The Athletic's 1st Round Winners & Losers

[TBone]

Wheeler ranked the Islanders as Winner No.1 and the Bruins at 2. Then the Blues.

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Winners and losers from 2025 NHL Draft first round: Islanders get an impressive haul

By Scott Wheeler
June 27, 2025

LOS ANGELES — Welcome to my pick-by-pick breakdown of the 2025 NHL Draft’s first round.

Over the next two days, I’ll review and rank the draft classes of all 32 NHL teams. Today’s Round 1 analysis (which also includes a list of the top prospects available to start Round 2 tomorrow), will be followed on Day 2 by an exhaustive look at almost all of the 224 picks made across seven rounds, analyzing the complete hauls of each club.

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St. Louis Blues
Pick No. 19: Justin Carbonneau
My ranking: No. 12

Carbonneau was one of the top forwards in the QMJHL last year and his shot and hands both get among the highest grades in this class. He’s got one-on-one skill, an NHL shot and a strong pro build already. Some have minor concerns about his skating and consistency. Some think he comes across a little cocky and questioned him on his decision to switch agents right before the draft. I see a confident player who plays physical and plays through contact, and I saw him pull away enough this year and make enough progress over the last two years to believe he’s going to be just fine from a pace standpoint in the NHL. I think he’s got a real path to become a 30-goal scorer in the NHL.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/644976 ... rst-round/

[Frank Underwood]

Thanks TBone, you’re a stud for all the info you have been posting leading up to the draft and now the grades.