The 2025 NHL Draft projects to be the complete opposite of 2024 for New York and New Jersey prospects.
When the event kicks off, the first name called is most likely to be from this area — James Hagens.
Hagens was on the cover of the January/February edition of New York Hockey Journal magazine, and rightfully so. The late ’06 birthday would’ve challenged Macklin Celebrini to be the No. 1 draft pick this June, let alone next June.
Over the past two years, Hagens has been on a path to not just being the No. 1 pick, but to becoming a generational NHL talent.
The talent doesn’t stop with Hagens. There are some other strong prospects throughout the class, too, who could hear their names called in the first round next year.
And this is just an early look. It’s a guarantee that players not listed in this story will emerge to be legitimate NHL Draft candidates. Here’s the top of the crop.
