2025 NHL Draft Grades: The Cameron Schmidt somehow fell to Dallas edition

Not a bad day for a team with basically no picks.

I’ll have an article ready for when Dallas officially announces the Glen Gulutzan hire. So don’t worry. I’ve still got your Stars needs. I just need to yap about the draft because it’s my favorite thing to write about.

I’ve — perhaps aggressively so — made no bones about how much I liked the 2025 NHL Draft and the value I assumed Dallas could get out of it. Between the forwards, the defensemen, and the first round in general, there was, as there always is, value to be found.

But beyond that, as I said to Gavin on Spits and Suds, the draft is not just fun; it’s also a way to learn about hockey in general, and hockey’s future more specifically. Future opponents, future linemates in victory green, future styles, and even player profiles moving forward. The draft gives you that glimpse. If you’re wondering why there are no more Lane Hutsons over the next five years, then look no further than the 2025 Draft, which saw not a single defender under six feet go in any of the seven rounds.

I also just love what this border represents. There is the practical knowledge of each' player’s skillset, and the theoretical knowledge of how that skillset can look in victory green. Ideally, the two meet to become the new Dallas Stars reality. Is that what Jim Nill and the organization got? IMO, yes. And then some.

Admittedly — spoiler alert — I wasn’t too fond of how the draft ended. Dallas ended up picking three players (Atte Joki, Dawson Sharkey, and Charlie Paquette) that Corey Pronman and many others didn’t even have rated. Meanwhile, players that were rated — Carlos Handel (177 to Ottawa), Bruno Idzan (181 to Ottawa), Filip Ekberg (221 to Carolina), Karl Annborn (205 to Seattle), and Luka Radivojevic (undrafted!) — were still on board. Hey. If I get to be excited, surely I get to be disappointed? Just saying.

But the Stars losing out on some interesting longshots is ultimately just small potatoes. Two of their picks were absolute dynamite. Another one I thought was just good (which translates to great in round five). What grades do the Stars deserve on this, and who are these players?

Cameron Schmidt

• Position: LW

• Profile: 5’8, 161lbs

• League: WHL

• Player Class: Specialist

• Player Type: Elusive Carrier, Scoring Threat

There’s not much to add here that I haven’t already covered. Schmidt falling to Dallas was like a bolt from beyond. This is a player who had the classic faller’s profile: talented enough to go in the first round but hey — “Florida’s the only team to ever win a Cup, and they win with size and grit!” And so he fell. Nevermind that the Panthers aren’t actually a big team. But that’s neither here nor there, and I’ve said as much elsewhere.

Schmidt is just a brilliant pickup. Speed, skill, and tenacity. A lot will be made about him being a replacement for Logan Stankoven. Schmidt is nothing like Stankoven, to be clear. Where Stankoven was more of a forechecking playmaker (it’s important to remember that Stankoven played center his junior career, and thus always played more responsibly by nature), Schmidt is your classic north-south shooter. Yes, that sounds more like Denis Gurianov. And no, I won’t accept Gurianov slander here. However, no two players are alike anyway. And nobody’s quite like Schmidt. But I’ve already yapped about him plenty so just read my report below.

Draft Grade: A strong A+

Brandon Gorzynski

• Position: LW

• Profile: 6’2, 181lbs

• League: WHL

• Player Class: Generalist

• Player Type: Pillar of Support, Elusive Carrier

This is another pickup I really loved. EPRinkside had Gorzynski ranked just outside of the second round at #68.

I can’t help but think of shades of Emil Hemming. The WHL winger is working with a bit less raw talent, but not that much less: this is a big winger with above average speed and neutral zone acumen ala Warren Foegele.

Like Foegele — although not exactly like — he fits the profile of a gritty grinder, but his game holds a lot more nuance. His hands are much softer despite being such an off-puck hog, and he seems to have a modest amount of vision when creating chances in close. This is the absolute definition of a sleeper pick, and easily the most projectable player — yes, over Schmidt — of this draft class.

Draft Grade: A strong B+

Atte Joki

• Position: C

• Profile: 6’2, 190lbs

• League: U20 SM-sarja

• Player Class: Generalist

• Player Type: Gritty Grinder, PK Specialist

The draft is about value gained in proportion to value lost. That’s it. Anything else is just smoke and mirrors. In terms of value lost, I despised (in a sports way) this pick. With Quinn Beauchesne, Evan Passmore, Carlos Handel (!), Bruno Idzan, Luka Radiovevic, Karl Annborn, and Filip Ekberg — all still on board, I can’t for the life of me imagine picking an Oskar Back clone. Players like that are a dime a dozen, and you can call them up from your AHL team at any time. Why?

Because he can transition into a blueliner one day?

Obviously, I hadn’t seen anything about the kid until the indispensable Prospect Shifts channel posted a video. Did it change my mind? No. Everything about his game is bland, and his forward-facing skills are clearly lacking. But there’s a lot more going on, and a little more nuance under the hood. I’m the only one that needs to hear this but it makes sense — people are paid to do this for a living, after all.

Draft Grade: A skeptical D-

Måns Goos

• Position: G

• Profile: 6’5, 198lbs

• League: J20 Nationell

• Player Class: N/A

• Player Type: N/A

I’m glad Dallas is willing to take flyers on these European goalies. Both Arno Tiefensee and Maxim Mayorov (both with experience in professional leagues) have been solid pickups, and now Goos follows in that tradition. Goos hits all the right notes in a goalie prospect: he’s tall. Outside of that, Corey Pronman was the only big name who had him as high as he did (in the second round). Here’s what he had to say.

He can struggle to get to the toughest lateral saves, but he competes hard, is aggressive and makes difficult saves. Goos reads the play well, and while he can scramble a bit too much, he's generally efficient and square to pucks. He projects as a backup goalie in the NHL.

Draft Grade: A straight B

Dawson Sharkey

• Position: RW

• Profile: 6’1, 185lbs

• League: QMJHL

• Player Class: N/A

• Player Type: N/A

Sharkey’s an overager who played in the Q’, scoring 39 points in 54 games for the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. It was the story of the day: Dallas wasn’t interested in the defenders in this class. It’s hard to find quality video of who he is on the micro level, but I did find a highlight of him scoring a hat trick.

Draft Grade: A discerning D+

Charlie Paquette

• Position: RW

• Profile: 6’2, 207lbs

• League: OHL

• Player Class: N/A

• Player Type: N/A

Another forward with size. Another overager. Paquette was the Guelph Storm’s assistant captain, and was a point per game player.

Draft Grade: F

July Prospect Rankings

While I got a little Sports Mad over Dallas’ picks beyond the first two, those were still two, really really good picks. Without picking in either of the first two rounds, Dallas’ haul might as well look like the Islanders.

Again, this is not recency bias. I’ve been following Dallas’ prospects for years. Schmidt immediately move into the top five. Speaking of, here they are.

1. Emil Hemming

2. Cameron Schmidt

3. Aram Minnetian

4. Tristan Bertucci

5. Brandon Gorzynski

6. Ayrton Martino

7. Angus MacDonell

8. Måns Goos

9. George Fegaras

10. Niilopekka Muhonen

As I’ve mentioned before, I only rank players under 23. This eliminates players like Matej Blumel, Antonio Stranges, Arno Tiefensee, and other various Texas Stars. That’s just a hard and fast rule of mine to emphasize the difference between prospects and emerging veterans. Prospects tend to have a lot more room for development. There are exceptions — the late bloomer, for example — but again, it’s hardly the rule.

A player like Gorzynski may seem strange over players like Martino and MacDonell who produced at really high rates in their respective leagues; certainly higher than Gorzynski. But Gorzynski, in addition to being younger, has a much more projectable game, hence the ranking.

All in all, I’d say this is found money. No picks in the first two rounds, and Dallas finds three players that immediately go into their top 10. Obviously, that’s more of a reflection of their shallow pool. But it an be both: a reflection of the value they just added.