- Editor's note: Sheng Peng is a regular contributor to NBC Sports California’s Sharks coverage. You can read more of his coverage on San Jose Hockey Now, listen to him on the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast, and follow him on Twitter at @Sheng_Peng.
Who will the Sharks take with the No. 2 pick of the 2025 NHL Draft?
An NHL scout, not associated with the Sharks, discussed his top-seven prospects, in order, with San Jose Hockey Now.
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Matthew Schaefer
Schaefer appears to be the consensus No. 1 pick, which belongs to the New York Islanders.
Schaefer had his season cut short by a broken collarbone in December, but the 6-foot-2 defenseman impressed with the Erie Otters and on Team Canada’s World Championships side.
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He’s this scout’s No. 1 pick, though this scout doesn’t see him as a true-blue franchise defenseman.
“I don't think he's a bona fide No. 1, [more] a super-good No. 2. Not a ton of holes in his game,” the scout said. “He is smart. He has skill for a defenseman, for sure. There is a competitiveness to him ... He'll be a good two-way defenseman, [but] he's not gonna have a big game on either side of the puck. He's just gonna be safe.”
So why isn’t Schaefer a bona fide No. 1 blueliner?
“He doesn't really have a high-end definitive element other than his skating," the scout said. "Thinking the game at a higher level is better than skating the game at higher level. There's very few guys who can think the game on the level of a prime [Drew] Doughty, for example. When you go up in levels, and everything becomes tougher, timing, [you have] less space, [your elite junior skills take] a little bit of a step back…He doesn't have an offensive or defensive-defining element that would likely propel him to be a No. 1.”
What do the best-of-the-best rearguards have?
“Doughty had his sense," the scout said. "[Victor] Hedman, sense and size. [Cale] Makar skill, offensive, creativity, sense."
For what it’s worth, there is a mystery to Schaefer because his season was cut short in December. There’s an upside that this scout hasn’t seen quite yet ... but could be there.
“It's tough when you get half a year, and his best hockey was right at the end of it,” the scout said.
Another NHL organization’s scout agrees that Schaefer won’t quite have a Doughty-like impact.
“I wouldn’t say I’m head over heels on him as elite, elite but he’s really good. I think there’s better D than him in the next two years of the draft. He’s missing the size-physicality of the total package-style D you’d want as a Hedman-type,” this second scout said. “Reminds me a bit of Shea Theodore [in terms of impact]. Really good D on a really good team but is he one of the best D in the world?”
Michael Misa
The Sharks organization needs a top defensive prospect, but Misa, the consensus top forward in this 2025 draft, is no consolation prize.
“High skill, high sense, offensive driver, real creative, very skilled," the first scout said of the 6-foot-1 centerman, who led the OHL with 134 points this season. "There is an element of rattiness a little bit. He'll get in the face. With any of these younger guys, defending is not a forte. He doesn't think that first, but he is capable. B-level skating. It's not elite. He's very young, so that could still take another step, so not a whole lot of flaws.”
Misa could form a strong one-two punch up the middle with Macklin Celebrini, perhaps Will Smith moving to wing.
“I see him probably [as] a really good 2C," the first scout said. "Maybe like a Nico Hischier? Misa is the clear No. 2 on my [draft] list.”
James Hagens
Hagens was seen as a top candidate for No. 1 overall at the beginning of the season, but he’d dropped down some lists.
But this scout believes that the center’s upside is as high as anybody in this draft, after his point-per-game freshman showing at Boston College.
“His skating, skill, and sense is as good as any of those guys," the first scout said. "We're talking about a 5-foot-10, 5-foot-11 17-year-old playing college hockey. I think that weighed on him a little bit, right? I think he did admirably this year. Point a game, playing college at 17. How do you argue with that?”
Hagens could be ticketed for wing in the future, but his offensive upside is clear.
“Skating is better than Misa, and the skill and sense is as good,” the first scout said. “But he's the smallest of all [the top 2025 Draft prospects]. The defensive play and the competitiveness [still need work].”
Porter Martone
Martone stands out at the top of this draft class because of his imposing 6-foot-3 frame.
“Power forward elements, bit of an a-----e," the first scout said. "Like the way he plays, gets under guys' skin, really skilled, huge wingspan, ability to handle pucks in and around defenders smooth. Just the skating is a little bit scary, but at his size, I don't know if it's as big of a problem for somebody that big versus someone who's like 6-foot-0.”
There’s no doubt that the power scoring winger does offer an element that the Sharks don’t have at the moment and that general manager Mike Grier has been chasing since he was hired in 2022. In just the last three years, Grier has spent premium picks on big skill wingers Cam Lund, Quentin Musty, Kasper Halttunen, and Igor Chernyshov.
There’s some talk that Martone doesn’t use his size as much as he should, but that’s not quite how this scout sees it: “He's not the type to run guys or blow somebody up, but he's not shy. He's not going to shy away from contact or not drive the net. He's annoying.”
Anton Frondell
This scout sees the next three pivots in a similar way.
Frondell is a 6-foot-1 Swedish center who averaged about a point per game for Djurgardens in Allsvenskan.
“Steady, creative, two-way game across the board," the first scout said. "He could be a 2C or could end up being like a high-functioning 3C. You could sell me on them being close, but I just think Misa has the offensive element that separates him from Frondell.”
Caleb Desnoyers
Desnoyers is a 6-foot-1 center who’s rapidly rising up the rankings, who put up 30 points for the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats in just 19 postseason games.
“Fantastic playoffs,” the first scout said. “A little bit like Frondell in terms of not really having a weakness. But what is he going to be, is he going to be a 2C or maybe a 3C?”
Jake O’Brien
O’Brien is a 6-foot-2 center who’s probably a reach for the No. 2 pick, but he does own a high-end skill that intrigues this scout.
“Jake O'Brien is very, very good player," the first scout said. "He's very, very smart. His skating, he's extremely weak, so there's a lot of projection with him, but he's probably one of the smartest guys in the draft,” the scout said. “He would be the only other one [that we’ve talked about that] I would say that you could maybe toss in that conversation.”
This scout thinks that the Sharks should just pick who’s left between Schaefer and Misa. Hagens and Martone are next on his list, then this layer. “[O’Brien] would be more in the Desnoyers-Frondell area than that group of Schaefer, Misa, Martone, and Hagens.”