2025 Mock NHL Draft – Counting Down The Top 10 Picks

The 2025 NHL Draft is one that could well shape the future of the league. While the No. 1 pick seems like a lock, with Erie Otters star Matthew Schaefer topping the board, the rest of the top 10 looks set for chaos. In this article, we’re counting down the top 10 picks in our 2025 Mock NHL Draft.

The 2025 NHL Draft will be decentralized for the first time in league history, meaning that teams will operate from their own private war rooms rather than on the floor of the draft itself.

That appears set to lead to more chaos as rumors are swirling around how the top end of the draft will shake out. We’re taking our best guess at projecting the top 10 in our 2025 Mock NHL Draft.

1. New York Islanders - Matthew Schaefer (D - Erie Otters)

The Islanders couldn’t have believed their luck when they moved up from the No. 11 spot in the NHL Draft lottery to the No. 1 overall pick.

While the temptation to take hometown product James Hagens is there, it seems that New York will go with the obvious pick and take the consensus No. 1 prospect in Matthew Schaefer.

Schaefer is a smooth-skating, 6-foot-2, left-handed defenseman who is confident with the puck on his stick and not afraid to use his body. He has No. 1 D-Man potential and, assuming health, should be a top-of-the-lineup defenseman for years to come.

2. San Jose Sharks - Anton Frondell (C - Djurgardens IF)

For weeks, it appeared that the Sharks would do the seemingly obvious thing and take Michael Misa No. 2 overall. Misa was in conversation for No. 1 for parts of the season, with Schaefer ultimately winning.

But rumblings in the week leading up to the draft have San Jose favoring Swedish center Anton Frondell.

Frondell is a big-bodied, high-scoring forward who put up impressive numbers playing against grown men in the Swedish league.

Hockey Prospecting’s Byron Bader’s model has him with an 89 percent chance of becoming a star in the NHL with player comparisons such as Joe Thornton and Aleksander Barkov, so it’s easy to see what San Jose likes here.

3. Chicago Blackhawks - Michael Misa (C - Saginaw Spirit)

The Blackhawks would have been more than happy taking Frondell at No. 3. In fact, for weeks, that was the consensus belief.

But they’ll be just as happy, if not more so, to grab Misa here to either pair with or play before 2023 No. 1 overall pick Connor Bedard.

Misa is a good skater with great hands and plus vision. He can both create for others and score on his own and he gives Chicago a ton of versatility with regards to whether he and Bedard play through the middle or one the wing.

4. Utah Mammoth - Caleb Desnoyers (C - Moncton Wildcats)

Caleb Desnoyers is a hockey guy’s dream. He’s got good size, at 6-1.5 and 178 pounds, he’s extremely creative with the puck on his stick, and he’s positionally responsible in his defensive zone.

On top of that, Desnoyers is a winner who played through a pair of wrist injuries to lead his team to a championship in the QMJHL before continuing to play in the Memorial Cup.

Some question Desnoyers upside as his physical tools are good, but not great, but he’s got an incredibly high floor, and any NHL team would be happy to have him.

5. Nashville Predators - Brady Martin (C - Soo Greyhounds)

Where Brady Martin goes in this draft could hold the key to several picks after him. The Soo Greyhounds star is one of the polarizing prospects in the draft, with pro scouts and coaches loving him, but the analytics community being a little less sold.

Martin has the best motor in the draft and despite his size, at just 6 feet, 178 pounds, he’s the most willing and effective checker of the forwards.

But he scored just 72 points in 57 games in the OHL, a number that is solid yet unspectacular. That led some to question where he possesses the skill to play at the top of the lineup in the NHL.

Predators GM Barry Trotz reportedly wants to add a bit more bite to his forward corps, and he’d certainly do that with the addition of Martin.

6. Philadelphia Flyers - James Hagens (C - Boston College)

If Martin doesn’t go off the board before this pick, the popular belief is that he’s a prime target for Philadelphia.

But with him gone, the Flyers go with Boston College center James Hagens, who was considered the top prospect in this class just 12 months ago.

Hagens lit it up at every level of junior hockey before having a solid, but perhaps underwhelming, freshman year with the Eagles.

There are some concerns that at 5-10.5, Hagens is too small for a Flyers team that’s already pretty tiny at the top of the lineup. But the potential upside is just too much to pass up if he falls this far.

7. Boston Bruins - Porter Martone (RW - Brampton Steelheads)

Boston has to be salivating at the idea of landing Martone, who for much of the draft process felt like a lock to go inside the top four or five.

Martone is a big winger, standing at nearly 6-foot-3 and 208 pounds, and he has the skill to match. He’s great in tight areas and can contribute both as a scorer and a creator for others.

While he’s not the fastest skater in the world, Martone’s skating isn’t something that should prevent him from being an impact player at the NHL level, and he’s the type of prospect that could make teams look very silly for letting him slip this far five years down the road.

 

8. Seattle Kraken - Roger McQueen (C - Brandon Wheat Kings)

Had it not been for a back injury that cost him most of the 2024-25 season, Roger McQueen would very likely be a top-five pick in this year’s draft.

A 6-foot-5 and 197 pounds, he has the size that NHL scouts and coaches dream about and he’s got the quick, soft hands to match.

McQueen is perhaps the most boom-or-bust pick in this draft. He told scouts and reporters at the NHL combine that his initial back injury had been misdiagnosed and that it has since been properly identified and treated. If true, the Kraken could be walking away at the biggest winners in this year’s draft.

 

9. Buffalo Sabres - Radim Mrtka (D - Seattle Thunderbirds)

No team has had as many high picks over the last decade as the Buffalo Sabres, and it’s landed them some elite talent. But Buffalo just hasn’t been able to get the mix right, for whatever reason, and it’s kept them buried at the bottom of the NHL.

Mrtka may not be the best player available at No. 9, but at 6-foot-6 and 210 pounds, he brings some serious size and toughness to the blue line and to a team that appears to lack both.

The right-handed shooting Czech defenseman is expected to be the second defenseman off the board, and Buffalo seems like a logical destination given the direction they appear headed.

10. Anaheim Ducks - Jake O’Brien (C - Brantford Bulldogs)

Anaheim uses the final pick in the top 10 to select perhaps the best pure passer in the draft in Jake O’Brien. O’Brien’s vision and passing helped him rack up 98 points in 66 OHL games this past season

But a significant chunk of those points came on the power play, and there are some concerns about both O’Brien’s skating and his processing with less time and space on the ice at 5v5 in the NHL Draft.

O’Brien could well go off the board as high as Phily at No. 6, but in this scenario, the Ducks are happy to add him to an increasingly deep center prospect pool at No. 10.