German defenceman Carlos Händel played a couple of seasons in Sweden against better competition than he could have received in his home country before heading to the QMJHL in his draft season. After participating in the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Edmonton, he headed to Halifax to play with the Mooseheads.
Date of Birth: March 31, 2007 Birthplace: Erlangen, Germany Height: 6’1″ Weight: 176 lbs. Po
The Blackhawks picked up another forward with their second pick from the second day of the 2025 NHL Draft, adding German center Julius Sumpf in the fourth round (No. 98 overall).
Following a pair of trades that sent both of their second-round picks out the door on Friday night, Blackhawks fans had to wait patiently for the team’s first selection on Day 2. When their turn finally came, Chicago used the pick to select Kamloops Blazers winger Nathan Behm in the third round.
The Montreal Canadiens moved up to select a forward at 69th, then used the 81st overall selection to claim a defenceman. With those positions addressed, their final pick of the third round at 82nd was spent on a goaltender.
Montreal had several nations represented among their goaltending pool already heading into the draft. Jakub Dobeš of the Czech Republic served as the NHL backup last year, Russian Vevgeni Volokhin was drafted in 2023, and Mikus Vecvanags of Latvia was drafted on
The fourth round of the NHL entry draft is a time for team to take some swings on undervalued players. The Montreal Canadiens did precisely that with their 113th-overall pick, taking the diminutive L.J. Mooney from the U.S. development program.
The Habs have had some success drafting undersized players from that program in the past, albeit significantly higher in the draft. Mooney does not come with the pedigree of their top-line winger, but he has enough skill to suggest that the
When the season started, Alexander Zharovsky wasn’t on the radar, not even ranked by Central Scouting, but a strong second half raised him up draft boards. Central Scouting had him in the top five European players by the end of the season.
The Montreal Canadiens liked him enough to trade their two second-round picks, 41st and 49th, to move up to 34th overall to take him.
A quick look at his profile shows why. The thing you hear about Zharovsky right away is that he
With their second pick of the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft, the Blackhawks selected forward Vaclav Nestrasil, a Czechia native who’s been playing with the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL.
The Chicago Blackhawks currently have two selections during Friday’s opening round of the 2025 NHL Draft, first at No. 3 and next at No. 25 — barring any trades, of course. This is one of the most open drafts in recent memory, and it’s already difficult to figure out who the Blackhawks might take with their first selection, let alone their second. But let’s take a quick look at some players — broken out by skater position, five each — the Blackhawks could
Michael Misa is widely regarded as one of the top talents in the 2025 NHL Draft class thanks to a dynamic blend of elite skating, sharp hockey sense, refined puck skills, and a two-way responsibility that should only get better with experience. Although there is room to refine his game and mature physically, Misa is considered one of the most complete, NHL-ready prospects this draft class with a trajectory points squarely toward a future as a top-line NHL. Virtually every projection you̵
Boston College freshman James Hagens is a competitive, highly skilled center with elite vision, speed, playmaking, and smart two-way play. He’s already collected ample international medals and made a strong NCAA impact in his debut season, earning him a high reputation as a crafty, dynamic center. Although he’s dropped down some draft boards due to his size and a freshman year at BC that was respectable but not necessarily spectacular, Hagens isn’t a contender for the No. 1
Porter Martone is a skilled, power-forward type that blends elite playmaking, high hockey IQ, and a strong physical presence. His emergence as a top talent in juniors, along with his international resume, make him one of the obvious choices to be taken near the top of the 2025 NHL draft. With a few key areas left to refine – primarily skating and defensive consistency – he’s got high potential to be a star-level NHL player.
The 2025 NHL Entry Draft starts on Friday with the first round, and continues into Saturday for rounds two through seven. While there’s a pretty broad range of players who could fall to the Buffalo Sabres picking at ninth, there is a consensus amongst the fanbase that we need to be targeting either a big forward or a big right handed defenseman. Note the emphasis on ‘big’, especially given how the Florida Panthers have built a team around large, snarly, gnarly players and m
Starting his 2024-25 campaign in the Czech Republic, Radim Mrtka wasn’t getting the minutes to show what he could offer in his draft season. In late November, the decision was made to head to the Western Hockey League to play for the Seattle Thunderbirds team that selected him in the 2024 Import Draft.
Date of Birth: June 9, 2007 Birthplace: Havlickuv Brod, Czech Republic Height: 6’6″ Weight: 218
Just when you were starting to think it would never happen, it finally did.
At 3 a.m. in the morning in Khabarovsk, Russia – closer to Beijing and Tokyo than to Moscow – the phone rang at the home of the president of Kontinental Hockey League team Amur Khabarovsk. The 56-year-old, roused from deep sleep, reached for the phone and answered it, to receive a simple message.
“Alexander Mogilny, congratulations on being elected to the Hockey Hall of Fam
Caleb?Desnoyers is projected to be the prototypical modern two-way center: high hockey IQ, strong in all zones, offensively polished, and an elite faceoff talent. Like with some other players expected to be taken near the top of the 2025 NHL Draff, there are some questions about ceiling: he’s expected to develop into a dependable middle-six center with some potential to grow into a top-line role if he can work out some offensive kinks to his game.
(Editor’s note: It’s Draft week. As we look ahead to whom the Blackhawks may be selecting with the No. 3 pick on Friday night, we start with the name that seems to be gaining traction as Chicago’s projected selection.)
Swedish standout Anton Frondell is a somewhat controversial prospect for the 2025 NHL Draft: he’s a toolsy, physically mature young player who has projectable pro-game skills that blend defensive reliability with the upside of an impr
Only two defencemen in the Ontario Hockey League scored more goals in 2024-25 than Kashawn Aitcheson with 26: Zayne Parekh (33) and Sam Dickinson (29), who were drafted ninth and 11th, respectively, in the 2024 NHL Draft. Only six fellow OHL members of his 2025 draft class eclipsed that total as well. Considering he scored eight the previous season, it was a big leap in his production.
Date of Birth: September 21, 2006 Birthplace: Toronto, Ontario
Logan Hensler made the transition from the United States National Team Development Program to the NCAA for his draft season. Despite starting his freshman campaign a few days before turning 18, he played almost 20 minutes in his debut and recorded his first point with an assist. That ice time didn’t last as he, understandably, had some issues on defence at a higher level of play, but was still averaging about 17 minutes minutes per game as the first semester came to a close.
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