Apologies for the delay guys! Midterms put me behind but we’re back on track with my 21-32 ranked 2025 NHL Draft players with
@wincolumnCGY
!
There’s some guys I really like here; a few potential risers 👀, so make sure to give it a read!
#33
-64 will come out soon too 👀
⬇️⬇️⬇️
Continuing our early look at
#2025NHLDraft
eligible players, we ranked 21 through 32.
Check out the 12 players who finish off the first round, headlined by Victor Eklund, younger brother of the Sharks' William Eklund.
Getting off of Ceci’s contract and only losing a third to do it while adding a 24 year old who I really thought would’ve been a part of SJS’s future is outstanding. Emberson alone probably would’ve cost a 3rd or 4th in value, EDM basically dumped Ceci for 0 cost.
🔁 TRADE 🔁
The
#Oilers
have acquired defenceman Ty Emberson from San Jose in exchange for defenceman Cody Ceci & a 2025 third-round draft pick.
#LetsGoOilers
I wondered about Holmberg’s future with this team with guys like Grebenkin, Cowan, Minten, Steeves and Quillan vying for roster spots. I’ll say this, if he keeps playing like he has so far this pre-season he better not be going ANYWHERE. Really solid showings all preseason long
A little sneak peak on a project I’ve been working on! Likely going to be starting exclusively with Leafs prospects before expanding to other teams but I’m excited to announce my NHL Prospect Analysis Cards! Here’s a prelim look at Easton Cowan’s card, Toronto’s top prospect
Jacob Quillan, one of my favourite prospects in the Leafs system, blends NHL size, speed, winning DNA, & defensive IQ with an insane work rate on the forecheck to this prospect pool. Offensive upside is limited due to lack of on puck dynamism but a lock to play NHL games for me.
I wouldn’t be shocked if he made the team instantly. I thought he’d be best served to get some games with the Marlies to get acclimated to the North American game but as one of the best U21 players in the KHL he certainly looks the part already. Lets see how preseason goes 👀
More from Craig Berube on Nikita Grebenkin:
“He’s been very noticeable for me. Big, strong kid, first and foremost. Intelligent. Got a good hockey IQ. Not afraid to take the body. Got good skill.”
As promised my first draft rankings for the 2025 NHL Draft!
A few of my favourites:
Matthew Schaefer
Sascha Boumedienne
Roger McQueen
Jakob Ihs Wozniak
Caleb Desnoyers
Luka Radivojevic
Cameron Reid
Victor Eklund
Blake Fiddler
Émile Guité
Filip Ekberg
Reese Hamilton
I’m excited to announce that I’ll be posting my 2025 NHL Entry Draft content this year with
@wincolumnCGY
! Special thanks to
@karimkurji
and
@JamesJohnsonYYC
for the opportunity! Keep an eye out for my Top 10 Ranked Prospects article that’ll come out over the next few days!
Nikita Grebenkin doing Nikita Grebenkin type things. He’s not stranger to fighting, he’s fought a few times over his tenure in the KHL. Less than a month in and he’s already a fan favourite.
Excited to announce that I'm joining
@6ixOnIce
as a writer! Thrilled to dive deep into everything Leafs and continuing to share my passion for the team with you all. Stay tuned for my debut series on 3
#LeafsForever
prospects to look out for in 2024-25! 👀🍁
Huge get for Toronto. Probably my favourite NCAA UFA this year. Super high motor and works rly rly hard all over the ice. Not surprised at all that Toronto really wanted him.
There is word Toronto is signing Dartmouth, NS native Jacob Quillan out of Quinnipiac. Won a national championship last year, lots of competition for his services this year.
As we approach the NHL Draft, here’s a thread on guys I’d be really intrigued to see as
#LeafsForever
picks in R1
I’ll post another thread later in the week on potential 4th Round Picks.
HM: Luchanko, Beaudoin, Hutson, Vanacker, Elick, Lavoie, Galvas, Sahlin Wallenhius
1/?
After a riveting first game for the Maple Leafs prospects yesterday, I’ve completed a comprehensive breakdown and assessment of all the skaters that played yesterday!
⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️
Excited to present my write ups on my Top 5 Prospects (so far) for the 2025 NHL Entry Draft!!
Keep an eye out for Players ranked 6-10 which should come out later this week!
As usual, always open to everyone’s insight and feedback!
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The
#2025NHLDraft
is nearly a year away, but it's never too soon to think about the next draft class, especially for the rebuilding teams.
Check out our detailed analysis of the early candidates to be top-five picks!
Big thank you to
@Kyle_Cush
for having me onto his podcast to talk about Mikko Kokkonen! He’s done some really great work with this series so make sure to take a look!
If you’re looking for content for the upcoming draft or for Leafs prospects please do consider following!
Mikko Kokkonen is next on Camp Countdown!
@RyanMaScouting
joins the show to break down Kokkonen's development over the years, the strengths of his game, and his NHL upside after a resurgent season with the Marlies.
📺YouTube:
🎧Spotify:
Fraser Minten with an incredible effort play back checking after a costly Easton Cowan turnover in OT. Great job to not take a penalty and then sprung Cowan the other way with a stretch pass for a partial break. He’s not a flashy player but Minten’s going to be a good pro someday
@Banx_Leaf
It’s funny too because he doesn’t really
fit the Dubas/Clark profile. Hunter was the big proponent of taking overagers, but almost all of the ones he took flopped. Dubas barely dipped into overagers but both Hildeby and Grebenkin look like future NHLers.
Was at work so I’m a bit late, but Ben Danford, albeit a bit of a reach for me on draft night, brings a package on D we haven’t seen TOR draft in years. A potential Top 4 DFD, his development as a puck mover and decision maker offensively will determine his ultimate ceiling.
Incorporating some feedback I’ve received, so I’m trying out a two card approach. I’ll post the main card on the initial post + a write up card in the comments as part of a thread. Here’s a look at Fraser Minten, one of Toronto’s Tier 3 prospects 👀
My debut article with
@6ixOnIce
!
My
#7
ranked skater in the Leafs organization, Roni Hirvonen has battled through a multitude of obstacles in his 1st season in North America. Despite a lacklustre offensive season, I outline why I still think he’s a player with an NHL future.
Although he didn't make our Top 10 Maple Leafs prospects list, Roni Hirvonen is a name to watch next season.
Everything you need to know about the elusive forward, below!
Cowan ✅
Minten ✅
Danford ✅
Niemela ✅
Grebyonkin ✅
Holinka ✅
Moldenhauer ✅
Hirvonen ✅
In the meantime here’s a sneak peak at a feature that’s a part of this project 👀
Next up on my list to add to the database, a guy I really think is gonna a good NHLer: Jacob Quillan 👀
Good morning everyone! I’ve had these finalized for a week now but I’ve kept them under wraps until now. Here’s my top 32 for the
#2024NHLDraft
Look out for:
Teddy Stiga
Alfons Freij
Dominik Badinka
Tomas Galvas
Tomas Lavoie
As usual, always appreciate any thoughts/questions!
Praying for the Gaudreau family or whomever is involved in this accident. Please refrain and hold judgement until further information comes to light. No matter what, this situation should highlight the dangers of drunk driving & the importance of diligence/safety behind the wheel
The format for the Team Card is finally complete. The Leafs write ups are still on hold until after my exams, but wanted to provide a quick update on the card since I know it’s been a bit without updates.
Some great work by Kyle, some amazing guest appearances too like Brock Otten, Scott Wheeler and Jack Han. Really detailed nuanced discussion on Toronto’s players, so make sure to sub to his channel!
Camp Countdown concludes for the week with Marshall Rifai!
Did I do almost 20 minutes solo on Rifai after the Blink 182/Alexisonfire show? You bet. Is that concerning? Also yes.
📺YouTube:
🎧Spotify:
🍎Apple:
My last preview before I dig in the next 2 weeks and get the entire Leafs prospect pool done! My favourite Leafs pick from this year, Miroslav Holinka turned a lot of heads at Dev camp.
Make sure to drop a follow, I’ll make a post taking player requests in the coming weeks!! 👀
My first predicative mock draft of the season! Open and happy for all discourse. The right most column is where I personally have the players ranked but this mock draft is more what I think will happen rather than what I think should happen.
Lisowsky - Quillan - Hirvonen
Look great so far. Quillan’s been an absolute standout early on. Tenacious, constantly winning the puck back, looking to attack the middle of the ice, strong on possession along the boards. Showed off some crafty hands too.
Love seeing Quillan here. I’m hoping to see a really good game from him and Grebenkin. Great showings from those two could really shake up the bottom 6 and force some tough decisions.
A huge development for Noah Chadwick who’s continued to improve at a rapid rate in his DY+1 and looking to carry that into his DY+2 for a potential spot on 🇨🇦’s WJC team. Skating & overaggresiveness at times are areas for growth but he’s been such a wonderful story to root for.
Just saw this on Google from 2 days ago but many thanks to
@InsideLeafs
and mapleleafsdaily for featuring my analysis and work about Jacob Quillan on their platform. A great article so if you want to take a look here’s a link:
Wes Clark since taking over as Director of Scouting:
2022: Minten, Moldenhauer, Hildeby, Grebenkin
2023: Cowan, Chadwick
2024: Danford, Holinka
Too early to tell with a lot of his picks as Director but all of these guys in his first 2 years have a really decent NHL projection
People acting like losing Wes Clark isn’t a massive blow are insane. Sure he hasn’t drafted ‘superstars’ and he does *reach* but hes massively helped an organization (for the coming yearsh that needs quality ELC minutes.
Johnny Hockey was always one of my favourite nicknames for a hockey player but it somehow sells him short.
He may have been an incredible hockey player but he was first and foremost a father, husband, & son.
My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.
RIP 🕊️💔
Top 10 Write Ups for my preliminary 2025 NHL Entry Draft Player Rankings are DONE.
4692 words.
Keep an eye out for the link to the article this week! Should be posted in the next few days 👀👀👀👀
@LeafsUpdates21
I’ve been on the Topi train since his DY. Love to see more in the fanbase giving him a shout to play NHL games. One of my personal favourites in this prospect pool
Topi Niemela, one of my guys of his draft class is a super fluid skater who’s had some fluctuating tape throughout his post draft seasons. He’s put it together last season with the Marlies and has shown some real offensive upside, elite transition impact and underrated nastiness.
My last article of the series!
Miroslav Holinka has all the traits to be a late round steal for Toronto. Leafs fans should hear much more news about the 🇨🇿 FWD who’s bringing his dynamic skillset to NA with the Edmonton Oil Kings of the WHL.
Give it a read below! ⬇️⬇️⬇️
Our final under-the-radar Toronto Maple Leafs prospect is newly drafted Miroslav Holinka.
Learn more about the forward, who had an impressive development camp with the
#LeafsForever
, below!
Cade Webber lacks offensive ability but is trying to make a point that he’s not just a stay at home guy. 3rd time he’s tried taking the puck down low in straight lines. He gets stripped and the Habs score on the odd man rush the other way. Barbolini caught puck watching, 1-1
A substantial amount of picks but Leenders is a quality goalie that should help them win games. I’m excited to see Ivankovic handling the bulk of the starts behind what we expect to be a rly good Steelheads team. A top 2 goalie in the class lets see how high he can go 👀
🚨 WE HAVE A TRADE TO ANNOUNCE 🚨
The Brantford Bulldogs have acquired goaltender Ryerson Leenders from the
@OHLSteelheads
in exchange for a series of Priority Draft Selections!
Welcome to Brantford Ryerson!
#BFD
#WeAreBrantford
#OHL
Nick
@BreakawayScouts
refuses to post his Draft Rankings. So while we wait, here’s mine!
My guys 📈: Stiga, Buium, Lavoie, Galvas, Brunicke, Ustinkov
Not my guys 📉: Eiserman, Shuravin, Letourneau, Kiviharju
Mid Round Risers: Ellinas, Eliasson, Josephson, Romani
Jacob Quillan, one of my favourite prospects in the Leafs system, blends NHL size, speed, winning DNA, & defensive IQ with an insane work rate on the forecheck to this prospect pool. Offensive upside is limited due to lack of on puck dynamism but a lock to play NHL games for me.
The 2nd instalment of my 3 part series on under the radar prospects poised for a big 2024-25 season!!!!
Nicholas Moldenhauer’s numbers took a steep dive this past season at Michigan but was his 2023-24 campaign all bad?
For all that and more check out the article quoted here 👀
Our second under the radar Toronto Maple Leafs prospect everyone should know is Nicholas Moldenhauer.
Learn more about the forward, who's looking to bounce back after a tough first season with Michigan, by clicking the link!
#LeafsForever
Just wanted to take a second to thank everyone that’s following my account or has come across my work in one way or another. There’s a lot of change happening right now,
@TundraCastPod
joining
@Hockeypodnet
but it’s been so fun to be able to talk and interact with everyone.
1/3
My reactions to the Ben Danford pick. Probably a 2nd pair D at his best, but his breakouts have improved throughout the year and he remains a very high floor player in this class. Would’ve preferred taking him after a trade down but I feel comfortable projecting an NHL role.
Yeah. Surely this is someone NHL GMs would’ve at least taken a flyer later in the draft last year. A top 32 ranked player for me all year last season. Went undrafted. Still boggles my mind.
Saw this late after work but some really intriguing line combinations to be had here.
Cowan - Minten - Moldenhauer
Grebyonkin - Kressler - Holinka
Voit - Quillan - Lisowsky
Feels like some lines that would be a ton of fun to watch together. Bummed Moldenhauer isn’t here.
A fun little exercise I came up with other the weekend! Ever wonder what a team
made up of only Maple Leafs draft picks would look like? 👀
Take a look right here ⬇️⬇️⬇️
Hey everyone! Sorry to say that progress on these cards and write ups are behind schedule 😞. Work got super busy and I’m taking a course for uni as well which has finals in a few weeks.
However I will take a few requests on the players I have finished, so drop them below!!!
Fraser Minten!!! 2-1 Toronto! Some great puck movement by Toronto on the Powerplay. Minten and Niemela do an exchange up top, Niemela draws the Habs PKers to him and rifles a pass to Minten who beats Richard. I’ve loved Topi’s decisiveness as a passer today
@KPapetti
Minten’s looks stronger and more comfortable on the puck. The skating looks better too. A bit quiet but Cowan and Greb are the puck dominant guys on that line, he’s been sound defensively. I’d like to see him get a chance to really unload that shot at some point
I mocked Cowan - Minten - Hirvonen but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t super excited to hear that the Leafs are loading up that line with their 2 best forward prospects. Chadwick - Danford is no real surprise, there were partnered throughout Dev Camp and throughout scrimmages
I’ll be summarizing my thoughts and analysis from today’s game in an article over on
@6ixOnIce
and hopefully uploading it by tonight before tomorrow’s game! Keep an eye out for that 👀👀👀👀
@Banx_Leaf
Cade Webber, a throwback defenseman in an increasingly modern NHL, has the athleticism, snarl and size to carve out an NHL role but his 4 way skating and mobility will dictate whether he’s a bottom pair NHL regular or simply another depth piece.
Landon Dupont is a joy to watch. Nice jump into the play on a bad Dominik Petr dump attempt leads to his 2nd goal of his exceptional status year. Up to 7 points in 6 games.
My 11th - 20th ranked players for the 2025 NHL Draft!!!!
There might be some surprising names on this one, but an intriguing mix of power forwards and defensemen available in this range!
Check it out!!!
⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️
I got a whole article coming out either tonight or tomorrow morning on
@6ixOnIce
(depending on when the editors sign off) breaking down each player’s game and performance from today. Keep an eye out 👀
Like
@Banx_Leaf
mentioned, my front runner here in terms of who I’d want as an AGM would likely be Brad Holland. Did some great work for Edmonton and was a Team Manager with the Leafs for 2 years before his start with the Oilers.
Like many teams this time of year, it sounds like the Toronto Maple leafs will be announcing additions to their mgmt/scouting staff in the near future.
McQueen was already getting a bump (+1) from my pre-draft ranking of 6th overall with Frondell & Boumedienne dropping slightly but it’s always positive to see a prospect you’re a big fan of start the season strong. Looking forward to seeing more of the same the rest of the year.
Roger McQueen start his draft-eligivle season with a BANG!
4 goals on 6 shots - including a natural hat trick in the 3rd period.
If there's a forward who could seriously contend for 1st overall this year, it's him
Fraser Minten raised eyebrows when he was pencilled into the Leafs opening night roster. He had a challenging season across 4 teams but the cerebral TWF projects as a 3C and will need to improve his puck skills to further weaponize his powerful shot to reach a higher NHL ceiling.
Per request, Mikko Kokkonen’s player card! A high floor, low event defenseman, Kokkonen’s lack of elite traits hamper NHL upside but if his poise and decision making with the Marlies translates to the NHL level there’s a real shot for him to play NHL games.
Excited to announce prospects 6 to 10 of the 2nd installment of my early 2025 NHL Draft Rankings!
I’ll be wrapping up my write ups for 11-20 this weekend so as usual keep an eye out on those.
Let me know in the comments what you think of my top 10 so far!!!!
Another big performance from Tomáš Galvas today vs Sweden (5-4 OT win). He led all players with 23:31 TOI and had two assists.
Look at that little head and shoulder fake at the blue line here. His shot was then tipped in by Maštalířský.
Also a nice play by Adam Jecho (STL).
After a 2 hour recording session to complete Rnd 1 of our Final Mock for the 2024 NHL Draft,
@BreakawayScouts
and I worked from 11:30PM - 2:00AM last night to bring you our FULL 2nd Round Mock (with trades!!!!) Make sure to hit follow to stay updated as each pick is announced 👀
Some REALLY great players surprisingly available after Round 1 of myself,
@BreakawayScouts
and
@Shae_Nuge93
’s Final Mock Draft on
@TundraCast
ahead of the NHL Draft. Featuring 2 trade ups and some crazy off the board picks, make sure to check it out!!!
Roni Hirvonen is off to a HOT start in Game 2 of the Prospects Showdown. A week ago I listed him as one of my under the radar Leafs prospects for the 2024-25 season
⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️
@thegoldenmuzzy
Can’t forget that he was one of the first people Jim Nill brought with him from Detroit to Dallas. His word clearly carries water in that draft room. I think he’s about as good of a hire you can make right now on the market.
Sascha Boumedienne (
#34
in White) is the
#7
Ranked Prospect in my early 2025 NHL Draft Rankings. Check out my write up over
@wincolumnCGY
on the 6’2” smooth skating 🇸🇪 defenseman who’ll be playing for Boston University this year in the NCAA
⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️
@RyanMaScouting
Will be interesting to see what you have to say about Boumedienne. I've only seen him a few times and he had a lot of trouble with pressure.
Adam Benak is so sick… I really wish I could put him higher. The size is just so hard to overlook. Not a ton of elite NHLers throughout history at 5’7” or shorter. David Desharnais comes to mind as one. If Benak was close to even 5’9” he might’ve been in my top 10.
As promised!!!! My Honourable Mentions Thread for the
#LeafsForever
23rd overall pick in the
#2024NHLDraft
!!!
I’ve got my list for the 4th Round Pick, but that write up likely won’t be until the weekend! Drop any other names you wanna see a write up on!
As we approach the NHL Draft, here’s a thread on guys I’d be really intrigued to see as
#LeafsForever
picks in R1
I’ll post another thread later in the week on potential 4th Round Picks.
HM: Luchanko, Beaudoin, Hutson, Vanacker, Elick, Lavoie, Galvas, Sahlin Wallenhius
1/?
Really rough hit on LJ Mooney, was really looking forward to seeing more of him this year to see if he could work his way up my board. Hoping the injury isn’t as bad as it looked…
FULL TRADE:
#SJSharks
acquire Yaroslav Askarov, 2025 3rd round pick, Nolan Burke from
#Preds
for David Edstrom, Magnus Chrona, and VGK’s 2025 1st (Top 10 protected)
My Leafs Post Draft and Pre Development Camp prospect tiers.
Danford and Holinka (to me) are the current additions that projects to an NHL role.
The rest of the draft features depth and AHL options that all have some NHL upside but don’t have the floor to project confidently
Pretty crazy news. Askarov was and remains one of my favourite goalie prospects in the league. I think a trade was always likely after Saros’ extension earlier in the year but this could definitely expedite that process. Not sure what kind of return he’d warrant but a good player
**Breaking News** 🚨 📰
I’m told that Top Goalie Prospect Askarov has informed the
@PredsNHL
that he will not report to their
@TheAHL
team, and has requested a trade.
#HockeyX
#Preds
My Team Card for the Leafs (post Miettinen and Koster exits)
Not a ton of potential top of the line up talent but certainly a plethora of potential quality depth. Goaltending depth remains a strength with Toronto’s continued investment in later round dart throws in net.
A hot topic from our latest podcast episode with
@AustinReporting
. All 3 of us think that at this stage, the top 5 of this draft are a tight field. We all think that it’s more likely than not that Hagens ends up dropping. 👀 Let us know what you think in the replies!
Funny enough the 2 Leafs picks that I didn’t love and had basically 0 insight of in the mid rounds in Johansson & Plesovskikh are both off to red hot starts in their U20 leagues. Still lots of areas of growth for both as longer term projects but it’s exciting nonetheless.
#LeafsForever
prospect Victor Johansson is only 8 games into his season and he's already looking like he's made some big improvements. He leads all defensemen in points and is tied for second in the entire league.
What's fuel the breakout? I took a look.
Didn’t show nearly enough at camp to earn the job. I can’t help but feel that he doesn’t have enough left to learn or develop in Juniors to spend a whole year with London. Maybe we can see him in an extended stretch at C to make it worthwhile?
Thank you to my Day 1 guys:
@BreakawayScouts
and
@Shae_Nuge93
. A thank you to
@AustinReporting
& so many others in the scouting world for the work you do. And finally thank you to everyone who follows this account! I’m so excited to show you all everything I’ve got planned next!
Long speed sure is a bit of a potential concern but Niemela is a wonderful skater in all the ways that matter. Super smooth stride, very good edge work and four directional skating. It’s one of his strengths he leans on defensively.
1/?
@AustinReporting
@TundraCastPod
Love Mrtka in the top 20, I really strongly considered Martone at 1 too. Really wish Boumedienne had a better Hlinka because I really like his game. Hamilton is a bit high for me but I do love his mobility & he made some wonderful stretch passes as a focal point of the breakout.
@CareyPrix
I’d personally swap Haltunnen to 8 and move Muk and Bystedt down but I’m also just a huge Haltunnen truther. Also can we get a Jack Thompson HM 👀 I think he’s a post TDL call up for SJS when they move on from Ceci and some vets
@LetsTalkHockey9
Tomas Lavoie
Lukas Fischer
Jett Luchanko
Terik Parascak
EJ Emery
Wouldn’t rule out Sam O’Reilly either and I think Noel Fransen, Alfons Freij and Alex Zetterberg are SUPER intriguing if Toronto opts to go with a Swede. They’ve done well pulling from that pool in the past.
3000 words deep already with my early/pre season 2025 NHL Entry Draft write up and I’m only 8 players in. Might have to release my top 32 in 3 separate articles 😭
Calum Ritchie is the real deal,
@BreakawayScouts
and I did not enjoy him falling to the Avs, but his inclusion on this season opening roster likely speaks a little bit more about the Avs current F situation with Nichushkin and Lehkonen out than Ritchie himself.
@AU5T0N
Quillan/McMann - Minten - Grebenkin
Is the closest trio of guys we’ve seen that could be a legitimate dual threat third line we’ve always looked for.
Slowly but surely making progress on the updates. Officially half way through the prospect pool. This is the part that gets really interesting, lots of projects and low probability dart throws left, with a few guys I’m personally rooting for.
@Banx_Leaf
It looked rough but I’m hopeful it was just a sprain or jam. He was able to skate off on his own so I think we likely avoided anything major. Knock on wood of course