2025 NHL Draft Primer: Prospects set for unique decentralized draft

The 2025 NHL Draft is getting a shakeup.

This afternoon, 93 top prospects will descend on the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, Calif.

They’ll be among friends and family, NHL alumni, current players, celebrities and roughly 3,000 fans, but notably, not the teams that will pick them.

With the draft going to a decentralized format, staff for the 32 clubs will be gathered in their ‘war rooms’ across North America.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman will emcee the first round on Friday, with teams selecting who will announce their picks.

After a player hears their name called, they’ll head on stage, receive a jersey and hat, take a photo and proceed to the newly-minted NHL Draft House and gauntlet of interviews and photoshoots.

The league will utilize 90 camera feeds from across the continent, with cameras in each club’s room, at draft parties, and roaming cameras for interviews with prospects and other guests, according to NHL.com

More than a dozen top-ranked WHL players will be in attendance for the unique edition of the annual event- which TSN’s Bob McKenzie posited has an ‘air of unpredictability’ outside of the top two picks.

The Western League contingent includes three players who cracked NHL Central Scouting’s top 10- Radim Mrtka (5), Roger McQueen (8) and Carter Bear (10). Another five WHLers have slotted into the top 25.

Mrtka, a rangy 6-foot-5-plus defenceman with a coveted right-hand shot, burst onto the scene with the Seattle Thunderbirds and shot to the top of the WHL leaderboard. With 3 goals and 32 assists for 35 points in 43 games, the Havlickuv, Czechia, product also made his mark on special teams to help the T-Birds return to the postseason.

Towering centreman Roger McQueen has remained high on mock drafts despite missing much of the season with a back injury. However, the small sample size in 2024-25 looked pretty fantastic. The Brandon Wheat Kings star popped off for four goals on opening night and ended up with 10 goals and 10 assists for 20 points in 17 games. He was a full participant in the 2025 NHL Combine and spoke to 24 teams.

Silvertips leading scorer Carter Bear has turned heads with a meteoric rise from a fourth-line WHLer to ‘A’ rated prospect. The West St. Paul, Man. product tallied 40 goals and 42 assists for 82 points and a +33 rating in 56 games, helping Everett clinch the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as regular season champions. The 6-foot, 179-pound winger tied for second among all WHL skaters in game-winning goals (9) and seventh in goals.

Between the pipes, WHL Goaltender of the Year finalist Joshua Ravensbergen stands tall as the number one North American goaltender, per NHL Central Scouting. The Prince George Cougars standouts eclipsed 50 career regular season victories in a busy season that saw him go 33-13-3-1 with a 3.00 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage, tying for second in wins, fourth in minutes played and sixth in shots and saves.

All told, 67 WHL players are listed by NHL CSS heading into this weekend’s draft. Outside of the agency’s top 10, key names to watch include Tri-City Americans blueliner Jackson Smith (NHL CSS: 13), Moose Jaw Warriors Captain and 2024 WHL Champion Lynden Lakovic (NHL CSS: 14), the youngest Captain in the WHL, Seattle’s Braeden Cootes (NHL CSS: 20), and wily Calgary Hitmen playmaker Benjamin Kindel (NHL CSS: 21).

Last year’s draft saw five WHLers selected in the first round, four of which came in the top 10. 2025 WHL Champion Cayden Lindstrom heard his name called fourth overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets. After a one-pick break, the dominos fell quickly with Kelowna Rockets stud Tij Iginla, the son of Hockey Hall of Famer Jarome, going to the Utah Mammoth at sixth overall, high-scoring Calgary Hitmen blueliner Carter Yakemchuk going to the Ottawa Senators at seventh, and Spokane Chiefs Captain Berkly Catton sticking with Washington State as a Seattle Kraken pick at eighth. 2024WHL Rookie of the Year finalist Terik Parascak (Prince George Cougars) had one of the best reactions of the night when the NHL cameras caught the youngster and his dad with their jaws dropped after the Washington Capitals called his name at 17th overall. The WHL’s five selections in the top 20 made for the most among any development league in the world.

A total of 2,196 players representing the Dub have been selected at the NHL Draft since 1967- including 344 in the first round alone.

That number will grow when round one of the 2025 NHL Draft begins on Friday, June 27, at 5:00 p.m. MST, with Rounds 2-7 set for Saturday, June 28, beginning at 10:00 a.m. MST.

2024-25 NHL Central Scouting Final Rankings – WHL Skaters

Rank	Last Name	First Name	Hometown	Team	Height	Weight	Position
5	Mrtka	Radim	Havlickuv, Cze.	Seattle	6’5.75	207	D
8	McQueen	Roger	Saskatoon, Sask.	Brandon	6’5.25	197	C
10	Bear	Carter	West St. Paul, Man.	Everett	6’0	179	LW
13	Smith	Jackson	Calgary, Alta.	Tri-City	6’3.25	195	D
14	Lakovic	Lynden	West Kelowna, B.C.	Moose Jaw	6’4.25	190	LW
20	Cootes	Braeden	Sherwood Park, Alta.	Seattle	5’11.25	183	C
21	Kindel	Benjamin	Coquitlam, B.C.	Calgary	5’10	176	C
25	Reschny	Cole	Macklin, Sask.	Victoria	5’10.5	183	C
26	Fiddler	Blake	Frisco, Texas	Edmonton	6’4	209	D
37	Gard	Matthew	Winnipeg, Man.	Red Deer	6’4.75	192	C
38	Paupanekis	Hayden	Winnipeg, Man.	Kelowna	6’4.25	196	C
39	Kettles	Peyton	Winnipeg, Man.	Swift Current	6’5.25	190	D
40	Psenicka	Max	Prague, Cze.	Portland	6’5	177	D
43	Schmidt	Cameron	Prince George, B.C.	Vancouver	5’7.25	161	RW
44	Behm	Nathan	Calgary, Alta.	Kamloops	6’1.5	192	RW
50	Gorzynski	Brandon	Scottsdale, Ariz.	Calgary	6’1.5	185	C
51	Lewandowski	David	Dusseldorf, Ger.	Saskatoon	6’1.25	177	LW
54	Martin	Owen	Oakbank, Man.	Spokane	5’11.75	185	C
57	Lafreniere	Tommy	Hornby Island, B.C.	Kamloops	5’11	172	RW
60	Miller	Ryan	Medicine Hat, Alta.	Portland	5’11.75	177	C
69	Sawchyn	Lukas	Grande Prairie, Alta.	Edmonton	5’9.75	168	LW
72	Vlooswyk	Luke	Calgary, Alta.	Red Deer	6’4.5	200	D
76	Sharpe	Will	Ladner, B.C.	Kelowna	6’0	195	D
88	Klippenstein	Carter	Lethbridge, Alta.	Brandon	6’2.5	180	C
89	Foster	Aiden	Lloydminster, Alta.	Prince George	6’2	182	C
93	Mistelbacher	Luke	Steinbach, Man.	Swift Current	5’11.75	196	RW
99	Gerwing	Dawson	Meadow Lake, Sask.	Kelowna	6’3	225	LW
100	Pickford	Bryce	Chauvin, Alta.	Medicine Hat	6’0.25	183	D
111	McGregor	Josh	Brandon, Man.	Swift Current	6’1.25	170	D
113	Hamilton	Reese	Whitewood, Sask.	Regina	6’0	172	D
116	McCann	Kadon	Cochrane, Alta.	Medicine Hat	6’3	200	C
121	Virk	Savin	Surrey, B.C.	Tri-City	5;10.75	168	RW
125	Fuder	Jaxon	Cold Lake, Alta.	Red Deer	6’0	166	C
126	Busch	Shea	North Vancouver, B.C.	Everett	6’1.75	208	LW
133	Leslie	Mazden	Lloydminster, Alta.	Vancouver	6’0.25	200	D
134	MacKenzie	Ethan	Peachland, B.C.	Edmonton	6’0	174	D
136	Dach	Kale	Fort Saskatchewan, Alta.	Calgary	5’10	165	C
138	Schoettler	Owen	Edmonton, Alta.	Spokane	6’0	181	D
141	Buttazzoni	Diego	Langley, B.C.	Portland	5’9	183	LW
156	Woo	Jonas	Winnipeg, Man.	Medicine Hat	5’8.75	165	D
161	Andersen	Poul	St. Louis Park, Minn.	Edmonton	6’0.5	200	RW
162	Ziprick	Aiden	Russell, Man.	Moose Jaw	6’0.5	190	D
163	Thurston	Derek	Delta, B.C.	Red Deer	6’0.75	190	D
166	Lajoie	Jett	Winnipeg, Man.	Prince George	5’11.5	178	RW
167	Baumuller	Joby	Wilcox, Sask.	Brandon	5’11.25	188	RW
179	Pekar	Matej	Prerov, Cze.	Seattle	5’10	158	RW
181	Koch	Cassius	Calgary, Alta.	Tri-City	5’11.25	197	LW
187	Harsanyi	Hayden	Calgary, Alta.	Saskatoon	5’8.75	171	C
190	Bridgeman	Kolten	Regina, Sask.	Regina	6’4	216	D
191	Burzynski	Grayson	Winnipeg, Man.	Swift Current	6’3.5	212	D
194	Dunphy	Brendan	San Diego, Calif.	Wenatchee	6’5	207	D
201	Garland	Gavin	Calgary, Alta.	Tri-City	5’9.5	183	RW
203	Adair	Carsen	Clavet, Sask.	Lethbridge	6’2.5	188	D
213	Schmidt	Connor	Sturgeon County, Alta.	Moose Jaw	5’11.25	180	D
216	Mayes	Sawyer	Salmon Arm, B.C.	Seattle	6’4	188	C
217	Sarkenov	Assanali	Astana, Kaz.	Spokane	6’3.5	203	LW
220	Matthews	Caleb	Calgary, Alta.	Victoria	6’1.75	173	RW
LV	Obobaifo	Aaron	Calgary, Alta.	Vancouver	5’9.5	183	LW

 

2024-25 NHL Central Scouting Final Rankings – WHL Goaltenders

Rank	Last Name	First Name	Hometown	Team	Height	Weight	Position
1	Ravensbergen	Joshua	North Vancouver, B.C.	Prince George	6’5.25	190	G
8	Stebetak	Ondrej	Jihlava, Cze.	Portland	6’1.5	173	G
12	Kraus	Jayden	Prince Albert, Sask.	Victoria	6’1.5	201	G
15	Hood	Burke	Brandon, Man.	Vancouver	6’2.75	197	G
20	Miller	Anders	Anchorage, Alaska	Calgary	6’1	198	G
24	Cleaver	Koen	Port Alberni, B.C.	Lethbridge	6’1.5	188	G
25	Switzer	Jordan	Edmonton, Alta.	Medicine Hat	6’0.25	186	G
27	Simcoe	Ethan	Lac du Bonnet, Man.	Edmonton	6’1	175	G
28	LeGall	Raiden	Morden, Man.	Everett	5’11.25	170	G

 

About the Western Hockey League
Regarded as the world’s finest development league for junior hockey players, the Western Hockey League (WHL) head office is based in Calgary, Alberta. The WHL offers a world-class player experience featuring three key cornerstones: hockey development, education, and a safe and positive environment for all participants. A diverse and inclusive organization, the WHL consists of 23 member Clubs with 17 located in Western Canada and six in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. A member of the Canadian Hockey League, the WHL has been a leading supplier of talent for the National Hockey League for close to 60 years. The WHL is also a leading provider of hockey scholarships with over 375 graduates each year receiving WHL Scholarships to pursue a post-secondary education of their choice. Each season, WHL players also form the nucleus of Canada’s National Junior Hockey Team.

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