Handel, Kilfoil & Carrier on NHL’s prospect list for 2025 Draft
The NHL Central Scouting has just released its second rankings of the season, listing the top prospects to watch ahead of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft and it includes three members of the Halifax Mooseheads.
Defenceman Carlos Handel is the 66th ranked North American skater while forwards Liam Kilfoil and Shawn Carrier hold the 96th and 194th positions respectively. Handel is the highest scoring rookie defenceman in the QMJHL with 15 points while Kilfoil is tops on the Herd with 28 points with an equal distribution of 14 goals and 14 assists. Carrier is third on the team in scoring with 22 points thanks to nine goals and 13 assists.
The list features a total of 41 QMJHL players that have garnered the attention of NHL scouting experts so far this year. From the lot, three forwards have been identified as potential first-round selections; Moncton’s Caleb Desnoyers, Blainville-Boisbriand’s Justin Carbonneau and Rouyn-Noranda’s Bill Zonnon.
Additionally, four other QMJHLers have been projected as second-round picks; Saint John’s Zachary Morin, Blainville-Boisbriand’s Mateo Nobert, Québec’s Nathan Quinn and Chicoutimi’s Émile Guité.
The Q is also very well represented in terms of goaltenders, with six appearing in the North American mid-term rankings, including two netminders ranked in the Top 5 and four in the Top 10.
The second list also includes five prospects taken at the CHL Import Draft that are suiting up in the QMJHL: Germany’s Carlos Handel (Halifax) and Julius Sumpf (Moncton), Latvia’s Linus Feldbergs (Sherbrooke), Slovakia’s Andreas Straka (Québec) and Russia’s Eduard Bondar (Val-d’Or).
With five players ranked by NHL Central Scouting each, the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, Chicoutimi Saguenéens and Québec Remparts are the QMJHL franchises with the most prospects listed so far.
Here are the QMJHL players ranked on the NHL CSS’ second list:
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7 | DESNOYERS, Caleb – MONCTON – C
13 | CARBONNEAU, Justin – BLAINVILLE-BOISBRIAND – RW
29 | ZONNON, Bill – ROUYN-NORANDA – RW
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47 | MORIN, Zachary – SAINT JOHN – LW
53 | NOBERT, Mateo – BLAINVILLE-BOISBRIAND – C
56 | QUINN, Nathan – QUÉBEC – C
61 | GUITÉ, Émile – CHICOUTIMI – LW
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66 | HANDEL, Carlos – HALIFAX – D
78 | REYNOLDS, Will – ACADIE-BATHURST – D
82 | STRAKA, Andreas – QUÉBEC – RW
90 | HUANG, Alex – CHICOUTIMI – D
93 | MATHIEU, Alexis – BAIE-COMEAU – D
94 | CONRAD, Owen – CHARLOTTETOWN – D
96 | KILFOIL, Liam – HALIFAX – C
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102 | ALLISON, Drew – BAIE-COMEAU – D
108 | SUMPF, Julius – MONCTON – C
110 | BONDAR, Eduard – VAL-D’OR – D
112 | LABRE, Maddox – VICTORIAVILLE – D
124 | GOSSELIN, Alonso – CHICOUTIMI – D
126 | LABERGE, Noah – ACADIE-BATHURST – D
128 | CARBONNEAU, Alexandre – BLAINVILLE-BOISBRIAND – D
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137 | GROULX, Olivier – SAINT JOHN – C
140 | CLOUTIER, Rafael – BLAINVILLE-BOISBRIAND – LW
145 | SEYMOUR, Jabez – CHARLOTTETOWN – C
153 | VERMETTE, Emmanuel – CHICOUTIMI – LW
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162 | HYNES, Carter – QUÉBEC – D
167 | MURPHY, Will – CAPE BRETON – D
171 | DUBÉ, Elliot – SAINT JOHN – C
172 | VEILLEUX, Philippe – VAL-D’OR – LW
182 | LEBEL, Xavier – QUÉBEC – RW
184 | LAMPRON, Olivier – SHERBROOKE – RW
189 | DESJARDINS, Vincent – BLAINVILLE-BOISBRIAND – C
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194 | CARRIER, Shawn – HALIFAX – LW
204 | LECOMPTE, Nathan – CHICOUTIMI – C
210 | LAVIGNE, Mael – RIMOUSKI – C
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GOALTENDERS
3 | BECKMAN, Lucas – BAIE-COMEAU – G*
4 | MELOCHE, Samuel – ROUYN-NORANDA – G*
7 | DENAULT, Louis-Antoine – QUÉBEC – G*
8 | D’AIGLE, Gabriel – VICTORIAVILLE – G*
20 | FELDBERGS, Linards – SHERBROOKE – G*
32 | LANGEVIN, Mathis – RIMOUSKI – G*
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