With the 2025 NHL draft coming up on June 27 and 28, it is time to evaluate what each team needs.
This is the part of the story where we mention the caveat that teams should never draft for position, and instead should always take the best player available, especially in the first three rounds. Some teams have more pressing positional needs than others, but drafting by position or size can lead to significant regret.
Some teams who have been contenders for years (think the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vegas Golden Knights) have thinner prospect pools and need everything; they've generally been trading away picks and prospects to stay on top.