Diego Buttazzoni – 2025 NHL Draft Prospect Profile

His ability to elevate his game in the clutch was huge in Portland’s run to the WHL Western Conference Final, where he played a key role alongside Kyle Chyzowski, who finished as the Winterhawks’ top scorer. Buttazzoni also played a huge role on Portland’s first power-play unit, scoring plenty of one-timers on the man advantage, a place where he found most of his offensive production.

Standing 5-foot-9 and 183 pounds, he plays a high-energy game, battling for pucks, making smart passes, and creating space for his teammates. His quick hands and offensive instincts make him a dangerous playmaker, while his defensive awareness keeps him sound in his own zone. He doesn’t cheat on plays and uses his stick well to deflect pucks and stay in position, but struggles a little bit with winning pucks in the defensive zone.

Buttazzoni’s biggest strengths, in my opinion, are his heavy, accurate wrister and his lethal one-timer. He’s a creative playmaker in open ice and especially dangerous in transition, where he can blow past defenders. He does struggle a bit with scoring “dirty” goals in front due to his size, but I’d expect that to improve as he gets stronger and more confident in puck battles. However, at 5-foot-9, he’s definitely not afraid to attack the hard areas and battle for second chances, a trait that I love about his game.

Diego Buttazzoni – NHL Draft Projection

I’m not sure if Buttazzoni gets drafted this time around, as some teams might still be hesitant because of his size and strength. But I’d argue there are plenty of smaller guys in the league who play his style and thrive. He reminds me a bit of Cole Caufield—undersized at 5-foot-8, but with a heavy, accurate wrister, a great one-timer, and real power-play value. I’d take a chance on him in the later rounds. Whether NHL GMs will do the same is another story.

Other THW Draft Profiles

Quotables

“Buttazzoni is undersized and lacks the strength to win battles for pucks consistently, meaning that his defensive upside is considerably lower than his offensive upside. He is still a hard worker and is relentless on the forecheck and played effectively enough to be considered one of the better players on the ice.” – Neutral Zone

“Buttazzino like the rest of his team was not very noticeable through two periods. It is apparent though, he has an good overall skill set. He scored on a netfront PP goal off a rebound. He is relatively small at 5’9′ but he was willing to compete for pucks on the wall and get involved in a netfront battles, although not all the time. He has good hands along with a good release leading to his good offensive stats.” – Neutral Zone

Strengths

Under Construction/Improvements to Make

NHL Potential

I think Buttazzoni could find himself on an NHL roster one day—we’ll have to see how he develops at UMass-Lowell, which is a high-level NCAA program. He needs to get just a little more physical in front and build more strength, but in the insanely competitive Hockey East conference, he’ll get tested often. If things go right, I could see him becoming a depth guy who chips in offensively and earns time on a second power-play unit.

Risk/Reward Analysis

Risk – 3/5, Reward – 3.5/5

Fantasy Hockey Potential

Offense – 8.75/10, Defense – 6.25/10

Awards/Achievements

Interviews/Links

Diego Buttazzoni Stats

Videos