NHL Mock Draft: Complete first round as the Stanley Cup Final is set
Michael Misa and Matthew Schaefer lead a fascinating 2025 class.
The final order for the 2025 NHL Draft is more or less set. With the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers facing off once more in the Stanley Cup only the final two spots in the first round are yet to be decided, with both teams already having traded away their picks as part of deals that got them to this point.
We’ll have time ahead of the draft to dive deeper into these prospects, but here’s the full first round as I see it, followed by a breakdown of why I think the Top 5 is going to pan out the way it is.
No. 1: New York Islanders — C Michael Misa
There’s not really a wrong way to go between Misa and Matthew Schaefer with the No. 1 pick, but at the end of the day the Islanders need scoring — and the majority of their best forwards are on the wrong side of 30.
Misa is the kind of offensive forward this team is in desperate need of. He can make the jump quickly and have an impact on this team with his playmaking ability, smooth skating, and willingness to mix it up on the forecheck to fight for the puck.
Perhaps most importantly he’s someone who can set the tempo. This team needs leadership amongst its forwards and someone who can forge a new identity for this team. Michael Misa can be that kind of guy.
No. 2: San Jose Sharks — D Matthew Schaefer
The old adage goes that the less you hear a defenseman’s name the better, and you don’t hear Schaefer’s name often when he’s on the ice. A brilliant all-around blueliner with play that’s reminiscent of Jaccob Slavin, Schaefer can be a lifer for the Sharks and do literally everything this team needs as a top line defenseman.
He’s a solid skater, a great passer, and has ludicrous hockey IQ when it comes to his body and stick positioning. It’s rare to see a player this young with those traits and still possess an NHL body, but he has it all. Schaefer can make the jump immediately and have an impact from the jump.
This is likely who the Sharks would have taken with the No. 1 overall pick, and that makes it a boon that he’s still available at No. 2.
No. 3: Chicago Blackhawks — RW Porter Martone
I totally understand the need to get a second line center to bolster the depth, but right now this team is in dire need of someone to pair with Connor Bedard who can score the damn puck.
Right now nothing is more important than Chicago putting help around Bedard and turning him into the 100 point monster he should be. Ryan Donato just is not enough, and the nightmare scenario is that Bedard grows weary of playing for a perennial loser and asks out.
Martone scored 37 times for Brampton in 57 games this year and his shot placement might be the best in this class. Pair that with a willingness to use his frame in the corners to play in the dirty parts of the ice and he’s someone who can immediately make Bedard better, and be better as a result.
No. 4: Utah Mammoth — C James Hagens
The incredible thing about Hagens is his ability to morph into whatever his team needs. An elite goal scorer for the U.S. U18 team, Hagens morphed at Boston College last year to be a distributor, notching 26 assists in his first year in the NCAA.
Utah needs multi-faceted skaters who can move around the lines a lot while they find a combination that works, and I think in time Hagens can form a really dangerous pairing with Dylan Guenther that’s too promising not to see happen.
No. 5: Nashville Predators — C Caleb Desoyners
Desoyners can do it all, and that’s exactly what the Preds are looking for. A multi-faceted young center, this is a kid who is equally talented at scoring and playmaking. While he may not have the high ceiling of guys taken before him, Desoyners makes up for that with perhaps the best hockey IQ of any forward in this class.
Nashville has four solid centers who are all getting older. By the time Desoyners is ready to be called up it’s entirely likely we’ll see the twilight of Filip Forsberg, Jonathan Marchessault, Steven Stamkos, and Ryan O’Reilly. That means getting youth in the center spot is of paramount importance.
Desoyners can easily be a Forsberg-type do-everything player with time and conditioning.