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A look at the “big prospects” for the 2025 draft (following the CHL/USNTDP challenge)

 Tony Patoine
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A look at the “big prospects” for the 2025 draft (following the CHL/USNTDP challenge)
Credit: Getty Images

Last Tuesday and Wednesday, we had the chance to take a look at some of the top prospects for the upcoming NHL Draft, as the best young wolves in the CHL took on those of the USNTDP. So, what did we think of Schaefer, Misa, Martone, Desnoyers, Schmidt and company?

Let’s get one thing straight right away: as expected, the Americans simply weren’t up to scratch. It’s not a big year for their development program, and it’s quite the opposite for the CHL, which should have a very successful top-20 auction next June.

That said, the fact that the two top American prospects, center James Hagens and right-handed defenseman Logan Hensler, play in the NCAA certainly didn’t help the southern neighbors’ cause…

Matthew Schaefer, GM, Erie Otters, 18 points in 14 games, +16
Dominant in five-on-five situations and on the first powerplay and advantage, the spectacular Ontario defenseman more often than not played like the real BOSS on the ice, scoring an anthology goal in Game 1:

That said, Schaefer’s very “proactive” defensive game isn’t without its faults; the young prospect tends to play very “high” on opposing players; his gap is so tight that sometimes he can get outflanked by good skaters despite his exceptional agility and speed on skates.

Perhaps because he saw that the opposition was very weak, the Hamilton native took a lot of risks in offensive territory, causing his share of blocked shots and turnovers, but he was more often than not able to repair his mishaps.

Schaefer, the youngest player in the upcoming auction, isn’t afraid of tough play and doesn’t hesitate to sacrifice his body, as on this sequence where he remains very involved by blocking a shot even after losing his stick and… one of his gloves! Not always what the doctor would recommend, but hey!

In short, right now, if there’s ONE player in the 2025 crop who’s almost 100% guaranteed to become an NHL superstar, it’s Matthew Schaefer.

Michael Misa, C/AG, Saginaw Spirit, 46 points, 23 games, +21
Perhaps the player for whom I had the highest expectations along with Schaefer, Misa disappointed me a little in the first game and, in the end, it was much the same in the second, despite better sequences.

Misa, who had been given exceptional status to play in the OHL at the age of 15, played mainly with Caleb Desnoyers and Porter Martone. This brought together three players destined for the highest echelons of the next draft.

Fast and fluid on skates – in a style reminiscent of Trevor Zegras – Misa makes quick plays with the puck, gets physically involved and makes a difference every time he’s on the ice.

However, he seemed a little nervous with the puck on several occasions, often juggling it and missing a good number of passes and shots… Was he feeling the pressure of hundreds of thousands of eyes on him? Was the stick a little too tight?

Perhaps, but…

The fact remains that, in general, he wanted to do too much, notably by trying to play the hero with individual climbs at the end of Wednesday’s game with a score of 2-2, creating turnovers at the blue lines twice rather than once…

Nevertheless, Misa found a way to finish the competition with three points from two games, and was certainly one of his team’s most visible players.

Let’s see if his application for the CMJ is successful…

Porter Martone, AD, Mississauga Steelheads, 43 points in 21 games, +6
There wasn’t much love lost between the two clubs in the first game, and even less in the second. In all this, big Martone, captain of the Steelheads and at the heart of several skirmishes, looked like a fish in water, especially in the second game, which he started like a lion:

Above and beyond theskate, Martone showed us a “heavy”, mature game, while demonstrating anticipation on defense aided by his long reach, as well as finesse, patience and creativity with the puck in the offensive zone; a game very reminiscent of Corey Perry and Mark Stone.

An ordinary skater – but still better than Stone and Perry – I don’t know how concerned NHL scouts will be about this facet of his game. But when your hockey IQ is top-notch, along with your vision, physique and shooting, it’s clear that you don’t always have to be Speedy Gonzalez to succeed at the highest level.

Caleb Desnoyers, C, Moncton Wildcats, 31 points in 20 games, +24
Desnoyers was involved throughout both games, even being named MVP of the second. Often in the thick of the action, he missed a few scoring chances, including at least one golden one on Tuesday, but as we just saw, he deflected a Martone shot in the opening seconds the next day.

Desnoyers didn’t strike us as particularly ” flashy ” compared to other forwards on the team; rather, he’s the prototype of the responsible, efficient center, capable of playing with anyone in a variety of roles, even on the wing as was the case on Wednesday. But the talent is there, as evidenced by this luminous pass on Misa’s goal:

Here’s a player who would already interest the Habs, who would certainly meet their organizational need for a left-handed center and who’s likely to be available when the Habs talk in the top-10… So it remains to be seen whether the stars will align for the Habs and the Québécois or whether the Habs will go all out to get him if they like him that much outside the top-4…

Cameron Schmidt, AD, Vancouver Giants, 35 points in 21 games, +1
The diminutive and very dynamic winger, the WHL’s scoring leader, showed off the velocity and surgical precision of his wrist shot in Game 1:

Still in the same game, he also showed us his powerplay skills on Malcolm Spence’s goal. He even played a bit on the short-handed…

For the time being, even though he plays a fairly combative style, at 5’7, nobody expects to hear Schmidt’s name in the top-5, or even the top-10 next June. But an offensive player of his calibre, with hands this sharp, is unlikely to be on the shelves for much longer.

A cross between Cole Caufield and Seth Jarvis? You could say that, yes.

And like the latter, we can well imagine a club selecting him between 11th and 16th…

Joshua Ravensbergen, G, Prince George Cougars, 3.08, .899, 12-2-4
The big 6’5 goalie wasn’t threatened that often in Tuesday’s game, but when he was, he was big and athletic in goal, stepping forward to challenge shooters. The right-handed shot-stopper did absolutely nothing to shake off the talk that he’s the only goalie likely to be drafted in the first round this year. You can see the appeal with the naked eye.

Justin Carbonneau, Malcolm Spence and Lynden Lakovic, other prospects often ranked in the top-20, also had their moments, especially in the second game for Carbonneau, who showed us his heavier, more incisive game with the puck. The great Lakovic showed us his shooting and top speed, and Spence was generally “hard to play against”, as the saying goes!

All in all, we can’t draw any major conclusions from these two games. It would be ridiculous to do so. But it’s always better to look good when the reflectors are intense, and in this respect some did better than others, and the GMs have taken note…

We still have several months of scouting ahead of us…

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