What Went Wrong For Canada Earlier today, NHL Central Scouting released their mid-season rankings for the upcoming 2025 NHL Draft. Sitting at the top of the list was Erie Otters' defenseman Matthew Schaefer. Since the beginning of the year, it has been widely acknowledged that Schaefer is the top defenseman in the draft class, however, this is one of the few lists that places him at the top of the entire draft class. This new placement represents a shift from the draft rankings coming into the season. TSN's Bob Mackenzie had Schaefer ranked second in his preseason rankings while the top spent went to Boston College forward James Hagens. The Hockey News' Tony Ferrari had Schaefer third on the rankings [https://thehockeynews.com/news/2025-nhl-draft-rankings-ferraris-top-64-before-the-world-juniors] released prior to the World Junior Championships. Ferrari gave the top spot to Saginaw Spirit forward Michael Misa while Hagens took second place. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJObv9HVSe0[/embed] It should be noted that NHL Director of Central Scouting Dan Marr is quoted in the release [https://www.nhl.com/news/topic/nhl-draft/2025-nhl-draft-midterm-rankings-released] saying there is no clear number one in this class. He adds that Schaefer wins the top spot over Hagens and Misa due to the results he achieved by a combination of his skill, speed and size. Despite the recognition, it has been a turbulent year for the young defender. A case of mononucleosis kept him out of the lineup at the start of the year, and he is currently sidelined with a broken collarbone suffered while playing for Canada at the World Junior Championships. When healthy, it is easy to see what makes Schaefer such an attractive prospect. At 6-foot-1.75, (NHL Central Scouting is very precise) Schaefer is a big defender whose strong skating abilities allow him to jump into the rush and transition seamlessly from defense to offense. He has scored seven goals and added 15 assists in 17 games with Erie this season. At the World Junior Championship, he scored a goal and added an assist prior to his injury in Canada's third round-robin game. Joining Schaefer in the top five are two more OHL players. The aforementioned Misa comes in third on the NHL Central Scouting rankings while Porter Martone of the Brampton Steelheads sits right behind him in fourth. In total, more than 50 OHL players feature among the 224 prospects on the North American rankings. Both the 2024 and 2023 drafts featured clear number-one picks in the form of Macklin Celebrini of the San Jose Sharks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/san-jose-sharks/] and Connor Bedard who plays for the Chicago Blackhawks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/]. The lack of a clear top pick has the potential to make the top of the 2025 draft much more volatile. If Schaefer ends up being the first-overall pick, it would be the third consecutive year where a Canadian was taken first in the draft. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
