Over the last few months, the Detroit Red Wings have been hard at work finalizing their game plan in preparation for the 2025 NHL Draft. And this weekend, Steve Yzerman, Kris Draper, and the organization’s scouting staff will have another chance to strengthen their prospect pipeline.
Detroit enters the 2025 draft with nine picks:
While there’s plenty of depth currently in the prospect pipeline, the Red Wings still need a couple high-end players to round out the top of their (future) lineup. Another top-six forward and top-four defenseman would go a long way in elevating Detroit’s fortunes.
Related: Red Wings Trade Board for the 2025 Offseason
Path to Detroit’s No. 13 Pick
Twelve players will be chosen before Yzerman makes Detroit’s selection. Based on what I’ve been hearing, here is how I expect the first 12 picks to pan out:
New York Islanders – LD Matthew Schaefer
San Jose Sharks – C Michael Misa
Chicago Blackhawks – C Anton Frondell
Utah Mammoth – C Caleb Desnoyers
Nashville Predators – RW Porter Martone
Philadelphia Flyers – C James Hagens
Boston Bruins – C Brady Martin
Seattle Kraken – C Roger McQueen
Buffalo Sabres – C Jake O’Brien
Anaheim Ducks – RD Radim Mrtka
Pittsburgh Penguins – LD Jackson Smith
New York Rangers – LD Kashawn Aitcheson
Red Wings Draft Board
In preparation for this year’s draft, I got together with my colleagues over at The Flying Octopus Podcast—Devin Little and Evan Sabourin—and created a draft board for the Red Wings – 50 prospects who would be great organizational fits.
This is a follow-up to a similar exercise last year. These are not the 50 best prospects. Instead, these prospects are the 50 best fits relative to Detroit’s draft slots, organizational needs, and draft culture. Rankings are based on our collective research, tracking, live viewings, and tape analysis.
Last year, Michael Brandsegg-Nygard was the best player available on our draft board when the Red Wings selected him. (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)
You’ll notice that most of the top players in this year’s draft class are missing. That’s intentional. I do not expect the likes of Matthew Schaefer, Michael Misa, Anton Frondell, Porter Martone, Caleb Desnoyers, or James Hagens to be available when the Red Wings make their pick at No. 13.
With that said, here’s our 2025 draft board for the Red Wings:
C Roger McQueen
C Jake O’Brien
LW Victor Eklund
C Brady Martin
LW Carter Bear
LD Jackson Smith
LD Kashawn Aitcheson
C Cole Reschny
RW Justin Carbonneau
RD Radim Mrtka
LW Lyndon Lakovic
C Milton Gastrin
LW Malcolm Spence
C/LW Will Horcoff
C Ryker Lee
RD Henry Brzustewicz
LW Jack Murtagh
C Eric Nilson
C Cole McKinney
RW Alexander Zharovsky
LD Simon Wang
RW Shane Vansaghi
RW Eddie Genborg
C Ethan Czata
LD Kurban Limatov
RW Vaclav Nestrasil
C Matthew Gard
RD Carter Amico
LW David Lewandowski
RD Peyton Kettles
C Theo Stockselius
LW Tomas Poletin
C Michal Svrcek
LW Filip Ekberg
RW Bruno Osmanis
C Gustav Hillstrom
LD Malte Vass
C Tyler Hopkins
RD Theodor Hallquisth
RD Carlos Handel
C Adam BenakÂ
C Mikkel Eriksen
LW Kristian Epperson
RD Carson Cameron
C Jimmy Lombardi
RW Maxim Schafer
G Petteri Rimpinen
C Tomas Tobezal
G Jack Parsons
LW Max Westergard
Red Wings’ First Round Trade Options
In addition to the draft board, we’ve included fair deals should the Red Wings decide to trade up or back using PuckPedia’s Perri Pick Value Calculator.Â
Move up to No. 10 – Detroit trades No. 13, No. 44, and No. 119 to Anaheim for No. 10
Move back to No. 16 – Detroit trades No. 13 to Montreal for No. 16 and No. 41
In both cases, the team moving back gets a little more than the team moving up in terms of pick value. So a slight overpay to move up, and getting a sweetener to move back.
Detroit could potentially move up if Roger McQueen falls due to concerns about his back injury. If the Red Wings are comfortable with the risk, getting a high-end talent would be worth the cost. Additionally, Anaheim could opt to move back and grab a defenseman in a more appropriate draft slot.
One last note: This may be the last year the Red Wings select in the top half of the draft. It may be a good opportunity to consolidate draft picks (and prospects, if need be) and trade up into the top 10 to select one more high-end player to cap off their rebuild. I’m talking Brady Martin, Jake O’Brien, James Hagans, or Porter Martone. It’s now or never.
Additional Red Wings Draft Coverage
