The 2025 NHL Draft class appears to be like totally different than the 2023 and 2024 lessons. So does the complexity of the Blackhawks’ first-round choice.
There’s a much wider vary of choices for his or her No. 3 decide this yr than for his or her No. 2 decide final yr or their No. 1 decide the yr earlier than. 4 forwards — Anton Frondell, Caleb Desnoyers, James Hagens and Porter Martone — all appear to be squarely in play, and there’s nonetheless an outdoor probability that coveted ahead Michael Misa drops to them.
“I believe our [rankings] versus some other crew’s goes to be totally different, and [they’re] going to be totally different from public [rankings],” Hawks basic supervisor Kyle Davidson mentioned after the draft lottery.
The complexity comes from not solely the Hawks having a decrease decide but in addition this class being significantly weaker — a minimum of within the opinion of Chris Peters, scouting professional for FloHockey.
“The truth of this draft [is that] even on the high, there may be not one positive factor,” Peters mentioned. “There isn’t one man the place you say, ‘That man is completely going to be a star.’ [Defenseman Matthew] Schaefer and Misa are the closest to it . . . however I can’t let you know that both of them will in the end be a franchise cornerstone participant.”
Right here’s how Peters analyzes the Hawks’ choices forward of the NHL’s first decentralized draft, scheduled for June 26-27:
Martone, the folks’s alternative
Many followers have connected themselves to Martone for the reason that lottery consequence.
Contemplating the Hawks’ existing pool of ahead prospects, most of whom are speedy however undersized, Martone looks like a perfect complementary piece at 6-3, 208 kilos already. He additionally racked up 98 factors in 57 video games for the OHL’s Brampton Steelheads this previous season.
However there are two crimson flags: He’s inconsistent, and he’s a below-average skater. For these causes, Peters isn’t satisfied Martone is sensible for the Hawks. He’s merely not their traditional kind, though an exception can all the time be made.
“The factor is, he’s huge, however he’s not an intense, bodily participant,” Peters mentioned. “He has energy in his recreation, and he’s arduous to knock off the puck. However his compete [level] can wane. That’s been the most important grievance about him during the last two years.
“You is likely to be giving up two inches to a different choice, however is peak actually going to be the defining issue? Whereas Martone is huge, he’s not imply. He’s aggressive, however not excessive. There’s some concern about whether or not he would be capable of play on the tempo the Blackhawks are trending towards.”
Martone is also the one one of many high 5 forwards who positively shall be a wing within the NHL. The opposite 4 a minimum of have an opportunity to be facilities.
His proponents level out that whereas he isn’t as highly effective as his measurement suggests, he’s additionally a greater playmaker and extra artistic than it suggests.
Hagens and Frondell
On the opposite finish of the spectrum, Hagens would possibly too carefully resemble the Hawks’ current ahead prospects, to the extent he wouldn’t add something new to the pool.
He’s small (5-11, 176) however a simple skater with finesse and agility. Nevertheless, whereas his expertise have tantalized scouts for years, he didn’t individually drive play fairly as a lot as anticipated as a freshman at Boston Faculty, the place he had 37 factors in 37 video games.
Traditionally, Davidson has mentioned he doesn’t draft based mostly on want, however he acknowledged this yr is likely to be barely totally different.
“My philosophy is we do wish to go ‘greatest participant obtainable,’ however generally the discussions are so shut the place it’s a must to break that [tie] someway,” he mentioned. “Is it place? Is it the fashion of play? Is it what we’ve bought already versus what certainly one of these gamers present?”
Frondell represents a stability between Martone and Hagens. At 6-1, 198, he’s greater than Hagens and has demonstrated extra potential to take cost and drive play. His skating isn’t elite however is healthier than Martone’s.
He had 25 factors in 29 video games for Djurgardens this season within the Allsvenskan, Sweden’s second-division professional league. That’s a extremely spectacular quantity for a 17-year-old. Peters identified it’s increased than David Pastrnak and William Nylander’s manufacturing on the identical age in the identical league.
Nevertheless, Frondell struggled towards his peer group on the under-18 world championships a couple of weeks in the past, that means each NHL GM witnessed “his worst hockey of the season,” Peters mentioned.
Desnoyers, the most effective match?
That leaves Desnoyers, who would be the first product of the QMJHL drafted within the high 10 since Alexis Lafreniere in 2020. Desnoyers’ season hasn’t ended but, as he’s headed to the Memorial Cup (Canada’s junior membership championship) with the Moncton Wildcats.
Within the common season, he had 84 factors in 56 video games, elevating his play — and his draft inventory — enormously from fall to spring. Nonetheless, the QMJHL is a weaker league, so it’s tougher to find out how a lot these 84 factors imply.
He’s not as flashy as different forwards mentioned right here, however he’s in all probability essentially the most well-rounded, particularly by way of defensive acumen.
“[Desnoyers] won’t be the sexiest decide as a result of he doesn’t have the purpose complete that Misa does, however he’s producing,” Peters mentioned. “He’s extremely expert [with a] large motor. He’s a extremely good two-way heart, he’s bodily, and he additionally has the flexibility to attain.”
His robust work ethic and consistency additionally align with the Hawks’ traditional preferences.
“He can be a hand-to-glove match,” Peters mentioned. “He’s noticeable each recreation, no matter whether or not or not he scores. He simply performs the sport loud, and I’ve favored that about him.”
Different prospects
There’s no assure the Islanders and Sharks, holding the highest two picks, will take Schaefer and Misa, the highest two prospects in public rankings. This draft yr, beginning with the lottery, already has been unpredictable.
May the Islanders go for Hagens, a Lengthy Island native, and permit Misa to slide to No. 3? Or might the Islanders look into buying and selling all the way down to take Hagens, giving the Hawks a chance to commerce up? Something is feasible, and Peters thinks discovering a strategy to nab Misa can be the Hawks’ best-case state of affairs.
“He’s bodily, he engages, he hunts pucks . . . and on high of that, he’s bought this large scoring potential,” Peters mentioned. “I don’t suppose he’s as dynamic a scorer as [Connor] Bedard, however there’s positively rather a lot to love about his recreation. When it comes to offensive upside, his seems to be the best.”
The Hawks additionally personal the Maple Leafs’ first-round decide and two second-round picks, which they’ll in all probability attempt to package deal collectively in a commerce to both get one other top-20 decide or purchase a longtime participant. Davidson shall be busy with extra than simply the No. 3 choice on draft day.
However the weak point of this draft class might cut back the commerce worth of these picks. Peters grades the prospects projected to go within the 20s this yr as equal to second-round gamers in most different years.
