2025 NHL Draft Profiles: Re-Entry Defensemen

The reason why there's always a few re-entry players taken in the NHL draft is because it can be hard to guess, even with a logical guess, who is poised for a big breakout. Not everyone's development comes in smooth, predictable arcs. Some fight through injury, lack of opportunity, lack of exposure in more obscure leagues, have a late growth spurt that unlocks more of their skills, or they're just late bloomers who finally have something "click" after their draft year.

I have gotten the impression that it's more likely to happen with defensemen, because they are much more difficult to scout, analyze, and project into the future than a forward. Not that I've done any research to know how true that is, but that's why I always include a list of re-entry options in my profiles. In this case, let's talk about the more interesting defensemen who have a second (or third) chance at having their name called at the NHL draft.

PARKER VON RICHTER

• Position: Right-shot defenseman
• League(s): OHL
• Height: 6'1"
• Weight: 194 lbs
• Birthdate: May 17th, 2006

Last year Von Richter had a decent defensive reputation but as a whole was not thought of very highly in any part of his game. This year, I've seen a few scouts talking about the remarkable improvements he's had this season, evolving into a high-end defensive defenseman who can kill plays with more developed physical skills, and stop rushes through good skating and stick work. Offensively, his growth was even more significant, even if his production looks close to the same as last year. Now, he's a more confident puck carrier and passer on breakouts and transitions. He can handle forechecking pressure well to absorb or evade it, and make good, quick, intelligent passes up the ice. He's showing much better off-puck skills and awareness, actively seeking scoring opportunities through better positioning, and with a much heavier shot from the point, he is a bigger threat on the power play where he was used more this season. He's become more of a true two-way defenseman now. As far as defensive re-entries, he is my favourite option.

SAM LAURILA

• Position: Left-shot defenseman
• League(s): NCAA
• Height: 6'1"
• Weight: 187 lbs
• Birthdate: September 2nd, 2006

Laurila was very young for last year's draft – only two weeks away from not being eligible until this year – when he was part of the US NTDP last year behind other top defense prospects. Honestly, him being a depth defenseman on the NTDP kind of makes him seem worse than he was – it was still a top program full of the very best American prospects in his age group. Now that he's being used as a top defenseman, he is showing just how versatile he is in all situations – he quarterbacked his team's top power play with a good shot and vision, he's on their penalty kill, and his breakouts and defense led to him getting top even-strength minutes as well.

This year, for his D+1 season, Laurila joined Fargo in the USHL where I saw him a fair amount while watching Toronto's Matt Lahey. Honestly, even though both are in the same age group, I liked Laurila a lot more. He always had a good reputation defensively, but this year the offensive side of his game emerged more. Defensively, Laurila became more assertive and physical, and that along with his good skating and instincts makes him an effective rush defender. Offensively, he has become more confident in pushing the puck up the ice to drive transitions, and is able to do so at a good pace. He uses give-and-goes and smart passes to really move the puck well.

ETHAN MACKENZIE

• Position: Left-shot defenseman
• League(s): WHL
• Height: 6'0"
• Weight: 174 lbs
• Birthdate: September 2nd, 2006

MacKenzie played in only 26 games last year, with just 6 points to show for it. No mystery why he wasn't drafted, especially when he didn't have a lot of hype going into his draft year. This season, his D+1 year, he showed great improvements – 32 points in 54 games, with strong tracking data for his defense and especially for his transitions. I saw him a fair amount with Edmonton while watching Holinka's games, and while he wasn't a huge glitter guy I did definitely notice him with some frequency. He was used on both the power play and penalty kill and was heavily used at even strength as well.

MacKenzie plays with a very high pace, using it aggressively as a defenseman to engage physically as soon as possible. His transitions are driven from effective breakout abilities, combining deceptive skating and accurate passes. That helps him drive a good amount of offense even if he doesn't have a huge amount of points. Defensively, he will close on and harass his opponents quickly by taking space away from them in a smothering kind of defense. He plays pretty heavy when it comes to physicality, delivering hard hits that definitely gets noticed. However, he can be overly aggressive, leading to occasional turnovers and mistakes when he isn't at his sharpest. Considering he was also very young for last year's draft, I can see him being worth a late round pick this year.

MITCH YOUNG

• Position: Left-shot defenseman
• League(s): OHL
• Height: 6'2"
• Weight: 190 lbs
• Birthdate: April 29th, 2005

I profiled Young last year, and by god I'll do it again. He's still a very good skater, he still has size, he still plays an entertainingly physical style, but he improved his decision making and playmaking and all around game. His point production improved despite playing on a pretty bad offensive team – he was tied for 2nd on the team in points with 45, only 3 back of the leader. I think he also got better about trying to do too much himself, focusing more on passing and facilitating offense than shooting all the time. When he did shoot, it was more selective and from better locations.

I'm guessing that Young is on some NHL team radars, because even as a D+2 re-entry he was invited to the OHL Top Prospects game that was put together mostly as a showcase for NHL teams. He can still be too aggressive, both offensively and defensively, and finds himself in trouble from time to time as a result. I'm mindful of how he has already improved that a good chunk this year, however, and I think his tools – especially his skating with and without the puck – is exciting enough that I'd be willing to bet on him figuring it out with more time, experience and coaching with a late round pick. And if not, invite him to their development camp or just sign him as a free agent if he goes undrafted again.

DOOGAN PEDERSON

• Position: Left-shot defenseman
• League(s): WHL
• Height: 6'3"
• Weight: 176 lbs
• Birthdate: June 27th, 2006

In his draft year, Pederson didn't play a lot. He got into 44 games, but wasn't high in the depth chart. This year, he got a bit more of a role to start and then was traded to a new (and worse) team where he had more of an opportunity. I like him because he has good size but still has some physical projection based on him filling out and adding more muscle. More importantly, I think he's already a good skater and has good instincts, offensively and defensively. Not that I think he's high level on either side of the puck, but I think even as a D+1 guy he's already at a good enough level, with a good amount of more obvious projection left, that I would consider him to be as the same level as others his age – Nathan Mayes and certainly Matt Lahey, for example.

BRYCE PICKFORD

• Position: Right-shot defenseman
• League(s): WHL
• Height: 6'0"
• Weight: 190 lbs
• Birthdate: April 2nd, 2006

Pickford's seen a huge surge in his production and stock as a prospect from last season to this one for two reasons. First, he went from a very young and rebuilding Seattle team to one of the best teams in the league this year while still getting top minutes. Second, he has improved his game a lot. He is involved in the offense a lot, constantly jumping into the play off the point, getting a lot of shots but from dangerous areas of the ice not just bombs from the point. He has turned into a point per game defenseman and a highly effective power-play quarterback because of how he moves the puck and himself in the offensive zone.

Defensively Pickford more of a mixed bag. He is a capable rush defender with a good, aggressive gap control, but defending in his own end against an established possession is not as good. He's mostly good at driving transitions up the ice, but has some slight consistency issues. It's an uncertain mix of skills and weaknesses, and I can see him winding up as an undrafted free agent rather than being a re-entry pick. I think it will depend on how much a team values his offensive and transition skills, and how much they think his defense can be improved.

DANIEL NIEMINEN

• Position: Left-shot defenseman
• League(s): Liiga
• Height: 6'0"
• Weight: 187 lbs
• Birthdate: March 1st, 2006

Nieminen is potentially a victim of the souring on Finland's hockey system. He produced a good amount last year in Finland's junior league and for their international squads, but he went undrafted. This year he has some draft hype because he played basically the full season in Finland's pro league, and looked very solid at the World Juniors. His strengths are as a mobile and agile two-way defenseman who has a bit of that dog in him, despite being average sized. He's shown an ability to support the rush and activate from the blue line, and has potential in transition with improved offensive habits and reads. However, he still needs to refine his decision-making with the puck, particularly in the defensive zone and during breakouts. I'm pretty sure he'll get drafted if only because of the WJC, but he isn't my top option for re-entry defensemen.

GIAN MEIER

• Position: Right-shot defenseman
• League(s): J20 Nationell/SHL
• Height: 6'2"
• Weight: 181 lbs
• Birthdate: July 10th, 2006

Meier is a Swiss defenseman who played in a more obscure league – his country's junior league – in his draft year. That's not the only reason he wasn't drafted, he was also a bit small/skinny and lacking in strength and coordination. However, he's grown an inch or two and put on more weight, and most importantly he just looks more coordinated in his movements. He also moved to Sweden's top junior league, where his play took a big leap on both sides of the puck.

Scouts now have reported he is defensively sound, shows confidence and poise on puck retrievals and making excellent defensive reads with his reach and footwork. He initiates breakouts effectively with good first passes and the ability to make long outlet passes. His straight-line and backward skating are strengths, though his side-to-side agility needs improvement. His passing and playmaking on set offensive zone possessions could be improved more, but he has a decent shot that he gets on net. Again, I like him as a late round option. He is on the young side for his draft year, but he's already made good improvements and has obvious paths for even more. He could grow a bit more, especially when it comes to gaining weight and muscle that will help many elements of his game.

MAGOMED SHARAKANOV

• Position: Left-shot defenseman
• League(s): KHL
• Height: 6'1"
• Weight: 205 lbs
• Birthdate: October 11th, 2004

Sharakanov is the oldest player on this list, still a D+2 re-entry player because of his late 2004 birthday. His strengths are as a mobile and skilled defenseman with good skating, puck-handling, and retrieval abilities. He's played virtually all season in the KHL this year, where he was an effective transition driver and could contribute offensively thanks to his creativity. Defensively, his mobility allows him to close down space, disrupt rushes, and engage physically, showing growing instincts as a reactionary defender. However, the issues with him have been his hockey sense and decision-making, particularly in high-pressure situations. While he has shown improvement in these areas, per some scouts, it still seems like his primary weakness. He is likely the best overall defenseman as of right now for anyone on this list, playing against the hardest competition. But he's also the oldest, and the question is if there is likely to be any significant leaps in his development after now.

LUDVIG JOHNSON

• Position: Left-shot defenseman
• League(s): U20-Elit/NL
• Height: 6'0"
• Weight: 181 lbs
• Birthdate: July 27th, 2006

By now you probably noticed a pattern. Johnson is on the young side, and he's a mobile skater. The doubts about him has always been the combination of his level of competition (Swiss junior in his draft year), his size, and the quality of tools he has to work with. But this year, he had a breakout season as he earned a significant role in the Swiss professional National League as an 18-year-old and was solid for the Swiss team at the World Juniors. While there, scouts have remarked that he had impressive offensive production and ranked highly among all defensemen in primary points at even strength. He has become a very good passer on transitions while also being a very good transition defender, using an aggressive gap to disrupt breakouts before they occur. However, he could still improve his defensive zone coverage. It would be very helpful for him to become a fitness god, so he can use above average strength in place of having just average size. Without that, I'm still not sure he has the tools to succeed at higher levels but I am still potentially interested in him as a later pick.

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.

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