10 things learned from 2025 NHL Scouting Combine

The 2025 NHL Scouting Combine presented by Fanatics took place last week at KeyBank Center and LECOM HarborCenter in Buffalo. The combine allowed NHL teams an opportunity to conduct interviews and provide physical and medical assessments of the top prospects eligible for the 2025 Upper Deck NHL Draft. NHL.com provided all the sights and stories.

BUFFALO -- The New York Islanders interviewed 60-plus players of the 90 invited to the 2025 NHL Scouting Combine presented by Fanatics this week.

It made sense considering New York general manager Mathieu Darche has a big decision to make. The Islanders have the No. 1 selection in the 2025 Upper Deck NHL Draft after winning the NHL Draft Lottery for the first time in 16 years on May 5.

Defenseman Matthew Schaefer of Erie in the Ontario Hockey League is the projected No. 1 pick in the draft, to be held at L.A. Live's Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on June 27-28.

Darche, who was hired May 23 after spending the previous six seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning, was front and center at the combine, gaining valuable intel on many of the top prospects.

"It's not very often you get a (GM) job and the first thing you have to do is pick the best player in the draft," Darche said. "I expect us to make the pick. … You have to do your due diligence. Anybody that calls, you have to listen. But someone would have to really knock my socks off to trade that pick because we're going to get a special player."

Here are 10 things learned from the Scouting Combine:

Prospects headed to Cup Final

Schaefer will be one of four top prospects headed south on Sunday to witness Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Edmonton Oilers and the host Florida Panthers on Monday (8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC).

Schaefer, No. 1 in NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters, will be joined by center Michael Misa of Saginaw (OHL), who is No. 2 on the Central Scouting list; center James Hagens of Boston College (NCAA), who is No. 3; and center Jake O'Brien of Brantford (OHL), who is No. 4.

The four prospects also will be on hand for the morning skates Monday.

Cleats to skates

Mason West will play quarterback at Edina High School in Minnesota in the fall before joining Fargo of the United States Hockey League to pursue a hockey career.

"It was really important for me to play football as a senior with my friends," West said. "I always set goals for the year, and that was to win a state high school hockey championship and also a football championship. I haven't done it in football, so I kind of want to achieve that and stay loyal to my team because I think they need me."

The right-shot center (6-foot-6, 215 pounds), No. 27 in Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters, has been a two-sport standout at Edina the past three seasons. He ranked first in goals (27) and shots on goal (44), tied for first in game-winning goals (five), and was second in points (49) in 31 games as a junior this season.

West had 27 interviews at the combine.

"Fargo really gave me that experience of what the hockey path could look like," West said. "Obviously, they don't have that in football, so I got to see what the next step is for a hockey career, and I want to pursue that. I think I can get way better when I really focus on one sport."

Young collegian in high demand

William Horcoff was the youngest player in college hockey this season and the most requested player at the combine.

The freshman center (6-5, 190) interviewed with 31 NHL teams this week, the most of any player at the event. He had 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 18 games with the University of Michigan after his arrival in December. Horcoff, the son of former NHL forward Shawn Horcoff, had 14 points (eight goals, six assists) in 28 games with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program Under-18 team to begin the season. He turned 18 on Jan. 23.

"The other team doesn't care that I was the youngest player," Horcoff said. "They're still going to play me hard, if not even harder. I was more just focusing on what I could do to have an impact.

"I feel I used my size and strength to win pucks and my physicality to play that hard, mean, game that you need to win."

Shawn Horcoff, the assistant GM of the Detroit Red Wings, played 1,008 NHL games with the Edmonton Oilers, Dallas Stars and Anaheim Ducks. Detroit has the No. 13 pick in the draft.

"My dad told me that if you want it, you’ve got to put everything into it, and I want it really bad," said Horcoff, No. 24 in Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters. "Just make sure you're not going to bed knowing you could have done more because if you can't do that, you're not going to maximize your potential and be the best player you can be in five years. That's the best advice he's given me."

First to finish

Malte Vass was the first player on the floor to complete the array of fitness tests at the combine. The defenseman with Farjestad in Sweden's junior division is No. 17 in Central Scouting's final ranking of International skaters.

"Fun," Vass said of being the first one. "It was tough, it was intensive."

Vass felt the VO2 Max bike test that measures endurance was the toughest and that the various jumping tests were a bit easier. The 18-year-old didn't go into the testing blindly. Jack Berglund, a forward chosen by the Philadelphia Flyers in the second round (No. 51) of the 2024 NHL Draft, shared some insights. Vass and Berglund have been teammates on Farjestad's junior team the past three seasons.

"I learned a lot about myself," he said. "Meeting all the teams, it's been a fun week, but it was tough."

Vass, considered a stay-at-home defenseman, had 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in 40 games with his junior team and no points in five games in the Swedish Hockey League this season. He plans to attend Boston University in Hockey East 2025-26.

"I think it's a really good school, and I think it's the best way for me," Vass said. "I think it's better to play college to get to the NHL."

What's in a number?

There's a story behind Schaefer wearing jersey No. 48. It has to do with current Flyers general manager and former NHL forward Daniel Brière.

"The reason my brother wore 48 was because of Danny Briere," said Schaefer, whose brother Johnny is nine years older. "Johnny grew up wearing 48 and watching him. Briere was at a tyke (under-7) hockey tournament in Buffalo, coaching one of the teams, and he came into the room where my brother was and spoke to everyone about life lessons and hockey. The thing my brother took away from that was just how great a person Briere was ... that he took the time to talk to him and sign people's jerseys, hats, whatever they had. It really made an impression on him, and he instantly was Johnny's favorite player.

"It's because of that, I also started wearing 48."

To his surprise, Schaefer was given workout shirt 48 at the combine.

Briere appreciates the sentiment and thinks very highly of Matthew not only as a player, but a person.

"His interaction with people is very different than most," Briere said. "It feels like you're talking to a 30-year-old already. He's very mature beyond his years. It's hard to believe he's only 17. It's his energy. After you talk to him, you come away feeling good. He's an impressive young man.

"Some team is going to get a very good player. There's not much not to like about this kid."

Remembering Ray

Ray Shero, a longtime NHL executive who died on April 9 at the age of 62, was still very much in the hearts and minds of the scouts and general managers attending the combine.

A poster of Shero was prominently displayed in the lobby of KeyBank Center for everyone to see prior to breaking for lunch.

"He's never going to be forgotten. ... He's one special human being, especially for me and a lot of the people here," New Jersey Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald said. "A lot of people have worked under Ray, were close with Ray, friends with Ray and Ray cared about everybody. ... He cared about people."

Shero was in his fourth season as senior adviser to Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin, whom he acquired as a player in 2008-09 and hired as a development coach prior to the 2011-12 season with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Shero spent 13 seasons as an NHL GM, first with the Penguins from 2006-14 before his five seasons with the Devils (2015-20).

"He always enjoyed the combine, he enjoyed talking to the prospects," Fitzgerald said. "When he sat in on the prospect interviews, he was always inquisitive, he asked questions and wanted to get involved. He was doing it for so long. He understood that they were only kids, and that was the beauty about him at this event and the draft."

Oh, brother

There's a good chance right wing Victor Eklund will hear his name called during the first round of the 2025 draft.

If he does, it would mark the third instance in history that Sweden-born brothers will have been chosen in the first round, following Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin (1999 NHL Draft) and William Nylander and Alex Nylander (2014 and 2016, respectively).

Victor's brother, San Jose Sharks forward William Eklund, was chosen No. 7 in the 2021 NHL Draft.

"The best advice my brother has given was just kind of how to be a pro at my age (18)," Victor said. "He helps me on how to eat right, how you sleep right, and how you work out right. I guess that's been pretty easy, having him helping me, and he's just a really great role model."

Victor Eklund (5-11, 169), No. 2 in Central Scouting's final ranking of International skaters, was named the best junior in Sweden's second division this season after scoring the most goals (19) and points (31) with Djurgarden's junior club.

There have been 37 Sweden-born players chosen in the first round over the past 10 NHL drafts, the most among European countries.

McQueen shines

Roger McQueen knew he'd be the most observed player participating at the combine this week, and for good reason -- the right-shot center with Brandon of the Western Hockey League was limited to 17 regular-season games this season because of a fracture in his lower back.

He was fully cleared to take part in the combine fitness testing and did so with no repercussions.

"I think that the biggest thing is just having it done with," McQueen said. "Being able to come here and kind of have that back issue past me now. Just having that in the past and being able to come here and compete with my buddies is awesome."

McQueen played the first eight games of the season, then was out for almost five months, returning March 4. He said his back issue began while playing for Canada at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in August 2023. It was misdiagnosed as a bulging disk.

"The teams got all the medical history and there was some misdiagnosis from way back,” Central Scouting associate director David Gregory said, “but when they got it fixed, it's fixed, and it was great to see his determination to come here and show, 'I can do everything.' He wasn't restricted, didn't want to hold anything back and he did a great job. He tested extremely well."

McQueen (6-5, 197) is No. 8 in Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters.

Montreal memento

Benjamin Kindel of Calgary in the Western Hockey League owns a unique piece of hockey history that sits in his bedroom back home in Coquitlam, British Columbia: a seat from the Montreal Forum, the original home of the Montreal Canadiens.

"My grandpa got it, and he gave it to my dad, and it's been with the family for a while," Kindel said. "I think it's a really cool collectible thing. ... It's really special. It's a red seat that's in my room and we still use it."

The Forum once served as home to the NHL's Montreal Maroons (1924-38) and Canadiens (1926-96), who now play at Bell Centre.

In addition to discussing cool collectibles, Kindel was busy sharing stories with NHL teams at the combine. The right-shot center (5-10, 176), No. 21 in Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters, had 25 team interviews.

Kindel's 23-game point streak this season was the second-longest in the WHL behind Medicine Hat center Gavin McKenna (40). He broke the Calgary record set by Pavel Brendl in 1998-99 (20 games).

"I don't really try and base my game off goals and assists," he said. "I try and play a complete game, set my teammates up for chances as much as I can. I think when you're doing that the points will come."

A Mammoth choice

The Utah Mammoth have the No. 4 pick in the draft after moving 10 spots by winning the second draw of the draft lottery.

"That was a real nice surprise," Mammoth director of amateur scouting Darryl Plandowski said. "I think this draft is going to be forward-oriented early. Everybody's got a couple guys early, and then there's a group of about six or seven who are a real solid players. Then, like every draft, it sprays a little bit."

Plandowski said the good part about drafting at the top is identifying a prospect Utah feels has the "best skill, sense and size."

"I think [in] every draft the bigger, more skilled players go early and then you have to decide, do you sacrifice some size for some skill and sense?" he said. "… (General manager) Bill Armstrong isn't all about size. It still ends up being the fight in the dog, not the dog in the fight."

NHL.com deputy managing editor Adam Kimelman and independent correspondent Heather Engel contributed to this report