2025 NHL Draft Profiles: Re-Entry Forwards

When I think about re-entry players, I try and keep their age into context with prospects born the same year who were already drafted to the NHL. When I look at a re-entry guy, do I think he's where I'd like him to be if the Leafs had selected him a year or two before? If he is, I'll keep him in consideration even if he's a year or two older than the shiny new prospects only eligible for the draft for the first time.

For forwards, it's a bit easier. I can measure production against what I'd expect from a D+1 or D+2 player in the same league. But while I do use that as a proxy for getting a rough idea for how good a player is performing at their level of competition, I do like to also look at their usage – have they become a top player on their team, in their league? Are they a leader? Are they on the top power-play and/or penalty-kill units? Does their coach rely on them when it really matters? And how do they look when they're relied on?

That out of the way, let's look at the re-entry forwards I like the most.

CHARLIE CERRATO

• Position: Left-shot centre
• League(s): NCAA
• Height: 6'0"
• Weight: 190 lbs
• Birthdate: March 10th, 2005

In Cerrato's draft year, he was playing in the US National Development Team. He was not one of their top players at the time, and that's why he didn't get drafted. The next season, he played for Youngstown in the USHL and had 50 points in 45 games – that led the team in points per game, and he was in the top 20 for points per game. But this year, his D+2 year and his freshman season in the NCAA, he helped lead Penn State the their conference semi finals, and the NCAA semi finals. He centred their second line, and didn't lead the team in points or goals but did have the highest TOI on the team through both the playoffs and the tournament.

Cerrato is basically at a slightly higher level that Ryan Tverberg was in his D+2 season for production and usage, but Cerrato is on a better and more competitive team. He's my favourite re-entry this year, and I'd think he could be had for a late round pick. He's not the flashiest guy but he's quick and smart, which helps make him a good playmaker – especially on the rush – and a good defensive/penalty killing guy. He'd project as a bottom six guy, but for a late round pick you can think of him as an early NCAA free agent.

KRISTIAN EPPERSON

• Position: Left-shot winger
• League(s): OHL
• Height: 6'0"
• Weight: 185 lbs
• Birthdate: May 16th, 2006

Epperson is a former US NTDP player, like Cerrato, with a similar role and production that was uninspiring to NHL teams. He made the jump this year to the OHL, playing for last year's Memorial Cup winners – Saginaw – in his D+1 year. I'd say he did quite well for himself, finishing third on the team with 80 points in 58 games. For a D+1 prospect that's pretty good, even if he might have been carried by playing with monsters like Michael Misa or Igor Chernysov. But he is also a genuinely good two-way winger, who does a lot of small things really well that help linemates. I get the impression he'll probably be taken as one of the first re-entries, but I don't think I'd be interested in taking him before the fifth round.

AIDAN PARK

• Position: Right-shot winger
• League(s): USHL
• Height: 6'1"
• Weight: 185 lbs
• Birthdate: January 6th, 2006

Park played his draft year with one of the top US Prep high school teams, Shattuck St Mary's. He was third on the team in points, well back of the leader – Will Zellers, who was drafted by Boston. This year, the two are again teammates in the USHL on Green Bay, where Park is again behind Zellers for production but also third in the entire league with 33 goals and 66 points in 55 games. Pretty much all of the league leaders are D+1 players, so Park is at least in good company and ahead of players who were already drafted. Outside of his scoring, Park is also noted as a good two-way centre, with the big question mark being his explosive quickness in his skating. He was good enough to earn himself a commitment to Michigan in the NCAA next year, a top program in college hockey. He's another guy I'd be interested in if he is still available in the later rounds.

BRUNO IDZAN

• Position: Left-shot winger
• League(s): USHL
• Height: 6'1"
• Weight: 194 lbs
• Birthdate: January 16th, 2006

Idzan would make for a great story. He would be the first ever Croatian-born player to be drafted to the NHL, and he has the production to maybe make it happen. But there's no shock as to why he wasn't drafted last year – He played his draft season in Sweden's junior system where he had low production. He started this year, his D+1 season, in the AlpsHL and I'll pause to let you look up what that is since I assume you've never heard of it. However, he made the jump to the USHL halfway through the season and finished 2nd in the league in points per game with 22 goals and 44 assists in just 36 games – narrowly ahead of Park's pace, and behind the already drafted Zellers. A lot of his points are primary, too.

Idzan's production doesn't come from overwhelming skill, however. He plays a somewhat simplistic game: chipping and chasing rather than dangling around defenders, working hard on the forecheck, and just being smart with what he does and where he positions himself without the puck. But he does those things at a high level, which is why he was able to produce so much. He has an NCAA commitment to Wisconsin next year, which has been a mixed program of late but it is definitely an opportunity to grow and adapt more to North American hockey – though I'd say he's already suited to it. His big issue is a lack of high level speed, pace and explosiveness, and he doesn't necessarily have a lot of physical projection left, so any improvements there will need to come through mechanical adjustments.

JULIUS SUMPF

• Position: Left-shot centre
• League(s): QMJHL
• Height: 6'2"
• Weight: 194 lbs
• Birthdate: January 11th, 2005

Another D+2 player, I came to really like Sumpf's game at the World Juniors. He led Germany with 7 points in 5 games while playing as their 1C and averaging over 20 minutes per game. And yet in the QMJHL, his production for a D+2 guy seems very modest – 65 points in 58 games, playing for a top team in Moncton. He added 10 goals and 16 points in 19 playoff games to help them win the QMJHL Championship, and added 3 points in 4 games at the Memorial Cup. He was outstanding for their top line, centering or on the wing, supporting their top player in Caleb Desnoyers and enabling him to be great at what he does.

The reason why I still like him, even as an older D+2 re-entry, is because I think he could work well as a depth centre. He is a good skater, he works hard, he is smart, he can transition the puck well, he kills penalties, he can fill in on the power play, he has some size, and he's just reliable – exactly what you'd like to see from a bottom six guy. He already plays a pro-style game, from what I can tell, which honestly might be why he doesn't produce much in the very messy and systems-absent QMJHL. I'd think hard about using a later round pick on him.

JAMIRO REBER

• Position: Left-shot centre/winger
• League(s): SHL
• Height: 5'10"
• Weight: 176 lbs
• Birthdate: September 4th, 2006

Reber is the youngest re-entry on this list. With a September 4th birthday, he was less than two weeks away from being a first time draft eligible player THIS year. Keeping that in mind, even as a D+1 player his season has been impressive – playing all but one game in the SHL this season, and putting up 8 goals and 15 points as an 18 year old playing as the top line centre by the end of the year (albeit on the worst team in the league). Despite being so young and a bit on the small side, he has relentless speed and energy. He uses it to pressure puck carriers on the backcheck to force turnovers or dump ins. He's smart and plays a responsible game as a centre. The big question with him is if he has much else to offer in terms of offensive skill, with puck handling and passing that doesn't often flash high end. Guys his size don't typically make it to the NHL as defensive centres.

CHARLIE PAQUETTE

• Position: Right-shot winger
• League(s): OHL
• Height: 6'2"
• Weight: 207 lbs
• Birthdate: December 6th, 2005

Paquette is interesting for two reasons. First, he doubled his production from his draft year from 35 to 70, both in 68 games. Hell, even within this season he doubled his production in the second half (11 goals and 24 points to 26 goals and 46 points), where his shooting percentage went down from 35% to 25% because he increased his shot rate so much. Now, I don't want to get carried away with how good I think he is offensively. He's more like Sam McCue – he's good at specific things that allow him to produce so much in junior, by being a hard worker, a physical handful, and having a good shot and deft touch around the net. In fact, if you want to think of McCue as worth the late round pick, it's worth noting that Paquette is a couple of months younger, the same size, but produced better despite being on a worse team. Does that mean he's worth a late round pick now? I'm not as tempted as I am with some of the others already mentioned, but if he does get drafted I'd understand why.

TOPIAS HYNNINEN

• Position: Left-shot centre/winger
• League(s): Liiga
• Height: 5'10"
• Weight: 176 lbs
• Birthdate: December 19th, 2005

I profiled Hynninen last year, but he went undrafted. In his D+1 season this year, all he's done is produce 12 goals and 35 points in 51 games in Finland's top pro league, finishing second on his team. Then he led the team in the relegation playoffs with 10 points in 5 games, as a 19 year old. What else could you ask for from a D+1 prospect? I know that the Liiga isn't all that great a pro league anymore, but there's a reason why he did so well, why he was part of Finland's World Juniors team, and was one of their top producers in all international games this season. He's a bit undersized, but he works around that with very good skating, a high work ethic, and smarts. He harasses puck carriers, he uses his smaller stature against bigger defenders to get leverage on them to protect the puck, he is very shifty and can escape pressure at a high level. He has all the skills to make for a solid bottom six forward, if you don't think being 5'10" is such a major limiting factor.

Brendan McMorrow

• Position: Left-shot centre
• League(s): USHL
• Height: 6'0"
• Weight: 190 lbs
• Birthdate: March 27th, 2006

McMorrow had some hype going into his draft year on the US NTDP, but he wallowed on their fourth line on the wing and just never got going. This year, he moved to centre on the top line on Waterloo in the USHL and seemed to find his game again. His strengths lie in his high-energy, two-way play, particularly as a shutdown, physicaly, defensive centre. He is a bulldog both on the forecheck, on defensive sequences, when driving to the net, and so on. Where he seemed to improve this season is with his vision as a playmaker, and his off-puck anticipation. He's always shown an ability to recover pucks and quickly execute plays, good for a lightning-strike offense off his forechecking work. The defensive and off puck impact hints at a potential for an NHL depth role, especially if he can stick at centre.

The question around McMorrow still lies in a relative weakness when it comes to high end offensive skills and skating. His skating, while strong in a straight line, can be compromised during changes in direction. He'll need to work on improving his agility, and continue to improve his offensive skills. With a commitment to the University of Denver, arguably the top program in the NCAA the past 3-4 years with one of the best, young, up and coming coaches he could really take off in his career.

ROMAN LUTTSEV

• Position: Left-shot centre
• League(s): MHL/KHL
• Height: 6'0"
• Weight: 170 lbs
• Birthdate: April 1st, 2006

Luttsev was considered a pretty good prospect even last year, but was overshadowed on a very good and deep team. This year, with those older players largely making the jump to the pro levels in Russia, Luttsev got his time to shine and led the league in points with 66 in 51 games. His strengths as a player lie in his smarts, energy, and how versatile he is as a player. He has good vision as a playmaker and is a quick problem-solver when dealing with pressure, allowing him to create offensive opportunities. He has a quick and heavy wrist shot, make him a scoring threat as well as a threat to pass it off. Even in his draft year, he has looked like a responsible, two-way centre or winger, contributing defensively and acting as a safety blanket for his more all-offense teammates.

The problems that remain for Luttsev are mostly down to the inconsistency of his play. I've read more than one scouting report with concerns about his physical ability to handle physical contact even if he isn't below average for size. I've gotten the impression that he has a bit of that common reputation for 'enigmatic' Russian forwards. I haven't watched enough of his games this season to accurately say how true that is, but I do know that he would need to find a consistency for these sorts of things to convince NHL teams he can be a useful depth forward at the very least. His two-way abilities are on the right track, so looking more like a pro in looking consistent game to game will help a lot with that. He's another where I'm not sure he'll get taken, but if he does I'll know why.

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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