Thirty-two National Hockey League teams are preparing to take part in this weekend’s 2025 NHL Draft, and their top affiliates are ready and waiting for the next wave of young American Hockey League stars to begin their professional careers.
In 2024-25, a total of 245 former first- and second-round draft picks played in the American Hockey League, including Jonathan Lekkerimäki (15th overall in 2022), Danila Klimovich (41st in 2021), Aatu Räty (52nd in 2021), Jett Woo (37th in 2018) and Phil Di Giuseppe (38th in 2012) from the 2025 Calder Cup champion Abbotsford Canucks.
Twenty first- and second-rounders from the 2023 NHL Draft alone skated in the AHL this past season, led by Springfield’s Dalibor Dvorsky (10th) and Chicago’s Bradly Nadeau (30th). Dvorsky and Nadeau were selected to the 2024-25 AHL Top Prospects Team, where they were joined by Chicago’s Scott Morrow (40th in 2021), Rochester’s Konsta Helenius (14th in 2024), and Laval’s Logan Mailloux (31st in 2021).
Other first-round picks in the AHL in 2024-25 included:
2024 picks Artyom Levshunov (2nd overall), Jett Luchanko (13th), Michael Brandsegg-Nygård (15th) and Stian Solberg (23rd);
2023 selections David Reinbacher (5th overall), Nate Danielson (9th), Sam Honzek (16th), Axel Sandin-Pellikka (17th), Eduard Šalé (20th), Otto Stenberg (25th) and Quentin Musty (26th);
2022 picks Simon Nemec (2nd overall), David Jiříček (6th), Kevin Korchinski (7th), Marco Kasper (8th), Matthew Savoie (9th), Conor Geekie (11th), Denton Mateychuk (12th), Frank Nazar (13th), Rutger McGroarty (14th), Noah Östlund (16th), Joakim Kemell (17th), Lian Bichsel (18th), Liam Öhgren (19th), Ivan Miroshnichenko (20th), Owen Pickering (21st), Nathan Gaucher (22nd), Filip Mešár (26th), Filip Bystedt (27th), Jiří Kulich (28th), Maveric Lamoureux (29th), Brad Lambert (30th) and Reid Schaefer (32nd);
2021 selections Tyler Boucher (10th overall), Matt Coronato (13th), Isak Rosen (14th), Sebastien Cossa (15th), Brennan Othmann (16th), Zachary Bolduc (17th), Chaz Lucius (18th), Fedor Svechkov (19th), Jesper Wallstedt (20th), Fabian Lysell (21st), Xavier Bourgault (22nd), Corson Ceulemans (25th), Carson Lambos (26th), Zach L’Heureux (27th), Oskar Olausson (28th), Chase Stillman (29th), Zach Dean (30th) and Nolan Allan (32nd);
2020 picks Alexander Holtz (7th), Yaroslav Askarov (11th), Shakir Mukhamadullin (20th), Hendrix Lapierre (22nd), Jacob Perreault (27th), Brendan Brisson (29th) and Ozzy Wiesblatt (31st);
and 2019 choices Ville Heinola (20th), Sam Poulin (21st), Tobias Bjornfot (22nd), Jakob Pelletier (26th), Nolan Foote (27th), Ryan Suzuki (28th), Brayden Tracey (29th) and Ryan Johnson (31st);
The New York Islanders, parent club of the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders, own the first pick in this year’s draft, which gets underway on Friday night in Los Angeles.
