UMass prospects set for 2025 NHL Draft spotlight in Los Angeles

The 2025 NHL Draft is here at last and prospective players are set to hear their names called at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Friday.

The first round (32 selections) will take up the entire slate of events on Friday, before Rounds 2-7 will continue on Saturday. This year, the NHL opted to implement a decentralized draft, meaning team personnel will not be in attendance, similar to the NBA and NFL draft protocols. About 100 prospects are expected to be on hand in LA.

Two players with UMass ties will likely be selected by NHL clubs this weekend. Incoming recruit Vaclav Nestrasil and rising sophomore Francesco Dell’Elce both cracked the final NHL Central Scouting Ranking list released in the spring.

Nestrasil slotted into the 36th overall position, while Dell’Elce was ranked 82nd overall among North American skaters. Should Nestrasil be selected around No. 36, he would become the highest drafted forward in Minutemen history. Former UMass sniper Aydar Suniev currently holds that distinction as he was taken 80th overall in 2023 by the Calgary Flames. Cale Makar holds the honor of being the highest selected player in program history as the fourth overall pick in 2017.

Dell’Elce got the attention of NHL scouts during the 2024-25 season with a seven-goal, 27-point freshman campaign from the blue line for the Minutemen in 40 games. Dell’Elce — named to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team — is considered an ‘over-ager’ in this year’s draft crop since he was eligible to be drafted the past two years. Dell’Elce just turned 20 on Monday.

Corey Pronman, the Athletic’s lead NHL prospects analyst, recently released a mock draft where he made all 224 picks.

Pronman has Nestrasil going to the Philadelphia Flyers at No. 36 — early second round — and he lists Dell’Elce at the 120th pick to the Los Angeles Kings — late fourth round.

Nestrasil’s strong finish to the season with the USHL-champion Muskegon Lumberjacks (13 points in 14 playoff games) this past winter has some draft experts thinking the Prague, Czechia native could be a first-round pick. EliteProspects.com has Nestrasil ranked 26th overall in its final 2025 draft rankings.

Keep an eye on UMass rising sophomore forward Daniel Jencko and future goalie recruit Tobias Trejbal as late-round selections as well. Jencko battled through an injury-riddled freshman season with the Minutemen and still managed 17 points in 28 games played. Trejbal — who committed to UMass this past March — put up a .930 save-percentage, plus seven shutouts, in 38 games with HC Litvinov in the under-20 Czechia league.

The Boston Bruins will have a top-10 pick for the first time since 2011 as the holders of the seventh-overall selection in this year’s draft. Boston will likely take a center with its pick and appear to be eyeing Brady Martin, Jake O’Brien and Roger McQueen.

James Hagens, who starred for Boston College this past season, is projected to go anywhere from third overall to 10th overall. Hagens was the top draft prospect heading into the 2024-25 season.

The Canadian duo of Matthew Schaefer and Michael Misa are expected to be the first two names off the board on Friday. Schaefer is a defenseman for the OHL’s Erie Otters and Misa put up 134 points for the Saginaw Spirit as a center.

The New York Islanders have the No. 1 overall pick this year after winning the draft lottery last month.

Boston University rising sophomore defenseman Sascha Boumedienne will likely join Hagens as Hockey East players taken in the first round. Boumedienne is the No. 18 North American ranked skater on the final NHL Central Scouting Ranking list.

The 2025 NHL Draft will be televised on ESPN and NHL Network, with ESPN covering the first round on Friday (7 p.m.) and NHL Network broadcasting rounds 2-7 on Saturday (noon). Both days will also be available for streaming on ESPN-Plus.