Despite a near five-hour run time, the first 32 picks of the 2025 NHL Draft are in the books.
Friday night’s first round was pretty tame considering there were quite a few rumors suggesting that teams were looking to jump into the top-10. While we got a handful of trades on the evening, all of them were for draft positioning and featured no real buzz overall.
Still, the New York Islanders held the No. 1 overall pick coming into the night and selected defenseman Matthew Schaefer out of the OHL to kick the night off. From there, the draft proceeded slowly but methodically as many of the top prospects were taken off the board as the night progressed. The NHL draft resumes on Saturday afternoon with rounds two through seven to finish off the weekend of picks.
With the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft officially complete, here are the full list of picks made on Friday night, with analysis and grades as well!
No surprise here for the Islanders, though there was talk they’d potentially stun everyone by going with the hometown guy in James Hagens. However, reason won out and the Islanders ended up going with Schaefer with the first overall pick. In Schaefer, the Islanders get a cornerstone defenseman whose elite defensive skills alongside high hockey IQ and incredible creativity will make him an instant centerpiece of New York’s rebuild.
Grade: A+
The Sharks are building an absolutely scary offensive core. Misa scored 62 goals and 134 points in 65 OHL games last season as the best offensive player of this draft, bar none. Alongside last year’s No. 1 overall pick in Macklin Celebrini and top draft pick in 2023 Will Smith, Misa will absolutely shine in San Jose as yet another incredible offensive talent.
Grade: A+
Frondell will absolutely pair well with Connor Bedard in Chicago’s young offensive core. While Frondell isn’t a standout offensive player, he has a flexible Swiss Army knife style of play where he does everything — including the little details — extremely well. The Blackhawks got a really good two-way player here in Frondell with really high upside.
Grade: A
The Mammoth pick up their first draft selection with their new team name and jerseys in Desnoyers. The forward is a hockey general manager’s dream in that he works hard, has a high hockey IQ and plays an extremely physical game at center. When all is said and done, Desnoyers could very well be the best two-way player of this draft.
Grade: A
The Predators go for a bit of a reach here with Martin. While Martin is a great prospect, his projected upside is that of a second-line center at best. Hard working and incredibly physical as a power forward, Martin will fit well in Nashville’s system but one has to wonder why they passed over more high-skill players with the No. 5 overall pick.
Grade: B-
Martone’s stock was rising ahead of the draft due to his unique skillset of being a power forward who can play hard and beat opponents with skill. It’s a bit surprising he fell to No. 6 to the Flyers, but he’ll slide in along nicely with Matvei Michkov, Trevor Zegras and the rest of Philadelphia’s young, but talented core.
Grade: A-
It wasn’t that long ago when Hagens was considered the top prospect in this draft class. Despite his small size, Hagens has incredible skill and will likely end up as one of the better centers of this draft due to his creative and explosive play. This definitely feels like a steal for Boston, that’s for sure.
Grade: A
O’Brien is billed as a textbook playmaker who could very well be the Kraken’s first-line center not long down the line. While not a major threat with his shot — which is something he can work on — O’Brien has the talent and skill to be a top-tier offensive play-driver in the NHL.
Grade: B+
This is a puzzling pick from the Sabres. Buffalo already has some really top quality defensemen in Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power, so picking yet another blue liner feels a bit redundant. Yet, Mrtka is a big and tall right shot defenseman, which is always in short supply in the NHL. Expect Mrtka to play a big role in the Sabres going forward as an absolute wall of a player.
Grade: B-
McQueen likely would have gone higher in this draft if it weren’t for a back injury that sidelined him for the majority of the season that gave teams pause. We’ll have to see if he’s fully recovered from it and if it hasn’t changed his style of play, but if it hasn’t, the Ducks are getting a big forward with high speed, mobility and skill. A big swing for the Ducks here!
Grade: B+
Another reach here, this time from the Penguins. Kindel is an undersized scoring threat who will need a bit of room to grow but can play down the middle, which is a need for this Penguins squad that is just a few shades away from rebuilding. Still, general manager Kyle Dubas left a lot of talent on the board here for a legitimate reach player.
Grade: B-
A trade! The Flyers traded the Penguins their two remaining first round picks in this draft to take big center Jack Nesbitt. This also feels like a reach, as Nesbitt could have been available in the early 20s when the Flyers were drafting next, but he’s a solid two-way center that helps Philadelphia fill out the center position.
Grade: B
A versatile two-way player with offensive upside, Bear is a great fit for a Red Wings team looking for more skill on offense. Plus, not only can he play the wing, he can also slot in at center as needed. We’ll have to see how he fits in on the Red Wings, but Detroit is getting a solid playmaker and point producer here.
Grade: B
This definitely feels like a steal here for the Blue Jackets. Smith definitely could have gone higher in the draft if it wasn’t for the glut of forward talent. In Smith, the Blue Jackets are getting a big defenseman with high potential who could even show some offensive flash here and there. NHL scouts seem to think he could be the second-best defenseman in this draft after Schaefer.
Grade: B+
While not an explosive offensive player, Cootes is projected to be a versatile two-way center that should help pad out the Canucks’ depth down the middle. The Canucks are taking a swing on his potential for growth into a hopeful second-line center, but it’s clear Vancouver thinks Cootes fits a need here.
Grade: B-
Eklund fell way further than anyone expected him to and the Islanders grab a really great player with the 16th overall selection. It might take a few years for Eklund to be NHL ready, but he’s a player with a high motor and drive with great speed. Many NHL scouts seemed to think Eklund has top-10 potential even with his small size, so this is a great pickup for the Islanders.
Grade: B+
This has been some draft for the Islanders. Schaefer, Eklund and Aitcheson in the first round is absolute tidy work here. Aitcheson is a pest of a defender and plays with heart and aggression in every step. He can also lay out some big hits and will be an absolute threat on the blue line whenever he fills out and becomes NHL ready.
Grade: B
In Reschny, the Flames are getting a middle-six player with offensive upside in a small frame. He has high compete level and has great passing hands, but also has the ability to make plays defensively with his high hockey intelligence. A solid pick for the Flames here.
Grade: B
Carbonneau has quite the offensive touch and bills as a power forward at the NHL game. NHL scouts like Carbonneau’s offensive skills a lot, which makes this a nice value pick for the Blues, as he has the tools to grade out as a really solid and creative offensive play driver.
Grade: B+
Andreyanov is not the first goaltender people expected to go in this draft, that’s for sure! The Blue Jackets make the first netminder move on the goaltender from Russia who posted a 23-6-6 record between the pipes this season. This definitely qualifies as a reach, but as we all know goaltenders are voodoo so maybe the Blue Jackets saw something here we all missed.
Grade: C
The Predators traded up with the Senators to nab Reid out of the OHL. An offensive defenseman to his core, Reid has flashes of some real playmaking skill from the back end. That’s not to say Reid doesn’t have defense in his blood, but the Predators are getting a player here with some versatility on the blue line.
Grade: B
Zonnon is a solid two-way player who will add some solid depth for the Penguins. NHL scouts tout his high motor and how well he adapted to the center role this past season. While not the best skater, the tools are there for Zonnon to make an impact in the middle six.
Grade: B
On the other side of the spectrum, Hensler doesn’t have much going on offense but he is a right shot defenseman and that fills a major position of need at the NHL. Hensler is, however, a fantastic puck mover and a great transition player who will be essential to the Senators’ blue line once he makes the jump to the big leagues.
Grade: B
The Penguins have had a very active night, trading up to grab big beefy center Horcoff with the No. 24 pick. Though not the best skater who seems to be more of a project, NHL general managers love big centers and Horcoff should help shore up the Penguins’ depth down the line.
Grade: C+
A reach here for Chicago with the 25th overall pick. Nestrašil will be playing with UMass in the fall and will look to develop his game there. NHL scouts think Nestrašil fits the power forward role well, though has raw talent that will take time to grow into.
Grade: C
Lee is a creative forward with a dynamic playstyle and a bevy of high-end tools to work with. The biggest knock on Lee is is skating, but that can be worked on in the years to come.
Grade: B-
Lakovic was projected to go higher in the draft so this is a good pick up by the Capitals. A big center with solid skill and great speed for his size, it was a bit of a surprise to see Lakovic fall this far in the draft. But it seems as if the Capitals got great value here because of it.
Grade: B
The Jets added to their defensive pipeline with this Boumedienne pick. It’s going to take some time for Boumedienne to make the jump to the NHL, but his stellar passing, great vision and strong physicality are all big upsides worth the wait if they can translate to the big stage.
Grade: B-
The Blackhawks traded up with the Hurricanes to nab West at the end of the first round. Fun fact, West played quarterback in high school, making him a pretty rare breed of player who can play both football and hockey at high levels. West is billed as a great skater with flashes of skill but is overall a raw prospect that will need a few years to develop.
Grade: C+
Two goaltenders in the first round! Quite a rare surprise in today’s NHL. Ravensbergen was billed as the top goaltender in the draft by scouts heading into the weekend, as his size and skill make him a intimidating force between the pipes.
Grade: B
After trading back earlier in the round, the Kings select defenseman Brzustewicz from the London Knights. A mix of stout defensive play and offensive facilitation, Brzustewicz is a do-it-all mobile defenseman. A good pick for the Kings at this stage of the draft.
Grade: B
The Flames finish off the first round with Potter, who could have gone much earlier in the draft but ended up falling to the final pick. Potter is a dynamic forward with incredible speed and skill that can make flashy plays with ease. There’s not much physicality to Potter’s game, but it’s hard to knock a skill pick to finish off the night.
Grade: B+