5 questions entering NHL Central Scouting final meetings

TORONTO -- NHL scouts are expected to do plenty of cramming over the next few months compiling their wish list of prospects they hope are available in the 2025 Upper Deck NHL Draft at L.A. Live's Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on June 27-28.

NHL Central Scouting hopes to ease that process when the bureau conducts its meetings to determine the final rankings of the top North American skaters and goalies eligible for the 2025 draft beginning Wednesday.

Dan Marr, vice president of NHL Central Scouting, will chair the five-day meeting that will include the input of eight full-time scouts. Jukka-Pekka Vuorinen, NHL director of European Scouting, will provide and recommend to Marr the ranking of the top skaters and goalies on the International list.

"The challenging part of any final ranking meeting is reaching consensus to determine the order, particularly in the first round, which is based on our scouting history with the player, their development and NHL projection," Marr said. "The 2025 final ranking will have some significant moves from midseason, which is a direct result of many players continuing to advance their development over the course of the season, moving them ahead of some of the pre-established prospects.

"It's always quite impressive to watch the continued growth and development of Draft prospects over the course of a season. The 2025 draft class is deep throughout the first two rounds and includes a wide spectrum of talent for NHL clubs' consideration."

Here are five questions to consider entering NHL Central Scouting's final meetings:

Matthew Schaefer is expected to be No. 1 on Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters, but how wide is the margin between he and the next player chosen in the 2025 draft?

Schaefer (6-foot-2, 183 pounds), a defenseman with Erie of the Ontario Hockey League, has resumed skating without contact after he broke his collarbone at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship and had surgery Dec. 30. The 17-year-old is projected as a future star in the NHL because of his intelligence, work ethic and mobility on the transition unlike anything scouts have seen from the back end in quite some time. He had 22 points (seven goals, 15 assists) and was plus-21 in 17 games for Erie prior to the injury and was No. 1 on Central Scouting's midterm ranking of North American skaters.

Center James Hagens of Boston College in Hockey East, center Michael Misa of Saginaw (OHL) and right wing Porter Martone of Brampton (OHL) have attracted plenty of attention, but Schaefer remains the best player of this draft class despite the injury.

Will it be difficult to determine the No. 2 player on the North American list?

It could very well come down to a team need at this point in the draft. Hagens (5-10, 177), a left-handed shot, performed very well as a freshman. He's No. 2 on Central Scouting's midterm ranking and finished third on the Eagles with 37 points (11 goals, 26 assists) in 37 games.

Misa (6-1, 184), No. 3 on Central Scouting's midterm ranking of North American skaters, is the first player in Saginaw history to lead the Canadian Hockey League in regular season scoring (134 points; 62 goals, 72 assists), tying John Tavares (2006-07) for most points by an OHL under-18 aged player since 2000. The Spirit captain also had 21 power-play goals and four short-handed goals in 65 regular-season games.

Martone (6-3, 208), No. 4 on Central Scouting's midterm ranking of North American skaters, plays more of a power game and was tied for seventh in the OHL with 98 points (37 goals, 61 assists) in 57 regular-season games as Brampton captain. He set team records for assists and points in a season.

Is there a dark horse to keep an eye on down the stretch?

Cameron Reid (6-0, 193), a defenseman with Kitchener (OHL) is No. 27 on Central Scouting's midterm ranking of North American skaters. The 17-year-old had 54 points (14 goals, 40 assists), 25 power-play points (three goals, 22 assists) and three game-winning goals in 67 regular-season games. Reid has earned big minutes and can quarterback the power play. He's in his second OHL season and was voted to the 2023-24 OHL All-Rookie Team after he had 23 points (two goals, 21 assists) in 49 games.

Is there a high school players to watch for the 2025 draft?

The top scholastic hockey player on the board is junior right wing Mason West (6-6, 208) of Edina High School in Minnesota. The 17-year-old right-handed shot had 49 points (27 goals, 22 assists) and 11 power-play points (six goals, five assists) in 31 games. He has five assists in seven games for Fargo in the United States Hockey League.

West, No. 50 on Central Scouting's midterm ranking of North American skaters, had two goals in a 4-1 win against Wayzata in the Class AA, Section 6 championship at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis on Feb. 26. He had a goal and an assist in a 4-3 win against St. Thomas Academy in the Class AA third-place game at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, on March 8. West, also a standout quarterback for Edina in the fall, had 11 points (seven goals, four assists) and 24 shots on goal in six state playoff games. He told NHL.com that he will determine before June if he pursues hockey or football.

How strong are the goalies eligible for the 2025 draft?

Joshua Ravensbergen (6-5, 190) could be the first goalie chosen in the first round of the NHL Draft since 2021, when Sebastian Cossa went No. 15 to the Detroit Red Wings and the Minnesota Wild chose Jesper Wallstedt at No. 20.

Ravensbergen was 33-13-4 with a 3.00 goals-against average and .901 save percentage in 51 regular-season games for Prince George of the Western Hockey League this season. He's No. 1 in NHL Central Scouting's midterm list of North American goalies. The 18-year-old wasn't among 214 picks (24 goalies) in the 2021 WHL bantam draft but could be the first player at his position off the board in the 2025 draft.

Two others to watch are Aleksei Medvedev (6-2, 178) of London (OHL) and Pyotr Andreyanov (6-0, 207) of CSKA in Russia's minor league. Medvedev was 22-8-2 with a 2.79 GAA and .912 save percentage in 34 regular-season games. Andreyanov went 23-6-6 with a 1.75 GAA and .942 save percentage in 37 games.