how he plays the game. Tactical, surgical, calm and creative, Lakovic drives some of the best shooting metrics I’ve seen this year, rarely wasting an opportunity, doing an excellent job protecting the puck and keeping defenders guessing, while circling like a shark looking for pathways into better scoring areas. He has playmaking flashes in these situations that I’d love to see explored a bit more, but at the end of the day, Lakovic is an excellent all-around talent that, while not a physical big man, is a resilient one with some great length in his skating stride and some great ability to generate separation from defenders and gain advantageous positioning. Of all the shot attempts Moose Jaw has taken with him on the ice in my small-ish sample, he’s responsible for 58% of them. 29% of all of their total attempts are Lakovic taking dangerous chances. If you’re unfamiliar, that’s really really good.

    I’d love to see a bit more imposition defensively, and that playmaking vision and willingness could be a bit more apparent, but Lakovic seems like a great complimentary forward with strong possession and finishing capability.

  • Let me get this out of the way: I am aware that this one is somewhat irrational, but hear me out.

    When I watched Orebro’s junior team last year, the name that stuck out most often to me? Eric Nilson. When I watched Sweden in the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, who was the name I was jotting down the most that wasn’t Ivar Stenberg? Eric Nilson. Should he have had like, 7 points before that 4 point bronze medal performance? I think so. Sure, he hasn’t been shooting the lights out with Djurgården’s insane U20 team, but he’s such a great play driver there going both directions that he’s impossible for me to ignore. He’s a work in progress though, slender while trying to play a bigger game at times, and can overhandle the puck with a bit too much confidence and turn things over, but you stash this guy in Sweden for a few years and I think you could have an excellent 200-foot centre that elevates his wingers. I tracked a game of his in HockeyAllsvenskan and while there were issues, I didn’t think he looked out of place there, and of all the higher scoring players on his U20 team, he’s the only one to land a point in HockeyAllsvenskan this year so far. That doesn’t mean much in the big picture, but it feeds my hype machine, so I can’t not bring it up.

    In all seriousness, he’s just a player that drives the game in the right direction at a strong pace of play in basically every situation. I keep watching him and looking for reasons to put others ahead of him, and I just can’t find them. He’s not perfect, and I’m decently sure he’ll be lower on the board in the future, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he continues to gain momentum this year, and long term, I think he could be a massive steal considering where people have him at the moment… which is not on a draft board.

  • Roger McQueen has been a tough read for me. Some love him. My talks with NHL teams leave me in a place where I can’t counter them with the “it’s the potential of his game” angle. If you think that in the future he’ll catch up and be better than the majority of players in this class, that’s fine, but every time I see him, I see a player who has quite a ways to go to catch up in that regard. He’s huge, and in the offensive zone he’s aggressive with flashes of really great skill, but his ability to quarterback a rush is mixed, with awful passing results and mediocre carrying ability for a top pick. His shot differentials were not good at 5v5, he wasn’t creating a ton of opportunity for others in the offensive zone, and his defensive involvement and results in transition have not been promising. He’s huge, but doesn’t play big enough as often as I expect, and he strikes me as a player who has been bigger than his competition and working off the natural advantages that gives him. More natural strength on the boards, more natural puck protection ability, longer reach to puck off passes and poke at loose pucks, but there just hasn’t been much… jam… in his game whenever I’ve seen him.

    I must say that natural centres his size don’t come along often, and he does flash some serious upside, but I’ve been burned hoping players will capture those isolated moments and bring them more often in the future before. He’s very nearly a 2024 draft eligible, and I always ask “if you drafted Roger McQueen 5th overall in 2024, do you feel like his D+1 season would be promising enough to make that pick worth it?” To me, injury aside, there were many, many 2024 prospects that I’ve enjoyed following up on this year that show better than McQueen has in my viewings. He’s still a great prospect, but to me he’s a mystery box and the NHL might be a bigger uphill battle than I think some are letting on, but McQueen has all the tools and natural traits in place to handle it. Around here is where I’d take the plunge and be very, very cautious with his progression, because I believe the longer he takes to get comfortable and physically dominate a level of hockey the better. The skating and speed looks much more comfortable and consistent this year than last, but I just see an unrefined player with a bit of a relaxed approach to the game in too many areas for me to value him as much as others, and the data reflects much of that to this point.

  • I want Schmidt to be a thing so badly. I was talking to people at the CHL USA Prospects challenge and they often were asking “Is he Cole Caufield though? Is he Alex DeBrincat? Logan Stankoven? Is he on that level to break through at his size?” For me, pardon my French, he’s Cameron Flipping Schmidt. The issue is that often times all he does is shoot the puck, even when it isn’t necessary. He’s small which can take him out of being an option in transition too much but holy god damn as a 3rd guy on a line that can score goals with flashes of playmaking that I desperately want to see explored more, Schmidt is electrifying. He’s lightning quick on his feet, his skill level is high end, the pace of his game is often breakneck, but honestly what I love the most is the pure confidence and emotion in his game. It can burn him at times and it’s already turned off a few behind the scenes, but our experience with him on Game Tape really sold us on what he brings as a person. He seems unlike many other traditional players out there, and I absolutely adore his passion and intensity on the ice. He doesn’t let anyone make him feel his size, he mixes things up, and gets in your face.

    He’s just so, so much fun to watch when he’s really cooking. Can he do it in the NHL one day? I’m optimistic and in the right environment he could get there. The shot is bonkers, but learning to bait with it and make plays more often, while getting stronger on his feet could make him a dangerous, dangerous offensive player with a physical and psychological edge unlike many other smaller players we’ve seen break into the NHL lately.

  • Another hot take, but I don’t care. I know of at least a handful of NHL people who feel the same. Ben Kindel rocks, and I’m almost positive more people will have him higher and higher as time goes on. His data profile in my sample is staggeringly good. An absolute master at seeing the ice and quarterbacking possession through all three zones, Kindel reads offensive zone situations like they were children’s books. Sure he isn’t flattening guys everywhere but who cares about that if you don’t need to? His stick checks and ability to pick off sleepy opponents is outrageous. He quickly turns turnovers into scoring chances and has such an absurdly clear map of his linemates location that basically all he does almost all game long is cook, and cook, and cook. Over and over and over he’s just doing stuff that moves the game in the right direction and doing it an unexpectedly high pace relative to what I remember coming into this season.

    I was primed to have Kindel lower, and he was a lower priority coming into the season, but I’ve been blown away with what he’s brought to Calgary this year as a top centre. His possession numbers? Bonkers. His offensive transition game? Bonkers. His passing game? Huge volumes, great completion rates. The only real weakness in his game is not being too involved in defensive transitions and lacking true gamebreaking speed to be involved everywhere all the time but what are we doing here, looking for perfect hockey players? Kindel has still been pretty darn close regardless, at least on paper. I love him, I look forward to every viewing, and he’s must-watch hockey for any analyst who wants to see someone making excellent reads, creating secondary options, making life easier for everyone, and just going out there and getting the job done. Honestly there was a part of me that wanted him as high as 9 or 10 this year, but we’ll have to wait and see for now…

  • Frondell hasn’t looked amazing this year, but he’s been injured a lot. He’s a hulking possession-heavy player with some great resilience and low-pace skill, and I mean that positively. You could be all over him and he’ll find a way through you with some great skill and creativity, and Frondell has seemed better every time I’ve seen him this season. HockeyAllsvenskan went from a total non-option earlier in the year, to a valid testing ground for him. I still don’t have a great read on him at this point and I’m not comfortable with where I have him at this point. I do believe he belongs in this tier for now, but projects as a bit less exciting as the names ahead of him right now. In a good way, Frondell keeps his game simple, precise, and creative which I think is a good combination, and I could easily see him bumped up a few slots.

Tier 3 - 15 Neat Guys

  • “Who made the egg salad sandwiches? They’re better than the tuna and the cheese?” starts off this tier. To make sense of that, Radim Mrtka makes really good egg salad out there. You can just see it in the way he plays with the puck. He’s lanky, but skilled, mobile and creative on both sides of the puck. Great defensive involvement at the men’s level in my dataset with excellent results, I find that the poor possession results for him largely don’t come down to being his fault. Moving to Seattle is the right call, and I haven’t seen him there yet, but I’m excited to see him in a huge role there. He keeps his game simple but calculated and effective with flashes of some wild moments working off his skating edges in the offensive zone with good shot generation ability for a defenseman. He uses his length to his advantage well, closing gaps and getting to loose pucks, Mrtka has grown on me with every viewing. He might go a bit later than this, but he’s got a really strong ceiling as a possession driver with his skating and skill combination.

  • Yeehaw it’s time to party, here comes Braeden Cootes through the doors. Absolutely electrifying, Cootes is skilled, deceptive and aggressive on both sides of the puck. He’s an Alex Newhook-like driver of possession with strong puck distribution with perhaps some limited finishing ability of his own on a consistent basis, but he could certainly develop that over time. He can get knocked off pucks here and there, but he’s relentless with his energy, driving great metrics with regards to generating turnovers at both ends, and getting involved transporting the puck, usually in the right direction. I could see Cootes being higher on my board down the road, especially considering I have names like Eric Nilson a tier ahead who brings many similar qualities, but I just have a bit more skepticism that Cootes translates as-is. I’d be thrilled to be wrong though, as he’s an exciting player with great upside and a fun factor that fans will love immediately.

  • I’m up and down on Reschny, especially after loving so much about Ben Kindel’s game to this point. Reschny plays a bit smaller and invites more pressure into his zone of influence, often struggling to get away with it, but he does work his tail off to do so. He’s creative, even under pressure, reads the ice extremely well and has been an offensive zone wizard every time I’ve seen him. He’s more physical than you’d expect, but my whole analysis of him revolves around projectability. Is he going to be a 2nd line centre in the NHL at his size and speed/agility level? I am not convinced. Do I want players like him to figure it out? Absolutely. He’s creative, clever, confident, and a well rounded offensive creator with a great mind for the game. It’s just a question of how far he can take things from here without some significant improvement to his ability to separate from pressure rather than often absorbing it.

  • If you want to talk about most improved players over this season, I’m not sure Shane Vansaghi has that many contenders in my mind. The first game I saw of him this year, he was just running around crushing anything that moved and turning over the puck on every possession. The next one? He was a monster. Hulking but skilled, Vansaghi looked significantly more comfortable with the pace of the NCAA game and comfortable with possession of the puck, making clean crisp passes, and driving the puck up the ice like a free running Bison on the plains of Wyoming. He had some insane moments navigating through pressure, grinding his way to the net and generating chance after chance for everyone on the ice. He throws his body into every check and I think projects perfectly as a complimentary power winger in the NHL. I don’t know if he’s some kind of elite top line monster, but he’s an effective contributor that has caught my eye more and more, and just worked his way up my list as a player I could easily see getting eyebrows raised in the stands here and there.

  • Spence is eerily similar to Vansaghi, but I think he sees the ice a little bit better, executes plays a bit quicker, and takes the chances he sees ahead of him more reliably. He’s less physical, and I think a little slower than Vansaghi, but they could fit similar roles once the NHL hits. Complimentary, strong, resilient physical forwards with some great moments in isolation and solid production to go along with it. Spence is a player who, in my experience, seems a bit quiet but effective nonetheless, then pops in the offensive zone a couple times a game generating some excellent chances, landing points on the board. Is his NHL upside huge? I’m not totally sold, but I can’t see how he doesn’t make it in some capacity.

  • Another player who I think has taken steps since the start of the year, especially after a strong rookie year on paper that left me a bit skeptical. O’Brien is a skilled tactician, seeing the ice well, utilizing linemates efficiently, working off the puck to get into scoring areas for consistent scoring chances, and some great metrics when it comes to generating turnovers at both ends of the ice. I’m still a little bit underwhelmed by O’Brien’s ceiling and potential, but he’s smart enough, quick enough, effective enough and big enough to carve out a role somewhere, and I have all the time in the world for him to be higher on this board if he continues to take steps in the right direction in the next few months. I’d like to see a bit more deception and skill in transition, and a little bit more gas in the engine through the neutral zone defensively, but all in all, he’s fine, checks a lot of boxes, and has some good developmental potential ahead of him.

  • If Emperor Palpatine had The Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise, I may be writing The Tragedy of L.J. Mooney the Bonkers in a few years. Mooney is right up my alley and I simply adore him. A tragic injury in an NCAA exhibition match put him out for a long period of time, and he simply didn’t look the same at the CHL USA Prospects Challenge. I saw him taping his stick pregame with a pretty serious knee wrap, and with a bit of a limp, my expectations for an electrifying comeback were somewhat dashed. He did manage to land a point, assisting on his team’s only goal in London, but he seemed slower, less agile, and less… Mooney-ish than I remember.

    At the U18s last year as the only ‘07, he looked spectacular. Compact but speedy, skilled, with a nasty set of hands, a ludicrous wrist shot release, and pinpoint passing that just makes you make noise when you watch him. His start to the season was slow, often struggling to gain separation and trying to do a ton of work himself, but the intensity was there. He was playing physically, which he’ll need to do in the future as a little guy, and he may just be a great college player, but he’s a guy I want to believe in. How he skates, how he moves the puck, shoots the puck, evades opponents, sets up plays, when it’s clicking, he’s among the best in the draft. I’m still optimistic, but I’ll be keeping a close eye this year for better or worse.

  • Another player who just keeps climbing and climbing as I watch him relative to others in this class. I adore Zonnon and what he could be. He’s smart on the puck with his routes and possession skills, aggressive off of it, a relentless forechecker, and a really good puck distributor in multiple areas of the ice. I haven’t seen much of where his offense comes from in the games I’ve tracked, but he’s driving shot assists at a decent rate. I just want him to get to scoring areas more and power his way to the net, because you can just tell that he’s capable of it. I think he needs to push his horizons a bit more and seize more opportunity for himself because he’s simply a joy to watch, admirable as he gets up and down the ice and chips in like a good big rangy centre should. His data isn’t as good as his rank indicates, and I may be too high on him, but I think there’s a great pathway ahead for Zonnon and the growth in his game since last year can’t be ignored.

  • Sure, Drott hasn’t had amazing international appearances this year, but this guy has been a monster back in Sweden. He’s faster and more skilled than he was last season, and is extremely young for this draft class. He’s generating an obscene amount of scoring chances for himself, with a great ability to pick and choose when to pass pucks and defer to linemates. He powers through pressure, battles in front of the net for tips, but has a strong shot release that also can put goals on the board. He’s a diverse brand of scorer but his puck carrying ability is second-to-none. Catching pucks in stride, establishing possession across bluelines, and trying to mix things up off the puck in transition to mixed results is at very least an admirable combination of traits. He’s been high on my board since the summer, and I haven’t seen a ton of reasons to bump him down too far. The potential as a complimentary offensive piece with great transition and finishing ability is there, and he has worked off of Nilson as a linemate spectacularly well in my viewings. Similar to Nilson, you leave this player in Sweden indefinitely and let them develop wherever they might be.

  • I’m so up and down on Reid this year. Some moments with the puck are excellent, exploding up the ice, exploiting seams and tripping up forecheckers, hitting linemates with clean passes in multiple zones, he brings a ton to the table and oozes potential with his mobility and pass-based offensive game. He’s a northbound player, somewhat of a “Matthew Schaefer if you can’t draft Matthew Schaefer” kind of guy. Great northbound puck mover with flashes of offensive potential, but he’s extremely shot-heavy in my sample with regards to generating offense, which makes it hard to project him. I find his defensive game to be quite hit or miss, lacking the strength and momentum to pursue puck carriers laterally or around the boards, but that’s not uncommon for players this age. There’s tons of potential to play with though, and I think Reid could develop into a capable NHL defenseman that chips in positively in a number of areas, especially offensively.

  • I could easily see Fiddler gone by 25, and I do genuinely enjoy what he brings to the game. He’s been as high as 14 on my list in the past, bringing defensive smarts and capable puck carrying ability. He’s calm, with crisp passing work getting out of the defensive zone, and there have been some moments of really impressive puck rushing ability, navigating through traffic and driving some high danger chances of his own. He’s a pretty laid back player that lets the game often come to him, but he’s got his fair share of explosive moments. He’s often a dependable rock to have behind your forwards that brings size, simple pass vision, and strong defensive instincts that should project to the NHL just fine. Is he the most exciting option? No, but he’s effective, efficient, and shows capability for some offensive creation that could be explored in the future.

  • I still am having trouble figuring out Desnoyers and what to think of him. He’s clearly a highly intelligent pivot in the middle of the ice. He times passes well, moves the puck carefully, reads play off the puck and causes turnovers well. Overall, his analytical profile is… fine. Nothing particularly amazing, but nothing to really be concerned about. He’s a physical centre who has a bit of a lower pace of play, and he may project as a smart, possession oriented pressure absorbing centre with a physical edge, but I just feel there are a few players who have the potential to play roles in the NHL that are harder to find, even if there may be a bit more risk in their games than Desnoyers. This is an extremely close group, so the stable, physical game that he brings could easily sway me to take a look at him in the mid teens.

  • On the flipside of Desnoyers, we’ve got Justin Carbonneau. One on one, he’s remarkably skilled and determined, battling through pressure and fighting for possession well. He’s had some really impressive moments in games I’ve seen and tracked, I just find the consistency of his game to be all over the place, with very little in the way of chipping in defensively as often as others in this group. He’s a high talent, high ceiling player who is filling in a lower quality of competition with his skill and determination. He brings a solid individual shot-heavy offensive brand that could augment an NHL system well in the future with some good linemates that can get him the puck at higher levels.

  • I’ve seen Hensler quite a lot over the last two seasons and I think he belongs in this tier, but I’m more hesitant on him than I thought I would be coming into the season. There are some really impressive moments coming from him with his playmaking in the offensive zone. Smart, tactically sound defending that keeps things simple. He has more than enough speed to close gaps, get to loose pucks, and find options to turn play around. I still just don’t know what I see in Hensler. He gets plenty of puck touches and clearly a bunch of Wisconsin’s rushes flow through him somehow, but results have been mixed outside of defensive rushes. He’s big, physical, decently mobile, and could be a nice dependable two way NHL defenseman, but I’m still early in my analysis of Hensler as he is. I’ve got time for him to be higher as the year goes on, but not much time for him to be lower than here as of today.

  • One of the unheralded Swedes this year, Gästrin has been impressive with some insane data points that he’s put up this year wth MoDo. He’s landed a couple minutes of SHL time where he looked physically outmatched and behind the play, but as a rush quarterback, capable of driving the puck up the ice with control, there are not many forwards in this draft class that have been better. He needs to gain a bit more resilience and determination to get to better scoring areas, and the shot selection leaves a lot to be desired. That said, his offensive threat generation in my work has been spectacular, with ridiculous amounts of slot passing and offensive creation through the middle of the ice. He needs more physical jam, but the speed, skill and raw playmaking ability is a great combination that could take him a long way in his future. In some areas, his analytical profile is top of the class, in others he most definitely isn’t. Another player you stash in Sweden indefinitely and let him raise the bar one level at a time, and hopefully he’ll find himself a middle six offensive NHL centre one day.

Tier 4 - The Supporting Cast and Big Swings

  • I’m frankly surprised that we find Benak this low on the list, but here we are. A spectacular junior career in Czechia and internationally led to a surprising move to the fun-loving, fast paced Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL. Clearly a highly agile and skilled player, slotting in as a centre with Youngstown has been a challenge. His data in my work is adequate, but very heavily leaning towards his ability to find his spots off the puck in scoring areas and getting quick strike opportunities. There’s a lot of volume shooting here from Youngstown as a whole, and Benak has been keeping things to the perimeter a lot more than I’d like, but following up with more dangerous chances off the puck. In transition he often struggles to wrestle free of pressure and remove himself from defenders at times, lowering involvement but he’s an extremely efficient player, through the neutral zone with great stick checks defensively and clean offensive movement using his skill and agility in conjunction to snake through the neutral zone.

    I believe his play has improved since starting the year in Youngstown, but my expectation was that he would be an offensively dominant player and potentially cement himself as one of the next elite skilled forwards in the NHL, but he just hasn’t gotten there. He’s under a point a game, a net negative goal differential player relative to his team at even strength, and 14th in the USHL in point production per game. I seem to be more optimistic than many, and I believe that over time, shifting him to the wing could be a welcome change, allowing him to have a little more offensive freedom and lean into the skill and pace in his game. He’s small, but works hard, and while agile, I wouldn’t call him fast. To me, that puts him in the “really talented player worth taking a flyer on” tier, but right at the top of that group. A strong international season could put him back on the radar, but some of the holes in his game have been exposed in a tougher physical environment in the USHL.

  • I don’t know, around this point in this draft, you really have to ask yourself “who do you just like the most” and I’m starting to think about re-entries this early. To me, none that I’ve circled back on from last season have been as impressive as Topias Hynninen of Liiga’s last place Jukurit. They stink. Hynninen sits second in team scoring at time of writing, riding a 10 game stretch with 14 points, and is one of just four regular players on Jukurit above an even goal differential. The other three have combined for 11 points this year. He’s been on the first line for the Finnish junior team this season when I’ve caught them, and he’s been productive there as well. At the very, very least someone should have taken a flyer on this player last season.

    Hynninen has driven great metrics pretty much everywhere except deep in the offensive zone. He’s a clever and accurate passer, an aggressive and pesky defender on the rush, an aggressive and hard working forechecker, and while I’m certain there’s a wicked shot release there that could be a power play threat, he still seems to struggle to establish positioning in the offensive zone and have the puck fed to him for those chances reliably. He looks a step quicker than last year, a bit hungrier for the puck, and I think that in an environment that isn’t a last place team in the league, Hynninen could be even more productive. I don’t see an elite skilled big point producing NHL player here, but a really respectable, aggressive forechecking winger with some underrealized finishing ability, there could be something there still. He’s having a great year, and I’m hopeful his recent surge in offense continues through the World Juniors and into the back third of the Liiga season.

  • This is around the range of the draft where if you get anything, you’ve made a good pick. In that sense, Belle is a guy that I can’t see not at least cracking the NHL somehow after a bit of time. He’s huge, hulking, and learning to use his physical tools more and more every time I see him. I had the thought experiment of swapping him and Brady Martin in the CHL USA Prospects Challenge. To me, Belle is faster, has better skill at that speed, and in my tracking, takes more shots from better scoring areas and looks shockingly similar in many other areas of my data. I feel like Belle is only scratching the surface of his capabilities and has taken a big jump in productivity since last year. As a bottom six NHL crasher and banger who can wow you on the rush at times with some soft puck touches, Belle is a guy who is often quiet when I see him, but then pops for some really impressive moments that I hope to see more of in the future. A bit more puck settling ability and a little bit better pass execution to others in transition, and I think the potential for Belle only grows from here. Leave him at Notre Dame for a few years, just work on… everything a little bit, and boom. I think you’ve got a great power winger to fill your lineup with.

  • This one is pretty simple. I see a pretty mobile, safe and dependable defender with some flashes of skill that can be built on. His play with the men’s team didn’t put him out of place at all, driving great possession and passing results. Skelleftea’s junior club is a relative embarrassment with just 5 wins this year and every game I’ve seen looks like they actively wish they’d be doing anything else. Klingsell, Nordlund, and Lindgren have all been extremely underwhelming there which is concerning in my view. That said, Lindgren could very well just be a player good enough to play men, and is biding his time until he gets a bigger role there. I know what I’ve seen, and he’ll likely go later than he should, but he’s a weird case study this season. Safe, mobile, dependable and smart at his best, there isn’t a huge ceiling for Lindgren I don’t think, but I think there’s a solid floor there.

  • Another re-entry here and boy what a huge step this season has been for the small Swiss dynamo. Reber cracked the men’s team in Jönköping and has now become their third leading scorer. While often a power play producer, Reber has always been a similar case for me. Insanely quick and agile through the neutral zone, aggressive going both directions, but remains pretty allergic to driving himself and/or the puck into scoring areas. There’s still a bit of that in his game but holy crap he is so capable of trying. One of the first shots he ever attempted in the SHL was a lacrosse shot, which is so cheeky and cocky that you just have to respect it.

    He’s the leading scorer among all D+1 SHL players this year, both in raw points and points per game, ahead of names like Brandsegg-Nygård, Träff, and Pettersson which surprises me, and I liked Reber last year quite a lot! The bar for players like him is high, and he’s getting plenty of reps to get over the hurdles in front of him. The quickness of his game could take him a long way and while I certainly don’t see him projecting as a centre, I expect a strong World Junior tournament from him and hope to see a more aggressive player in the offensive zone, driving more pucks into the middle of the ice and enabling others to generate offense.

    One last thing to keep in mind as well, is while Reber is a re-entry, he’s barely, barely a re-entry. If he were born 12 days later, making him a similar age to Roger McQueen, Malcolm Spence, Kashawn Aitcheson, or Victor Eklund, are people talking about Reber as if he’s the next big thing out of Switzerland? I get the feeling there would at least be some out there who are hopping on the bandwagon of “extremely productive draft year aged skilled forward playing in the SHL”. His rate of point production would put him among the top draft year players in recent SHL history. Eklund, Carlsson, Reber. Those would be the only first time draft eligibles above half a point a game. Both of those players were also late birthdays, which Reber would have been this season if he were born just a few weeks later than he was. The fact that zero people are really talking about Reber as an option of any kind simply doesn’t add up to me at all, and I’ve been a big fan this year.

  • Fondrk has been a remarkably up and down player this year. At times, when he knocks a puck free and blasts into open space, he has some of the most impressive rush offense moments of almost anyone in the draft. Dropping a shoulder, cutting to the net, making dangerous passing plays through scoring areas, Fondrk has a high ceiling in my view. His floor is low and he’s going to need to be a producer to make things work, and to me, the big question is if he’s got enough juice in the tank enough of the time to be more than just a really talented college scorer. I think he could get there with the explosiveness in his game, but there can be mental lapses with the puck and some soft passing leading to needless turnovers, and much of his data is good but not great almost across the board. I like the guy and he could be a nice swing to take, but in this range, there are others right there with him and it’s still a big mess, but of these players Fondrk has definitely had some of the most impressive singular moments.

  • Moore is weird. I was expecting him to lead the NTDP by a margin on the ice, and I’ve just come away confused about what he could be in the future. You see moments of skill in transition and creative route selection that crosses up defenders, and he gets his scoring chances, wasting few shot attempts, but I wonder if there’s enough to crack the NHL in a given job one day? Obviously diagnosing things in the future is a dangerous game, and Moore is almost certainly going to mature into an impressive college forward, but while he’s skilled, I don’t see enough that pushes him up my board. He’s relatively quick, but only in pockets and isn’t as involved in play as I’d expect. He’s a decent passer, especially in transition, but his ability to generate offense is just not consistently there. He’s generating from the perimeter, and lots of the NTDP’s shots flow through him, but they’re often hemmed in their own end with him on the ice. He’s got some defensive edge to him, but is it enough to be a bottom six player? I’m not sure.


    It’s still early in the year and I have all the time in the world to have my mind changed, but it feels as though a lot of players have worked their way into a conversation to be at least on par with how Moore has played this season.

  • Now this is a deep cut. If you look this guy up, you’ll see he isn’t scoring much, but he’s doing pretty much everything well except generating offense. The Slovenian-Norwegian is raw as it gets. 6’3” and under 180 pounds scales roughly to a 160 pound six-footer, so there’s plenty of meat to grow on his bones, and I think it’ll only benefit his style of play. He’s remarkably skilled and intelligent with the puck on his stick, with some great edgework to navigate through the neutral zone and stitch play together. His World Junior tournament has been underwhelming, but the entire Norwegian group has been that way it seems. I just really like the potential in his game. You see flashes of a lanky skilled player who sees the ice well, delays passes intelligently, and marches the puck up the ice well. He isn’t slow, he isn’t weak on his feet, he isn’t clunky, but he just needs to keep pushing his envelope with his offensive zone playmaking. His tracked data is really, really good in transition and generating his own scoring chances, and I’m not betting against a strong back half, and definitely not betting against an upward trajectory in the long term. He’s played every forward position a bit this year, and at centre I feel he’s been his best. With the right linemates I could easily see Koblar just get better and better on paper to line up with what he’s capable of in deeper metrics.

  • Golly this group is so close. I feel dirty for having Kevan this low, but I just worry about the projection of his game to higher levels. He’s competitive, skilled, laterally quick, and selfless with the puck in the offensive zone. Shot selection needs work, and he isn’t particularly effective defensively in almost any respect, but his puck touches are often very well executed, especially in transition, and he reads opponents on the forechecks like a children’s novel. A smart, creative and confident forward, Kevan is a bit of a longshot with a low floor, but you see some really impressive puck movement and off-puck reads from him that catch your eye at times. I’ll keep checking in on him, and I’m not totally sure what I think of him, but this range feels about right for him for now. Could he end up higher? Maybe a little bit, but not a tier higher. Could he end up lower? Potentially but probably not tremendously.

  • I’ll admit that I wasn’t as hyped about Ekberg going into this season as some others, but I also believe people have overcorrected a bit on him. I think the speed and physicality of the OHL closed out his offensive potential at even strength but I think he’s really come a step with his ability to anticipate pressure, use skill to create lanes and manage it well. He’s been a great off-puck player as well, generating turnovers and anticipating breakouts well. His shot selection is… bad, but these things should grow as he gains more confidence. I think he’s a slow burn player who is clearly very very skilled and creative, but needs to gain a gear with his feet that he doesn’t have, and needs to get stronger all around in order to have more of an impact. This is about as high as he’s likely to be on my board, but I’m optimistic about him considering where others are on him. He’s had issues, but I think that he could work through them with enough time.

  • I already feel like I have Boumedienne a bit too low, but I don’t think he should be a tier higher or anything. He’s still finding his way as one of two 2007-born players in the NCAA. His metrics are… not good. Pretty much everywhere you look in my sample, it isn’t great, but he has had some nice playmaking moments off the boards in the offensive zone. He’s a great skater, which is what you’re building around. He picks his spots defensively very well but seeing the ice and calmly making plays to get the puck out of his end with control is a problem. He’s extremely pass-heavy, but doesn’t connect with his linemates enough right now. He’s one of a limited number of defensemen who are in a bit of a death zone in my data. Allowing control on more defensive transitions than he maintains control on his offensive ones. Basically, more guys are beating him than he’s beating them on the rush. It’s not unheard of, but it isn’t a great place to be, but I’m willing to be patient. As I write this, I need to reiterate that this tier is extremely close and I very well could wake up tomorrow and be cook with Boumedienne being ahead of a player like Reber on this list, but for now, I’m cautiously optimistic, and the team that drafts him will likely be building him out from his footwork and mobility into whatever it is that he’s going to be.

  • Hi Jordan Malette, OHL Analyst at PuckPreps. Thanks for the pointer on Harry, because I absolutely love this guy. He is so, so smart and projectable as a player with insane amounts of involvement all over the ice. He’s a winger I want on the ice when games are in crunch time. He’s fast and intense as a player, but drives excellent offensive results as well. He stops up to create space and uses skill to move pucks into new lanes, and just marches play around the ice consistently with almost every shift. He’s such an enjoyable player to watch, and there were times I had him touching the end of the first round. He could get there before the end of the season if I’m being honest. He’s extremely young for the draft class, lanky for his size, and the potential is so glaringly apparent that I can only imagine him making himself more known to people over time. Yes, the point production isn’t there, but with the way he plays, I just can’t see how he doesn’t take steps forward over the next couple seasons in the OHL. He’s a player that I think coaches will love to have. He’s pesky, but plays the game with intelligence on and off the puck. I may be sticking my neck out a bit considering some of the OHLers I have lower than him, but setting raw point totals aside, I think he’d be an endearing player to many.

  • Right now, Baldwin is the ultimate wild card, but after watching both USHL games he had this year and catching some very limited tape of him playing at a lower level, I think Baldwin could be a shockingly high pick this year. I am being serious that I’m not sure there is a faster defenseman in a straight line this year. He’s at least part of the conversation. He’s shifty, skilled and has a remarkably quick wrist shot that he deploys often. I am waiting until I see more of him to really know what to do with him, but after the 17u Nationals this summer where I felt he was spectacular, and seeing him in the USHL this year, I think that more reps at that level would do him well. He’s just a ton of fun, and I know NHL scouts are on the ground watching him quite a lot, in enough volume to make me think he’s sneakily much higher on boards than the public realizes. I could be wrong, but I’ve really loved what I’ve seen. He’s explosive, creative, and brings a lot to the table that the modern NHL requires. Will he be this high in June? I honestly have no clue, but not many defenders could keep up with him that are ranked below him, and that counts for something in my view.

  • I can hear the collective sounds of all 28 of you scratching your heads. It doesn’t sound great but I understand why you’re doing it. Watching Brady Martin this year, I simply have not understood the hype with him. Yes, I know he’s farm boy strong, but I just don’t really see how his game projects well to the NHL as-is outside of a complimentary low pace physical player who can protect the puck really, really well. His tracked data looks pretty good, and I think he’s a pretty smart passer timing things well and working off of linemates well, but from what I’ve seen so far, he isn’t the first player I’d pick in the draft. I can’t see him not being some kind of NHL player, considering how well he can eat the puck along the boards and find ways to make plays, how physical he can be, and how he passes the puck, but seeing him as high as he is on other boards while I’ve seen faster, more skilled and creative big boys that I think will have an easier time with NHL pace just leaves him where he is here. This tier, as I’ve said, is extremely close. I could easily be swayed to take him over some of the names at the top of the tier because I do respect the things he does really really well, and I may be overcorrecting because of how high I’ve seen him elsewhere, but I’ve had a tough time with Martin this year. At one point I tracked a game of his, and a game of Harry Nansi immediately afterwards with a neutral observer who has nothing to do with the OHL watching on, and we both very quickly agreed that Nansi was a more intriguing player than Martin. Faster, higher skill level, more creative and adaptable passer in transition, there was just quite a lot of meat to chew on with Nansi that we both believed could lead him to a higher ceiling than Martin.

    I will say that seeing Brady Martin on the CHL roster in London and Oshawa, I saw what he could be, but he was playing with elite prospects as a complimentary physical presence who could get the puck off the boards well and set a physical tone. That’s fine and dandy, but to me, I have other priorities in the first round, and I felt that a player like William Belle fit that role in a more projectable way, just on a much, much worse roster.

  • Closing out our individual player writeups is Kurban Limatov. You want to talk wild cards, Limatov is about as wild as it gets. In my view he gets better every game, but he started of real, real sketchy. He’s absolutely massive, and very fluid on his feet for such a big boy, and when he gets a head of steam going with the puck, holy moly does he ever get moving. The problem is that uh, he doesn’t really play actual hockey all that well, but I mean that in a positive sense. There’s so much potential talent there, but he loses physical battles he should win, gets walked on defensive entries, can send aimless passes to nobody, extending defensive zone cycles, and can get caught flat footed on his stick checks, making life way too easy for opponents. BUT. The bright moments are so, so bright, and I think he’s taken steps. He’s taking his time with the puck, making better reads, and cutting off play in the offensive zone better. I don’t know, I don’t think his talent level puts him in a lower tier, but he just isn’t… there enough to be higher on the board. Some days I love him, some days I go elsewhere, but there’s something there glimmering away, it just might take a decade to get there.

Tier 5 - Pretty Neat, But ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

  • Ahhhhhhh Simon Wang. The epitome of gigantic Skate-y Boi, he absolutely zips and zooms around, but I haven’t really seen much more than that on a consistent basis. I am intrigued, I thought he looked good in that one OHL game, but had some shaky moments moving the puck on his own and passing, especially in and out of the defensive zone. He’s Kurban Limatov but even more Limatov-y. I couldn’t draft a half point per game OJHLer higher than this no matter how big and zoomy they are. A high OJHL pick historically has been absolutely dominant in order to work out. Could he be? Maybe, but he is a long term bet. A fun one though!

  • Anthony Allain-Samake might be the most underrated defender in the USHL. I love him. There’s so much that’s almost there with him. He’s had an interesting story that’s his to tell in my opinion, but I just want to support this dude as much as I can. He’s smart, mobile, fluid, and I think he gets a bit more aggressive off the puck and challenges the rush a bit more, he could be really impressive. His offensive zone passing can be excellent at times, and I really enjoyed the potential of his game. He isn’t there yet, but he’s another extremely young player who is a USHL rookie, but doesn’t look out of place.

  • Nikita Poltavchuk is so fun. Skilled, really mobile, aggressive with the puck, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him play a KHL game here and there by the end of the year. He can be a bit loose defensively and pinch for offense a bit too much, but with his skating ability, vision and creativity, I’ve really enjoyed him this year.

  • Luka Radivojevic: Skates insanely well and is lots of fun but… no idea what he is in the future.

  • Gavin Cornforth is a bit small, but I don’t care. He’s a remarkably hard worker, a great forechecker and quick thinker on the puck who could be an interesting option as a complimentary winger.

  • Ivan Fomin is as small as hockey players get, but holy smokes is he ever a fun player. He may literally pass away on the ice one day, be it from bouncing off a guy he’s trying to hit head first, or flying into the boards on a missed hit, or turning into a hit that snaps him in half from behind, or just from a heart attack from trying so damn hard, but my god in heaven he is so, so much fun to watch. He’s insanely explosive, aggressive on loose pucks, has room to grow as an annoying forechecker, and chains offensive zone plays together with the best in this draft. He’s playing in Vladivostok for a team that has never generated an NHL draft pick, but I simply do not care. He came out of nowhere this season and I’ve loved almost every minute of him. I would trade Mr. Future Considerations for the last pick in the draft to land his rights and see where he goes in the next 5-7 years. He skates like the wind blows across the plains of Siberia, he can shoot, he can make plays, his offensive analytics for me are off the charts, and he may risk his life on many shifts, but by gum isn’t that what we’re all looking for from time to time?

  • Kashawn Aitcheson ends up here and I’d be remiss if I don’t explain why. I just haven’t really seen a top end defender there. He’s aggressive and a real pain in the ass, but I’ve seen him sit back on countless defensive zone entries, allow a chance on net, then hack and whack the guy after the whistle blows. Is that my kind of defender? No. Does he shoot the puck good? Sure, but I don’t really value that a ton with defensemen, especially when considering them in the first round. I think his ability to read the ice and execute passes into the neutral zone is well behind many of the defenders ahead of him. He’s just a really tough defenseman but to me he’s the brand of tough defenseman that isn’t nearly as effective as people might think. He’s mean, annoying, and can play the psychological game, and there’s certainly room to grow, but it almost doesn’t matter where I rank him because I’m almost certain he’ll be gone before he’s the best option for me.

  • Ludvig Johnson is in here. I’ve watched most of his games in the National League since his call up after a spectacular start to his junior season. He’s still got a ways to go defensively, but he does not look out of place in one of the best men’s leagues in Europe whatsoever. I always felt he was much closer to Washington Capitals 2nd rounder Leon Muggli than anyone would have thought, and I think they’ve both been on similar levels at the top division this season. Johnson is skilled, creative, sees the ice so well, and I am really hopeful that he can bring that success to international ice this year. He was a deep cut I was confident in last season so to see him find more success than I expected this quickly in his career is a welcome surprise.

  • Alexander Zharovsky might be the most underrated Russian in the draft. He’s electrifyingly skilled, making plays at high speeds and embarrassing opponents here and there. He’s a great playmaker with an underutilized shot, and he’s just gotten more and more comfortable as an MHL rookie this year. I’ve got eyes firmly set on him, and have really enjoyed what I’ve seen on a team that has been a ton of fun to watch.

  • And here we have Ivan Ryabkin. He has not been good this year. Reports coming out of Russia are worse. It isn’t a good situation and honestly it’s a bit disappointing to the point where I hope he can recover things and become the special player he flashed last year. He’s playing slower, using his skill significantly less, playing like he’s frustrated, and simply hasn’t been effective at even strength in a level he should be dominating. Is it salvageable? I believe the answer to that is always yes, but being a healthy scratch in the MHL for a player as productive as he was last year is an immeasurable fall in standing. Has he been that bad? I don’t believe so, but he also has been seriously underwhelming and hasn’t looked any better when I check in as the year goes on.

Tier 6 - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

  • Jack Murtagh is in here, mostly because I see a nice complimentary finisher with some strength, but I don’t really see a great possession driver or off-puck impact player. He’s a bit clunky and slow in my viewings and his analytical profile is really underwhelming. He just hasn’t really popped in my viewings outside of some nice shooting opportunities. I may be off on this, but similar to Aitcheson, I feel like it doesn’t matter. He’ll be gone before I’d be ready to add him to my pipeline.

  • I think Daniil Skvortsov might be the most underrated defender in the OHL class this year. It may not come out often, but he’s mobile and one of the most involved players on defensive rushes that I’ve come across this year. It may not go his way all the time, but he’s big and uses his reach well, with plenty of mobility to toy around with. He’s a project, but on a Guelph team that has struggled at times, Skvortsov has been a curiously strong and interesting presence in their defense group.

  • I really want Luca Romano to be a thing. He’s so smart moving the puck and sees the ice so well, I just wonder how he projects to higher levels. He doesn’t have a tremendous amount of strength nor speed at the moment, but he can manage it considering the smarts he has. He uses the raw ability he has very well, and I could see him higher by the end of the year, but I always go back to “what is this player in the NHL”, and I’m not sure what the answer is for Romano, which gives me pause.

  • Vaclav Nestrasil is a really, really raw player, but I was pleasantly surprised to see him get a look from a major player like Craig Button. He’s very tall and very lanky, but there’s some good speed and great skill locked away in his game. He’s a player that needs some guidance and coaching, but in a positive way. I don’t think he realizes just how good he could be, and plays very cautious and careful hockey, but can panic under pressure and not see the ice super well. Muskegon was abysmal in the game I tracked of his, and he wasn’t particularly amazing, but I still saw flashes. Skill under pressure, creativity, good speed to close gaps off the puck, I think his back half could be pretty good and I’m hopeful that we see a bit more of what he’s capable of.

  • Lev Katzin smol. Lev Katzin fun. Lev Katzin shoot fast. NHL? Probably not, but it’d be fun!

The Watchlist

  • Every time I watch the US NTDP, Richard Gallant is the guy catching my eye every single time. I felt he was one of the only Americans who could skate with and push back the talented CHL roster. He’s got great cuts to make space, threads passes really well through traffic, and I’ve really liked him. I haven’t tracked him yet but I’ll get to him, because I’ve liked what I’ve seen. He’s just small, but I think there might be enough there to get through the issues he has because of his size.

  • And so we get to The Watchlist. These are players that have caught my attention but are largely only on this list to keep an eye on long term and to prevent me from forgetting about their existence. I could draft some of these players for sure, but my projection on them might be a little too uncertain or risky for me to really pull the trigger.

  • The (kinda) Omsk defenders here (Zavadsky and Ukhmylov) are raw, raw, raw, but I think there’s good potential long term with both. Zavadsky has a massive shot from the point and some great skating ability, but his passing vision and strength needs work. Ukhmylov is skilled and fluid on his feet, but lanky as hell and in my opinion needs to have a bit more assertiveness and confidence with the puck. There are some high end moments with him, but then he quietly sneaks away into the bush for a while. Fun player, probably not a guy I’m drafting, but definitely a guy I want to watch long term.

  • Roman Bausov is huge, skates well, and is very smart defensively. He just has such limited offensive potential and is so boring. I mean that respectfully though. He eats minutes, gobbles pucks and is a good defensive insulator, but I need more to be more confident in his profile.

  • Little David Lovgren is on here. He’s just a riot to watch. Quick, skilled, agile, he takes up almost no space on the ice which leaves him behind often, but once the puck hits his stick, he’s off like a rocket and has some pinpoint passing ability that has led to some seriously impressive individual moments. He’s as long a longshot gets but he’s always a hoot.

  • Maxim Zaitsev is the epitome of stickhandling in a phone booth. For all you kids out there, a phone booth is a very small, often enclosed space for human beings to use stationary cell phones with no internet or apps to call other human beings for a very small amount of money. Being able to stickhandle inside of one is a very impressive trait. He’s pretty slow, pretty individualistic, but if you watch a highlight package, you’ll be smitten. Dipsy-doodling around multiple defenders and slinging passes around like the fishmongers at Pike Place. Fun? Yes. Projectable? Probably not.

  • Lasse Boelius might be the best first time draft eligible Finn this year, but I really don’t know if there’s an NHLer there without a great leap in skating ability. He wants to play like Cale Makar, but he ain’t Cale Makar. Deception, pinpoint passing, skill, a good shot, he’s got all of it, but that playstyle requires elite mobility and offensive output to make it work, and while I haven’t seen much of him in Liiga, I haven’t seen him really look like a player that could project to the NHL well anytime soon. He should be drafted, but you’ll need to be patient and hope for significant development.

  • Who the hell is Yuri Rummo? He’s a big, violent Belorussian playing in Moscow for the Red Army program, and he’s just a barrel of laughs to watch. I’m surprised he hasn’t produced a bit more, but he’s a high pace, energetic player who absolutely levels opponents at times, almost to a fault. He has an underrated skill level though, and while he is clearly extremely raw, there are interesting bits and pieces to his game that could turn out to be a nice energy player over a very long period. He’s a project, but plays a style that I think could be endearing to NHL folks one day.

  • Daniil Petrenko is really entertaining and hard working, and scored one of the quickest and slickest lacrosse goals I’ve ever seen this season, but I’m not sure he skates well enough to be a skilled player at higher levels.

There you have it! I hope you enjoyed. If you did, definitely consider a subscription to Scouching.ca to fund our work and get access to really cool data tables and visualizations. Over the new year, I’ll be updating everything for the 2025 class, so stay tuned for that, I’m just getting my samples up to a comfortable level so it’s worth sharing with you beautiful people. You can also join us live on YouTube for Scouching Live, every Monday night at 8pm EST and Thursday afternoons at 2pm EST, so drop by, ask questions and get some more clarity on what you’ve read today!

Have a safe and fun holiday season, no matter how you celebrate, and thanks for reading!

Will Scouch
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Previewing the Goaltending for the 2025 World Junior Championships