Not very often does a prospect overtake an DY-1 favorite without making much of a case on the ice, but that is exactly what Erie Otters defenseman Matthew Scheafer did this year when he overtook center James Hagens as the favorite to go #1 despite being injured for all but 17 games.
The thing that makes this draft really interesting is that Hagens happens to be the home town boy for the team that won the lottery and the privilege of drafting #1 overall, the New York Islanders.
And those are not the only names that will be debated, likely as as I write this, in a board room by Islanders scouts as well as other NHL team scouting departments just hours before the big event. Other prospects like offensive playmakers, goal-scoring wingers, gritty power forwards, towering defenders, slick puck moving defenders, et all are also up for grabs.
Below are the names ranked in order of how our team of scouts view their NHL potentials panning out.
So, without further ado, here is Draft Prospect Hockey’s Final Top 100 Ranking assessment as compiled by our evaluators for the 2025 season.
For more in-depth information, a final 244 ranking, prospect profiles, and a look at future drafts be sure to pick up your comprehensive DraftPro 2025 NHL Draft Guide.
Welcome to our second draft ranking of the 2025 NHL Draft!
The preliminary ranking was released in our 2024 NHL Draft Guide back in April. Back then we had James Hagens, Porter Martone, Michael Misa, Anton Frondell, and Roger McQueen all ranked #1-#5, today only three of those names remain in the top five. Hagens sits second overall after be usurped by Eris Otters smooth-skating two-way defender Matthew Schaefer who is now our top ranked prospect. Martone drops down to fourth overall while Misa remains third overall. Frondell tumbles from fourth all the way down to eighteenth.
The 2025 draft crop as a whole has plenty to be excited about and we can say that with confidence after our team has spent the first seven months of this season heavily scouting and tracking the development of these youngsters. There will be some NHL players come out of this class from the first round right through the seventh. While some draft classes have many obvious future NHLers, the 2025 Draft will be a little bit trickier for NHL teams to find those players as the skill levels might not be as high end after the first couple of tiers come off the board.
So we give you our second ranking release of the 2025-26 season.
From start to finish Boston University center Macklin Celebrini was at the top of the list of names for prospective first overall selections in 2024. Going back over two years, it was Finnish two-way defender Aron Kiviharju, American sniper Cole Eiserman, skilled Russian puck wizard Ivan Demidov, and the smart two-way Canadian Celebrini all at the top battling it out.
The San Jose Sharks won the 2024 NHL Draft lottery and with that the right to pick who they want at the No.1 spot, and it is all but automatic that the Crosby-like play of Celebrini has cemented his selection in that place.
But the 2024 NHL Draft is not just the aforementioned names, as there is a good amount of other top of the lineup future NHL players waiting to hear their names called by NHL teams, specifically a plethora of strong defensive prospects looking to make their dream of pulling on an NHL jersey come true later this month at the sphere in Vegas.
So after hundreds of scouting reports and months of evaluating each prospects development path, we as a group have come up with our final rankings on who we believe will be the best prospects selected at the position we have them slotted.
So, without further ado, here is Draft Prospect Hockey’s Final Top 100 Ranking assessment as compiled by our evaluators for the 2024 season.
For more in-depth information, a final 240 ranking, prospect profiles, and a look at future drafts be sure to pick up your comprehensive DraftPro 2024 NHL Draft Guide in either digital or physical copy format.
We are officially on the home stretch of the 2024 NHL Draft race.
With most junior teams gearing up, or already in, playoff mode and the IIHF U18 World Championships and CHL Memorial Cup on the horizon, the majority of our evaluation process for the 2024 NHL Draft, where we watched these guys for two or more years, before the spotlight of draft night is now behind us. Through that time names have risen and fallen on the backs of what they have shown our scouts in their various league games and international events.
Sure, there will be a few more games to scout during playoffs and events like mentioned above but we now know who we are watching and typically what they are capable of. With that said even over the past few weeks of views there have been a few names who have moved around the rankings as we try to get it right with our list.
Below is the Draft Prospects Hockey Spring Top 64 for the 2024 NHL Draft.
If you are looking for more in-depth information and reports on the 2024 NHL Draft, be sure to pick up your digital or physical copy of the DraftPro 2024 Preview Magazine available now.
It is also almost that time of year where you can get your hands on the comprehensive DraftPro 2024 Draft Guide which will be released in early May.
In the 2024 Draft Guide our team ranks the top 224 NHL Draft eligibles, provides well-written profiles on the top 224 names for this year, includes in-depth prospect features, looks at the NHL’s top 50 drafted prospects coming down the pipe, dives into what each NHL team has in the prospect cupboard and what their draft needs are, provides a comprehensive look at the 2025 NHL Draft with profiles on the top 32, provides a top 32 ranking on the 2026 NHL Draft with profiles on the top 10, and so much more.
This year everyone who pre-orders the 2024 Draft Guide digital edition will receive a pre-order discount off the cover price of $12.99 $10.00 each. So don’t wait, get your copy on order for just ten bucks and be the first to receive it as soon as it is published.
The draft picture is becoming clearer as we headed through the holiday break and international events.
Prospects are starting to separate themselves, starting to shine causing scouts to track them even closer, and some are showing that they are not what many first thought they were.
Our scouts have been busy over the last couple months watching junior club games all over the world in various leagues as well as all the international tournaments of November and December to provide this input on this next wave of future NHL talent.
There have been some impressive performances that have seen some names rocket up the draft list as well as prolonged droughts that have done the alternative to the names attached to those who have not played well or have shown red flags in their developments.
Below is a little update on some from around the various league who have risen or dropped based on recent performance.
Rising
Zeev Buium, D, University of Denver (NCAA), DOB 12/7/2005, 5’11”, 165, L, USA
“My biggest riser is Denver defenseman Buium. Just destroying the NCAA as a minute munching, puck rushing, freshman defender, driving the bus for the Pioneers powerplay, and also enjoying success at the World Juniors leaves very little doubt we are looking at a future top four NHL defender. His intelligent, deceptive hands and skating ability, and elite playmaking vision make him dangerous whenever he touches the puck.” – Dan Stewart
Tij Iginla, RW, Kelowna Rockets (WHL), DOB 8/1/2006, 6’0″, 181, L, CAN
“Iginla has been one of the biggest risers in the early season with his obvious goal scoring ability and improved 2-way game. Son of hall of famer Jarome Iginla, he has caught the attention of fans long before his draft year. Like his father, TIj is known for his excellent release and ability to find the net through traffic. What stands out from watching his games, is his improved ability in the defensive zone and foot speed. It is safe to say that the move to Kelowna as certainty paid off as he is also one of the league’s top powerplay contributors with six powerplay goals. Iginla’s draft stock has risen significantly.” – Kayden Ruda
Zayne Parekh, D, Saginaw Spirit (OHL), DOB 2/15/2006, 6’0″, 181, R, CAN
“A big riser thus far is Saginaw Spirit defenseman Parekh. He is an offensive defenseman with breathtaking skating and puck skills. He looks like he is walking on water he is so fluid. He ranks second amongst all OHL draft-eligible players in points this season. His high-end player comparable is Erik Karlsson. He will have ample opportunity to continue increasing his stock with a guaranteed appearance in the Memorial Cup as the Saginaw Spirit hosts the event.” – Andreus Kostopoulos
Tomas Galvas, D, Bílí Tygři Liberec (Czechia), DOB 2/11/2006, 5’10”, 148, L, CZE
“Another high-flying blueliner that is rising up draft boards is Czechia rearguard Galvas. His skating ability, smart decision making, and puck control make him very dangerous, but it is his willingness to engage and play a complete 200-foot game despite being rather underdeveloped that make him a bit of a high upside wildcard. Looked good at the WJC play as well. If he can add some much needs pounds, he could end up being one of this drafts top blueliners.” – Dan Stewart
“Regardless of his hulking frame – the Czech import has struggled to score so far this season. He only has four goals to his name averaging only two shots a game. While his playmaking and transition ability has shown improvement, this start is a major red flag for his draft stock. While he has been preforming below expectation, his draft stock remains a mid-second round draft pick due to his physical tools and upside.” – Kayden Ruda
Jakub Chromiak, D, Kingston Frontenacs (OHL), DOB 11/2/2005, 5’11”, 183, R, SVK
“Chromiak has yet to find his way this season. He was dealt from the Sudbury Wolves to the Kingston Frontenacs in the past few weeks as the Wolves needed to open an import roster spot for star forward Dalibor Dvorsky. The Frontenacs defenseman began this season with first-round pick aspirations. He does not provide much offensively, even if his numbers have improved with Kingston, and his defensive game has not been overly consistent. He commits too many turnovers and spends a lot of time in his own end.” – Andreus Kostopoulos
Paul Mayer, D, Adler Mannheim(DEL), DOB 9/25/2005, 6’2″, 192, L, GER
“Starting the season as the top German prospect heading into the 2024 draft and Mayer has fallen off those expectations as his season has gone from bad to worse. He was playing limited minutes in the DEL with Adler Mannheim but has since been loaned out to the Bietigheim Steelers in the DEL2 due to poor play and loosing the confidence of his coach. He has good physical tools like his size, shot, and skating but his decision making has been called into question as he has moments of being a turnover machine in his own zone. Is it a confidence issue that just needs time or will his stock continue to fall? That is the question.” – Dan Stewart
While there is still much hockey to be played this season our evaluators seem to have a pretty good handle on the 2024 crop. If you are looking for more in-depth information and reports, be sure to pick up your digital or physical copy of the DraftPro 2024 Preview Magazine available now.
Below is the Draft Prospects Hockey January Top 64 for the 2024 NHL Draft.
It is time to turn our focus towards the 2024 NHL Draft.
We are changing the way we present our rankings to the public this season. In the past we would publish our preliminary rankings in September but they were the rankings we came up with for our Draft Guide and were formulated the previous March making them pretty out of date by the time they hit our website. We always gave them as a watch list of names but feel it would be best to move to a later release and call them the ‘fall rankings’ after seeing current views of the prospects who make up this list.
Our evaluations have been busy over the past months watching the many summer camps and showcases, the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, World Junior Summer Showcase, and early league play in both North America and Europe to provide input on this next wave of future NHL talent.
Our teams early view of the 2024 draft crop is that this class holds solid depth of overall talent. Not only does it hold a couple of potential NHL organizational building blocks at the top but also a healthy amount of potential future NHL forwards, defenders, and even a couple potential starting goaltenders.
Last year we had Connor Bedard wowing us, and while 2024 lacks that kind of high-end franchise defining player, it does hold its own skilled forwards at the top that will eventually play in a top six role. Names like Macklin Celebrini, Cole Eiserman, Berkly Catton, Ivan Demidov all have sky high potential.
In 2023 there was a dearth in high-end defenders available but that is the opposite case in 2024 as there are a ton of highly regarded two-way, puck-moving, big defensive prospects such as Sam Dickinson, Henry Mews, Artyom Levshunov, and Adam Jiricek.
Rising – These five prospects have either jumped up in our eyes due to early season performance or have impressed in initial views after working on deficiencies we noticed last season.
Tij Iginla, RW, Red Deer Rebels – Bloodlines run deeper than we thought as he has looked so much more dominant this season playing a prime role with the Rebels and showcasing a pro shot.
Anton Silayev, D, Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod – Has jumped out of the woodwork early with his surprising play in the KHL where he showcases his skating, size and smarts.
Cayden Lindstrom, RW, Medicine Hat Tigers – Big framed power winger who is extremely dangerous in close and off the rush.
Trevor Connelly, C, Tri-City Storm – Slick puck skill and creativity, fluid and quick skating, impressive vision all on display early this season.
Adam Jiricek, D, HC Plzen U20 – Smooth puck skill, elite edgework, well-rounded overall two-way game has impressed.
Slipping – These prospects have not carried over their initial performances that earned them higher rankings or have been overtaken by prospects who are rising in our eyes.
Julius Miettinen, C, Everett Silvertips – Has not transitioned as well to the North American game and looks like his size advantage is not as beneficial as it was last year with HIFK U20 in Finland.
Clarke Caswell, C, Swift Current Broncos – Continues to slide down our board after an initial impressive World Under-17 Hockey Challenge performance for Canada even though he flashes some strong playmaking.
Justin Poirier, RW, Baie-Comeau Drakkar – The small but highly skilled forward can take over a game but only when he wants to and so far there have been too many lazy looking shifts to start the season.
Ethan Procyszyn, RW, North Bay Battalion – Early views have exposed his lack of vision and playmaking ability. He takes many useless shots and he lacks some hockey IQ with awareness.
Alexander Zetterberg, C, Örebro HK J20 – His high-end offensive skill is obvious, but so is his lack of size and strength. Still a good prospect, just not as high as we once were on him.
While it is very early, there is a ton of talent available in the 2024 crop and our team at Draft Prospects Hockey has you covered with scouting and editorial content throughout the season. So, stick around as we promise to offer you plenty of educated and honest draft related content this season, including our 2024 Draft Preview Magazine coming in time for Christmas.
Below is the Draft Prospects Hockey Fall Top 64 for the 2024 NHL Draft.
Seems like yesterday. It was back in 2019 we first started tracking one Connor Bedard as a potential top prospect for the 2023 NHL Draft. To see his development and what he is on the cusp of becoming is truly amazing. The projected top prospect is considered a generational talent and one NHL teams have long looked as a future building block. Chicago won the right to select the Regina Pat forward when the ping-pong balls rolled in their favor at the lottery. He projects to set in right away and become a difference maker as early as this fall.
But the 2023 NHL Draft is not just Bedard and him alone making waves. There is a good amount of other top of the lineup future NHL players waiting to hear their names called by NHL teams and make their dream of pulling on an NHL jersey come true later this month in Nashville.
So after hundreds of scouting reports and months of evaluating each prospects development path, we as a group have come up with our final rankings on who we believe will be the best prospects selected at the position we have them slotted.
So, without further ado, here is Draft Prospect Hockey’s Final Top 100 Ranking assessment as compiled by our evaluators for the 2023 season.
For more in-depth information, a final 240 ranking, prospect profiles, and a look at future drafts be sure to pick up your comprehensive DraftPro 2023 NHL Draft Guide.
The final stretch is upon us for the 2023 NHL Draft.
After watching most of these kids develop for over two years now the last big events of their pre-draft scouting seasons are in full swing with the IIHF U18 World Championships ongoing over in Switzerland, and CHL playoffs also happening with the Memorial Cup yet to come. The USHL playoffs are just starting on route to the Clarke Cup as well. But many other leagues around the world have already wrapped up for the season.
The U18’s become our last chance to see many of these prospects live before we have to rely strictly on film from previous games to finish the season. So each viewing becomes that much more valuable.
Three weeks ago our also evaluators met up to discuss the DraftPro Spring Rankings, our second last ranking offering of the season, and saw quite a few names to move around based on our evaluators most recent views. As names were discussed, some tumbled down the list while a few also enjoyed a late season jump up the board. For a deep dive into each prospect and where we see them as pros make sure to pick up the comprehensive 2023 DraftPro NHL Entry Draft Guide.
Below is the Draft Prospects Hockey Spring Top 100 Ranking for the 2023 NHL Draft.
The many early season camps and showcases are in the books, the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and Summer World Junior re-do have both come and gone, and most junior leagues are underway as well. Our evaluators have been at it early and often this season, getting into the rinks to see and report on this next wave of future NHL talent.
Our early view of the 2023 draft crop is that this class holds an exciting abundance of talent. Not only does it hold a couple of potential generational talents we hope develop into the Crosby/Ovechkin type mold, but also a great blend of offensively skilled forwards and strong two-way defenders.
While it is very early, there is a ton of talent available in the 2023 crop and our team at Draft Prospects Hockey has you covered with scouting and editorial content throughout the season. So, stick around as we promise to offer you plenty of educated and honest draft related content this season, including our New DraftPro Newsletter released every couple of months holding many current 2023 eligible scouting reports as well as our 2023 Draft Preview Magazine coming in time for Christmas.
Below is the Draft Prospects Hockey Preliminary Top 64 for the 2023 NHL Draft. These ratings were formulated by our team back in March and appeared in our 2022 NHL Draft Guide. Many of these names have already moved around substantially and that will be seen in our next rankings release in early December. So feel free to use the below as a reference point to build upon as that is how they are intended.
Our next rankings will be updated and released in December, but or for early access to our top 100 be sure to pick up Draft Prospects Hockey 2023 Preview Magazine.
Here we are, at the end of a long but fun hockey season. One where things are starting to feel a little more normal after two seasons of interrupted schedules and many other roadblocks faced by the hockey world during a historical global pandemic. It was good to once again get into those cold rinks and watch skilled prospects compete on the ice live.
After thousands of reports generated and months of observing each prospects development path, we as a group have come up with our final rankings on who we believe will be the best prospect selected at the position we have them slotted.
So, without further ado, here is Draft Prospect Hockey’s Final Top 100 ranking assessment as compiled by our evaluators for the 2022 season.
For in-depth analysis of these, and many more prospects, pick up a copy of our comprehensive 2022 Draft Guide chalk full of content including our final top 240 rankings, 224 2022 NHL Draft eligible profiles plus much more in the 297 pages (available in both digital and print editions), and if you are looking for even more pick up our 2022 Yearbook (only in digital) featuring many of our actual game reports in the 537 pages.
