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NHL Central Scouting Releases Preliminary Player Rankings for 2025 Draft

NHL Central Scouting released its first players to watch list for the 2025 NHL Draft.

Jacob Punturi

Feb 7, 2024; Plymouth, MI, USA; Finland's Petteri Rimpinen (1) reacts to a shot as Niilopekka Muhonen (6) defends against USA s James Hagens (10) during the second period of the 2024 U18 s Five Nations Tournament at USA Hockey Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Reginek-Imagn Images
Feb 7, 2024; Plymouth, MI, USA; Finland's Petteri Rimpinen (1) reacts to a shot as Niilopekka Muhonen (6) defends against USA s James Hagens (10) during the second period of the 2024 U18 s Five Nations Tournament at USA Hockey Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Reginek-Imagn Images / David Reginek-Imagn Images

The 2025 NHL Draft is already building buzz. While the 2024 class had tons of excitement behind it due to top choice Macklin Celebrini, next year's draft is a totally different beast. While there are top players that stand out, the real challenge will be separating the very best from a group of talented players.

NHL Central Scouting released their first players to watch list for 2025. The list features hundreds of players given a score based on where they are projected to be drafted. The top players receive an "A" rating, signifying a first-round projection, going all the way through a sixth and seventh-round projection.

One of the things that stood out about their list was the lack of international players given a first-round ranking. There were just four players currently playing outside of North America to receive an "A" rating, with a vast amount of them receiving a "B" rating or worse.

There were two players in particular that I've discussed before and am big fans of that I believe should have a first-round grade. The first is Czech forward Adam Benak. He is an undersized, point-collecting machine who had a fantastic showing at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. His size is the biggest drawback on his game, but how many times will NHL teams pass on a can't miss player due to being small?

The other is Swedish forward Jakob Ihs-Wozniak. He's got excellent size at 6'3 and pushing 200 pounds, but he's also an extremely underrated player who has excellent on-ice vision and has a toolkit that screams top-six forward in the NHL. I anticipate him rising up the rankings as the season progresses, but for now he joins Benak as being painfully under valued.

The season is still so new and fresh that these lists and rankings will vary greatly by season's end. That doesn't change the fact that the preliminary list from NHL Central Scouting left a lot to be desired.

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Jacob Punturi
JACOB PUNTURI

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