Benjamin Kevan – 2025 NHL Entry Draft Profile

Contrary to his skill set, Kevan doesn’t often carry the puck into the attacking zone. Instead, he often will race up to the neutral zone and then leave a drop pass for a teammate, who then rushes into the zone first while Kevan trails just slightly behind. By letting teammates attack first, he can use his excellent vision to watch the play unfold and find weaknesses in the opponent’s defence that he couldn’t otherwise see if he were in the fray.

All of that was on display at the 2025 U18 World Junior Championships, most notably in the bronze medal game against Slovakia. With less than five minutes left in overtime, Kevan picked up the puck in the American end and dropped it off at centre ice to Mikey Berchild, who carried it with speed into the Slovakian zone. Two Slovak defenders were ready for him, though, and easily separated him from the puck. That’s when Kevan, who had been quietly hanging just behind the play, leapt into action, scooping up the loose puck and finding a gap in the defence before firing it past the goalie to claim the bronze medal. His awareness and quick decision-making saved the Americans from going home empty-handed for the first time since 2021.

There are a few concerns about his game, though, one of which is his production level. In 51 games last season, he scored just 13 goals and 43 points, a 14-point step back from his freshman totals in 2023-24. The lack of quality linemates didn’t help; the Buccaneers lost nine of their top 11 scorers from 2023-24, leaving just Kevan and 20-year-old Jack Kernan to pick up the slack. Kevan also had some bad puck luck last season, finishing with just an 8.6% shooting percentage on 151 shots. Out of the top 20 shooters in the United States Hockey League (USHL), he had the third-lowest scoring success rate. Furthermore, he lost some momentum bouncing between the National Team Development Program, where he was relegated to a fourth-line checking role, and Des Moines, where he was one of the team’s best play drivers.

All of that has raised some questions about his dimensionality. With the puck, Kevan is fantastic, but without it, he isn’t as effective. He’s fairly aggressive when attacking on offense, but has a lack of hustle when getting back on defence. He’s made some big improvements from his rookie season in the USHL on the defensive side, but still plays a mostly perimeter game, hanging to the outsides of the play. Part of that is due to his lack of strength. Although he does get involved in some scrums after the whistle, he shies away from contact during the play, instead using his stick to try and break up plays. When he does get in the way of a bigger, stronger player, he really struggles to make an impact and gets easily pushed away.

Still, Kevan brings a highly enticing package to every shift. His lack of strength prevents him from getting into corners and fighting in front of the net, but once that improves, he’ll likely be more involved in puck retrievals and carrying the play into the attacking zone. Likewise, he doesn’t play an effective 200-foot game, but has continued to improve in that area since joining the USHL and has the intelligence to know where to be to help out. All of that will come with age and maturity.

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Benjamin Kevan – NHL Draft Projection

On one hand, Kevan has the skating ability and offensive sense to be an impactful player in the NHL, but his lack of defensive awareness and strength make him a tough player to throw on the bottom six. There’s still a lot of upside to his game, and he’ll have plenty of time to figure it out as he committed to the University of Arizona for the 2026-27 season. That will be a great place for him to round out his game, and if a team is willing to wait, he could become a very solid prospect. Given the risk and his smaller stature, he’ll likely be a late second or early third-round pick.

Quotables

“Perhaps the most dynamic USHL product eligible for the 2025 NHL Draft, Benjamin Kevan can break games open when he’s at his best. In those sequences, the 6-foot forward blends strong agility, speed, and handling skill to cut through defences and carve out dangerous scoring chances for himself and teammates.” – Sebastian High, Elite Prospects

“Kevan has had positive showings this season in both the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and 2024 World Junior A Challenge, solidifying his stock in the process. The right-wing was a tournament standout in the latter, and has shown well with the Des Moines in the United States Hockey League.” – Aaron Vickers, FC Hockey

“I don’t know if there is a player out there that approaches the game like Ben. His belief in his ability is unparalleled and is shown with both his success on the ice and growth off the ice. And while it has been incredible to watch his growth these past few years, the scary part is that he is just getting started!” – Matt Curley, Buccaneers Head Coach and General Manager

Strengths

Under Construction/Improvements to Make

NHL Potential

With his offensive upside and ability to work effectively off the half wall and in the cycle, Kevan has the skills to be a solid middle-six producer, despite his lack of size. He’s a great skater and can be dangerous when given space but rarely creates it himself and needs to add some more strength to find success in professional hockey. There are elements of a high-end work ethic present in his game, and if he can add that dimension to his skill set, he could become a player like Jordan Kyrou, whom he’s tried to model his game after.

Risk-Reward Analysis

Risk –3.5/5, Reward – 4/5

Fantasy Hockey Potential

Offence – 7.5/10, Defence – 6/10

Awards/Achievements

Interviews/Links

Benjamin Kevan Stats

Videos