2025 NHL Entry Draft Thread

[Flashsabre]

6 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

1. Matthew Schaefer, 6'2" 183lbs, LHD - He's stylistically a mix between Dhalin and Makar. He's so f-ing young for this class that come guys listed below are 11 months older than him. I've seen the sample size concerns and I get it, but the rest of the tape from that sample is dynamic. This is a #1 all around defender in his prime barring injury. BTW, his yr was shortened due to mono and slamming into a goal post during the WJC, so isn't some weird injury prone thing going on.
2. Michael Misa, 6'1" 185lbs, C/LW - He scores, a lot. By a lot I mean the 4th most goals for a draft eligible since 2001. He's got dynamic skating, his brain works well, motor is good, will engage physically. He's pretty much everything you want in a forward and I have almost nothing to even complain about. He's in that Fantilli level of of prospect and boy could teams use him. 
3. James Hagens, 5'11" 176lbs, C - He needs to get stronger. It all starts and ends there because at the NCAA level, he just gets moves off the puck. That said, the brain and skills are so good he is constantly trouble shooting and adjusting for his weakness. I think everyone expected more from him but the playmaking and stickhandling is still there and he's really in that Jack Hughes mold where you just need to be a little patient for it all to come together. 200ft center in training.
4. Porter Martone, 6'3" 207lbs, RW - Martone is a playmaker first and a good shooter second. He has a lot of great vision and all the requisite skills to execute his ideas. I just wish the pace was higher. He isn't always the guy driving the plays and sometimes acts more as a connector. When he does turn it on, he's great but the inconsistency is why he slides for me. High motor high skill. 
5. Roger McQueen, 6'5" 192lbs, C - Is this a vibes pick for me? Yea a little but man, from what I have watched from McQueen, I love them vibes. He's big, he skates well, his hands are awesome, and he's smart. A level below Martone in terms of the creation part but there's great ideas with McQueen. I love his shot and how he drives the net too. The question is, is he going to get more stress fractures in his back because that will end his career quick like Nolan Patrick. 
6. Caleb Desnoyers, 6'2" 172lbs, C - He's similar to McQueen with a bit less overall skill but a more projectible floor. Good playmaking ideas with the skill to execute them, he has some delay and manipulation techniques which I like. He is also physical and willing to use his body to shield or cut the hands of opposing players. Technically sound at both ends of the ice, you may have a 30g, 40a center on your hands or a 20g, 30a center, hard to say. 
7. Carter Bear, 6' 176lb, C/LW - F### You, that's why. Not you, meaning the reader, more like whoever Bear is playing. He's a ball of hate and not exactly small either. He's motor is a 10, Zach Benson might not even motor as hard as Bear. He also has the skills to do something with all that energy and mixing in slick passes with a good shot. The issue is the skating which is average. He's tough to knock off the puck but he needs more speed and to fix his stride if he wants to be more than a middle 6 checker with 20g, 25a. Also Carter Bear hates you. Yes, you. 
8. Jackson Smith, 6'3" 190lbs, LHD - He's a LHD and he's big and skates well and idc... moving on. 
9. Justin Carbonneau, 6'1" 192lbs, RW - I think my fav part of Carbonneau is listening to the difference between French and English announcers say his name. He is one of the most skilled players in this draft. He can stickhandle in a porta-potty. He loads and shoots with the best in the class. His skating is lovely to watch. The catch is, he kinda sorta is jekyl and hyde. He never hurts you, he still plays every shift but then about half his shifts he plays them like everyone else is his lesser and the other half more like hockey is fun going for a casual skate. Still, if the game continues to develop and nails down the details at both ends, in a re-draft he might be a top 5 or higher player. Those pesky details though, when he's on, he's great. 
10. Victor Eklund, 5'11" 161lbs, LW - Eklund almost dropped below O'Brien but Eklund played against better competition and I think he showed out better. He has excellent skating and quick hands. His motor revs very high and he engages all over the ice. He needs strength but is oddly a pain to get off the puck even at his weight. Good shot, clever playmaking, if he were 2-3inches taller and 25lbs heavier, he might be higher but he's not and you can see at times how that works against him. Nice player though and I would expect him to have the dev line of his brother in San Jose. Don't sleep on Eklund. 
11. Jake O'Brien, 6'2" 170lb, C - I don't think he has as many skills as Eklund but he's still really good and his development is really good. You can find his early year stuff and then look at later year and you see the growth. With a June bday, he's got a lot of runway and development going on. I think the high end brain really allows him to diagnose his weaknesses and he's working on them. Skating, shooting, and overall pace have all improved. Still, he's a playmaker at heart.
12. Lynden Lakovic, 6'4" 190lbs, LW - This MOFO just needs to play every shift. My god son, you are huge, skate really well, handle like Carbonneau and yet here you are at 12. Some shifts Lakovic uses his size and skills to be dominate. Other shifts he gets a bit lost, waits for things to develop instead of forcing the issue... and then his shift ends... and he goes off the ice. He reminds me a bit of Power but at forward where the physical gifts are all there but that mental side where you demand pucks and get pucks and are just someone that gets noticed every shift, isn't there. If he matures and applies his god given talents consistently, this is a really really good hockey player. But I don't believe in these profiles anymore because I have seen more guys with slow pace of play fail than I do guys with mediocre skating. You can improve skating easier than changing the mindset IMPO. 

 

Very nice write up.

If the Sabres are on the clock 5th-7th with McQueen and Desnoyers on the board which one would you take?

McQueen is the sexier pick and has home run potential but Desnoyers all around game, leadership and physicality might be too much for me to pass up at that spot.

[inkman]

2 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Nicholas Fascia, why? https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/603218/nicholas-fascia

[GASabresIUFAN]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

Idk if Bear plays like Wilson. Bear is more of an aggressive checker than a big hitter type. 

That’s perfectly fine.  Score 20 and drive opponents crazy.  Sign me up.

[shrader]

3 hours ago, inkman said:

Who dis 

No self respecting college hockey announcer calls it a Michigan. 
 

And that defenseman was not sensing anything. He saw a player with his head down and feasted on him. 

[LGR4GM]

2 hours ago, Flashsabre said:

Very nice write up.

If the Sabres are on the clock 5th-7th with McQueen and Desnoyers on the board which one would you take?

McQueen is the sexier pick and has home run potential but Desnoyers all around game, leadership and physicality might be too much for me to pass up at that spot.

Depends on McQueen medicals

[kas23]

14 hours ago, Flashsabre said:

Very nice write up.

If the Sabres are on the clock 5th-7th with McQueen and Desnoyers on the board which one would you take?

McQueen is the sexier pick and has home run potential but Desnoyers all around game, leadership and physicality might be too much for me to pass up at that spot.

I would stay clear of a 6’5” 18 year-old who already has back problems. The injury he has is not an acute injury. It wasn’t just bad luck or getting hit too hard in the wrong way. It’s a stress fracture due to ongoing wear-and-tear. So, aside from not playing hockey, what exactly can he do to avoid such injury?

[apointagameov]

Brand new Jake O’Brien fan over here as we play our way out of the top 5. He’s got size (6’2”) and intangibles and played the whole season at 17 years old. His playmaking is fantastic and the game seems to move through him. He’ll eventually put muscle on his frame like Tage.  OHL rookie of the year at 16. 98 points this year and I say he torches the OHL next year. Team scouts must know him from watching Ryerson Leenders

Edited April 1 by apointagameov

[LGR4GM]

33 minutes ago, kas23 said:

I would stay clear of a 6’5” 18 year-old who already has back problems. The injury he has is not an acute injury. It wasn’t just bad luck or getting hit too hard in the wrong way. It’s a stress fracture due to ongoing wear-and-tear. So, aside from not playing hockey, what exactly can he do to avoid such injury?

This is my concern. 

[LGR4GM]

14 minutes ago, apointagameov said:

Brand new Jake O’Brien fan over here as we play our way out of the top 5. He’s got size (6’2”) and intangibles and played the whole season at 17 years old. His playmaking is fantastic and the game seems to move through him. He’ll eventually put muscle on his frame like Tage.  OHL rookie of the year at 16. 98 points this year and I say he torches the OHL next year. Team scouts must know him from watching Ryerson Leenders

 

[LGR4GM]

Cayden Lindstrom, that's who McQueen reminds me of. I couldn't think of the player but that is my biggest worry right is that McQueen is Cayden Lindstrom. Lindstrom could have a great career, but he's a 6'4" C who has been injured for basically the last year and was injured the year before that too. You shouldn't be needing back surgery at 19. Idk if McQueen will be that but if I were an NHL team, I would be pouring over his medicals and talking to every expert I can find about it. 

[Mr. Allen]

2 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Cayden Lindstrom, that's who McQueen reminds me of. I couldn't think of the player but that is my biggest worry right is that McQueen is Cayden Lindstrom. Lindstrom could have a great career, but he's a 6'4" C who has been injured for basically the last year and was injured the year before that too. You shouldn't be needing back surgery at 19. Idk if McQueen will be that but if I were an NHL team, I would be pouring over his medicals and talking to every expert I can find about it. 

Oh man. That’s the player I was hoping the Sabres could land last year.  I didn’t know he has been injured. 

[LGR4GM]

14 minutes ago, Mr. Allen said:

Oh man. That’s the player I was hoping the Sabres could land last year.  I didn’t know he has been injured. 

Yea, he's had a "nagging back injury" that they finally did surgery on in November

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/blue-jackets-cayden-lindstrom-undergoes-minor-surgery-expected-to-return/

[Flashsabre]

McQueen left last night’s playoff game with stiffness in his hip and back.

I have a feeling the Cayden Lidstrom effect is going to tank his draft spot.

[LGR4GM]

Puckpedia has a "pick value" and to illustrate the difference between a first and a second, our first is given a value of 31.29 while our second is 5.714. That's a difference of over 25. I would like to know more about how they calculate the values but just for illustration purposes, the 1st if just vastly more valuable. 

[LGR4GM]

14 hours ago, Flashsabre said:

McQueen left last night’s playoff game with stiffness in his hip and back.

I have a feeling the Cayden Lidstrom effect is going to tank his draft spot.

Yea, I gotta drop him down my board. I just don't trust that back of his and I am willing to lose some talent level to draft someone who's more likely to stick in the NHL. 

1. Matthew Schaefer, 6'2" 183lbs, LHD 
2. Michael Misa, 6'1" 185lbs, C/LW 
3. James Hagens, 5'11" 176lbs, C 
4. Porter Martone, 6'3" 207lbs, RW 
5. Caleb Desnoyers, 6'2" 172lbs, C 
6. Carter Bear, 6' 176lb, C/LW 
7. Justin Carbonneau, 6'1" 192lbs, RW 
8. Jackson Smith, 6'3" 190lbs, LHD 
9. Roger McQueen, 6'5" 192lbs, C 
10. Victor Eklund, 5'11" 161lbs, LW
11. Jake O'Brien, 6'2" 170lb, C 
12. Lynden Lakovic, 6'4" 190lbs, LW 

Ftr, I think McQueen has more talent and potential than Desnoyers, Bear, and maybe Carbonneau. There is actualy an argument to be made that he is better than Martone as well but we don't have enough games where he is healthy. The health is why I dropped him to 9th. I would rather risk Desnoyers being a solid 2nd line center, or Bear only being a 2nd line checker/energy guy, or Carbonneau not finding consistency than I would risk McQueen's back. I am leaving off Smith because he plays defense. I also flipped Carbonneau and Smith because I am starting to really love Carbonneau even though his defensive game needs work. 

Edited April 4 by LGR4GM

[DarthEbriate]

15 hours ago, Flashsabre said:

McQueen left last night’s playoff game with stiffness in his hip and back.

I have a feeling the Cayden Lidstrom effect is going to tank his draft spot.

Maybe a team uses an extra 1st on him if they have one. For the Sabres, I'd steer clear.

[kas23]

3 hours ago, DarthEbriate said:

Maybe a team uses an extra 1st on him if they have one. For the Sabres, I'd steer clear.

I see him more of a luxury or lotto pick at this point. I could see him getting picked in the later half of 1st round by a perennial playoff team. Or maybe 2nd round. 

[PerreaultForever]

On 4/4/2025 at 5:54 AM, LGR4GM said:

Yea, I gotta drop him down my board. I just don't trust that back of his and I am willing to lose some talent level to draft someone who's more likely to stick in the NHL. 

1. Matthew Schaefer, 6'2" 183lbs, LHD 
2. Michael Misa, 6'1" 185lbs, C/LW 
3. James Hagens, 5'11" 176lbs, C 
4. Porter Martone, 6'3" 207lbs, RW 
5. Caleb Desnoyers, 6'2" 172lbs, C 
6. Carter Bear, 6' 176lb, C/LW 
7. Justin Carbonneau, 6'1" 192lbs, RW 
8. Jackson Smith, 6'3" 190lbs, LHD 
9. Roger McQueen, 6'5" 192lbs, C 
10. Victor Eklund, 5'11" 161lbs, LW
11. Jake O'Brien, 6'2" 170lb, C 
12. Lynden Lakovic, 6'4" 190lbs, LW 

Ftr, I think McQueen has more talent and potential than Desnoyers, Bear, and maybe Carbonneau. There is actualy an argument to be made that he is better than Martone as well but we don't have enough games where he is healthy. The health is why I dropped him to 9th. I would rather risk Desnoyers being a solid 2nd line center, or Bear only being a 2nd line checker/energy guy, or Carbonneau not finding consistency than I would risk McQueen's back. I am leaving off Smith because he plays defense. I also flipped Carbonneau and Smith because I am starting to really love Carbonneau even though his defensive game needs work. 

Interesting you have Bear at 6. That's substantially higher than most rankings I see BUT, oddly, he's a guy I think the Sabres could really use and so I would have said I'd be willing to go out of order and draft him higher than he's ranked. So we agree on something. 

The top guys are the top and we aren't getting them unless we win the lottery (which we won't) so my top 3 are Desnoyers, Bear, McQueen in that order and I'm happy if we get any one of those three. The back is a concern but maybe it's also over played. I don't know enough to say. They need to do their homework. I know Sweeney was out travelling and watching him. Not sure if Adams leaves his house. 

[LGR4GM]

1 hour ago, PerreaultForever said:

Interesting you have Bear at 6. That's substantially higher than most rankings I see BUT, oddly, he's a guy I think the Sabres could really use and so I would have said I'd be willing to go out of order and draft him higher than he's ranked. So we agree on something. 

The top guys are the top and we aren't getting them unless we win the lottery (which we won't) so my top 3 are Desnoyers, Bear, McQueen in that order and I'm happy if we get any one of those three. The back is a concern but maybe it's also over played. I don't know enough to say. They need to do their homework. I know Sweeney was out travelling and watching him. Not sure if Adams leaves his house. 

Bear has some skating and some skill issues but the Sabres have needed and continue to need guys that aggressively fore and back check. 

[PerreaultForever]

8 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Bear has some skating and some skill issues but the Sabres have needed and continue to need guys that aggressively fore and back check. 

Agree with that 100%. 

[North Buffalo]

What about Jackson Smith, Sabres need D more than forwards... called up Östlund, Helenius scored a hatty in Rochester last night, Kozak  Greenway and Norris out... Kulich looking the part... Rousek and Rosen still in Rochester.... Sabres arent needing forwards... top defender and top goalie are biggest needs and I would argue goalie is priority number 1, but no idea how to judge one because they are so difficult to predict.

[LGR4GM]

7 minutes ago, North Buffalo said:

What about Jackson Smith, Sabres need D more than forwards... called up Östlund, Helenius scored a hatty in Rochester last night, Kozak  Greenway and Norris out... Kulich looking the part... Rousek and Rosen still in Rochester.... Sabres arent needing forwards... top defender and top goalie are biggest needs and I would argue goalie is priority number 1, but no idea how to judge one because they are so difficult to predict.

Any goalie you draft is 4-6yrs away except for the very rare exceptions. 

Jackson Smith is good. He's a left handed defender with really good skating and offense. I think his defensive game is ok, but not his strength. When you have a 25yr old Dahlin, you don't need a top defender so you can address defense later unless it's a must take. Buffalo has done that in recent drafts, although I might have taken one of the two last year. Still Helenius is good. 

[Mr. Allen]

The boys are playing great hockey.  We might have to start looking at players outside the top 10 if they keep playing this way. 

[inkman]

26 minutes ago, Mr. Allen said:

The boys are playing great hockey.  We might have to start looking at players outside the top 10 if they keep playing this way. 

At this point I am cheering for a worse draft pick. Whoever they take isn’t bringing the cup to Buffalo in 2026 so fu k off with the draft picks.  

[Flashsabre]

Unless you are lucking into Schaefer or Misa through the lottery anyone you pick from 3-10 could turn out the same. And as others have mentioned no one they pick is making a difference in the next couple years.

Id love to see them trade the pick for someone that could help next season. This is the year to do it.