Ahead of the 2025 World Junior Championships in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, we are updating our draft ranking for the 2025 NHL Draft. For this update, we’re expanding our list to a top 64.
Now sitting atop our list is Erie Otters (and Team Canada) defender Matthew Schaefer, supplanting Boston College (and Team USA) pivot James Hagens. In reality, we like both players and the decision to move Schaefer ahead was not unanimously supported by our scouting team. However, we believe that Schaefer is the complete package as a potential number one defender. Not only does he project as an all-situations minute eater, but he is a natural born leader who could captain and be the face of an NHL franchise too.
While the World Juniors are not always the best showcase for draft eligible talent; it can be tough for underagers to be impactful players. It will be interesting, nonetheless, to see Schaefer (and Porter Martone) square off against Hagens. All three should be playing key roles for potential medal favourites.
Not at the World Juniors is Saginaw center Michael Misa, our third ranked prospect. Misa’s transition back to the middle of the ice has allowed him to become one of the CHL’s most dynamic and highest scoring players. His skating ability, tenacity, and creativity allow him to impact the game in so many different ways and we see him as a potential franchise center.
The previously mentioned Porter Martone rounds out our top four, a group that we consider to have separated themselves from the pack to create a clear grouping of potential first overall candidates. Martone is a pesky power forward who is likely to develop into a first line winger who can play in all situations for his future NHL team. It’s rare to find a winger who can be on the ice whether his team is down a goal or up a goal with a minute to go.
Filling up the rest of our top ten are Brandon center Roger McQueen, Swedish winger Victor Eklund, Tri-City (WHL) defenseman Jackson Smith, Swedish forward Anton Frondell, Moncton pivot Caleb Desnoyers, and Moose Jaw power winger Lynden Lakovic. McQueen is the prototype of the modern-day top NHL pivot, with size and skill, however, injuries have disrupted his development and that is cause for concern. He is slated to return to action around February and will need a huge finish to his WHL season in order to push his way back into top four consideration. Anton Frondell is another player worth discussing as the previously hyped forward has also struggled with injuries and consistency. He has the kind of well-rounded game that makes him a potentially valuable pro player, but have we previously over projected his potential upside?
Among the highest risers on this list are Kitchener defender Cameron Reid, Barrie defender Kashawn Aitcheson, NTDP winger Jack Murtagh, Swedish pivot Eric Nilson, and Kamloops winger Nathan Behm. Reid has been one of the highest scoring defenders in the OHL this year with the surprising Kitchener Rangers; his mobility and two-way sense are very impressive. Aitcheson has really impressed us with the improvements made to his decision making and puck play, helping to elevate his potential upside as a top four, throwback defender. Murtagh has been the best player on the U.S. NTDP U18 team this year and projects as a Ryan Leonard type of top six complementary piece at the NHL level. Eric Nilson, the son of former Calgary Flame and Florida Panther pivot Marcus Nilson, is the same kind of determined two-way player that his father was, however, he’s shown positive progression offensively that has us reevaluating his upside. Lastly, Behm is the kind of intriguing athlete on the wing that NHL teams have been focusing on developing in recent years. There’s room for improvement in a lot of areas, but when he puts everything together and grows into his frame, he could be a real solid top six asset.
One of the biggest fallers on our list is Russian forward Ivan Ryabkin. He remains in our first round for now, but we would be lying if we weren’t concerned about the kind of season he has had and the lack of progression he has shown. As is, his game needs to mature a lot in order for him to be a successful NHL player. The upside is still incredibly tantalizing, but at some point, his lack of production and development needs to be held against him.
You can expect our next ranking sometime early in the new year as we expand our midseason list to a top 100, with honorable mentions. The top 32 are available to all in this article. Subscribers can access the top 64 plus honourable mentions by linking here.
| RANK | PLAYER | POS | TEAM | HT/WT | DOB | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthew Schaefer | D | Erie (OHL) | 6-2/180 | 5-Sep-07 | 17 | 7 | 15 | 22 | 8 |
| 2 | James Hagens | C | Boston College (NCAA) | 5-10/170 | 3-Nov-06 | 16 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 4 |
| 3 | Michael Misa | C | Saginaw (OHL) | 5-11/160 | 16-Feb-07 | 30 | 30 | 31 | 61 | 21 |
| 4 | Porter Martone | RW | Brampton (OHL) | 6-3/195 | 26-Oct-06 | 26 | 21 | 33 | 54 | 41 |
| 5 | Roger McQueen | C | Brandon (WHL) | 6-5/190 | 2-Oct-06 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 18 |
| 6 | Victor Eklund | LW | Djurgardens (HockeyAllsvenskan) | 5-11/160 | 3-Oct-06 | 24 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 31 |
| 7 | Jackson Smith | D | Tri-City (WHL) | 6-3/190 | 13-May-07 | 30 | 2 | 22 | 24 | 26 |
| 8 | Anton Frondell | C | Djurgardens (HockeyAllsvenskan) | 6-0/195 | 7-May-07 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| 9 | Caleb Desnoyers | C | Moncton (QMJHL) | 6-2/190 | 11-Apr-07 | 26 | 17 | 25 | 42 | 14 |
| 10 | Lynden Lakovic | LW | Moose Jaw (WHL) | 6-4/190 | 12-Dec-06 | 29 | 16 | 22 | 38 | 4 |
| 11 | Radim Mrtka | D | Seattle (WHL) | 6-6/200 | 9-Jun-07 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 10 |
| 12 | Justin Carbonneau | RW | Blainville-Boisbriand (QMJHL) | 6-1/190 | 25-Nov-06 | 31 | 22 | 23 | 45 | 26 |
| 13 | Malcolm Spence | LW | Erie (OHL) | 6-2/200 | 22-Sep-06 | 29 | 15 | 22 | 37 | 20 |
| 14 | Cameron Schmidt | RW | Vancouver (WHL) | 5-8/150 | 19-Jan-07 | 26 | 24 | 14 | 38 | 16 |
| 15 | Cullen Potter | C | Arizona State (NCAA) | 5-9/160 | 10-Jan-07 | 16 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 6 |
| 16 | Brady Martin | C | Soo Greyhounds (OHL) | 6-0/175 | 16-Mar-07 | 28 | 15 | 14 | 29 | 42 |
| 17 | Cameron Reid | D | Kitchener (OHL) | 5-11/160 | 8-Apr-07 | 33 | 6 | 23 | 29 | 20 |
| 18 | Kashawn Aitcheson | D | Barrie (OHL) | 6-1/190 | 21-Sep-06 | 29 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 48 |
| 19 | Logan Hensler | D | Wisconsin (NCAA) | 6-2/185 | 14-Oct-06 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 19 |
| 20 | Jack Murtagh | C | USN U18 (USDP) | 6-0/180 | 22-Aug-07 | 20 | 10 | 12 | 22 | 10 |
| 21 | Joshua Ravensbergen | G | Prince George (WHL) | 6-4/180 | 27-Nov-06 | 24 | 16 | 4 | 3.06 | 0.899 |
| 22 | Carter Bear | C | Everett (WHL) | 6-0/175 | 4-Nov-06 | 26 | 22 | 24 | 46 | 22 |
| 23 | Jake O'Brien | C | Brantford (OHL) | 6-2/170 | 16-Jun-07 | 33 | 18 | 23 | 41 | 8 |
| 24 | Luca Romano | RW | Kitchener (OHL) | 5-11/170 | 25-Jun-07 | 32 | 14 | 15 | 29 | 8 |
| 25 | Blake Fiddler | D | Edmonton (WHL) | 6-3/195 | 9-Jul-07 | 27 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 18 |
| 26 | Ivan Ryabkin | C | MHK Dynamo Moskva (MHL) | 6-0/170 | 25-Apr-07 | 15 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 26 |
| 27 | Ben Kindel | C | Calgary (WHL) | 5-10/165 | 19-Apr-07 | 29 | 19 | 27 | 46 | 18 |
| 28 | Eric Nilson | C | Djurgardens (Swe J20) | 5-11/155 | 11-May-07 | 23 | 8 | 20 | 28 | 14 |
| 29 | Braeden Cootes | C | Seattle (WHL) | 5-11/170 | 9-Feb-07 | 29 | 13 | 17 | 30 | 10 |
| 30 | Nathan Behm | RW | Kamloops (WHL) | 6-2/185 | 18-Apr-07 | 31 | 18 | 19 | 37 | 10 |
| 31 | Kurban Limatov | D | MHK Dynamo Moskva (MHL) | 6-4/185 | 20-Mar-07 | 26 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 16 |
| 32 | Will Moore | C | USN U18 (USDP) | 6-2/160 | 24-Mar-07 | 29 | 11 | 11 | 22 | 2 |