Reviewing the Dallas Stars’ 2025 Draft Class

“Schmidt’s coach, Manny Viveiros, has also praised his strength and power, despite his size at 5-foot-7, 157 pounds. When he was named to the CHL USA Top Prospects Challenge, he talked about his game, saying, ‘People forget that although Cameron is not the tallest player, he’s one of the strongest players on our team…His explosiveness is off the charts. He’s probably, by far, our fastest, most explosive player. So you know, strength comes in different forms and different sizes. Once teams understand and see how powerful he is in a small body, so to speak, I think that’ll kind of alleviate some of the concerns that they have.'”

The only criticism scouts seem to have about Schmidt is his lack of defensive game. The term “one-dimensional” has been thrown around, but according to Viveiros, that part of his game has improved this season. “He’s not jumping the zone as much as last season, looking for breakaways and instant offence, but focusing on his own end first. He’s learning that good defence often leads to scoring chances the other way, and that will serve him well down the line as he works his way into the NHL.”

No GM does his work alone, but it seems like Nill has done it again. He traded away almost all of his valued picks in this year’s draft and in drafts to come, but still came away with tremendous value. It’s hard to know what the future holds for this current roster. Jason Robertson’s contract expires at the end of the 2025-26 season, Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn are on the back nine of their careers, and while Rantanen has eight more years with the club, that number could be cut in half before Schmidt sees consistent NHL action. A pick like this could assist in keeping their competitive window open even longer if the pieces around him fall into place.

To wrap up, let’s look at Zator’s final thoughts on Schmidt and how he affects the Stars’ plans.

“The Stars are very familiar with drafting smaller players, having selected now former Star Logan Stankoven. This will turn out to be a massive steal in the coming years as Schmidt has first-round skill and fell into the late third round. The Stars have a knack for swinging on skill and hitting home runs, and they will get that with Schmidt, hands down.”

Round 4, Pick 126: Brandon Gorzynski

Brandon Gorzynski played for the Calgary Hitmen in the WHL this past season. The 6-2, 185-pound winger scored 17 goals and recorded 42 points in 68 games, and is noted to be a high-energy and physical player, attributes the Stars could have used in the last few playoff runs.

“He had a good second half of the season,” McDonnell said. “He had a slow start, but second half he took off and the Western guys were pounding the table for him”

THW’s Dayton Reimer pointed out Gorzynski’s offensive strengths in his Prospect Profile before the draft.

“Brandon Gorzynski has largely flown under the radar this season,” Reimer wrote. “The 6-foot-2 left winger with the Calgary Hitmen plays an aggressive, offensive game, using his size and speed to drive the play and crash the net to scoop up rebounds and finish off scoring chances. He can be an effective agitator, getting under opponents’ skins, but is also strong on defence and was frequently used on the Hitmen’s penalty kill.”

“Gorzynski is best when he’s in front of the net,” Reimer continued. “He’s a big presence who is the perfect player to finish off a rebound or jump on a misplay and turn it into a scoring chance. He possesses decent mobility for his size, allowing him to weave in and out of traffic, and he’s aggressive in chasing the puck and getting into the tougher areas to battle for possession. Along with decent vision and offensive instincts, he is often able to get in the right place at the right time to give the puck that final push needed to finish the play. He also has a quick, accurate shot that has a deceptive release, beating goalies who aren’t prepared for it.”

Stars Add to Their Finnish Mafia in Round 5

In an event where the Stars add a group of new players, it wouldn’t feel right if they didn’t add at least one Finn. Well, in true Dallas fashion, with the 146th-overall pick, the Stars drafted Atte Joki. Hailing from Nokia, Finland, the 6-foot-2 Joki scored 15 goals and recorded 32 points in 40 games for Lukko in Finland this past season.

“He’s hard working, with compete off the charts, that’s what he is,” McDonnell said of Joki.

Shortly before the draft, THW‘s Andrew Forbes wrote about the pros and cons of drafting Joki, and why he would most likely be drafted in the later rounds, which he was, but also what he could add to the team that took a chance on him.

“If he’s going to take his game to the next level, Joki will have to hone in on what is going to make him successful and focus on developing those areas of his game. His skating is average. He lacks the overall explosiveness off the first step and because of that it leaves more to be desired from his game. He does struggle in creating opportunities with the puck, but it might be his willingness to fish out pucks along the boards and in the tough areas that makes him desirable for teams.

His transition game is not particularly strong and he struggles to evade opposing players. That said, he has a physical aspect to his game that allows him to make an impact and he takes pride in that. Positionally, he understands his role in the offensive zone – to win puck battles and be a net-front presence. But he also isn’t afraid to get into the grimy areas and get pucks or use his size and strength to free up the puck. He has an active stick on the defensive side and it proves to be beneficial for him.”

Stars Add to the Animal Nicknames with Swedish Goalie in Round 5

With the 158th pick, the Stars drafted Swedish goaltender Mans Goos. The 6-foot-5 goaltender went 11-12-0 with Farjestad and posted a 3.17 goals against average. Goos fits the mold of the current NHL netminder, and McDonnell said as much.

“He’s what you’re looking for. NHL goalies are huge, and he moves well.”

What is hilarious, and also makes him my favorite pick in this year’s draft, is the fact that his name is Goos. Rantanen’s nickname is Moose and Jake Oettinger’s nickname is Otter, which means the Stars now have a Goose, a Moose, and an Otter, which is something their social media team played into instantly.

Reimer had this to say about the Stars’ newest goaltender:

“Goos’ best attribute is his size. At 6-foot-5, he covers a lot of the net, and he uses that to his advantage with a wide butterfly stance that takes away a lot of shooting lanes for the opposition. When locked into a shooter, he doesn’t worry about making tiny adjustments, keeping his feet fairly static and instead relying on his size and athleticism to adapt to changes rather than trying to find the perfect position to make the save. He’s especially good at using his blocker to bat pucks into the corners and out of high danger areas, but his glove hand isn’t too bad either. When locked in, he tracks the shooter well with his glove hand, keeping it up and ready at all times.

After the initial shot, Goos is also strong at making recovery saves, using his long pads to block off most of the bottom of the net. In that position, he still can cover most of the top of the net, too, making him a very difficult goalie to get around. He moves smoothly from post to post, and his T-pushes are strong yet measured; he doesn’t overuse them and push himself out of position too often, giving him good lateral movement when being challenged up close.”

Stars Draft Two CHL Players to Close Out the Draft

To wrap up the 2025 NHL Draft, the Stars drafted Dawson Sharkey in Round 6, pick 190, and Charlie Paquette in Round 7, pick 222.

Sharkey had 22 goals and 39 points in 54 games for Acadie-Bathurst in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League this past season.

Paquette, the assistant captain for the Guelph Storm in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), had 37 goals and 70 points this past season. He’s listed as 6-foot-2 and 207 pounds, which is among the heavier players in the OHL.

Nill and Co. Pleased With This Year’s Draft Class

The newest Stars are in Frisco this week to start their summer development camp and their journey to the NHL.

The fact the Stars got this good of a group of young talent despite not having a pick in the first two rounds is a compliment to Nill and his scouting and management staff.

“You talk about the process,” Nill said. “It’s not only the drafting, but what happens next. We’ve got players flying in here to start development camp, and now the process starts. We’ve got a great staff that works on the development part. We’ve got results from it, so we’re comfortable with it.”

THW’s Jordan Orth graded the Stars’ draft as a B in his draft grades for each team, and I would agree with that assessment. The Stars feel like they got the best players available in each round, but even if they didn’t, grabbing Schmidt in the third round is enough to consider this draft a win.