5 Last-Minute Storylines to Watch at the 2025 NHL Draft

Even though roster moves and head coaching hires have already been made, the start of the NHL draft is the real official kickoff to the league's offseason. The first round begins on Friday night in Los Angeles, where defenseman Matthew Schaefer is expected to be the No. 1 overall pick by the New York Islanders.

But that won't be the only big storyline this weekend.

Let's take a look at five more potential headline-makers.

Does James Hagens Slide?

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When the 2024-25 season began, Boston College's James Hagens found himself at the top of most draft boards and was the early projected No. 1 overall pick in the class.

His stock has since fallen a little despite a strong season (37 points in 37 games), and there are even some rumblings he could have a longer-than-anticipated wait to hear his name called.

He's not going No. 1 overall, and he's not likely to go No. 2 (San Jose is expected to take forward Michael Misa).

But how far might he actually slip?

Is he still in the top three? Nashville at No. 5? Philadelphia at No. 6? If he slides far enough, could the Pittsburgh Penguins, with their fully stocked cupboard of draft picks (including No. 11 and 12 overall), make a big move to really jump-start their rebuild with a high-end, playmaking center? Somebody might get a steal.

How High Does Roger McQueen Go?

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The most intriguing prospect going into Friday might be Brandon Wheat Kings center Roger McQueen.

When it comes to his tools and talent level, he has everything a team would want in a draft pick and a center.

He's a right-handed shot, is 6'5", plays a powerful game, is strong defensively and has the speed and skill of a smaller player. When you put all of those tools and physical traits together, it screams "top-five pick."

The issue, however, is that he was limited to 17 games during the 2024-25 season due to a back injury that has caused concern for teams and robbed him of a year of development.

How high does he end up going after that?

The good news is that he had a really strong showing at the scouting combine and seems to have been given a medical green light. But his sample size of play this season is incredibly small, which does make him at least a silght risk. There is some serious boom-or-bust potential here.

It might be a great opportunity for one of the teams with multiple first-round draft picks (Nashville, Pittsburgh, Montreal, Chicago, Philadelphia, Calgary, Columbus) to roll the dice on a high-end player that they may not have otherwise selected.

Do We Get a Blockbuster Trade?

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The draft is not just about the young players getting selected. It is also about the trades that tend to happen around the event. We have already seen a couple of moves over the past two weeks, with Chris Kreider (New York Rangers to Anaheim), Trevor Zegras (Anaheim to Philadelphia), Evander Kane (Edmonton to Vancouver) and JJ Peterka (Buffalo to Utah) all already changing teams.

In terms of the names being moved, there are not many surprises there. A lot of them were expected to get traded at some point this offseason.

Will we see any other major blockbusters this weekend?

The Pittsburgh Penguins figure to be the biggest offseason sellers and have defenseman Erik Karlsson and forwards Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell to offer.

Dallas Stars forward Jason Robertson has been the subject of trade rumors, and it would be the very definition of a blockbuster if he were to get moved.

With the Islanders likely to select defenseman Matthew Schaefer first overall and having to deal with the restricted free agency of Noah Dobson (as well as the uncertainty around how good he really is and how much he is worth), a trade involving the latter could also be an option.

Then there is the question of draft-pick trades. Teams rarely move out of the top five or even the top 10, but with a draft class that lacks a lot of high-end depth at the top, it is worth wondering if that might entice more teams to try and move down or use picks as trade bait for more immediate NHL help.

Will the Columbus Blue Jackets Do Something Bold?

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The Columbus Blue Jackets are absolutely one of the biggest teams to watch this offseason, both at the draft and in the weeks and months that follow.

They took a huge step forward in their rebuild during 2024-25 and surprisingly flirted with a playoff spot. They have an impressive core of young talent just making its way into the NHL and starting to reach its prime.

They have more salary-cap space than all but one team (San Jose), with more than $40 million to spend this summer. Along with their impressive prospect pool, they also own two first-round picks (Nos. 14 and 20), which they seem more than willing to move.

They are not far from the playoffs and seem to have an urgency to get better. Rapidly. They are definitely a team to watch for a potential blockbuster move this summer, and perhaps as soon as this weekend with its draft pick capital.

How Much Will the Decentralized Draft Format Change Things?

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As long as we are on the subject of trades, we need to talk about the 2025 draft format and how it is very different from previous years.

It used to be that all of the teams' general managers, scouts and executives would all gather in one place on the floor and have the ability to get together and talk, negotiate and work out trade details in person.

That is not happening this season as the NHL has decentralized the draft format. All 32 teams will remain in their home cities, with only the prospects and the actual announcements taking place on the scene in Los Angeles.

What sort of impact will this have?

Will it make trades harder to make since general managers will not be able to just walk over to one another? It will certainly hurt the rumor game as media members will no longer be able to spy on the draft floor and identify which general managers are talking to one another.

It remains to be seen if this format will be a permanent thing, but it is at least getting a one-year trial, and nobody really knows what sort of impact that will have. If any.