Mark Seidel previews the 2025 NHL Entry Draft
The 2025 edition of the NHL Entry Draft is scheduled for Friday and Saturday.
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Below is a rundown of the top 20 Players for the Draft and an abbreviated 20-team mock draft I have prepared.
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Deep Thoughts top 20 mock draft:
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1. NY Islanders — Schaefer: Franchise defender for the new GM Mathieu Darche
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3. Chicago — Frondell: The big, strong Swede can play with Bedard
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4. Utah — Desnoyers: The offensive upside and leadership intrigues them
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8. Seattle — Mrtka: The Kraken need some help on the back end and take the kid that plays for the hometown Thunderbirds
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9. Buffalo — McQueen: The intriguing package that McQueen offers is too enticing for the Sabres
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10. Anaheim — O'Brien: Pat Verbeek will love to see last year's No. 3 overall Sennecke play with the uber-smart Jake O'Brien.
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11. Pittsburgh — Aitcheson: The Pens need the rebuild to start and the competitive Aitcheson is a great start
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12. Pittsburgh — Nesbitt: Dubas, Clark and Roque love to take kids from Ontario and a 6-foot-4, smart centreman will fit in perfectly
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13. Detroit — Eklund: Stevie Y loves his Swedish skill and Eklund has that in spades
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14. Columbus — Smith: The big, smart, steady D is a building block to help solidify the back end
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15. Vancouver — Bear: The western Canada product has shown he can play hard and put up points and the Canucks need both
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16. Montreal — Carbonneau: The Habs get the multi-dimensional Carbonneau to slot into the lineup in three years
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17. Montreal — Reid: The Kitchener Rangers defenseman has high IQ and makes plays, which are important to Kent Hughes
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18. Calgary — Reschny: The Flames are excited that the Victoria Royals star is still there to help their offensive prospect pool
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19. Columbus — Zharovsky: The Blue Jackets try to hit a home run with the super-talented, but inconsistent Zharovsky
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20. Winnipeg — Hensler: The Jets saw a lot of the steady defender Hensler at Wisconsin and he fits their style
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