2025 NHL Entry Draft Thread

[LGR4GM]

5 minutes ago, Wyldnwoody44 said:

Any relation to Ethan Bear?

And also, just an epic hockey name, a Bear to terrorize the Bruins. 

I enjoy reading this thread, but man, I have no dog in the fight of who we draft. 

I do recall being really ticked we let Rossi pass us and went off the board to pick Quinn who was slated to go much lower in the 1st. After that draft, I kinda just quit paying attention to It. 

Carter isn't related Ethan that I'm aware of. 

Bear isn't perfect but he's damn fun to watch and I think the skills like skating will improve. At 7, he's a good option. 

[French Collection]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

Carter isn't related Ethan that I'm aware of. 

Bear isn't perfect but he's damn fun to watch and I think the skills like skating will improve. At 7, he's a good option. 

I would like Desnoyers, I see some Patrice Bergeron in him but Bear would be fun to watch on a line with Benson.

[LGR4GM]

3 minutes ago, French Collection said:

I would like Desnoyers, I see some Patrice Bergeron in him but Bear would be fun to watch on a line with Benson.

Love me some Desnoyers but I don't see him being available at 7. I've seen some stuff where he might go over Hagens at 3 or 4. Schaefer, Musa, Martone, Desnoyers is a real possibility. Bergeron is exactly who I think about when watching him, as always it's a style comparison not a direct comparison. 

[PerreaultForever]

9 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

I ranked Marco Rossi and Seth Jarvis above Quinn in that draft. 

Actually it's why at 7 in 2025, I'm still big on Carter Bear. He plays hockey hard and he's got enough skill that at worst you're getting a 2nd line player. 

I don't remember who I wanted although prior to the draft I do remember saying I thought Sanderson would be a good D man and hoped he'd still be there (he wasn't). I remember liking Holloway but lower. Rossi over Quinn. I think I liked Perfetti too. 

We agreed earlier on Bear. 7 might be a little high but I would not be upset if they went that way. 

[JoeSchmoe]

I know I hyped him earlier... But we have to trade down for Brady Martin.

He's seriously undervalued. +25 on the Soo Greyhounds that were a -42 as a team. No one else on his team was even close to him. By comparison, Porter Mortone is a +19 on a team that was +58. Mortone is also an 06 vs Martin being an 07 and has had an extra year of OHL experience.

I'm sure the guys ranked 5 through 9 might have similar or slightly better numbers points-wise, but I can tell you having seen a lot of him over the years that he's the kid is a beast. He's just never had the benefit of playing on a good team.

[PerreaultForever]

On 4/19/2025 at 6:00 AM, French Collection said:

I would like Desnoyers, I see some Patrice Bergeron in him but Bear would be fun to watch on a line with Benson.

Desnoyers is going to Boston or Philly. No chance he drops to Buffalo. Martone will likely be gone as well as Misa and Schaefer. There's a small chance Hagens falls and that would be fitting in a way because it would be like every other year where the small guy falls. Hagens is better than Savoie though. I'd be happy with Bear for sure. 

[Archie Lee]

8 hours ago, JoeSchmoe said:

I know I hyped him earlier... But we have to trade down for Brady Martin.

He's seriously undervalued. +25 on the Soo Greyhounds that were a -42 as a team. No one else on his team was even close to him. By comparison, Porter Mortone is a +19 on a team that was +58. Mortone is also an 06 vs Martin being an 07 and has had an extra year of OHL experience.

I'm sure the guys ranked 5 through 9 might have similar or slightly better numbers points-wise, but I can tell you having seen a lot of him over the years that he's the kid is a beast. He's just never had the benefit of playing on a good team.

You're doing a good job of selling me on Martin.

[JoeSchmoe]

4 hours ago, Archie Lee said:

You're doing a good job of selling me on Martin.

The first 50 seconds might be worth watching. It's all physical play. 

Edit: Watching this again makes me think he could be bigger version Benson.

Edited Monday at 04:58 PM by JoeSchmoe

[Flashsabre]

1 hour ago, JoeSchmoe said:

The first 50 seconds might be worth watching. It's all physical play. 

Edit: Watching this again makes me think he could be bigger version Benson.

Peca?

[LGR4GM]

1 hour ago, JoeSchmoe said:

The first 50 seconds might be worth watching. It's all physical play. 

Edit: Watching this again makes me think he could be bigger version Benson.

He's got a better shot than Benson and less overall planning. He's fun though, curious to see how he's skills translate. Carter Bear might be the only other forward who could challenge him for pure aggression. 

[Archie Lee]

2 hours ago, JoeSchmoe said:

The first 50 seconds might be worth watching. It's all physical play. 

Edit: Watching this again makes me think he could be bigger version Benson.

Sold!

[LGR4GM]

1 hour ago, Archie Lee said:

Sold!

 

 

[North Buffalo]

Bear appears to be a better  scorer helluv of a shot... skating needs some work... seems off balance often... nice shot.

[LGR4GM]

17 minutes ago, North Buffalo said:

Bear appears to be a better  scorer helluv of a shot... skating needs some work... seems off balance often... nice shot.

Hmm. Bear is a better scorer, idk if he has a better shot. They would be close, both are good. 100% on the skating. My concern with Martin is also skating, particularly doing things at a glide, not in stride. Let's just draft both.

[JoeSchmoe]

2 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

 

 

Bear looks good too! He looks like a  better playmaker than Martin for sure and would be a great pickup. Too bad the clip didn't show the physical play you mentioned. His +/- compared to the rest of his team isn't as near as impressive as Martin's (he's 7th on the team). He's also an 06 with an extra year of CHL development.

I think for pure playmaking, Bear looks like he's our man. For a 200ft gritty player combined with an elite shot, Martin wins.

[LGR4GM]

23 minutes ago, JoeSchmoe said:

Bear looks good too! He looks like a  better playmaker than Martin for sure and would be a great pickup. Too bad the clip didn't show the physical play you mentioned. His +/- compared to the rest of his team isn't as near as impressive as Martin's (he's 7th on the team). He's also an 06 with an extra year of CHL development.

I think for pure playmaking, Bear looks like he's our man. For a 200ft gritty player combined with an elite shot, Martin wins.

I wouldn't call 19 games an extra year if CHL development. They are 4 months apart in age. While you're focusing on +/- I'll counter with Bear was first on his team in points by 4, the only guy close to him played 11 more games. Martin is 2nd on his team in points by 13pts. 

Bear has more goals and more penalty minutes. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

On 4/19/2025 at 7:56 AM, LGR4GM said:

Carter isn't related Ethan that I'm aware of. 

Bear isn't perfect but he's damn fun to watch and I think the skills like skating will improve. At 7, he's a good option. 

No, but they are both of native descendent.  Carter's folks are from the Peguis First Nation (Cree & Saulteaux) and Ethan is part of the Ochapowace Nation (also Cree).  

[clink]

8 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

 

 

We need THESE types on this team 

 

Gimme the jam!!!! Gimme the grind!!! 

Bear would be a remedy IMO 

[LGR4GM]

7 hours ago, clink said:

We need THESE types on this team 

 

Gimme the jam!!!! Gimme the grind!!! 

Bear would be a remedy IMO 

Good news is there's a bunch of talented high motor guys in that 5-10 range. Then there's some that might slide to round 2.

[clink]

4 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Good news is there's a bunch of talented high motor guys in that 5-10 range. Then there's some that might slide to round 2.

My injured Sabre soul tells me that Adams will somehow skip the grit, and draft another soft n' skilled guy 

 

I think this drought is having an impact on my fandom 😵‍💫

[JoeSchmoe]

I must be living in the dark here. The U18 World Championships are starting this week. Here's an article from TSN for the 8 Canadians to watch.

I'm interested in seeing Roobroeck. During my son's entire minor hockey career, he was always the defacto #1 2007 kid (Misa played up with the 06s). He got passed by Schaefer right before the OHL draft and went 2nd overall behind Schaefer and ahead of Martin. He plays a Matthews type game in that he's big and opportunistic. Just when you think you've shut him down, you quickly realize you haven't and he scores three.

https://www.tsn.ca/hockey-canada/seven-players-to-watch-for-canada-at-men-s-u18-championship-1.2293024

 

[FrenchConnection44]

Eklund has to be the obvious pick, right? 5’11, 161. He’s the perfect finesse player to go with the other 18 finesse skaters on the team and the 15 finesse prospects we have in the system. No brainer. Especially if we want to hit 15 straight years. 

[SabresBillsFan]

No more smurfs!

[clink]

On 4/22/2025 at 7:34 PM, FrenchConnection44 said:

Eklund has to be the obvious pick, right? 5’11, 161. He’s the perfect finesse player to go with the other 18 finesse skaters on the team and the 15 finesse prospects we have in the system. No brainer. Especially if we want to hit 15 straight years. 

I hope TF NOT!!! 

This team desperately needs some grit IMO!!! 

[LGR4GM]

On 4/22/2025 at 7:34 PM, FrenchConnection44 said:

Eklund has to be the obvious pick, right? 5’11, 161. He’s the perfect finesse player to go with the other 18 finesse skaters on the team and the 15 finesse prospects we have in the system. No brainer. Especially if we want to hit 15 straight years. 

Eklund is a "finesse" player in the same way Benson is a "finesse" player.