Lasse Boelius
Los Angeles, California. I am late posting this – but here is my annual Anaheim Ducks NHL Entry Draft write up.
With just the one first round selection this year – despite their best efforts to acquire one at the Trade Deadline the Ducks opted to stay put at number ten – where they fell after the lottery balls once again did not fall their way.
#10 Overall – Roger McQueen – C/RW, 6’6″ 198lbs
Compared to last years draft – in which the Ducks were due to select third overall and went off the board by grabbing Becket Sennecke, this selection was no surprise. Right from the Draft combine where it was reported that the Ducks took him out to dinner and McQueen compared his game to Ryan Getzlaf to set Ducks fans eyebrows-a-raising, not to mention his surname sharing a likeness to a certain Disney staple it was always going to be Anaheim that selected him at tenth overall.
Anaheim also loves a pass-over with potential. McQueen was originally slated to go somewhere in the top five but due to suffering a spinal injury that limited his draft season to just 17 regular season games and three playoff contests he was looked over by a lot of teams wary of the serious injury and how it might affect his overall career arc.
He finished with 20 points in 17 games and scored just the one goal in the playoffs – where as the year before he had finished third on his team in scoring with 51 points in 53 games.
His draft profile does read a lot like Getzlaf;
Teams will also appreciate his patience in possession. With his stickhandling and ability to ward off checks with his size and length, McQueen can create room for himself in the offensive zone. His wrist shot is booming, but he also does a nice job of finding teammates in his periphery and feeding them for scoring chances by changing the angle of attack.
Bleacher Report
For those lucky enough to attend the recent post-draft development camp – McQueen’s size and strength was on full display as he battled against last years third overall – Becket Sennecke.
Perhaps best of all – is McQueen’s birth-date – which has him being eligible for the AHL as soon as next season, likely the development plan for him is to spend a year with the Gulls before slotting in on the Ducks roster just in time for their contention window beginning.
The Ducks will have to hope that his draft-season injury was just a one-off and not a portend.
Anaheim Ducks NHL Entry Draft 2025
#45 Overall – Eric Nilson – C/RW, 6’0″ 165lbs
Having dealt their own 40th overall selection to Philadelphia in the Cutter Gauthier trade last year the Ducks had to wait until the 45th selection to grab a brand new shiny Swedish Center. The pick was acquired in the Trevor Zegras trade from Philadelphia but originally came from Columbus in a different trade the Flyers made two years previous.
As is the circle of life – the Ducks decided that time was running out (or has run out given they did not qualify him and let him walk in free agency) for former 2018 23rd overall selection Isac Lundestrom and they needed new blood to fill the bottom six two-way pivot role.
Regarded as an all-rounder, Nilson can play up and down the line-up but projects as a dependable bottom six forward with high hockey IQ and excellent skating. Among his tools is an innate ability to create turnovers in the neutral as well as offensive zones which sounds familiar regarding a lot of mid-to-late round picks made since Pat Verbeek took charge.
He appears to thrive on next-goal-wins situations and lifts his game to another level in the post-season – netting 13 points in 9 post season games in the Swedish J20 and providing 17 points in 8 post season games in the J18 the year before.
At 6’0″ he is on the small side for a Center but makes up for it with his skating and vision. His puck handling could use work as well his shot selection at times and he will need to bulk up a lot if he hopes to carve out a role at minimum in the bottom six but with Lundestrom now moving on and the likes of Nathan Gaucher next in line to graduate to a shut-down center role, the Ducks have time to wait with Nilson. He is slated to attend Michigan State in the fall – a hockey program known for helping athletes off the ice. Ducks Assistant GM Martin Madden said he reminded him of former Duck William Karlsson at the same age which is pretty funny because he said the exact same thing about Lucas Pettersson last year.
#60 Overall – Lasse Boelius – LD, 6’1″ 190lbs
Using the pick acquired from New Jersey (originally Winnipeg’s) in the Brian Dumoulin trade at the most recent trade deadline the Ducks selected their first Finnish defender since Sami Vatanen in 2009 and their first Finn since Gulls legend Julius Nattinen in 2015.
Much like Vatanen – Boelius is a supremely mobile defender who loves to lead or support the rush. His skating and knack for presenting himself as a passing option make him more of an offensive defenseman than a defensive one but he has been said to have good gap control even if his overall ability to defend against the rush needs work.
Madden mentioned he is “really similar to many puck-moving defensemen we’ve drafted during the last ten years; he’s a smart, mobile kid”. Rodwin Dionicio also immediately springs to mind.
As a 17 year old he saw seven games of action in the Liiga – contributing two assists and remaining a +1 which is no easy feat. Spending the majority of this season in the Assat U20 he put together a respectable 18 points in 34 games. He is expected to graduate to the Liiga full time this upcoming season so it will be interesting to see how he fares playing against men for a full season.
He is unlikely to come across to North America until at least the 2027-2028 season unless he impresses enough to warrant acclimating him to the smaller ice surface before he turns twenty.
#72nd Overall – Noah Read – C/LW, 6’0″ 170lbs
Using their own selection in the third round the Ducks opted to get ahead of the curve in selecting the small but speedy Read. The all-rounder forward is one of those selections that does a lot right but does not particularly excel at any one specific thing. He was overshadowed by team-mates that slotted in higher on the depth chart on his stacked Memorial Cup Winning London Knights team but will look to inherit a much bigger role and subsequently more ice time as those players transition to the professional game.
Fearless despite his size he is ferocious on the fore-check and unafraid to go to the dirty areas. He put up 26 points in 45 games as a rookie in the OHL while contributing 6 points in 17 total post season games.
With a January birth-date we won’t see him in San Diego until 2027-2028 but I am excited to see how he looks in a larger role for the Knights this year.
#101st Overall – Drew Schock – LD, 6’0″ 179lbs
With their first selection in the fourth round (acquired from Detroit in the Gage Alexander trade) the Ducks looked to the always reliable NTDP – selecting shifty defender Drew Schock. He put up 17 points in 27 games in the USHL last season and had a seven points in seven game split at the U18s.
The Ducks have always fared well in drafting defenders and may have grabbed another late blooming gem here as it has been noted that Schock’s skating is already at an NHL level. Highly elusive and able to move in and out of tight quarters with ease he complements his footwork with soft hands. Yet another defender that loves to lead the rush his tools are all offense though he does have competent gap control. He is heading to the University of Michigan this season and will look to work on his physical game and containment under pressure as one of his weak points is coughing the puck up under pressure in his own zone (again sounds like Dionicio).
I would assume he spends at least three years in College so the Gulls won’t be seeing him until 2028-2029.
#104th Overall – Elijah Neuenschwander- G, 6’4″ 198lbs
After re-acquiring their own fourth round pick that they had dealt to New York in the Jacob Trouba trade but then got back in the Chris Kreider acquisition the Ducks selected their token monstrous goaltender – this time from Switzerland.
I immediately liked this selection because Neuenschwander is already drawing Jonas Hiller comparisons. He plays low energy – adjusting to face the puck with the right angles but concern lies in whether he is quick enough side to side and like most young goaltenders he also needs to work on rebound control.
“Very, very similar profile to Damian (Clara): big, lanky, still physically developing. Really poised goaltender, good overall hockey sense, ability to track the puck, will get the opportunity to keep getting better on the international stage,”
Martin Madden
He saw 9 games in the SL – which is the tier below the top Mens league in Switzerland – where he posted a 2.67 GAA and .909 Save Percentage with a 6-2-1 record. Very good results for an 18 year old. Next season he will look to spend more time in the SL and hope for a call up to the NL (the same league Dionicio played in after being sent there mid-season).
The Ducks have indicated he will be given ample time to develop so he likely remains in Europe for at least another two or three seasons before transitioning to North America. Given the Ducks, Gulls and now Tulsa are already very stacked between the pipes that gives a good amount of time to figure out who pans out and who doesn’t.
#136th Overall – Alexis Mathieu – LD, 6’4″ 196lbs
Hitting the later rounds we start to enter smallish forward territory but the Ducks looked to their draft strength and opted once again for the back-end.
Using their own selection they grabbed Alexis Mathieu out of the Q. The hulking defender is described as “violent” and uses his big frame effectively to erase opponents. I am immediately thinking Simon Benoit or more recently Noah Warren.
He reads as a pure shut-down defense-men with not much if any offensive upside, contributing just six points through 59 games in the notoriously high scoring Q last season. He did step up somewhat in the playoffs – adding three points in eleven post season match-ups.
With a May birthday we likely don’t see him until 2027-2028 by which point the Noah Warrens and Konnor Smith’s have either graduated or moved on.
#159th Overall – Emile Guite- LW, 6’2″ 179lbs
Using Edmonton’s fifth round pick that was acquired in the Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick trade (conditional upon the Oilers not winning the Cup) the Ducks went the dark-horse route selecting the once highly touted Guite out of the Q.
A team-mate of last years third round selection Maxim Masse he was projected to be a top-64 pick after putting up 57 points in 61 games as a rookie but expectations perhaps got the better of him as he struggled through an important draft year to finish with just 30 points in 59 games.
Guite’s strengths lie in his offensive positioning and footwork as well as his powerful shot, the only knock appears to be consistency and confidence issues. The Ducks appear to be sure that he can bounce back and prove himself a scoring threat.
“Emile was a second-overall pick in the QMJHL behind (Caleb) Desnoyers a few years back, he grew up playing with him. Everybody in the province compared them as equally talented at a young age, and he had a hell of a season at 16. 60 points with super high expectations to be a first-round pick this year,” “Probably put a little too much pressure on himself, the team might have put a little too much pressure on him. “He had a setback season, but we are convinced that he’ll bounce back. He’s got outstanding hockey sense, a great shot, and really good hands. We’ll help him. We’ll support him. He’ll get faster. He’ll keep going as the player. We’re super excited for the value he got in the fifth round.”
Martin Madden
This pick could be the Troy Terry-esque steal of the 2025 draft.
We likely don’t see him in San Diego until the 2027-2028 season.
#168th Overall – Anthony Allain-Samake- LD, 6’2″ 183lbs
Using their own selection early in the sixth round the Ducks once again looked to the back-end, selecting the fluid skating Allain-Samake out of the USHL.
One of the youngest players in this years draft the lanky defender has a long runway for development ahead of him. His strengths lie in his passing ability which is tied to his skating, always looking to find a team-mate in the slot as he shifts and moves around the zone. He also has good puck rushing ability but excels once he gets set in the offensive zone. He sounds a lot like Tyson Hinds but without the shot.
After putting up 14 points (all assists) in the USHL as a rookie he now heads to the University of Connecticut where he will join fellow Ducks prospect Alexandre Blais.
I am betting he does the full four years at College so we likely do not see him until 2029-2030.
#200th Overall – Brady Turko – RW, 6’0″ 168lbs
With their last selection in the 2025 draft the Ducks used their own seventh round pick to select Brady Turko – another September birthday with a long development ahead of him.
Your prototypical late round smallish forward the Manitoba native put up 26 points in 68 games in his first full season in the WHL playing on the same squad as Roger McQueen.
The Ducks are betting on the trend that his development as shown thus far – putting up 43 points in his first season in the U18 league and then exploding for 90 points in 41 games the next season. Another all-rounder type who does not seem to particularly excel at any one thing he is a hard working energy guy that reminds me a lot of Antoine Morand.
Depending on his development we likely don’t see him until the 2027-2028 season.
Compared to previous years drafts I did not pay much or any attention at all to this years draft class so I cannot really critique any misses or might-have-been selections. I did find the number of defenders drafted as over-excessive but would rather the Ducks leaned toward their strength and select some high value players they know they can develop rather than take a shot in the dark on a position they have been less successful in drafting.
Here is how I would describe the needs met by this draft:
With ten selections the Ducks definitely leaned more into risk/reward territory this year – but as I said above, even though their defensive pipeline is now bursting at the seams I would prefer they select from there if it means they know they can develop and come away with a bona-fide asset that could be later used to acquire something they do need.
Overall I give this draft a grade of “A-“.
I have already updated the Prospect Timeline Page so make sure to keep that bookmarked to see how far away these players are from joining the Gulls.
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