Vashek Blanar, Fourth Round (100th Overall)
Position: Defense
Height/Weight: 6 feet, 4 inches / 183 pounds
Shoots: Left
Birthday: April 22, 2007 (18 years old)
Birthplace/Home Country: Vail, Colorado / Colorado
Central Scouting Rank: N/A
Last Team: IF Troja-Ljungby J18 (Sweden)
2024-25 Stats: 6 goals, 15 assists, 21 points in 38 games
Expected 2025-26 Team: HV71 J20 (Sweden)
The Scouting Report:
Sweeney on Blanar’s progression: “It’s just a testament to the scouts traveling everywhere and anywhere. He himself has gone from the Czech Republic to play in Sweden. You might find a young man that in this case is pretty raw. He’s in a bit of an underdeveloped frame right now, great skater, wants to compete, maybe trying to do too much at times…there’s a piece of clay there that you want to get a hold of and see if you can start to mold and stretch and get him to understand the attributes you have because those are really attractive and you can start to build in other things. But a unique young man.”
Nadeau on the process of scouting Blanar: “He played as a Czech kid going over to Sweden, the team he went to he actually played down in the J18 for the majority of the time so a little bit of a harder kid to see. That one took a little bit longer in terms of an identification standpoint. Later in the year, we had a more targeted views to make sure we’re seeing him. But the proliferation of video stuff now is huge. We can go back if our local guys have really identified someone, we can watch on video. We can do some other stuff to make sure guys are on our team who haven’t seen him live can fill in the void, so to speak, with some video views.”
Cole Chandler, Fifth Round (133rd Overall)
Position: Center
Height/Weight: 6 feet, 2 inches / 176 pounds
Shoots: Left
Birthday: May 1, 2007 (18 years old)
Birthplace: Bedford, Nova Scotia
Central Scouting Rank: 172nd Ranked North American Skater
Last Team: Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL)
2024-25 Stats: 13 goals, 19 assists, 32 points in 64 games
Expected 2025-26 Team: Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL)
The Scouting Report:
Sweeney on Chandler playing well in big games: “Al Bissonette, our Quebec scout…we follow the kids all year long, we’re not just waiting on the first part of the season. In his case, he was coming off injury and had been sick the summer before, getting his feet back under him, feeling better, probably trying to put on some weight, feeling more comfortable as the season went along, feeling more comfortable in the league, with his own team – and that was noted. Guys now going back in as our area guys do, draw the crossover guys back in to identity a player playing better as the season goes along is usually an indicator that his competitive level is going up as the games get more important.”
Nadeau on what the scouting staff liked about Chandler: “His growth in his game, he plays a little bit more of a traditional two-way game. The offensive part has been there. He didn’t have huge numbers this year, it’s not like he was scoring 50 goals. But he’s a kid who is counted on in some key times and has been able to impact 200 feet of the rink. A player that we really like that part of his game.”
Chandler on his style of play: “I’m a big player, big forward that can make plays and shoot the puck but a guy that’s gonna bring a lot to the room and the atmosphere there. I love making friends with all the guys on the team. I’m a big team guy…overall, a big power forward that can make plays and find the net as well.”
Kirill Yemelyanov, Sixth Round (165th Overall)
Position: Center
Height/Weight: 6 feet / 170 pounds
Shoots: Left
Birthday: January 8, 2007 (18 years old)
Birthplace: Irkutsk, Russia
Central Scouting Rank: 31st Ranked International Skater
Last Team: Loko Yaroslavl (Russia)
2024-25 Stats: 13 goals, 11 assists, 24 points in 38 games
Expected 2025-26 Team: Loko Yaroslavl (Russia)
The Scouting Report
Nadeau on what stood out about Yemelyanov’s skillset: “He’s actually a player that our Russian scout [Arseniy Bondarev] had seen quite a bit, it’s in his hometown in Yaroslava. We had [European Scout] Milan Jurcina, who’s based in Prague, go over and see him as well at a tournament. I got to see him last year and this year down in Florida at the Gold Star Hockey Camp. Not only that, we tracked with video and seeing where he’s at from a production standpoint. But he’s got a 200-foot game.
“He’s got a little bit of offensive ability where he helps drive some stuff on their line. It’s maybe not a high, high end offense, but he’s certainly someone who’s involved in terms of driving some plays and getting some scoring chances and he also has a real good determination to the way he plays the game. A kid who has some growth potential left and just a kid that we’re excited to add to our group.”