It's a more wide-open race for first overall in the 2025 NHL Draft than it is a lot of years. On the one hand, that's a lot more fun for those of us in the prospect business than a top-pick race that's decided before the season even starts. But on the other hand, it means you have to pay much closer attention—and it means you have no idea how things are going to shake out, because the results could depend far more heavily on which team gets that top pick.
Getting this ranking to you before the World Junior Championships upends the conversation—or further cements the preseason choice of James Hagens at number one—was strategic.