The 2025 NHL Draft is just a couple of hours away. Rumors are heating up, extensions are being handed out, and big-time trades are being executed.
This time of year is always silly for the National Hockey League as all 32 teams are trying desperately to improve their chances of a bright future.
After the last handful of years were spent rebuilding, the Chicago Blackhawks are hoping to select a player who will help them get it turned around in the long term. With impressive prospects in the pipeline, the Blackhawks are hoping that they don't have many more years selecting in the top three.
Most of Chicago's high-end prospects are defensemen, so scoring is something they will target when it comes to their draft selections.
This is the final mock draft of the 2025 NHL Draft season before things get truly underway on Friday night:
1. New York Islanders: Matthew Schaefer, D, Erie (OHL)
2. San Jose Sharks: Michael Misa, C, Saginaw (OHL):
3. Chicago Blackhawks: Anton Frondell, C, Djurgardens (SWE)
4. Utah Mammoth: Jake O'Brien, C, Brantford (OHL)
5. Nashville Predators: James Hagens, Boston College (NCAA)
6. Philadelphia Flyers: Caleb Desnoyers, C, Moncton (QMJHL)
7. Boston Bruins: Porter Martone, RW, Mississauga (OHL)
8. Seattle Kraken: Jackson Smith, D, Tri-City (WHL)
9. Buffalo Sabres: Victor Eklund, LW, Djurgardens (SWE)
10. Anaheim Ducks: Radim Mrtka, D, Seattle (WHL)
11. Pittsburgh Penguins: Carter Bear, FWD, Everett (WHL)
12. Pittsburgh Penguins: Roger McQueen, F, Brandon (WHL)
13. Detroit Red Wings: Brady Martin, C, Soo (OHL)
14. Columbus Blue Jackets: Lynden Lakovic, F, Moose Jaw (WHL)
15: Vancouver Canucks: Braeden Coots, C, Seattle (WHL)
16. New York Islanders: Justin Carbonneau, RW, Blainville-Brisband (QMJHL)
17. New York Islanders: Logan Hensler, D, Wisconsin (NCAA)
18. Calgary Flames: Malcom Spence, LW, Erie (OHL)
19. St. Louis Blues: Kashawn Aitcheson, D, Barrie (OHL)
20. Columbus Blue Jackets: Cullen Potter, LW, Arizona State (NCAA)
21. Ottawa Senators: Cameron Reid, D, Kitchener (OHL)
22. Philadelphia Flyers: Benjamin Kindel, RW, Calgary (WHL)
23. Nashville Predators: Blake Fiddler, D, Edmonton (WHL)
24. Los Angeles Kings: Joshua Ravensbergen, G, Prince George (WHL)
25. Chicago Blackhawks: Jack Nesbitt, C, Windsor (OHL)
26. Nashville Predators: Cole Reschny, F, Victoria (WHL)
27. Washington Capitals: Ivan Ryabkin, C, Muskegon (USHL)
28. Winnipeg Jets: Bill Zonnon, LW, Rouyn-Noranda (QMJHL)
29. Carolina Hurricanes: Jack Murtagh, FWD, USDP (USNTDP)
30. San Jose Sharks: Sascha Boumedienne, D, Boston University (NCAA)
31. Philadelphia Flyers: Shane Vansaghi, RW, Michigan State (NCAA)
32. Calgary Flames: Cameron Schmidt, RW, Vancouver (WHL)
Matthew Schaefer, as expected, went to the New York Islanders. It is the San Jose Sharks with the second overall pick that begins the intrigue. Here, they proved that all of the rumors were just a smoke screen for them to end up taking Michael Misa in the end.
With the third overall pick, the Blackhawks selected Anton Frondell. The top international prospect coming into the draft is a great fit in Chicago, and they would be happy with this outcome, despite it maybe not being their number one guy. Frondell, alongside Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar, would fit in very well as a three-headed monster at center.
One pick after the Blackhawks, the Utah Mammoth make their first selection under their new name and hand Jake O'Brien their fresh new sweater. This is somewhat of a surprise but Utah is already looking like a team that enjoys making splashes.
Caleb Desnoyers, James Hagens, and Porter Martone round out the top seven. Those are the players talked about the most in the first round, but surprises always happen.
The 32nd overall pick in the first round belongs to the Calgary Flames. It closes out the deal that sent Matthew Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers.
The Pittsburgh Penguins notably have back-to-back picks in the first half of the opening round. The latter of the two was handed to them by the New York Rangers, who did so to complete the J.T. Miller trade with the Vancouver Canucks. New York would have had to forfeit their 2026 selection if it chose to keep this one.
On draft day, the New York Islanders added back-to-back picks in the late teens in a deal that sent Noah Dobson to the Montreal Canadiens. Will New York trade one (or both) of those picks to move up?
The Philadelphia Flyers and Nashville Predators are the other two teams with three selections in the first round. One or two of those could be traded as well, but they selected players in this mock to brighten their future.
At 25th overall in this mock draft, the Blackhawks selected Jack Nesbit of the Windsor Spitfires. Nesbit is a forward looking to grow his game through development in the OHL. In 65 games played for Windsor last year, he had 25 goals and 39 assists for 64 points in 65 games played.
Nesbit was teammates with Blackhawks draft pick AJ Spellacy on a good Windsor team. It will be interesting to see his progression as he earns an expanded role on the team in 2025-26.
All in all, the lack of certainty in this year's edition of the entry draft will lead to chaos. It is impossible to completely predict with any amount of accuracy. Each executive involved must rely on their scouts to advise them on the best possible selections.
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