2025 NHL Draft Profiles: Late Round Forwards

Drafting in later rounds is always an interesting challenge. Once you get past the first round, maybe the second, everyone's rankings and preferences are all over the place – and this is true for NHL teams. You're not talking about players that have great odds of at least becoming a depth guy in the NHL, you're talking about guys you hope are hidden gems who will be one of the very few who take a big leap in their development to make the NHL at all.

As always, with this list of mine I am trying to keep in mind the kinds of players that I think Toronto's scouting team seems to like but are also still interesting to me. So let's get to it.

TINUS LUC KOBLAR

• Position: Left-shot centre
• League(s): J20 Nationell
• Height: 6'3"
• Weight: 176 lbs
• Birthdate: July 21st, 2007

Koblar was a major "glitter guy" for me. He's a teammate of Toronto's own Victor Johansson with Leksands' junior team, who had the best record in the league. Will Scouch talked about him a lot, but I only really started to notice him late in the season and especially in the playoffs when he was impossible to ignore. He's big but has room to get bigger. He is a good skater with some issues that can be worked on. He's a good passer and playmaker. He uses his size well but has skill to go with his power. He is a hard worker and a good natural centre.

Koblar played at the World U18s for Norway as their 2nd line centre, but honestly I think he was their best overall player. He was solid defensively, drove play as well as can be expected with a team relatively bereft of top talent, and while he didn't have any points he generated so many chances for himself and his linemates and was just snakebitten. I think the only reason why he didn't have more production is because he was on such a deep team and played 3C due to being 1-2 years younger than those ahead of him. Honestly, in the playoffs I thought he was arguably the team's best overall forward, and had four goals despite not getting as much time at even strength or on the powerplay.

I like him so much that I'd borderline take him with Toronto's third round pick, if the others I really liked are not available.

HARRY NANSI

• Position: Right-shot winger
• League(s): OHL
• Height: 6'3"
• Weight: 179 lbs
• Birthdate: September 10th, 2007

Nansi is interesting to me for a few reasons. First, he's already an excellent player when it comes to everything but producing points. He's very strong defensively, and he does a lot of little things that help his team on both sides of the puck to drive possession and create scoring chances. Second, he's very young — less than a week away from not being eligible until next year's draft. If he's so good at pro-level things already, is there more room for his offense and production to spike next year and be on par with the older birthdays in this year's draft who are almost a year older than he is? Third, I think he's already showing flashes of some decent skill – not of a hidden offensive juggernaut by any means, but capable of handling the puck, passing it, shooting it, and creating chaos for his linemates as a supporting winger.

To me, he just makes for a perfect late-round swing. He has those pro habits and impacts, and the things he's good at could make him a depth, defensive centre in the NHL even if the offense doesn't come as far as you'd like. He has size, he has room to fill out, he has time to work with skills coaches.

MIKKEL ERIKSEN

• Position: Left-shot centre/winger
• League(s): J20 Nationell
• Height: 5'11"
• Weight: 185 lbs
• Birthdate: September 13th, 2007

I'm interested in Eriksen because he does a few things that I like at a good or even high level. He is a very agile and speedy skater, and uses it to good effect with and without the puck. Without it, he'll aggressively bear down on the defense on the forecheck and create turnovers. He will play with a physical edge even if he isn't the biggest guy on the ice, and he's a good playmaker with the puck. He also uses his agility and explosiveness, plus good timing, to get to open areas of the ice before defenders can recover. He was the 1C for Norway at the World U18s and while I liked Koblar's overall game more, he was inarguably their second best player in all situations.

I think the reason why Eriksen isn't ranked by many, and not at all that high, is because his combination of strengths and physical profile doesn't typically project well to the NHL. However, the other reason I'd be interested in swinging on him in the later rounds is he is only three days away from being eligible for next year's draft. With an extra year's development, would he have improved enough to be at a similar level of prospects almost a year older than him are at now? If a team thinks yes, if they think he can grow another inch or two and give more space to fill out and add greater power, he has some interesting building blocks to work with.

BRUNO OSMANIS

• Position: Right-shot winger
• League(s): J20 Nationell / Hockey Allsvenskan
• Height: 5'11"
• Weight: 170 lbs
• Birthdate: December 16th, 2007

Osmanis is one of two players from the World Juniors I'm allowing myself to like mostly because of his play there. Latvia had the huge upset of Canada, and he was a big part of it. He had 4 points in 3 games at the tournament before a stick to the eye ended his play early. He finished better than a point per game in Sweden's junior league, then had 7 points in 27 games in their second tier pro league. His strengths are his skating/speed, intelligence and playmaking. He's not the biggest, but he's a hard worker who still engages in close quarters using speed, smarts and a good stick. If he winds up being available in the fifth round or later, I'd swing on him to see if he can get stronger in his legs and core and his skills play up as like a bottom six energy guy in the NHL. He's already done pretty well in that exact role at Sweden's pro level.

LIRIM AMIDOVSKI

• Position: Right-shot winger
• League(s): OHL
• Height: 6'1"
• Weight: 174 lbs
• Birthdate: December 22, 2006

Amidovski is a bit like Nansi. Both don't have a lot of points, and both seem to be farther ahead in their development when it comes to off-puck skills. There are differences though – Amidovski is almost a year older, but his offensive skill and production are farther along. He finished second on his rebuilding team in goals with 19, despite not getting much powerplay time at all – he had as many powerplay points (2) as short handed points (2 goals). His usual linemates had 20 points or fewer, which he had 32. He is a hard worker, good back checker, good forechecker, will be physical but doesn't really chase crushing hits. He shows more flashes of more advanced offensive skill, and considering how low-offense North Bay was, he's again someone who I think has shown he can make an impact on the game without putting up points but could have some untapped offensive skill. That makes him ideal for a late round guy in my books.

TOMMY LAFRENIERE

• Position: Right-shot centre/winger
• League(s): WHL
• Height: 5'11"
• Weight: 170 lbs
• Birthdate: January 16th, 2007

You'll be noticing a theme by now. I like Lafreniere because he's a high energy, high pace forward who has played centre and the wing for Kamloops. His off puck play is solid, he seems like a smart player with good awareness and anticipation that he shows off playing defensively. He's also a good forechecker and can create chaos in the offensive zone with a bit of a physical edge, even if he isn't the biggest guy he doesn't play small. The big question is his offensive skill. As of now he's very much a meat and potatoes guy, not a lot of flash or high level ability to break down defenses and create scoring chances. But he can make the passes that are there for him, and he'll crash the net to look for rebounds, deflections, and is willing to take punishment to do so. He has enough production and plays a style I think teams will like that I'm not 100% he'll be available in the later rounds, but if he does slip to the fifth round or later I'd swing on him. But I wouldn't go for him before that.

AIDAN LANE

• Position: Right-shot winger
• League(s): AAA / OHL
• Height: 6'2"
• Weight: 192 lbs
• Birthdate: February 4th, 2007

Lane has had an adventurous season. He played most of the year in high school hockey, playing for one of the top programs in Canada – St Andrew's. He was second on the team in scoring with 34 goals and 86 points in 55 games. He was tied for second in the Prep Hockey Conference tournament featuring the top high school teams in North America, with 7 goals and 21 points in 14 games. Then he played a couple of games in the USHL, anticipating going the college route with a commitment to Harvard. But with the opening up of the CHL path to the NCAA, he joined Brampton in the OHL for their final 13 regular season games where he had 7 goals and 13 points.

What I've liked about him when I saw him was that he is strong on his feet, plays a bit of a power game in the dirty areas of the ice, has a decent set of hands, a good shot, and decent playmaking. Off the puck, he's a good and physical forechecker, works hard to create turnovers, but weirdly isn't all that great along the boards on the cycle. He is a beast in front of the net. I can see him being a better version of Sam McCue with more of an all around game, even if McCue is better finishing around the net. I'm not sure if he'll fall to the fifth round, or later, but I'd be interested in Toronto snapping him up if he does.

MADS KONGSBAK KLYVØ

• Position: Left-shot winger
• League(s): J20 Nationell / SHL
• Height: 6'2"
• Weight: 194 lbs
• Birthdate: May 3rd, 2007

The reason why Klyvø would make for an interesting late round swing is that he has that coveted combination of size and skating. He has a touch of skill in areas that work well with that profile – he has good hands and a good shot, that he can manage while skating at his top speed. His puck handling is more simplistic, however, and he relies more on his speed to beat defenders. He can be a decent passer as well, but that's more inconsistent. He is high energy, he skates hard after loose pucks and on the forecheck, he does well defensively.

I can see Klyvø potentially turning into a good bottom six guy that plays a power, two-way game without necessarily chipping in a lot of offense but is always a threat to create rush chances and breakaways with his speed. I believe that's why he got his first call up to the SHL this year after his junior team was eliminated, and he's averaged 5:41 in four playoff games during their second round matchup. I'd be interested in him as a late round swing to try and teach him the little things that McMann, Knies, and even Grebyonkin did well with their power games.

ALEXANDER PERSHAKOV

• Position: Left-shot winger
• League(s): MHL / KHL
• Height: 6'0"
• Weight: 176 lbs
• Birthdate: October 19th, 2006

Pershakov was one of the most productive players in the MHL who are first time eligible for the 2025 NHL draft. That earned him 15 games in the KHL, where he averaged 4:16 per game, and then 7 games in the KHL playoffs where he averaged 7:47 – so he was getting real ice time as a 17/18 year old, which is meaningful. The good parts of his game are that he seems very smart and cerebral, has a good shot, and is a pretty good playmaker. His problems are that he seems like an average skater right now without a lot of projectability, his offensive skills are not so high level that it's enough to carry him, and his other skills – while pretty good – aren't enough either. So he would be a project if a team, like Toronto, thinks they can elevate different elements of his game and turn him into something. I'm not fully convinced on him, but if he does get drafted I'll understand why... but I would only do it in the later rounds.

NATHAN BRISSON

• Position: Left-shot winger
• League(s): QMJHL
• Height: 5'10"
• Weight: 174 lbs
• Birthdate: September 22nd, 2006

I was back and forth on including Brisson or his teammate, Phillippe Veilleux, who is six months younger and outproduced him by 16 goals and 15 points. But I stuck with Brisson because I find his game more projectable. Veilleux is quite small, while Brisson seems like the engine on his line. He works hard, he skates fast and plays with pace, he throws checks and does dirty work, and he has a good understanding of how to create and use leverage to protect the puck and establish positioning against bigger, stronger opponents. He is a responsible, two-way centre that does the kind of little things I like to see. The size is still a concern for his style of play, and he is one of the oldest players in this draft. But Brisson is captain for his team as a draft eligible, and I think could wind up as a sort of Connor Dewar or Colin Blackwell who are smaller but manage to carve out a depth role despite not being as much of offensive forces.

Thanks for reading!

I put a lot of work into my prospect articles here, both for the draft and Toronto's prospects. I do it as a fun hobby for me, and I'd probably do it in some capacity even if PPP completely ceased to exist. But if you like reading my work, some support would go a long way! I pay for a few streaming services (CHL, NCAA, USHL, the occasional TSN options for international tournaments that are broadcast) to be able to reliably watch these prospects in good quality streams. I also pay for some prospect-specific resources, such as tracking data and scouting reports from outlets like Elite Prospects, Future Considerations, McKeen's Hockey, The Athletic, and more.

Being able to get paid for this helps me dedicate more time and resources to it, rather than to second/third jobs. And whatever money I make here, a lot of I reinvest back into my prospect work through in those streaming and scouting services. Like I said, I'd be doing whatever I can afford for this anyway, so any financial help I get through this is greatly appreciated!