Hamilton-born Matthew Schaefer top-ranked North American skater for NHL draft

Canada's Matthew Schaefer (right) battles for the puck with Switzerland's Basile Sansonnens (second right) and Eric Schneller (26) during third period IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship pre-tournament action in Ottawa on Thursday, December 19, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

TORONTO — Matthew Schaefer is the top-ranked North American skater heading into the 2025 NHL draft.

Schaefer, of Hamilton, was ranked first overall by NHL Central Scouting on its final NHL draft rankings.

He had seven goals and 15 assists in 17 games with Erie this season and added a goal and an assist in two games for Canada at the ’25 world junior hockey tournament before suffering an injury that kept him out for the remainder of the regular season.

The NHL draft is slated for June 27-28 in Los Angeles.

Saginaw Spirit centre Michael Misa was ranked second overall ahead of Boston College freshman James Hagens, also a centre.

Anton Frondell, a forward for Djurgarden in Sweden’s second division, tops the list of international skaters. Frondell, a 17-year-old from Stockholm, has 11 goals and 14 assists in 29 games.

Joshua Ravensbergen of the WHL’s Prince George Cougars and Russia’s Pyotr Andreyanov, of CSKA Jr., are the top North American and European goaltenders, respectively.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 15, 2025.