2025 NHL Draft Prospect Roundup: Need a winner? Caleb Desnoyers is your guy

Credit: Caleb Desnoyers (Daniel St. Louis/CHL)

Caleb Desnoyers has already represented Canada in three international events over the past year – and he’s won them all.

Teams notice things like that, even if you play with some quality linemates. And it helps that Desnoyers has been effective at all of them, including the U-18 World Championship when he started the tournament as just an extra player.

So it’s no surprise to see him doing so well with the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats. He’s on pace for more than 50 goals and 100 points while making his mark as one of the top scoring threats in the QMJHL. But he’s much more than that – he’s a thinker, a playmaker and a playdriver. Combine it altogether – and his success as a key contributor with Canada at various levels – and you’ve got someone who will receive a ton of attention from teams at the NHL Draft.

For now, Desnoyers is a bubble top-10 prospect. He’s big, but scouts want him to add a bit more of a mean streak out there and be more aggressive. But with the puck, few QMJHLers can contend with him.

OHL

– Luca Romano turned some heads at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and he has kept the momentum rolling with the Kitchener Rangers. Romano has 18 points in 16 games, and while he doesn’t have many penalty minutes, he does play with a bit of an edge. Romano is excellent in front of the net, often moving quickly enough to escape traffic and get into a spot for a rebound. I wonder if his lack of pure strength will result in him being a winger in the NHL one day compared to a center, but he does backcheck hard enough to be really effective in the OHL.

WHL

– Jackson Smith was one of my favorite players at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup because I thought he was so smart with the puck, but he was even better defensively. The Tri-City Americans standout has 14 points in 14 games this year, which included a three-point effort against the Edmonton Oil Kings last year. When he shoots, he makes it count because he’s often getting it in a spot for a rebound or for someone to deflect. And then there’s his own-zone play – Smith loves to push players around and take control.

– Scouts seem all over the place with Benjamin Kindel – but they can all agree he’s an intelligent playmaker. Kindel had 60 points as a rookie with the Calgary Hitmen last year and he’s projected to put up just under 90 this year. Some wish he’d shoot the puck more because he has a good release, but he’s almost always looking for the pass first. He’s not overly big, either. But few WHLers can outthink opponents like Kindel does, and that alone should take him far.

USHL

– There are always a few USA Hockey National Team Development Program players each year that go a bit under the radar. Meet Andrew O’Neill – someone who doesn’t have eye-popping numbers but plays a well-rounded game and should receive some solid attention from NHL teams. O’Neill moves well, battles hard and is difficult to steal the disk off of when playing with pace. O’Neill is primarily a 200-foot player who is very dependable in his own zone, and teams are always looking for guys like him as potential bottom-six options.

– Anthony Allain-Samaké is a quick-skating, smart defenseman who has looked much more engaged in the USHL than he did in the NCDC. The Sioux City Musketeers has eight points in 12 games, and he was especially solid in the two-game series against the USNTDP a few weeks back. He’s not big and he doesn’t shoot the puck much so that won’t help his draft stock, but a team hoping they can unlock some offensive ability might be willing to take him later in the draft because he does get the puck into scoring areas quite a lot.

NCAA

– Sascha Boumedienne had some difficult nights as a freshman at Boston College, but he got solid reviews for his play in the second game against the University of Michigan last weekend. Boumedienne was once seen as a top-15 prospect heading into the season, but his lack of consistency and high rate of mistakes with the puck have left some scouts concerned. It does seem like he’s starting to figure out the speed aspect of the NCAA in recent games, though, which is a positive because the raw potential is definitely there.

BCHL

– No, he’s not related to Kirby Dach. But Kale Dach is receiving a ton of love for his play with the Sherwood Park Crusaders, registering 22 points in 15 games in his second season. That puts him on pace for about 80 points, which wouldn’t be crazy high compared to other recent BCHL stars. The cerebral, tactical center is innovative and makes some excellent plays on the rush. A few BCHLers always sneak through in the upper half of the NHL Draft, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Dach is taken in the top 75.

Russia

– OK, here’s a fun stat line from the Russian junior league: Viktor Levchenko hasn’t won a regulation game with AKM Novomoskovsk and has made at least 40 saves in seven of those games. His best was a 74-save victory in mid-October. As a 5-foot-11 goaltender, there won’t be a ton of suitors for him. But when you’ve made 50 or more saves in half your starts, teams will notice you. Ironically, his worst game came when he allowed six goals on 39 shots – his second quietest night of the season.

Sweden

– Anton Frondell has missed significant time due to injury this year, but he hasn’t let his opportunities go to waste. The projected top-five pick had three assists in a big showing against Finland on Wednesday in U-18 Five Nations action and then scored a beautiful goal against the Americans on Thursday. There’s a desire to see him produce a bit more in the Swedish U-20 league – his 0.78 point-per-game average is 24th – but knee surgery hampered the start of the season after he missed time with another lower-body injury at the end of 2023-24. Frondell is trying to make up for lost time, but he has looked good against his own age group.

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