The 2025 Upper Deck NHL Draft will be held June 27-28 at L.A. Live's Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. The first round will be held June 27 (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS), with rounds 2-7 on June 28 (Noon ET; NHLN, ESPN+, SN, SN1). NHL.com is counting down to the draft with in-depth profiles on top prospects, podcasts and other features. Today, we examine draft needs for teams in the Central Division. Full draft coverage can be found here.
2025 NHL Draft: Central Division needs
Blackhawks could take high-end center at No. 3; Predators own 3 1st-round picks, 9 overall
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The 2025 NHL Draft provides an opportunity for teams to shore up positions of need with an injection of young talent.
Here are what Central Division teams could be looking to do at the draft (listed in alphabetical order):
Chicago Blackhawks
Top Priority: High-skill center
First-round picks: No. 3, No. 25
The situation: Connor Bedard, the No. 1 pick of the 2023 NHL Draft, continued to establish himself as a foundational piece with his second straight 60-point season while being the second-youngest full-time player in the NHL this season. The Blackhawks ended the season with eight players age 23 or younger on the roster, including Bedard (19), forwards Frank Nazar (21) and Oliver Moore (20) and defensemen Artyom Levshunov (19) and Sam Rinzel (20). But more big pieces are needed, and with the No. 3 pick in a draft flush with talented centers, finding another high-end player to complement Bedard could be the best option with the first of their two first-round picks. They also could look to add more size on the wing to help open room for Bedard to operate. Adding a plus-size wing also could be an option at No. 25, a pick acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs in the trade for defenseman Jake McCabe on Feb. 27, 2023. Chicago will have ample opportunity to add more young talent with two picks in the second round and 10 selections total.
Possible fits: Caleb Desnoyers, C, Moncton (QMJHL); Anton Frondell, C, Djurgarden (SWE-2); Porter Martone, RW, Brampton (OHL)
Colorado Avalanche
Top Priority: Best player available
First pick: No. 118
The situation: The Avalanche will make the first of their two selections in the middle of the fourth round; they also have a seventh-round pick (No. 214). Their selections in the first round (Philadelphia Flyers, Sean Walker), second round (Washington Capitals, Lars Eller) and third round (Nashville Predators, Yakov Trenin) were used ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline in 2023 and 2024. With their first pick this year, the choice will be whoever the scouting staff deems the best player available at that point in time, but they could prioritize adding a center after trading their top prospect, center Calum Ritchie, to the New York Islanders as part of the package to acquire center Brock Nelson on March 6. Finding a goalie also could be an option here.
Possible fits: Zachary Morin, C, Youngstown (USHL); Elijah Neuenschwander, G, Fribourg Jr. (SUI-JR); Philippe Veilleux, LW, Val-d'Or (QMJHL)
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Dallas Stars
Top Priority: Best player available
First pick: No. 94
The situation: The Stars' first of six picks won't come until near the end of the third round after trading their first-round pick (No. 30) to the San Jose Sharks for forward Mikael Granlund and defenseman Cody Ceci on Feb. 1, and their second-round pick to the Blackhawks ahead of the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline. Dallas has done a nice job finding young defensemen the past few years, with Lian Bichsel (2022, No. 18) making his NHL debut this season and Christian Kyrou (2022, No. 50) and Tristan Bertucci (2023, No. 31) progressing toward NHL opportunities. At this spot they'll be focused on the best player they believe to be available, but finding a forward could be the preference.
Possible fits: Kristian Epperson, LW, Saginaw (OHL); Tommy Lafreniere, RW, Kamloops (WHL); Michal Svrcek, LW, Brynas Jr. (SWE-JR)
Minnesota Wild
Top Priority: Goalie
First pick: No. 52
The situation: The Wild will make the first of their four selections in the second round after trading their first pick (No. 20) to the Columbus Blue Jackets for defenseman David Jiricek on Nov. 30. They could look to add a goalie to the development pipeline after drafting just one (Chase Wutzke, 2024, No. 142) the previous three years. They also could look to add to their depth at forward with some of their prospects at the position ready to move to the professional level, among them Riley Heidt (2023, No. 64) and Danila Yurov (2022, No. 24).
Possible fits: Pyotr Andreyanov, G, CSKA Jr. (RUS-JR); Semyon Frolov, G, Spartak Jr. (RUS-JR); Mason West, C, Edina (HIGH-MN)
Nashville Predators
Top Priority: Center
First-round picks: No. 5, No. 23, No. 26
The situation: The Predators have three picks in the first round, starting with No. 5; they also have No. 23 (Tampa Bay Lightning) and No. 26 (Vegas Golden Knights, via San Jose). In a draft flush with talented young centers among the top players, finding one to build around could be the direction Nashville chooses to pursue with its first selection, even after taking centers Egor Surin (No. 22) and Teddy Stiga (No. 55) with their first two picks in the 2024 NHL Draft. General manager Barry Trotz said the time also could be right to add a goalie for long-term development, especially after trading goalie Yaroslav Askarov to the Sharks for the No. 26 selection, but that's an area that could be addressed later in the first round or with one of the Predators' two picks in the second round. Nashville has nine selections in all.
Possible fits: James Hagens, C, Boston College (NCAA); Roger McQueen, C, Brandon (WHL); Porter Martone, RW, Brampton (OHL)
St. Louis Blues
Top Priority: Forward
First pick: No. 19
The situation: The Blues might have the deepest group of prospects in the NHL, as evidenced by their NHL-high nine players that took part in the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship, one year after they had an NHL-best seven players on the ice in the 2024 WJC. Of that group, forwards Dalibor Dvorsky (2023, No. 10) and Otto Stenberg (2023, No. 25) and defenseman Theo Lindstein (2023, No. 29) should compete for NHL spots next season, along with forward Jimmy Snuggerud (2022, No. 23), who had four points (one goal, three assists) in seven games after joining St. Louis in April following the end of his college season at the University of Minnesota. With the first of their three picks, it's likely the Blues will look to select a forward to add more depth to a prospect base that includes defensemen selected with their first three picks of the 2024 NHL Draft, Adam Jiricek (No. 16), Colin Ralph (No. 48) and Lukas Fischer (No. 56).
Possible fits: Braeden Cootes, C, Seattle (WHL); Cole Reschny, C, Victoria (WHL); Benjamin Kindel, C, Calgary (WHL)
Utah Mammoth
Top Priority: Center depth
First pick: No. 4
The situation: The Mammoth have done well building a young core of forwards centered around Logan Cooley, Dylan Guenther and Clayton Keller, with more coming soon in Daniil But (2023, No. 12), Tij Iginla (2024, No. 6) and Cole Beaudoin (2024, No. 24). Iginla and Beaudoin were drafted as centers but could shift to the wing in the NHL. Finding more depth through the middle could be the best direction; winning the second drawing at the NHL Draft Lottery to jump 10 spots to the No. 4 selection in a draft deep in top-end centers should make it easier to find a player who can be a long-term option to play on one of their top two lines. Utah has six picks in the draft after selecting 11 players at the 2024 draft.
Possible fits: Caleb Desnoyers, C, Moncton (QMJHL); Anton Frondell, C, Djurgarden (SWE-2); James Hagens, C, Boston College (NCAA)
Winnipeg Jets
Top Priority: Young defensemen
First pick: No. 28
The situation: The Jets have reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs seven times in the past eight seasons and have needed to sacrifice draft capital along the way. That's left them with five picks at the 2025 draft after having selected nine players total between the drafts in 2023 and 2024. One area of their development pipeline that has suffered has been defenseman, where they've selected one player at that position in the first round since 2017 (Ville Heinola, No. 20, 2019). This could be the right time to add a blue-chip defenseman prospect.
Possible fits: Sascha Boumedienne, D, Boston University (NCAA); Blake Fiddler, D, Edmonton (WHL); Simon (Haoxi) Wang, D, Oshawa (OHL)
