Rarely have we been able to witness such a hectic race as this season for the first place in the National Hockey League draft. This crazy fight will be the subject of a special report that TVASports.ca will present to you during the coming week as three players will go under the microscope.
The last time there was any semblance of suspense surrounding who the top pick was was in 2022, when the Montreal Canadiens set their sights on Juraj Slafkovsky, choosing him over Logan Cooley and Shane Wright. But we could have suspected it a little by virtue of Slafkovsky’s performance at the World Hockey Championship that spring.
In 2024 (Macklin Celebrini), 2023 (Connor Bedard), 2021 (Owen Power), 2020 (Alexis Lafrenière), 2019 (Jack Hughes) and 2018 (Rasmus Dahlin), there was, so to speak, no race.
This is why the 2025 draft promises to be the most interesting in recent history. There are four real contenders as of this writing.
If James Hagens was expected to be the favorite at the start of the tournament, he is now getting a lot of heat from three pursuers in the Ontario Junior League (OHL).
At the beginning of September, TVASports.ca gave you a fairly complete portrait of Hagens, this gifted American center player who had good words for Montreal.
Next week, we will present to you a special report spread over three days to let you know the three hopes who threaten to dethrone him.
Stay tuned for files published Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
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