The 2025 NHL Draft Lottery was held Monday night with the New York Islanders coming out as the big winner, moving up nine spots to earn the first overall pick. They will have the No. 1 selection for the first time since 2009 when the team drafted future captain John Tavares.
Additionally, the San Jose Sharks earned the second-overall pick in the NHL Draft, dropping one spot after having the best odds to win the lottery. The Utah Hockey Club, ended up moving up from the 14th slot to No. 4 overall with a big win.
Selecting third overall will be the Chicago Blackhawks who picked first in 2023 and second in 2024. They’ll be able to add another significant piece to their rebuild with a pick in that range.
Erie Otters defenseman Matthew Schaefer appears to be the consensus No. 1 draft pick and would be a valuable add for any team. However, Schaefer was injured most of this season and teams will be making a decision on a smaller sample size. That may not scare teams off, though. Michael Misa is largely considered No. 2 after scoring 62 goals in the OHL this season, though others like Boston College center James Hagens and Swedish center Anton Frondell have also been among the player most-widely talked about as top-five picks.
We now know the order of the first 16 picks of the 2025 NHL Draft and to give you an idea of what that might look like, we have our first mock draft of the season. Stay tuned for FloHockey’s final 2025 NHL Draft rankings in the coming weeks as veteran analyst Chris Peters offers his final evaluations heading into Draft Day.
The 2025 NHL Draft will be held June 27-28 in Los Angeles. Let’s get to the Lottery Results and the mock draft. Also, be sure to tune in to this week’s episode of Called Up: The Prospects Podcast presented by Wonderful Pistachios as hosts Chris Peters and Cam Robinson hold a back-and-forth post-lottery Mock Draft on the show.
1. New York Islanders
2. San Jose Sharks
3. Chicago Blackhawks
4. Utah Hockey Club
5. Nashville Predators
6. Philadelphia Flyers
7. Boston Bruins
8. Seattle Kraken
9. Buffalo Sabres
10. Anaheim Ducks
11. Pittsburgh Penguins
12. New York Rangers
13. Detroit Red Wings
14. Columbus Blue Jackets
15. Vancouver Canucks
16. Montreal Canadiens (via Calgary Flames)
Alright, so we just got the order. Naturally we need to mock draft the thing right away, right? Yes, yes we do. It’s always hard to read and react to this and I don’t know that anyone saw New York getting the No. 1 pick, but here we are. I’m going to do a number of mock drafts over the next several weeks leading up to the draft, with the goal to make each one a little bit closer to what we see on draft day. So this is super early and woefully under-reported, but I was just at the U18 Worlds where there were a ton of NHL personnel to chat with. So let’s get to it here…
There are a lot of complicating factors here, not the least of which is that the Islanders don’t have a general manager right now. What their draft strategy looks like is unclear. And James Hagens is no longer the consensus top pick after a good, but not amazing season at Boston College. That said, the Islanders have a chance to take a kid who is local, who is a dynamic playmaking center and only going to get better. He isn’t as big as some of the other players and there may be a lot of reasons to take Matthew Schaefer or Michael Misa, but if the Islanders wanted to land a player that could be with their organization for the next 15 years, why not take the kid who lived and breathed Isles hockey his entire life? Sometimes fit just means more. Though Hagens has fallen down draft boards, he still has a strong case to be among the top players selected.
After drafting both Macklin Celebrini and defenseman Sam Dickinson last year, and Will Smith the year before that, the Sharks could bolster their defense long-term with the projected No. 1 pick in Matthew Schaefer. He was injured most of this season and missed so much time, so this is not a pick without risk. But when he played, there’s little questioning he was the best player in this class. This would be a situation where if New York passes on the top defenseman, San Jose would make this pick in a heartbeat.
The decision here would likely come down to Misa and Frondell. Misa has more flash and a bit more offensive upside, but Frondell is a bit stronger and succeeded against men this year. That said, Frondell had a subpar U18 Worlds and looked a little off internationally all year. His performances against men in Allsvenskan, however, may outweigh any of thos international concerns. Frondell had 25 points in 29 games against pros and another seven in 16 playoff games. Djugårdens will be in the SHL next season after gaining promotion. There was a lot of surprising buzz around Frondell at U18s despite his performance at that tournament and a lot of NHL GMs were in attendance more to see him.
Utah has made no secret that they want to get bigger. Martone is a big wing who could work well along players like Logan Cooley and Clayton Keller, clearing the road a bit and making plays at the net front. Martone still needs to develop more of a power game, but he’s nearly 6-foot-3 and over 200 pounds, so he fits in with what Utah wants. I could definitely see Misa here, or perhaps even Utah takes a swing and goes even bigger with Roger McQueen, but I do think size will be a priority.
Could the Predators be this lucky? It seems unlikely, but I feel like this lottery fell in such a way that it still puts the Preds in position to land one of the top players. There’s still a lot of love for Misa to potentially go No. 1 even after the incredible production he had this year, but his postseason performance and unfortunate late-season injury cost him some opportunities to keep growing his case. Misa could go as early as No. 1, but likely no later than here. He is a dynamic talent who scored 62 goals this season.
Desnoyers is one of the most well-rounded players in this draft. He put up a bunch of points, but provides two-way value, which the Flyers should covet. He seems to fit in with the identity of the team and with some of the more skilled, but smaller players that Philly has brought in, Desnoyers has the work ethic and the compete level to help those players without giving away much offensively.
There’s a risk here and the Bruins are pretty much in rebuild mode, so this is a pick they cannot miss on, but McQueen is such a tantalizing talent. He’s 6-foot-5 and has good skill. He can be a little heavy in the feet at times, but it’s not a huge concern. The bigger concern is that he was injured much of the year and you run a real risk here. He plays the brand of hockey the Bruins will want to play and I’d make this projection based solely on a strong performance at the combine — less in the physical testing and more with the physicals the medical people will put him through.
The Kraken would not have to go far for this one. After passing on a defenseman last year, they can get one of the best available here. Mrtka is 6-foot-6, mobile and can produce. He needs to become a stronger competitor at his size, but he has great range and huge upside. It would be tough to pass on a player with his ceiling here.
I don’t know that putting O’Brien this low makes a ton of sense given how well he played down the stretch. He’s a major draft riser this year and one of the most skilled forwards available. He’s nearly 6-foot-2 as well, and had 98 points this season. The Sabres still need to bulk up their forward prospect group and O’Brien would be one of the best options to do that here.
The hard-hitting Martin plays a brand of hockey that should resonate with the Ducks. They already have hard-nosed Mason McTavish among their young core, but could really add to that group with Martin. On top of his incredible physical play, he has skill. He was an all-star selection at U18 Worlds and had 72 points for the Soo this year.
Eklund for a good chunk of this season was outplaying Frondell. He’s a dynamic playmaking winger who isn’t afraid to get his nose dirty despite a slighter frame at 5-11, 161. He did, however, play all season against men and was a big part of Sweden’s World Junior team. There’s good upside there for a system that needs pretty much everything right now.
A 6-foot-3, left-shot defenseman with good puck-moving skills, Smith would bring some added size and upside to the blue line in New York. They have a number of talented forward prospects, and this year is fairly light on defensemen. Adding one of the more intriguing players in that group would make a lot of sense. Smith had 54 points this year, but I do want to see him make some better decisions with the puck.
The Red Wings have gone a little forward heavy in the last few drafts and while they have some good young blueliners on the way, they don’t really have anyone quite like Aitcheson. The 6-foot-2, nearly 200-pound defenseman had 59 points including an astonishing 26 goals from the blue line this year. Plus he hits like a mack truck and makes opposing forwards know he is there. I can see him and Moritz Seider terrorizing opposing forwards for years to come.
Bear’s season was cut short by injury this year, but it seems as though he should be fine for next season. He had 40 goals in 56 games, which would add another dynamic scoring winger to the fold for the Blue Jackets. They’ve got some really good options among the players they have to play down the wing, but Bear probably would have gone a bit higher had he not gotten hurt and the Jackets can get nice value here.
One of the biggest forwards in the draft, Vancouver could stand to add some bulk up front. Lakovic also happens to have enough skill to make a good number of plays and provide some power forward elements. I just don’t think the Canucks have a lot like him in their system, so he would add some variety.
The Habs haven’t taken a QMJHL player in the first round since 2011, but this could be a year to make the exception. Carbonneau is strong and he can score. He had 46 goals and 89 points. The Habs need to keep bulking up their forward group and Carbonneau is a guy who helps them do that. This is about the range he’s been projected to go, too.
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