I launched my November 2025 NHL Draft ranking on Monday, the NCAA Division I Council will meet Thursday to proceed to debate CHL participant eligibility, I’m off to Sarnia for the semis and medal spherical of World Underneath-17 Hockey Problem on Friday, and earlier than we all know it it’ll be time for the inaugural CHL USA Prospects Problem in London and Oshawa after which World Junior choice camps in Ottawa and Plymouth.
In different phrases, we’re proper within the thick of draft season already and it felt like time for a mailbag. You submitted a bunch of questions. Right here, I’ve answered 11 of the large ones in depth.
Be aware: Questions have been frivolously edited for readability and size, and related questions have been grouped collectively. For those who submitted a query and I didn’t reply it under, I’ll circle again to the submissions and reply the remainder within the coming days.
The place do Matthew Schaefer and Logan Hensler rank amongst Artyom Levshunov, Anton Silayev, Carter Yakemchuk, Sam Dickinson, Zayne Parekh and Zeev Buium?
How do the highest defensemen on this class evaluate to the top-six drafted defensemen of final yr?
Contemplating solely the place I used to be at on every of the 2024 prospects pre-draft, I’d most likely slot them like this:
1. Artyom Levshunov
2. Zeev Buium
3. Zayne Parekh
4. Matthew Schaefer
5. Sam Dickinson
6. Anton Silayev
7. Carter Yakemchuk
8. Logan Hensler
There are three caveats to that. The primary is that I believe Schaefer’s bought an opportunity to be one of the best of the bunch attributable to his two-way worth/smarts, however I simply need to see him play extra earlier than making that willpower. As a result of he had mononucleosis to begin the yr and didn’t have a shiny season within the OHL final yr, his statistical profile doesn’t but stack up with a few of these different gamers. He’s bought the remainder of the season to construct that pattern measurement. The second is that whereas I had the six high D from final yr divided into three tiers (1, 2-5, 6), I believe I’d have all six in the identical tier now, that means Levshunov strikes down a tier to hitch the pack and Yakemchuk strikes up one to hitch them. The third is that regardless that these high seven would all be in the identical tier now, I’ve Hensler a tier under them.
Are Porter Martone’s birthdate and bodily maturity in comparison with gamers his age inflicting us to overrate him on some stage?
I’ve actually factored Martone’s late-2006 birthday and the very fact he’s 200 kilos and virtually 6-foot-3 into my analysis and supreme rating of him at No. 2. I don’t suppose he’s tapped out bodily, although. Martone appears to be like like a robust, athletic child if you see him across the rink. He may match into an NHL locker room from a glance/the way in which he presents himself perspective.
GO DEEPER
How ‘phenomenal’ Porter Martone has made a case for the top of the 2025 NHL Draft
However simply anecdotally I believe he additionally nonetheless has room to fill out additional and get stronger. From my perspective, he’s not as bodily superior at this age as Cole Beaudoin was final yr, or Aaron Ekblad was, and even guys like Colby Barlow and Tyler Boucher have been. And I do know those that work with him and the Steelheads view him as nonetheless having growth in entrance of him that means as nicely. One of many quotes from Steelheads head coach and basic supervisor James Richmond that didn’t make it into my latest characteristic on Martone was a metaphor about how NHL coaches want yellow bananas and OHL coaches should ripen 16-year-old inexperienced bananas into yellow ones — or shut — by the point they’re 20. He talked about Martone as riper than most his age but in addition argued he’d get pushed round within the NHL if he performed in it tomorrow and used an instance of Owen Tippett, a really bodily mature alum he had who spent the primary time Richmond went to look at him within the NHL on the seat of his pants as a result of he saved getting knocked over.
It’s value noting, too, that this draft class is extra closely skewed by late-birthdate gamers on the entire. James Hagens, Schaefer, Roger McQueen, Hensler, Malcolm Spence and Victor Eklund are all late-06s, so there’s a large group of gamers on this class you possibly can evaluate him side-by-side with. It’s additionally value noting he has stood out enjoying with the 2024 draft class, together with eventually spring’s U18 worlds in Finland, the place he was one of many event’s main scorers.
At all times curious: Who stands out for top compete in 2025?
Spence. Kashawn Aitcheson. Jack Ivankovic. Brady Martin. Invoice Zonnon. So as of look on my high 64, these are most likely the 5 guys who stand out essentially the most in that regard. I just like the competitiveness of Hagens, Martone, Caleb Desnoyers and others although as nicely.
Victor Eklund is projected to go within the No. 10-15 vary in the intervening time within the 2025 NHL Draft. (Michael Miller / ISI Pictures / Getty Pictures)
What are Victor Eklund’s strengths and weaknesses in comparison with his brother William? How related are they as gamers?
What’s the ground and ceiling for Victor Eklund? May he find yourself being a extra invaluable prospect than his brother William was?
They’re related in additional methods than they’re totally different. They’re each 5-foot-11 wingers (although William has clearly performed some heart, he’s extra of a winger). They’re each early October birthdays. They’re each Djurgårdens merchandise, although they have been within the SHL in William’s draft yr and are in HockeyAllsvenskan for Victor’s. They’ve each bought related statistical profiles (level per sport on the J20 stage with 20-plus professional video games of their pre-draft seasons after which full-time, contributing execs of their draft yr, with Victor producing at a better clip however at a decrease professional rung). They each even share a little bit of the identical look/posture on the ice. There are some delicate variations of their video games, although. William’s was all about smarts, timing, instinct, and being in good spots at that age. And whereas Victor shares these attributes, I believe they’re most likely a slight grade decrease however his skating/the final zip to his sport are a bit of higher-end. Although William went No. 7 and Victor is projected to go in additional of the 10-15 vary in the intervening time, I believe they’re comparable as prospects.
Who’s a prospect that has all of the instruments, however has not had a great begin to the yr?
NTDP defenseman Charlie Trethewey has the flexibility however continues to be studying the way to really play and that has been evident early on. His teammate Carter Amico ought to be higher than he’s along with his size/skating however can’t appear to earn minutes on a weak workforce. I anticipated large Charlottetown defenseman Owen Conrad, who actually impressed me final yr, to take a step and produce greater than he has up to now this yr. NTDP ahead Conrad Fondrk has a great deal of expertise however doesn’t appear to know the way to use it. There are others, however these are the 4 that instantly got here to thoughts.
If L.J. Mooney didn’t get injured, would you have got ranked him increased or was this analysis unbiased of his damage? Additionally evaluating Mooney to Cameron Schmidt, each are undersized, right-handed, speedy gamers. Who do you see having extra potential within the NHL and why?
I seen Mooney and Adam Benák in the identical gentle pre-injury and Benák is early 30s to Mooney’s late 30s, so the damage and misplaced time/misplaced alternative to proceed to show who he’s as a participant to scouts was a consideration. It was a troublesome break for him. I hope he’s discovering methods to get into the gymnasium and get stronger whereas he’s off the ice as a result of he wants that badly as nicely. So far as Schmidt goes, my rating (teenagers versus 30s) speaks for itself. I believe his power and inside ending are the separators there towards the opposite two tiny forwards on this draft.
My annual sleeper query: Who’re a few guys that didn’t make your record or honorable mentions that you just’re keeping track of?
The next names have been strongly thought-about for the honorable mentions: Blainville-Boisbriand ahead and Justin Carbonneau linemate Mateo Nobert, Kingston ahead Tyler Hopkins, Saskatoon’s German import David Lewandowski, Saint John ahead Zachary Morin, North Bay ahead Shamar Moses, Soo ahead Travis Hayes, Norwegian ahead Jørgen Nyhus Myhre, Slovak ahead Jan Chovan, Russian import ahead Ruslan Karimov, Purple Deer ahead Matthew Gard, and the NTDP’s William Horcoff.
Would you say European prospects are likely to rise extra in the course of the draft season as you begin seeing them extra often, when you have already seen extra of the North American skaters?
There’s a increased chance that gamers exterior of the CHL, USHL, Sweden and Finland discover their means onto radars or turn into a spotlight of their draft yr. I don’t suppose that’s unique to Europe, although, however relatively depending on the league they’re enjoying in. Definitely, some gamers from small-to-medium-sized European hockey international locations aren’t launched to scouts in full till they seem as underagers on the U18 worlds previous their draft yr or with their age group on the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Now that Russian gamers are now not getting the worldwide highlight, the non-Michkov/Demidov sorts are taking longer to construct momentum and get eyeballs with scouts as nicely (Anton Silayev wasn’t seen as a top-10 decide getting into final season, Kurban Limatov wasn’t seen as a possible first-rounder earlier than this season, and many others.).
However the bigger consider that, I’d argue, is the dearth of robust home junior leagues in international locations like Switzerland, Czechia, Slovakia and Germany, and even (although to a lesser extent) Russia making it such that scouts aren’t targeted on junior gamers in these leagues till their draft yr in the identical means that they’re watching 16-year-olds within the CHL, USHL or J20 for instance. In a few of these international locations, except they enter the CHL import draft or play professional, it’s nonetheless laborious to get drafted in case your solely expertise pre-draft is on the junior stage. That’s true in North America, too. Although there are extra scouts right here, prep faculty gamers and Minnesota excessive schoolers aren’t a serious focus for NHL golf equipment till these children pop of their draft yr. That doesn’t imply no person’s watching, nevertheless it’s not in enormous numbers. That’s how a participant like Haoxi Wang has solely simply now constructed buzz, on high of the truth that children like him who’re enjoying Jr. A are on that path as a result of they’re late bloomers as is.
Do any of the old-school stereotypes nonetheless exist within the scouting world? Are there different present stereotypes of leagues on the market that exist within the scouting world that may push the needle a technique or one other for a prospect’s rating?
I all the time like to complete these mailbags on a extra theoretical query and this one felt prefer it had some tooth. I believe scouting and its so-called greatest practices swing on a pendulum of types. Within the final couple of years, for instance, I’ve seen a pronounced re-prioritizing of size and measurement in scouting defensemen, for instance. However that was a direct response to the league getting smaller up entrance as fewer and fewer Matt Rempe sorts made their approach to the NHL (that Rempe grew to become such a speaking level final season I don’t suppose speaks to old-school stereotypes returning however relatively underscores how uncommon these sorts now are). Do groups nonetheless, for instance, function a bit of too cautiously with small gamers throughout positions, which I’d categorize as an old-school behavior/groupthink? I believe so. And Cole Caufield, a first-rounder, isn’t the argument for that. Devon Levi (seventh spherical), and Dustin Wolf (seventh spherical), and Lane Hutson (second spherical), and Logan Stankoven (second spherical), and the camp Andrew Cristall (second spherical) simply had in Washington are stronger circumstances.
Definitely I do suppose the intangibles of character, management and the way nicely a child presents can typically tackle a lifetime of their very own and turn into romanticized by groups to the purpose the place they fall in love with guys and make errors that means. I believe these issues have been overemphasized with Ben Danford final yr, and that Gabriel Eliasson was picked thirty ninth for the incorrect causes as simply two very latest examples, however you may also return to Barrett Hayton, and Lawson Crouse, and Tyler Boucher, and Tyler Biggs — children who groups actually appreciated for causes which can be very laborious to quantify. However on the different finish of the spectrum, I additionally suppose people within the public sphere get carried away with their very own groupthink darlings who would possibly look good once they’ve bought the puck on their stick in junior however don’t have lots of the qualities they should progress. I believe I’ve discovered through the years to higher management my pendulum and to attempt to discover market inefficiencies when the pendulum of parents within the personal and public spheres has swung too far.
(High photograph of Porter Martone: Michael Miller / ISI Pictures / Getty Pictures)
