With the 2025 NHL draft in the books, hockey fans have free agency on July 1 and their respective teams’ development camps to hold them over for the next-two-and-a-half months as the NHL enters its dead period until rookie camp starts in early to mid-September.
Several general managers took some big steps in setting up their franchises for future success, while others left scouts and analysts scratching their heads with some of their selections.
Below are three teams that put together the worst draft classes, and three that put together the best.
LOSERS
St. Louis Blues
While first-round pick Justin Carbonneau was a strong selection and a good addition to a farm system with just two wingers in its top 10 (some scouts believe he has 30-goal potential), both fifth-rounder Mikhail Fyodorov and sixth-rounder Love Harenstam likely won’t make St. Louis’ roster anytime in the next handful of years, and both project as bottom-of-the-roster type players.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Without a first-rounder, Tampa was going to have to get creative to find value and depth in this draft. Ethan Czata may have been a bit of a reach in the second round. Most scouts believe he’s a future middle-six player but he doesn’t have much scoring punch.
Fourth-rounder Benjamin Rautiainen may have some upside as a bottom-six fixture down the road, but all of the Lightning’s other picks are long shots to make any sort of NHL impact.
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Maple Leafs have one of the worst farm systems in the NHL, and without a first-round pick, it was crucial for them to nail the rest of their selections. The Tinus Luc Koblar selection in Round 2 was a head-scratcher for most scouts. He’s not a great goal scorer, and he’s likely destined for the bottom six in the NHL.
Third-rounder Tyler Hopkins was a solid pick and he’s someone scouts think could outplay where he was drafted. But aside from him, Toronto didn’t do much to bolster the NHL’s 28th-ranked pipeline.
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WINNERS
Boston Bruins
Boston may have had the steal of the draft with James Hagens falling into its lap with the seventh overall pick. A point-per-game player as a freshman at Boston College, Hagens is a future top-line center and he should’ve been a top-five pick.
William Moore is a solid center prospect as well and a solid get in Round 2. He could be a low-end second-liner or high-end third-liner.
Third-rounder Cooper Simpson was a little bit of gamble, but he logged 49 goals and 83 points in 31 games at Shakopee High last season, and if he reaches his offensive potential, he could be a really stolid 25-plus goal scorer in the NHL in a middle-six role.
Montreal Canadiens
Before the draft even started Montreal was already ahead of most teams after sending the No. 16 and 17 overall picks to the New York Islanders for star defenseman Noah Dobson.
A perennial Norris Trophy contender, Dobson give the Canadiens a true No. 1 defenseman to pair with some solid up-and-comers in Calder Trophy winner Lane Huston and Kaiden Guhle.
Montreal also pulled off a coup getting Alexander Zharovsky — a player it had ranked as a top-20 prospect — with the 34th overall pick. He’s got top-six potential in the NHL, and the Canadiens added one of the top 15 defensemen in the league and still got a player it likely would’ve drafted with one of its first-round picks nearly 20 picks later.
New York Islanders
When you have the No. 1 overall pick, it’s easy to come out of the draft a winner. Every scout has Matthew Schaefer pegged as a future No. 1-pairing, shutdown defenseman, so taking him was a no-brainer.
But also getting Victor Eklund and Kashawn Aitcheson, who were both consensus top-12 prospects with the 16th and 17th picks, respectively, plus adding Daniil Prokhorov, who several scouts projected as a mid-to-late first-rounder, in the second and Luca Romano, who could’ve been a nearly second-rounder, in the third was just tremendous value.
New York not only potentially drafted its future top pairing defensive tandem in Schaefer and Aitcheson, but it also may have come out of this draft with at least five future impact players at the NHL level.