NHL DRAFT RETURNS TO THE ‘CITY OF ANGELS’
The 2025 Upper Deck NHL Draft will return to Los Angeles for a second time when hockey’s top prospects descend on L.A. Live’s Peacock Theater starting with the opening round on June 27 at 7 p.m. ET (ESPN, ESPN+, Sportsnet, TVA Sports), followed by rounds two through seven on June 28 at 12 p.m. ET (NHL Network, ESPN+, Sportsnet, SN1).
* Top prospects will attend Peacock Theater and be joined by fans and media, while NHL Club executives, scouts and coaches will participate virtually. Peacock Theater opened in 2007 (the year most of this NHL Draft class was born). The 7,100-seat theater, centrally located within L.A. Live, has hosted many concerts, “American Idol” Finale shows and is home to the American Music Awards, ESPYs, Primetime Emmy Awards and BET Awards.
* This will mark the second time Los Angeles hosts an NHL Draft, after doing so at the Staples Center in 2010 when the “Taylor vs. Tyler” debate for the No. 1 pick was settled with Taylor Hall going first overall to the Oilers and Tyler Seguin selected second overall by the Bruins. The hometown Kings made five selections that day, most notably Ottawa 67s forward Tyler Toffoli (Round 2; 47th overall), who skated eight seasons with the franchise and helped them win the Stanley Cup as a rookie in 2014.
WITH THE FIRST-OVERALL PICK, THE ISLANDERS SELECT…
The Islanders own the first overall pick in the 2025 Upper Deck NHL Draft as a result of the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery on May 5, when they climbed from the No. 10 position to No. 1 by winning the first drawing. This will mark the fifth time the Islanders select first overall, after picking Billy Harris (1972), Denis Potvin (1973), Rick DiPietro (2000) and John Tavares (2009).
* The first two No. 1 picks by the Islanders came in consecutive years during the first two drafts in franchise history, and both had a significant impact on the team’s four consecutive championships. Harris (1972), the first draft selection ever by the club, recorded six 20-goal seasons for the franchise before he was traded to the Kings in the deal that sent playoff hero Butch Goring (one of the cornerstones of the team’s dynasty) to Long Island. One year after picking Harris, the Islanders selected Potvin (1973), an eventual franchise icon, four-time Stanley Cup champion and three-time Norris Trophy winner.
* The Islanders made Boston University standout DiPietro (2000) the second of three goaltenders in NHL history selected first overall, alongside Michel Plasse (1968 by MTL) and Marc-Andre Fleury (2003 by PIT). DiPietro played his entire 11-season career on Long Island.
* Tavares (2009) spent the first nine seasons of his NHL career with the Islanders, captained the team for five seasons (2013-14 to 2017-18) and in 2016 scored a double-overtime winner in Game 6 of the First Round to help the Islanders win a playoff series for the first time in 23 years (previous: 1993).
* The decision of who to call with New York’s next No. 1 selection will fall to first-year general manager Mathieu Darche, who was hired May 23 to replace Lou Lamoriello. Darche joins the Islanders after six seasons with Tampa Bay (including the past three as assistant GM), a span in which the Lightning twice eliminated the Islanders for a spot in the Final before winning back-to-back Cups.
* Despite never having his name called at an NHL Draft, Darche played for five teams over a nine-season NHL career. He now is set to become the second GM in 26 drafts – and 15th in League history – to select first overall in his first draft in that role. Legendary Islanders executive Bill Torrey also found himself in that position when he chose Harris at the draft in Montreal 53 years ago.
OTHER TEAMS WITH A TOP FIVE PICK LOOK TO ADD FUTURE STAR
The Sharks (No. 2), Blackhawks (No. 3), Mammoth (No. 4) and Predators (No. 5) are set to follow the Islanders in selecting among the top five on June 27.
* After selecting Macklin Celebrini first overall in 2024, the Sharks (No. 2) are set to make a top two selection in back-to-back drafts for the second time in franchise history – they picked Andrei Zyuzin in 1996 and Patrick Marleau in 1997, both second overall. Marleau went on to become the NHL’s all-time games played leader (1,779 GP), with 1,607 of those appearances coming with the Sharks where he holds franchise records for games played, goals (522) and points (1,111).
* San Jose’s first-ever selection in an NHL Draft was also taken second overall: they picked Pat Falloon in 1991. Falloon’s rookie season, which came in the franchise’s inaugural campaign (25-34—59 in 1991-92), stood as the most productive rookie season in franchise history for 33 years until Celebrini (25-38—63 in 70 GP) surpassed him in 2024-25.
* The Blackhawks (No. 3) will become the first team since the Oilers from 2010 to 2012 to make a top three selection in three consecutive years. Edmonton held the No. 1 pick in each of those drafts, choosing Taylor Hall (No. 1 in 2010), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (No. 1 in 2011) and Nail Yakupov (No. 1 in 2012).
* Chicago has struck gold with previous No. 3 selections, including Denis Savard in 1980 and Jonathan Toews in 2006. Savard, a Hall of Famer, owns the franchise record with five 100-point seasons and ranks fourth on Chicago’s all-time points list. Toews captained the Blackhawks for 15 seasons and led them to three Stanley Cup championships (2010, 2013 & 2015).
* The Mammoth (No. 4) hold a top five pick for the first time after they selected twice in the first round of their inaugural draft in 2024, choosing Tij Iginla (No. 6) and Cole Beaudoin (No. 24). The Predators (No. 5) have never picked fifth overall but have twice been among the top five, selecting David Legwand (No. 2 in 1998) and Seth Jones (No. 4 in 2013).
OHL COULD PRODUCE FIRST NO. 1 PICK IN A DECADE
Four of the top six ranked North American skaters for the 2025 Upper Deck NHL Draft played in the Ontario Hockey League in 2024-25, as the league looks to produce its first No. 1 selection since Connor McDavid in 2015.
* CLICK HERE for 100 NHL Draft Prospect Profiles including scouting reports
* The OHL/OHA has produced a record 20 first overall picks in the NHL Draft, followed by the QMJHL/QJHL (12), WHL/WCHL (9) and NCAA/U.S. College Hockey (4).
* Matthew Schaefer, the No. 1-ranked North American skater from the Erie Otters, missed most of the 2024-25 campaign after being sidelined by an injury sustained at the 2025 World Junior Championship. He can become just the fifth defenseman this quarter century to be chosen with the first overall pick, after Owen Power (2021 by BUF), Rasmus Dahlin (2018 by BUF), Aaron Ekblad (2014 by FLA) and Erik Johnson (2006 by STL). Ekblad is one of three OHL defensemen to go No. 1 in the NHL Draft.
* Michael Misa, the No. 2-ranked North American skater from the Saginaw Spirit, was granted exceptional player status to enter major junior hockey a year early (Connor McDavid, John Tavares and Aaron Ekblad are among other OHL players to receive the exception). He is coming off a season in which he won the OHL scoring race by a 10-point margin (62-72—134 in 65 GP), recording the league’s highest single-season point total since 2006-07 (Patrick Kane had 145 points that year, while Tavares ranked second with 134). Misa also helped Saginaw win the Memorial Cup in 2023-24 and served as Spirit captain in 2024-25.
HAGENS LATEST NCAA STAR AMONG TOP-RANKED IN DRAFT CLASS
James Hagens, a forward at Boston College, ranks third among North American skaters on NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings and could hear his name called early in Round 1. Hagens is a lifelong Islanders fan and native of Hauppauge, New York, less than 40 miles from UBS Arena.
* Hagens could join a short list of players born in New York state selected among the top five in the NHL Draft: Patrick Kane of Buffalo, N.Y. (No. 1 in 2007), Zach Bogosian of Massena, N.Y. (No. 3 in 2008), Jason Bonsignore of Rochester, N.Y. (No. 4 in 1994) and Tim Connolly of Syracuse, N.Y. (No. 5 in 1999). Among players who grew up on Long Island, West Islip’s Mike Komisarek (No. 7 in 2001) was selected the highest.
* Hagens concluded the 2024-25 season fourth in points among NCAA freshmen (11-26—37 in 37 GP) and third on Boston College in scoring behind teammates who had already been drafted and eventually made NHL debuts in 2024-25: Ryan Leonard (49 points; No. 8 in 2023 by WSH) and Gabriel Perreault (48 points; No. 23 in 2023 by NYR). He also won gold at the 2025 World Junior Championship and finished tied for the fourth-most goals in the tournament (5) and fourth on Team USA in points (9).
* Across the last 10 NHL Drafts (since 2015), there have been 11 U.S.-born players selected among the top-five picks, second among all nations to Canada (19). Five of the eleven were top-three selections: Auston Matthews (No. 1 in 2016), Jack Hughes (No. 1 in 2019), Jack Eichel (No. 2 in 2015), Matty Beniers (No. 2 in 2021) and Logan Cooley (No. 3 in 2022).
* Should Hagens be selected among the top-five picks, it would mark the first time in NHL Draft history that a top-five pick has come out of U.S. college hockey for three consecutive years: also 2024 (1st: Macklin Celebrini & 2nd: Artyom Levshunov) and 2023 (3rd: Adam Fantilli).
SWEDISH TEAMMATES TOP INTERNATIONAL RANKINGS
Sweden has been well represented in Round 1 of the NHL Draft, but a 13-year run with at least one first-rounder ended in 2024 when the earliest pick was Lucas Pettersson (35th overall). The wait isn’t expected to be long on June 27 as Anton Frondell and Victor Eklund, both Stockholm natives and teammates for Djurgarden in Sweden’s second division, held the top two spots, respectively, on NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings for international skaters.
* Playing as a 17-year-old in 2024-25, Frondell produced at a near point-per-game pace (11-14—25 in 29 GP) to finish with the second-most points ever recorded by a player age 17 or younger in Sweden’s second division (behind William Nylander in 2013-14). Eklund, the brother of Sharks forward William Eklund (No. 7 in 2021), tallied 19-12—31 in 42 games to finish with the most points in that league by a player age 18 or younger since 2016-17 (Elias Pettersson).
* Frondell and Eklund can become the 15th set of Swedish teammates to be taken in the first round of the NHL Draft, an achievement seen in three of the past four drafts: Otto Stenberg and David Edstrom of Frolunda Jr. (2023); Noah Ostlund and Liam Ohgren of Djurgarden Jr. (2022); as well as Jesper Wallstedt and Fabian Lysell of Lulea (2021). Of the 14 sets of Swedish teammates picked in the same first round at the NHL Draft, only six had their names called among the top 20.
* There has been at least one Swedish national picked among the top 10 in seven of the past nine drafts (from 2016 to 2024), including four years where two players from the country were picked in that range. Overall, there have been seven years in NHL Draft history with multiple Swedish nationals as top 10 picks: four in 2011, three in 2009, as well as two each in 2021, 2020, 2018, 2017 and 1999 (the latter being when Daniel and Henrik Sedin were selected second and third overall).
* If Victor’s name is called on June 27, the Eklunds will become the third Swedish brothers ever picked in Round 1 of the NHL Draft (based on nationality), following the Sedins (both 1999) as well as William and Alexander Nylander (2014 and 2016, respectively).
* The Sedins and Nylanders are among a group of 13 sets of brothers in NHL Draft history who have been selected among the top 10 picks. That list also includes Quinn, Jack and Luke Hughes; Matthew and Brady Tkachuk; Ryan and Dylan Strome; Griffin and Sam Reinhart; Luke and Brayden Schenn; as well as Eric and Jordan Staal.
* At least 20 Swedish-born players have been selected in each of the past nine drafts (2016 to 2024) – the only European nation ever to have a streak of that length. In fact, that has happened in 15 of the past 16 drafts dating to 2009 with the one exception in that span being 2015 when 19 were picked. There have been a total of 849 Swedish-born draft picks in NHL history, the most of any country outside North America.
WOMEN’S HOCKEY FAMILY MEMBERS LEAVE IMPRINT ON PROSPECTS
Three of the North American prospects ranked by NHL Central Scouting for the 2025 Upper Deck NHL Draft are sons of players with distinguished careers in women’s hockey. CLICK HERE for more family connections to this year’s prospects.
* Jake O’Brien of the Brantford Bulldogs is the No. 4-ranked North American skater by NHL Central Scouting. His mother, Amy Turek, was a women’s hockey star in the 90s playing Canadian university hockey at Wilfrid Laurier (where she served as team captain), for the Beatrice Aeros of the then National Women’s Hockey League and spent time on the Canadian National Team in both ice and in-line hockey. Turek has also run a summer hockey school, where Jake got an early start hitting the ice as young as three years old (despite six being the youngest age to officially participate). For more on their story see this feature from The Athletic.
* Cullen Potter, a forward at Arizona State University, is the No. 22-ranked North American skater by NHL Central Scouting. His mother, Jenny Potter, is a Team USA hockey legend who represented her country at many international tournaments including four Olympic Winter Games (gold in 1998) and 10 World Championships (gold in 2005, 2008, 2009 & 2011). She holds all time Team USA Olympic records for career points (32) and points in a single tournament (11 in 2010). For more on their story visit this article on NHL.com.
* Dakoda Rhéaume-Mullen, a defenseman from the University of Michigan, is the No. 68-ranked North American skater by NHL Central Scouting. His mother, Manon, is a women’s hockey goaltending legend who twice won gold for Canada at the World Championship (1992 & 1994) and helped her country earn silver at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games. Manon also appeared in a preseason game for the Lightning, becoming the first women’s player to participate in an NHL game, and played professionally in the IHL, ECHL and PCHL. She currently works in Hockey Operations with the Kings as a Prospect Advisor. For more on their story visit this article on LNH.com.
