Mason West, Cooper Simpson lead MSHSL players into NHL draft

by T.R. Holler, Let’s Play Hockey

In what is commonly accepted as a ‘down draft year’ overall the 2025 NHL Draft (held this Friday/Saturday) might be low on superstar talent, but depth can be had well into the 4^th/5^th rounds if you’ve done your homework. This year also points toward a more international flavor with returned presence of eastern Europe and Scandinavian countries making a comeback numbers-wise. Locally, the MSHSL/MN prospect pipeline will serve as a microcosm of this 2025 draft trend with a lack of top-end ‘superstar’ talent, but a bevy of options exist for organizational depth that help NHL teams fill out bottom-6 lines and provide AHL depth.

A composite view of the top five international draft boards shows approximately 30 of the Top 50, nearly the full first two rounds of the ’25 NHL draft, projected to hail from international origins. We project that there are two local MSHSL/MN players who have a crack at breaking through the Top 75, and potentially one player, as an early 2^nd rounder — so, let’s take a closer look and break it down;

As usual, the top 10 of the 1^st Round will be dominated by the center position with six of the Top 10 going as centermen with a couple of defenders to round it out.

(D- Erie), Michael Misa (C-Saginaw), Porter Martone (RW-Brampton), Anton Frondell (C-Djurgardens), James Hagens (C-BC), Jake O’Brien (C-Brantford), Caleb Desnoyers (C-Moncton), Radim Mrtka (D-Seattle), Brady Martin (C-Sault St. Marie), and Jackson Smith (D-TriCity/WHL).  We believe the above grouping will be the definitive Top 10 in the ’25 NHL draft with high accuracy.

The top MSHSL/MN players to watch will break down with our top-ranked players, mid-round sleepers and a super-sleeper pick, with a brief report and player comparison for each followed by a full list of the NHL Central Scouting Final Rankings for Minnesota-born players:

#32-#45: Mason West, C, 6’6″/215 – Edina HS

Projection: 2C playmaker is multi-sporter who finally decided to commit to puck full time and recently committed to Michigan State

Style compares to: Quinton Byfield

Scouting Report: Wins faceoffs and possesses puck as if it were made of gold. Long, athletic playmaker is a glider with extreme reach and wiry leverage. More facilitator than finisher, West possesses high-velocity snaps, but full motion of it needs immediacy. This spring with Fargo Force put up 1-8-9 over 10 games. The late D-O-B  provides a longer development runway, but his ceiling is unlimited. Think more Bjugstad than Anders Lee.

#62-80: Cooper Simpson, LW, 6’1″/179 – Shakopee HS

Projection: Middle-6 winger at his vertical best with green light to snipe at will on proper line that lets him freelance.

Style compares to: Trevor Zegras

Scouting Report: Blinding snapshot release off either foot straight or coming out of pivots. Fueled by a strong, lithe core and tremendous balance. Carves up coverage with sneaky speed. Dynamic USHL spring performance with 7-1-8 over nine games with Tri-City.

D-zone efforts need more grease for improved two-way game. Committed to NoDak.

MID-ROUND SLEEPERS WORTH A LOOK:

#130-140: Nolan Geerdes, D, 5’11″/175.- Rogers HS

Projection: Feisty, 2^nd pair D checks all the boxes as a scoring, high-tempo, three-zone competitor. Quick, smooth puck mover and textbook neutralizer. Top special teamer.

Comparable: Mackenzie Weegar

#160-170: Brent Solomon, RW, 5’11″/165 – Champlin Park HS

Projection: Middle-six scoring winger with deceptive situational speed. Timing and finish are of polished, veteran sniper. Diverse skill set includes elite passing, shot blocking and selflessness. Perfect workaholic for Wisconsin Badger style.

Comparable: Jesper Bratt

 SUPER SLEEPER PICK: 

#210-225: Blake Vanek, RW, 6’4″/205 – Stillwater HS

Projection: Bottom-6 prowler who can facilitate breakouts and join rush finishing with aggressive point production. Perfect ‘bumper’ on PP. Decent speed given ample size.

Comparable: Taylor Raddysh

Minnesota Wild Outlook:

The Minnesota Wild have picks in the 2^nd, 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th rounds in the 2025 NHL draft so no 1^st round or 3^rd round picks due to the trade for D – David Jiricek, but there is opportunity for organizational depth especially in restocking the Iowa Wild depth chart. It will be interesting to see if in the later rounds (5^th/6^th rd) the Wild will select a local player which they’ve been known to do last few years. Perhaps leveraging the Wild’s late picks to trade up for a Nolan Geerdes (D-Rogers) or the bourgeoning Blake Vanek (RW-Stillwater) will come to fruition. The 2025 NHL draft all comes to light June 27^th and 28^th in Los Angeles.

NHL Central Scouting Final Rankings

In addition to the above, the NHL Central Scouting has listed the following players who hail from Minnesota amongst their final rankings. These rankings don’t always result in an automatic draft slot, but gives local hockey fans a sense of who the top draft-eligible prospects are, where they played and will be plying next season and beyond. The NHL Central Scouting Rankings are for North American Skaters and does not include international players.

NHL CS Ranking/Player Name/Pos/HT-WT/Hometown/High School/2024-25 Team/College Commit

#12 Logan Hensler/D/6’2″-196/Hill-Murray/Wisconsin/Wisconsin

#42 Jacob Rombach/D/6’6″-209/Blaine/Spring Lake Park HS/Lincoln (USHL)/Minnesota

Long, lanky, and wiry strong. Neutralizer and smooth puck mover through the zones. Joins Gophers fall ’25 and should fill out a bit.

#45 Connor Fondrk/C/6’0″-192/St. Paul/None/USNDTP/Boston

#53 Mason Moe/C/6’1″-186/Eden Prairie/Eden Prairie HS/Madison (USHL)/Minnesota

#61 Maceo Phillips/D/6’5″/Wayzata/Benilde-St. Margaret’s HS/US-U18/Minnesota

Captain congeniality off-ice, a nasty dog and funky king on-ice. Neutralizes and enforces his will below the blue line. Needs better, quicker edge work. Deciding between Portland (WHL) and Green Bay (USHL) for ’25-’26 before joining Gophs next fall ’26.

#63 Sam Laurila/D/6’1″-188/Moorhead/USNDTP/Fargo (USHL)/North Dakota

#74 Cooper Simpson/LW/6’1″-180/Shakopee/Shakopee HS/Shakopee HS/North Dakota

#83 Ashton Schultz/C/5’11”-180/Victoria/Minnetonka HS/Chicago (USHL)/North Dakota

#114 Brent Solomon/RW/6’0″-173/Champlin/Champlin Park HS/Champlin Park HS/Wisconsin

#117 William Belle/RW/6’3″-219/Minnetonka/Shattuck-St. Mary’s HS/USNDTP (USHL)/Notre Dame

#135 Nolan Roed/C/5’11”-186/White Bear Lake/White Bear Lake HS/Tri-City (USHL)/St. Cloud State

#143 Bobby Cowan/RW/5’11”-181/Edina/Edina HS/Madison (USHL)/Western Michigan

#144 Brendan McMorrow/C/6’0″-180/Lakeville/Benilde-St. Margaret’sS/Waterloo (USHL)/Denver

#146 Blake Vanek/RW/6’4″-205/Stillwater/Stillwater HS/Stillwater HS/Uncommitted

#152 Jacob Kvasnicka/RW/5’11”-175/Burnsville/Wayzata HS/US-U18/Minnesota

#161 Poul Andersen/RW/6’1″-181/St. Louis Park/Benilde-St. Margaret’s HS/Sherwood Park (WHL)/Maine

#164 Brooks Cullen/C/6’0″-189/Moorhead/Moorhead HS/Moorhead HS/Michigan State

#169 Nolen Geerdes/D/5’11”-177/Rogers/Rogers HS/Rogers HS/Western Michigan

Goalies

#29 Kam Hendrickson/6’2″-185/Chanhassen/Chanhassen HS/Waterloo (USHL)/Connecticut