It’s time for an update to our 2025 NHL draft rankings. Back in December, prior to the World Junior Championships, we released our top 64. Now, not only are we updating, but we’re expanding to a Top 100 (plus honorable mentions). This will be our final draft ranking prior to the release of our Top 300 (along with our annual draft guide).
Erie Otters defender Matthew Schaefer remains on top, despite not playing since our last release due to a collarbone injury suffered at the World Juniors. However, we have no doubt that Schaefer will return stronger than ever. He has been skating recently and is gearing up for a return for the OHL playoffs. At this point, Schaefer is our clear number one and we don’t expect that to change.
The other players in our top ten are all the same, with some minor shuffling. Michael Misa moves ahead of James Hagens based on his strong production with Saginaw, mixed with Hagen’s drop in production with Boston College post World Juniors. We feel that both players have similar projections as top six pivots, but we feel Misa’s frame gives him a greater opportunity to be a more complete pro. Caleb Desnoyers is the other big riser. While, admittedly, we do have some minimal concerns about his offensive upside, we appreciate his pro style of play and safe floor, in combination with the improvement he has shown offensively over the course of this season. Roger McQueen is the big “faller” inside our top ten due to injury and durability concerns. He has recently returned to action and we’re eager to see how he performs down the stretch.
Among the biggest risers, Bill Zonnon, Cole McKinney, and Jake O’Brien standout. O’Brien is knocking on the door of the top ten, moving from 23 to 13 thanks to his elite playmaking ability and three zone awareness. McKinney elevated his play in the second half to become the top pivot on the US NTDP, giving our scouts a better indication of his offensive upside. Zonnon is an energetic forward with a pro frame who has been a favourite of our Eastern scouts thanks to consistent production.
Among the biggest fallers are Malcolm Spence (from 13 to 23, switching with O’Brien), Luca Romano (24 to 44), Ivan Ryabkin (26 to 39), and Tomas Pobezal (from 39 to 81).
You may have caught our recent, and annual second chances series that outlined the top “re-entries” available for 2025. Kristian Epperson (49), Francesco Dell’Elce (82), Petteri Rimpinen (84), and Sam Laurila (98) cracked our Top 100. Additionally, Jamiro Reber is listed as an honorable mention.
Overall, the picture is becoming more and more clear regarding this draft class. Simply put, the majority of our scouts are not enamored with the depth of this group. “In a normal year, when we put together our March list, the debate for the first round is often charged, with the regional scouts all fighting to have their personal, regional favourites included in the top 32,” said Director of Scouting Brock Otten. “But this year, the debate was more about who actually deserved to be ranked in the first round…there was significantly less table pounding.”
“The way I see it” continues Otten, “there is a clear drop off after about the 20th position. There are unquestionably some solid players available outside this range, but few high upside players. Potential role players are the name of the game this year. As a staff, we’re really hoping some players step up in their respective league playoffs and at the U18’s to help give this draft class a little more excitement.
You can expect our final draft ranking to be released in late May, coinciding with the release of our annual draft guide.
| 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 | Michael Misa | C | Saginaw (OHL) | 6-1/185 | 16-Feb-07 | 62 | 59 | 67 | 126 | 45 |
| 3 | James Hagens | C | Boston College (NCAA) | 5-10/175 | 3-Nov-06 | 35 | 10 | 25 | 35 | 24 |
| 4 | Porter Martone | RW | Brampton (OHL) | 6-3/205 | 26-Oct-06 | 54 | 32 | 60 | 92 | 72 |
| 5 | Jackson Smith | D | Tri-City (WHL) | 6-3/195 | 13-May-07 | 65 | 7 | 41 | 48 | 46 |
| 6 | Caleb Desnoyers | C | Moncton (QMJHL) | 6-2/180 | 11-Apr-07 | 56 | 35 | 49 | 84 | 39 |
| 7 | Victor Eklund | LW | Djurgardens (HockeyAllsvenskan) | 5-11/160 | 3-Oct-06 | 42 | 19 | 12 | 31 | 37 |
| 8 | Anton Frondell | C | Djurgardens (HockeyAllsvenskan) | 6-1/195 | 7-May-07 | 29 | 11 | 14 | 25 | 16 |
| 9 | Roger McQueen | C | Brandon (WHL) | 6-5/195 | 2-Oct-06 | 14 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 29 |
| 10 | Lynden Lakovic | LW | Moose Jaw (WHL) | 6-4/190 | 12-Dec-06 | 45 | 24 | 31 | 55 | 4 |
| 11 | Radim Mrtka | D | Seattle (WHL) | 6-6/205 | 9-Jun-07 | 41 | 3 | 31 | 34 | 40 |
| 12 | Brady Martin | C | Soo Greyhounds (OHL) | 6-0/175 | 16-Mar-07 | 55 | 30 | 37 | 67 | 64 |
| 13 | Jake O'Brien | C | Brantford (OHL) | 6-2/170 | 16-Jun-07 | 64 | 32 | 64 | 96 | 18 |
| 14 | Cullen Potter | C | Arizona State (NCAA) | 5-10/170 | 10-Jan-07 | 34 | 13 | 9 | 22 | 6 |
| 15 | Justin Carbonneau | RW | Blainville-Boisbriand (QMJHL) | 6-1/190 | 25-Nov-06 | 61 | 46 | 43 | 89 | 61 |
| 16 | Kashawn Aitcheson | D | Barrie (OHL) | 6-1/195 | 21-Sep-06 | 63 | 25 | 33 | 58 | 88 |
| 17 | Cameron Reid | D | Kitchener (OHL) | 6-0/190 | 8-Apr-07 | 66 | 14 | 39 | 53 | 44 |
| 18 | Ben Kindel | C | Calgary (WHL) | 5-10/175 | 19-Apr-07 | 62 | 34 | 64 | 98 | 39 |
| 19 | Braeden Cootes | C | Seattle (WHL) | 5-11/180 | 9-Feb-07 | 58 | 25 | 36 | 61 | 18 |
| 20 | Carter Bear | LW | Everett (WHL) | 6-0/180 | 4-Nov-06 | 56 | 40 | 42 | 82 | 77 |
| 21 | Jack Murtagh | LW | USN U18 (USDP) | 6-1/200 | 22-Aug-07 | 42 | 20 | 24 | 44 | 26 |
| 22 | Cameron Schmidt | RW | Vancouver (WHL) | 5-7/160 | 19-Jan-07 | 59 | 39 | 37 | 76 | 42 |
| 23 | Malcolm Spence | LW | Erie (OHL) | 6-1/200 | 22-Sep-06 | 62 | 32 | 38 | 70 | 55 |
| 24 | Joshua Ravensbergen | G | Prince George (WHL) | 6-5/190 | 27-Nov-06 | 50 | 33 | 12 | 2.93 | 0.903 |
| 25 | Jack Nesbitt | C | Windsor (OHL) | 6-4/185 | 12-Jan-07 | 63 | 24 | 39 | 63 | 72 |
| 26 | Cole McKinney | C | USN U18 (USDP) | 6-0/200 | 16-Mar-07 | 45 | 21 | 29 | 50 | 55 |
| 27 | Eric Nilson | C | Djurgardens (Swe J20) | 5-11/155 | 11-May-07 | 37 | 12 | 26 | 38 | 56 |
| 28 | Logan Hensler | D | Wisconsin (NCAA) | 6-2/190 | 14-Oct-06 | 32 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 27 |
| 29 | Henry Brzustewicz | D | London (OHL) | 6-2/200 | 9-Feb-07 | 65 | 10 | 29 | 39 | 73 |
| 30 | Blake Fiddler | D | Edmonton (WHL) | 6-4/210 | 9-Jul-07 | 62 | 9 | 22 | 31 | 36 |
| 31 | Shane Vansaghi | RW | Michigan State (NCAA) | 6-2/210 | 11-Oct-06 | 35 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 28 |
| 32 | Bill Zonnon | C | Rouyn Noranda (QMJHL) | 6-1/185 | 3-Oct-06 | 62 | 28 | 53 | 81 | 32 |