The brand-new Montreal Canadiens’ player, Noah Dobson, spoke to the media on Friday night for the first time since the trade was made and explained that it was a no-brainer for him to sign a long-term contract with the Habs, even though he hadn’t played for them yet. He called it an honour to have the opportunity to play for the best hockey market in the world and added he was excited to be joining a team with so many talented players on the roster.
The blueliner was impressed by what’s been accomplished in Montreal yet and the steps they’ve taken this year, which made it impossible for him not to be excited. He comes with a great attitude and a willingness to learn and improve his game, words that will likely be music to the ears of coach Martin St-Louis. The player praised the coach’s reputation and the team’s positive attitude, as well as the joy they experience coming to the rink and spending time together as a group.
In the last season, he said it was a tough one personally and for the New York Islanders, given their difficulties in producing offensively. Speaking of the Canadiens’ blueline, he said there were many good players back there, and it would be a question of seeing who the coaches felt would be the best fit. He hasn’t given thought to his likely partner yet.
About the pressure that comes in this market, he said it wouldn’t be any harder than the pressure he puts on himself every day to perform. He also added that Montreal has always been his favourite away game and that he’s looking forward to stepping on the ice wearing the Tricolore’s jersey.
Dobson explained that once his agents started talking with the Islanders’ organization, both parties were unable to find common ground, and they decided to look for a trade instead. he had nothing but good things to say about the Islanders’ organization. He added that he had a great time on Long Island and would miss it, as well as his teammates.
Finally, he called the last few days crazy, since he knew something was in the works. Things started picking up this morning, which was a brand-new situation for him, and he’s also getting married on Monday. He was informed about the trade by Isles’ GM Mathieu Darche, but was also contacted by Kent Hughes, Jeff Gorton, and St-Louis.
This trade is huge for the Canadiens, not only because of the kind of player they acquired on the ice, but also because Dobson wanted to come to Montreal. He chose to commit long-term to this town and market, despite the challenges and taxes. What that says to me is that the league is starting to notice what the Canadiens are building, and that players are willing to be on this organization.
Photo credit: Christopher Creveling-Imagn Images
Canadiens stories, analysis, breaking news, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News, never to miss a story.
After drafting top winger Porter Martone over center James Hagens at the top of the 2025 NHL Draft, the Philadelphia Flyers will have to wait a little longer to find the No. 1 center of their future.
In fact, the Flyers themselves even insisted they needed centers after electing to choose Martone over Hagens.
So, what compelled them to do that? The answer, according to Flyers GM Danny Briere, was as simple as Martone being the better, more impactful player.
"We said it all along, yeah, we would've preferred a center, but we felt we couldn't pass up on the chance to bring a difference-maker like Porter Martone to the team," Briere explained at the end of the first round of the NHL Draft.
The 18-year-old Martone, already a captain of Canada's U18s and his Brampton Steelheads, finished second only to Michael Misa in goals (37 to Misa's 62) and total scoring (98 points to Misa's 134) amongst draft-eligible forwards in the OHL this year.
Martone's future Flyers teammate and draft classmate, Jack Nesbitt, finished seventh in goals (25) amongst OHL draft-eligibles and sixth in points (64). That's to give an indication as to how good Martone really is at his age with his natural talents and leadership.
"If there's one thing I would say, it's, in this draft, in the first round, [Martone is] pretty close to being the most ready out of that group," Briere continued. "To be able to select him at six, I don't want to say steal, but we had him higher on our board.
"We felt if Porter was there at six, even though he wasn't a center, that it would be really tough to go by him. . . Porter, in that range, was the one guy we felt we just couldn't let go by."
So, that's the story of how Porter Martone overtook James Hagens and ended up on the Flyers by the end of Friday night.
Briere knows how many right wings the Flyers have just as much as you and I, which should illustrate just how highly this team and these scouts valued this player.
It should be noted that Martone is an Oct. 26 birthday, too, which means he'll be 19 years old fairly early into the 2025-26 season.
Martone aspires to make the team out of camp, while Briere, cautiously, wouldn't completely rule out the possibility of his newest top draft pick playing NHL games at some point.
After all, a barely 18-year-old Jett Luchanko played four NHL games at the start of last season.
So, by that logic, Martone is closer to the big leagues than we think both from a time perspective and from a skill perspective. Come this time next year, would there be any value in him playing nearly a full OHL season as a 20-year-old? Probably not.
This is a rare occasion where an early birthday and talent intersect to a team's advantage as the Flyers gear up to take the next step in their rebuild.
If someone told you a year ago today that the Boston Bruins were going to select Boston College center James Hagens in the 2025 NHL Draft, it would have been easy to assume that the B’s had the No. 1 pick.
But the Bruins were lucky enough to land the Eagles star with the No. 7 overall pick in the first round of Friday’s draft in Los Angeles.
Hagens tallied 37 points (11 goals, 26 assists) in 37 games for BC last season. Even though a point-per-game scoring rate as an 18-year-old in Hockey East is pretty impressive, Hagens didn’t dominate at the level of other recent high draft picks from college, including 2024 No. 1 pick Macklin Celebrini. Hagens’ lack of size at 5-foot-11 also might have factored into his draft slide.
But there’s no doubting his offensive talents. Hagens is an elite playmaker, an excellent skater and an underrated goal scorer. He’s been a first-line player at every level he’s played, and he certainly has the potential to fill that role at the NHL level someday.
“You look back at James’ track record, he’s been a prolific point producer,” Bruins general manager Don Sweeney told reporters Friday night.
What did the experts think of the Bruins taking Hagens at No. 7 overall? Here’s a roundup of grades.
“The Bruins had a clear need for high-end talent in their farm system and a pressing need for top center talent. In Hagens, they address both. He’s an electric skater, puck handler and passer. He becomes the clear top young talent in their organization, and despite how he’s been picked apart at times for his size and physicality, he projects as a potential top-line forward.” — Corey Pronman
“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.” — Mary Clarke
“This is a huge win for the Boston Bruins who, let’s face it, have not done a great job drafting in recent years. The Bruins are also in the middle of a rebuild (retool, whatever you want to call it), and having a brilliant facilitator like Hagens as a piece of that is a big step forward. You can trust him anywhere on the ice. Boston needs that.
“Although Porter Martone’s potential and high ceiling got him our third spot over Hagens, I feel more confident that Hagens will reach his ceiling. He was the consensus No. 1 last summer, but being No. 4 on our board is not a slight on him, just commentary on how much impressive work we’ve seen from the three players ahead of him this season. He’s going to be an excellent player with development and time.” — Hannah Stuart
Henry Brzustewicz, left, stands with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman after being selected by the Kings at No. 31 overall in the NHL draft at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles on Friday. (Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)
For Ken Holland, the Kings’ decidedly old-school general manager, new isn’t necessarily better. Take the NHL draft, for example.
Holland presided over more than a quarter-century of drafts with the Detroit Red Wings and Edmonton Oilers, and they were generally held in one place, with everyone from the executives doing the drafting to the players being drafted on site.
On Friday, for the first time in a non-pandemic environment, the draft was conducted semi-remotely, with the top 93 draft-eligible players and their families filling some of the seats in the half-empty Peacock Theater in Los Angeles while team representatives made their selections from their home markets.
And whatever the league was attempting to accomplish with the decentralized format, other than saving on travel, it didn’t work.
After each pick was announced on a giant video board that took up two-thirds of the theater’s massive stage, players made their way up the aisle to be greeted by Commissioner Gary Bettman. They then pulled on a team jersey and hat before being led into the "Draft House" — a small virtual reality room in the center of the stage — for what amounted to a congratulatory Zoom call with the club’s brass.
The Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles hosts the NHL draft. (Juan Ocampo / NHLI via Getty Images)
The young men were celebrating the biggest moment of their lives yet they came off like Dorothy speaking to the Wizard of Oz. Much of it was awkward, especially when James Hagens, the eighth selection, was left waving at Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney after the audio in the Bruins’ war room in Boston went mute. That was just one of multiple technical glitches that included echoes and timing delays that left players and executives talking over one another.
When it became obvious the painfully slow-paced event would plod past 4½ hours, the Draft House was closed to some teams.
Brady Martin, the fifth pick, didn’t even bother to come to L.A. So when Nashville announced his selection — via a celebrity video taped at a golf course — the NHL showed a video of Martin working on his family’s farm. Russian goaltender Pyotr Andreyanov wouldn’t even get that treatment. When he was announced as the 20th overall pick, the NHL had nothing to show, making Andreyanov the first no-show of the no-show draft.
Matthew Schaefer, a 17-year-old defenseman from Hamilton, Canada,, who was taken with the No. 1 pick by the New York Islanders, said being part of video draft did not spoil his big day.
Matthew Schaefer stands between Michael Misa, left, and Anton Frondell after being selected 1-2-3, respectively, in the NHL draft at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Friday. (Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
“I'm just honored to be picked,” said Schaefer who cried, alongside his dad and brother, when his name was called. “I dreamt about it my whole life. It’s such an honor. Especially the first pick overall.”
For Holland, however, none of that counts as progress.
“I’m old and I’m old fashioned. So I like the old way,” said the Kings general manager, whose view was shared by other GMs around the league. “You draft some player in the sixth round and all of a sudden you hear ‘yay!’ way up in the corner. It’s him, it’s his family, and they’re all excited to hear [his] name announced by an NHL team.
“This weekend, to me, is about the young players.”
Aside from the technical difficulties, the actual draft went largely to form. The Ducks, as expected, took Roger McQueen, an 18-year-old forward from Saskatchewan, with their top pick, the 10th overall selection. The Kings, meanwhile, traded their first pick, No. 24 overall, to the Pittsburgh Penguins. After moving down seven spots they took right-handed-shooting defenseman Henry Brzustewicz, 18, a Minnesota native, with the penultimate pick of the first day.
Round two through seven of the draft will be conducted Saturday.
Roger McQueen, second from right, poses for photos with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, right, and actors Joshua Jackson, left, and Marguerite Moreau, second from left, after being drafted by the Ducks at No. 10 overall. (Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)
The Ducks, who had a top-10 pick for a seventh straight year, see the 6-foot-5 McQueen as a raw talent who can develop into a top-line center.
“He has a big body. But what goes along with that is his skill and skating ability,” said general manager Pat Verbeek, whose team has 10 picks this weekend.
For the Kings, this draft was the first public move in what could be an intense couple of weeks. Defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov and winger Andrei Kuzmenko are unrestricted free agents and the team would like to re-sign both before they hit the open market Tuesday.
“If we re-sign Gavrikov, there’s not going to be a ton of change,” Holland said. “If we don’t, then there’s going to be change.”
Gavrikov, 29, emerged as a solid presence on the blue line, playing a career-high 82 games and posting the best goals-against average of the 17 defensemen to play at least 1,500 minutes. Former Kings GM Rob Blake made Gavrikov a contract offer last March, said Holland, who has since sweetened the deal twice. Replacing him, the GM said, could require a couple of signings.
Kuzmenko, 29, reenergized the offense after coming over from Philadelphia at the trade deadline, with the Kings going 17-5 and averaging nearly four goals a game down the stretch.
Kings fans cheer after Henry Brzustewicz is drafted by the team at No. 31 overall. (Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)
“We like Kuzmenko. Kuzmenko likes it here; he likes his role,” Holland said. “I’m talking to him. I talked two, three, four times this week with his agent. So we’ll see.”
Signing both players would put a big dent in the Kings’ $21.7 million in salary-cap space.
“We have a lot of cap space but it doesn’t take much and it’s gone,” Holland said. “We’ve got to figure out how we want to spend our money and they need to figure out how much money they can get.”
Aside from Gavrikov and Kuzmenko, the Kings don’t have many loose ends to tie up. The team is confident it can get forward Alex Laferriere, a restricted free agent, to agree to a short-term deal and it has to decide whether to re-sign David Rittich, an unrestricted free agent, as the backup to starting goalkeeper Darcy Kuemper.
Two players who could be moving on are forward Tanner Jeannot and defenseman Jordan Spence, both of whom are looking for more ice time and may have to leave to get it.
ST.
LOUIS – The St. Louis Blues were left out of the Friday trades in
the NHL but added what they hope is their next version of a pure goal
scorer.
The
Blues selected right wing Justin Carbonneau with the No. 19 pick of
the 2025 NHL Draft on Friday in Los Angeles, hoping they will one day
in the not-too-distant future have a quality franchise-grown player
become the next Blues great.
Carbonneau,
18, is 6-foot-2, 205 pounds who had 89 points (46 goals, 43 assists)
in 62 games for Blainville-Boisbriand Armada of the Quebec Maritimes
Junior Hockey League. His 89 points were second in the league.
Carbonneau
scored 77 goals the past two seasons and had 148 points in 130 games.
“I’m
not a big crying guy, but all the emotions that went through my head
when I heard my name, I thought about my parents, my brother,
everybody that was here with me,” Carbonneau said. “My guys, my
teammates in Blainville. I’m grateful to have them here every
single day. They shoot me some texts about the draft and can’t wait
to just call them and meet my family too. I cried a bit thinking
about all that, but right now, it’s just pure happiness.
“It’s
cool to be drafted and it’s a great opportunity, but to be honest,
I didn’t really cry because of the rank or whatever. I think the
team first of all, it’s incredible to be in St. Louis. Second of
all, I talked about it, but to see my family like this, also proud
because they have done so much for me over the last few years. They
got early at the rink and sometimes you don’t listen to them when
you’re younger after a game and all that. They helped me a lot
along the way. Their thing is just my teammates in Blainville, it’s
cliché to say things about my teammates, but I would not be here
without them today. They help me every single day to be a better
teammate, a better player, a better scorer, better leader every
single day. There’s different guys being there that help me be the
player and the person I am today for the last three years. When I got
drafted, it made me think about that. Some good flashbacks. It was
emotional, but it was pretty good.”
Carbonneau
is a shooter and stick handler, and doesn’t shy away from doing the
things that have netted him 77 goals at the junior level the past two
seasons.
“I
destroyed my whole house when I was younger shooting pucks,”
Carbonneau said. “I was walking with some roller blades all day
since I was like five years old. My floors, I had to change it too.
It’s been something I’ve been working on since I was young, just
shooting the puck, walking around with some roller blades, all those
things. I think my skills came from a long time ago, but I still work
on them every single day.”
And
this is why the Blues had Carbonneau ranked high on their draft
board.
“He's
a goal scorer,” Blues
general manager Doug Armstrong said.
“He's someone that enjoys the fruits of his labors of scoring
goals, someone I think in a league that is going toward goal-scoring,
he brings us another element when you stack that on some of the guys
that we have right now. He's a good complement with [Jimmy]
Snuggerud,
[Jordan]
Kyrou
and [Zack]
Bolduc,
‘Buch’ and ‘Holly’ who can score goals. You add another
player to that.
“Our
goal is to be a three-line scoring team and this gives us an
opportunity. Now saying that, I don't expect him to be filling the
net with regularity for a few years, so guys will mature out and do
other things. It just gives us another option in another area that's
hard to do.”
Carbonneau
said he fits in the mold of an Adrian Kempe of the Los Angeles Kings
and Travis Konecny of the Philadelphia Flyers, guys that like to play
between the dots and play physical to get there. Carbonneau has some
football background in his profile.
“I
think his size, speed and shot,” Carbonneau said of Kempe. “I
think I bring that, and Konecny, his mindset. I’m not scared of
anyone. I score goals in the paint and dirty areas. He’s 5-8 or
5-10, and he shoots the puck and he goes to the net and doesn’t
care about getting hit or slashed or whatever. It’s always his
mentality, something I want to bring too.
“I
wouldn’t call it maybe a career, but I just play football. I used
to play running back. I stopped a few years ago, but I just like the
contact, like on the ice a little bit. I like to get hit, I like to
throw some hits. It’s a part of my game. I play inside (the) dots,
I don’t play outside. Yes, I score goals and I make plays
offensively, but I do it the right way. I do it strong on my stick
and I can relate to my running back when I played. I had some fun
playing football.”
Playing
strong-minded and a between-the-dots player has always been in
Carbonneau’s DNA.
“I
think that I always had it in me. I play with a lot of fire,” he
said. “I’m not really scared of anyone. I know that the 6-8 guys
are stronger probably than me and bigger, but I’m going to still
try, I think I always had that in me. Goals are scored in those
areas. Outside dots, yes, you can score some goals, but you’re not
going to score 50 goals from outside the dots, you’re going to
score inside the dots. You have to find ways to get there and I use
my body and my speed to get there. It’s important if you want to
score goals like a goal-scorer like me.”
Armstrong
said that the Blues considered moving up as well as moving back in
the draft, especially if Carbonneau was off the board as the last
player the Blues had in their block of players they had considered
where they picked.
“The
top 10 went, not in the exact order we had them, but the spray
started after 10,” Armstrong
said.
“I think the mock drafts had him somewhere (Nos.) 14-18, so we
thought that he would be a little bit of a stretch but he might get
to us.
“I
think it was a difficult year to move up because we didn't have a
second, third or fourth. We don't have a second next year because we
had to trade it to get a second this year, so the game plays on. If
we were going to move up, we were going to have to use our pick, plus
someone that we've drafted that we've already put money into develop
and it would've had to take us to a different block. We didn't see
that. We did talk to a couple of teams that if a player in our block
wasn't there, and ‘Carbo’ was the last player in our block, if he
wasn't there, we would've considered moving back, but only a couple
of slots. When you're looking at 19, we wouldn't
have gone to 27 or 28. We might've been able to go to 22 or 23, and
acquire a late second or a third and cross your fingers that you
don't lose three guys in five picks. We didn't have to do that
because at 19, there was a player that we were excited about in our
block.”
Carbonneau
had met with the Blues prior to the draft at the combine, feeling it
would be a good spot for him to land but also open to wherever he
went and whoever took him.
“I
spoke with the Blues this year,” he
said.
“I spoke with the mental coach a few hours this year to kind of get
with my mindset and all that, and at the combine, I had a good
meeting with them too. Some good talks and good people in St. Louis.
It’s going to be fun to meet them the next few days.”
Carbonneau
will be in St. Louis beginning Monday for a four-day developmental
camp, then the two sides will decide on where he will play next
season. His choices are Boston College or back in junior.
“We've
always tried to listen to the player and tell him that we're in this
for the marathon and what does he think is best for him -- how is he
going to mature,” Armstrong
said.
“I've never in my experience as a manager asked a team to trade a
player or told a player where to go because if it doesn't work out,
he puts it on your plate. These guys, they're young men, 18-19 years
old. They have to do what they think is right for them. We know that
he wants to be an NHL hockey player, there are different avenues to
do it, and we're going to support whatever he does. Like we did with
‘Snuggy,’ we wanted ‘Snuggy’ to turn pro -- he knew that, we
knew that. He wanted to go back and as soon as he said he was going
back, our attention turned to him having the best year he could have
at Minnesota and I think it worked out. We gained his trust by not
trying to strong-arm him and he rewarded us with a great season at
Minnesota, turning pro and being ready. So what we try and do is work
with them, but allow them to make their own decisions.”
Carbonneau
said he’s open-minded.
“That’s
one of the topics to talk with the Blues,” he said. “It’s
Boston College, great option for me next year to develop with older
guys and all that. Or Blainville. But my goal is to bring a Stanley
Cup. Maybe not next year, but I’ll get there. When you have the
mindset and you’re willing to do it, I’m not worried about it. If
I play in Blainville, same thing. Winning a Cup with a championship
team. Two good options, but some talks that I’m going to do with
St. Louis and decide in the next few days.”
After a long night of anticipation, the Pittsburgh Penguins made what is presumed to be their final draft selection in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft.
With the 24th overall pick, the Penguins selected center Will Horcoff out of the University of Michigan.
Horcoff, 18, recorded four goals and 10 points in 18 games with Michigan last season. The 6-foot-5, 203-pound centerman may not be known for his footspeed, but he plays a physical, straightforward game, and he has a shot that could play at the NHL level.
Horcoff's father, Shawn, played parts of 15 seasons in the NHL for the Edmonton Oilers, Dallas Stars, and Anaheim Ducks from 2000-16. Drafted in the fourth round (99th overall) by the Oilers in 1998, Shawn registered 186 goals and 511 points in 1,008 NHL games.
Dubas and the Penguins - after their trade earlier in the draft that sent the 12th overall pick from the New York Rangers to the Philadelphia Flyers for picks 22 and 31 - traded up to 24 for Horcoff. While he wasn't rated super high on draft boards, the Penguins clearly valued center depth.
Overall, I like this selection. The Penguins got size and upside with this pick, which never hurts.
On Saturday, Day 2 of the 2025 NHL Draft will begin at noon ET and feature Rounds 2-7. The New Jersey Devils have seven selections, including two in the second round. Below are all the picks the club will begin the day with. Round 250th overall 63rd overall (from Edmonton Oilers via Utah Mammoth)
Round 390th overall (from Vegas Golden Knights)
Round 4
99th overall (from Nashville Predators)114th overall Round 6161st overall (from San Jose Sharks)178th overall
**The Devils did not have a first-round selection as their 2025 pick was traded to the Calgary Flames as part of last season’s Jacob Markstrom trade.
It is worth noting that Day 2 of the 2024 NHL Draft proved to be a busy one for the Devils. It was on that day the club acquired forward Paul Cotter from the Vegas Golden Knights and sent defenseman John Marino to the Utah Mammoth with a fifth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft for a second-round pick in 2024 and a second-round pick in 2025.
After a disappointing playoff exit in a Round 1 series against the Carolina Hurricanes, changes are expected. Thus far, general manager Tom Fitzgerald signed forward Juho Lammikko to a one-year, one-way contract worth $800,000 and traded veteran Erik Haula to the Nashville Predators for Jeremy Hanzel and a fourth-round pick in 2025 NHL Draft.
With regards to Devils restricted free agent (RFA) Cody Glass, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman provided an update on the 26-year-old center.
"New Jersey indicated that they weren't going to qualify him," Friedman said on 32 Thoughts: The Podcast. "I think their goal was to sign him to a smaller deal that wasn't as high as an arbitration number or qualifying number. I have heard there is a lot of interest in Glass, a right-shot center. Obviously, he is not going to break the bank or anything like that, but I heard it is going to be hard for the Devils to be able to do that."
Glass is one of three RFAs joining defenseman Luke Hughes and forward Nolan Foote. The list of unrestricted free agents (UFAS) include Nathan Bastian, Justin Dowling, Curtis Lazar, Daniel Sprong, Brian Dumoulin, and Jake Allen.
Make sure you bookmark THN's New Jersey Devils site for THN's latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.
The Washington Capitals have selected Lynden Lakovic 18th overall in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. The 18-year-old was the eighth WHLer selected and the sixth forward drafted. Listed at 6'4", 190 lbs, Lakovic showed major improvement in his game and has rounded out a lot of his skills.
Although Lakovic missed a chunk of the year due to inury, the career Warrior showed off a 19-point increase in points from the 2023-24 season, despite playing 21 fewer games. The Kelowna product could have a future as a middle-to-top six role in the NHL.
Make sure you bookmark THN's WHL site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.
With their third and final pick of the first round of the NHL Draft, the Nashville Predators selected Madison Capitols forward Ryker Lee with the 26th overall pick.
A 6-foot, 170-pound winger, he scored 68 points in 58 games with Madison in the United States Hockey League, which was ranked fourth in the league and was USHL Rookie of the Year. He is from Wilmette, Illinois.
Lee is committed to play for Michigan State in the fall.
A college season will for sure help Lee in his development as a productive winger. Considering the success he had in the USHL, the NCAA is the next step and that will give Nashville a better gage as to where Lee's development is.
While Brady Martin, the fifth overall pick, is a strong center, Lee gives a scoring edge that shows promise for Nashville's future.
The Predators traded the 23rd overall pick and the 67th overall pick to the Ottawa Senators for the 21st overall pick. They used the move-up the board to select defenseman Cameron Reid from the Kitchener Rangers (OHL).
He led OHL defenseman under the age of 17 in points per game, scoring 54 points in 67 games and 40 penalty minutes. Reid has a 6-foot, 193-pound build, really fitting into Nashville's traditional defenseman image.
He is from Aylmer, Ontario.
In his highlights, Reid is a player who is not easily pushed off the puck and is a playmaker. Forty of his 54 points this past season came off assists. This is a strong pick, aligning with Nashville's team identity and laying the groundwork for the future.
In his second season with the Soo Greyhounds in the OHL, Martin scored 72 points in 57 games and had a plus/minus of 25. He also logged 68 penalty minutes.
The Elmira, Ontario, native also represented Canada at the 2025 IIHF U-18 World Championship, scoring 11 points in seven games and winning a gold medal.
Martin was not in attendance at the NHL Draft as he was working on his family's farm.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have officially made their second of three first-round selections in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft.
With the 22nd overall selection, the Penguins selected forward Bill Zonnon out of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies of the QMJHL.
At 6-foot-2, 190 pounds, Zonnon has some qualities of a future power forward, as his strong puck skills, versatility, speed, and hockey sense, and physicality are all trademarks of his game. He registered 28 goals and 83 points in 64 games with the Huskies last season, and his production - as well as his offensive game as a whole - keeps getting better and better.
Next up, the Penguins will select 24th overall, as they traded the 31st and 59th overall picks acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers earlier in the draft to the Los Angeles Kings.
Bill Zito did not win the 2025 Jim Gregory NHL General Manager of the Year Award.
For the second year in a row, the Zito-constructed Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup.
And for the third year in a row, Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill won the Jim Gregory NHL GM of the Year Award.
Now, Zito will be the first person to tell you that the only thing that matters is winning the Stanley Cup.
He’ll now have his name engraved on Lord Stanley’s Cup a second time, and looking at the team he’s built, there’s no reason to think it won’t continue to happen.
The way that Zito has constructed the Panthers has been amazing to witness.
It hasn’t just been about adding the most talented players.
Sure, many the guys he’s acquired and signed have blossomed into the best versions of themselves while playing in South Florida, but that has had as much to do with their skills as it does their willingness to put in the work.
Character and skill hold equal value when it comes to playing for Zito’s Panthers, and the results speak for themselves.
Not only that, but Zito has also taken those players and signed many of them to long-term, team-friendly deals.
They want to play for the Panthers, and they’re willing to take less money in order for the team to be better.
It’s an incredible situation that has been cultivated in South Florida, and Zito is at the head of it.
So yeah, it’s a little annoying that while Zito has been a finalist for the Jim Gregory GM of the Year award in three straight years and in four of his five at the helm of the Panthers, he’s still yet to win one.
To be fair, the frustration is dulled a bit by those aforementioned Stanley Cups.
The Nashville Predators make a slight jump up the board, trading their 23rd overall pick and 67th overall pick to the Ottawa Senators for the 21st overall pick.
Moving up the board, the Predators selected defenseman Cameron Reid from the Kitchener Rangers (OHL).
He led OHL defenseman under the age of 17 in points per game, scoring 54 points in 67 games and 40 penalty minutes. Reid has a 6-foot, 193-pound build, really fitting into Nashville's traditional defenseman image.
He is from Aylmer, Ontario.
In his highlights, Reid is a player who is not easily pushed off the puck and is a playmaker. Forty of his 54 points this past season came off assists. This is a strong pick, aligning with Nashville's team identity and laying the groundwork for the future.
A responsible two-way defender who is already demonstrating tremendous poise as an #NHLDraft prospect for the @OHLRangers, Cameron Reid has a high ceiling on the blueline 🎥 pic.twitter.com/g1kUkaF5HX
In his second season with the Soo Greyhounds in the OHL, Martin scored 72 points in 57 games and had a plus/minus of 25. He also logged 68 penalty minutes.
The Elmira, Ontario, native also represented Canada at the 2025 IIHF U-18 World Championship, scoring 11 points in seven games and winning a gold medal.
Martin was not in attendance at the NHL Draft as he was working on his family's farm.
Nashville will select 26th overall to close out the first round of the NHL Draft.
The Chicago Blackhawks selected Anton Frondell with the third overall pick. The Swedish forward was the highest-rated international prospect coming in.
Part of his media tour following his selection was a Zoom with the media in Chicago. He immediately made it known that he was ecstatic to join an organization like the Blackhawks at this time.
"It's an amazing feeling," Frondell said. "I'm still shocked. It was a blackout when I heard my name."
He had to know that his name was going to be called relatively early in the draft, but it never seems to be real until you hear it out loud. Frondell appears to be incredibly grateful to be in the position that he's in.
The 2025 NHL Draft is not seen as one that is producing a day one NHL star, as we've seen in previous years, but a handful of guys may make a push during training camp and the preseason.
"That's my dream," Frondell said of playing for the Blackhawks in 2025-26. "That's what I'm doing this every day for." He admitted that if he's not good enough, he will go back to Djurgarden.
Frondell would have to dominate to make the team out of camp, but we've seen it done before. It isn't like the Blackhawks don't have spots to compete for at this stage of the rebuild.
The hype around Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar as offensive leaders going forward is well documented. However, they are both smaller, shifty players who are solely focused on creating offense. Frondell, according to himself (and the eye test), is a bit different.
“I compare myself to [Aleksander] Barkov in Florida,” Frondell said when asked about his game.
That's a lofty expectation to place on yourself, but it's a good attitude to have. That is certainly a good player to model your game after, as Barkov plays the game the right way in all three zones. He is one of the greatest two-way players in the history of the sport.
Is Frondell going to win the Selke Trophy three times? Is he going to win the Stanley Cup in back-to-back years with a Final runner-up appearance before that? That is unlikely.
However, building a reputation as a high-end two-way center is possible. If he's in the conversation for the Selke Trophy and helps the Blackhawks make deep playoff runs by being a perfect fit with the other young players, it will be a home run pick. Even if he's just a solid forward for the Blackhawks during a winning stretch, it will still go down as a solid selection.
Frondell is a highly motivated kid with a high-effort motor, offensive skills, and a winning attitude. He will work well with all of the youth that the Blackhawks have been putting together throughout their rebuild.
Whether this Barkov expectation is realistic or not, it is good to know that he has confidence in his game as he attempts to become an NHL star.
The New York Rangers may not have a first-round selection in the 2025 NHL Draft, but their presence has still been felt.
Matthew Schaefer, the New York Islanders’ first overall pick, was asked which team he’s most looking forward to playing against in the NHL.
It’s safe to say Schaefer is already embracing the Rangers-Islanders rivalry.
“I'm saying Rangers. I heard there's a big rivalry,” Schaefer said. “I want to play against the Rangers, and I want to beat them every time we play them.”
The Rangers hold eight picks through the 2-7 rounds on Saturday.
New NHL Draft, Transactions, and Crowned cards are now live in NHL 25.
The six new master set players this week are 96 overall Radim Mrtka, Caleb Desnoyers, Jackson Smith, Jake O'Brien, Roger McQueen, and Anton Frondell.
Each master set costs three 93+ NHL Draft cards and any two 93+ cards.
A 93+ NHL Draft card costs three 91+ NHL draft players, a 91+ card costs any three 89+ cards.
There are also NHL Draft Collectible sets where players can trade in 30 event collectibles for a 95 BND Draft Player, a 93 UT players, a tradeable 91 player, or players can trade 40 collectibles for 4x 89+ players.
Other elite cards that were added include 96 overall Evander Kane and Marie-Philip Poulin, 95 overall Jamie Benn, J.J. Peterka, Reilly Smith, Kashawn Aitcheson, Braedon Cootes, Sarah Fillier, Ann-Renee Desbiens, and Renata Fast.
There is a 96 overall Louis-Antoine Denault card available for purchase in the HUT Store.
