Utah Mammoth 2025 Draft Targets After Lottery Win

With almost all outlets agreeing that Matthew Schaefer and Michael Misa will be the first two players off the board in this year’s draft, let’s learn about the third through seventh-ranked prospects in this draft class, one of which the Mammoth will likely take.

Porter Martone – Consenus Rank: 3.8

Porter Martone is an 18-year-old from Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. He has played in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for three seasons. His first season was split between the Sarnia Sting and the Mississauga Steelheads, and he spent his next two seasons with the Steelheads, one season still in Mississauga and his most recent in Brampton after the Steelheads were relocated in 2024.

Throughout his three seasons in the OHL, Martone made massive strides in his development and increased his point production by 0.5 per game in his second and third seasons.

Martone is 6-foot-2, 208 pounds and has been compared to Corey Perry by Steelheads general manager James Richmond and was compared to Brady Tkachuk by TSN’s Director of Scouting Craig Button. With Martone, his offensive skills are evident; he has a good vision of the ice and excels at drawing defenders to him to create an opening for a teammate. He has a heavy shot, a quick release, and crafty hands in tight areas, all the tools a guy needs to be a successful power forward at the next level.

The Hockey Writers’ own Peter Baracchini has also noted that Martone “plays a physical and intense brand of hockey, always playing a great amount of pace in the offensive zone, getting under opponents’ skin, mixing it up and making a living in front of the net. Whenever he has the chance, he won’t pass up laying the body.”

Martone’s skating is the one area he must work on before seeing his full potential at the next level. For now, it won’t hurt him. But if he can add some quickness and speed to his game, the sky is the limit for this kid. Martone is an excellent fit for the Mammoth, who want to add size and physicality to their roster. His offensive upside will be viewed just as a bonus to them. I am guessing the Mammoth are praying to the hockey gods that Martone slips to fourth.

Porter Martone – 2025 NHL Draft Prospect Profile

James Hagens – Consensus Rank: 4

James Hagens hails from Hauppauge, New York, in the United States. He played with the United States National team four times, once for the under-17 team, twice for the under-18 team, and most recently when Team USA won gold at the World Junior Championship in 2025.

Hagens is coming off an impressive freshman season where he averaged a point per game through 37 games for Boston College, which dropped out of the 2025 Men’s Division One Ice Hockey Championship in the quarter finals. His final stat line looked like this.

Before the 2024-25 NHL season kicked off, Hagens was ranked at the top of Button’s draft rankings, who compared him to the captain of the Los Angeles Kings, Anze Kopitar, saying “he can control the game from every area of the ice”. While his stock has slightly fallen throughout the season, Hagens is still viewed as a top-five talent in this draft class and, more recently, has drawn comparisons to Jack Hughes from The Hockey Writers’ Baracchini.

Hagens is viewed as an elite playmaker with excellent vision who excels off the rush. The concern with Hagens is his size. At 5-foot-10 and 176 pounds, he would be extremely undersized if he continued playing the center position, which is why I have a tough time seeing Button’s comparison to Kopitar, who is 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds. However, his elite vision of the ice and exceptional playmaking on the offensive side make Hagens an elite prospect, whether he continues playing up the middle or shifts to the wing.

Given his similarities to other players on this roster, I do not see Hagens as the ideal candidate for the Mammoth with the fourth overall pick. However, he is dangerous off the rush, and I would not be shocked to see Utah targeting him after seeing how much they utilized rush offense in their inaugural season.

James Hagens – 2025 NHL Draft Prospect Profile

Anton Frondell – Consensus Rank: 5.2

This is not to be confused with Anton Lundell, who may be a fair comparison to this player, given the way Lundell has played for the Florida Panthers in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Anton Frondell was born in Trångsund, Sweden and is now playing in the HockeyAllsvenskan, the second-highest league in Sweden for Djurgårdens IF.

In 2023-24, Frondell quickly rose through the Swedish ranks. Starting in the J18 Region, the highest-quality league in Sweden for players under 18, Frondell scored 10 points in four games before tallying 39 points in 29 games after jumping to the J20 Nationell, the highest junior hockey level in Sweden. He finished 2023-24 by getting into his first nine professional games in Sweden, where he struggled to find his footing.

Frondell ended up starting the 2024-25 hockey season back in the J20 Nationell, where he played 10 games before moving back up to the HockeyAllsvenskan, where he played at a near point-per-game, which is much lower scoring league than the North American junior and college leagues, where the rest of the prospects we have talked about are playing. Here is a detailed look at his 2024-25 season.

In a reaction piece to the Mammoth winning the draft lottery and being awarded the fourth overall pick, credentialed Mammoth writer Chase Beardsley for The Hockey Writers suggested that Frondell would be a great fit with the Mammoth “thanks to his high hockey IQ and ability to play in all three zones” at the center position. Jason Bukala of Sportsnet, formerly the director of scouting for the Florida Panthers, has also added that he believes Frondell “is the most elite pure shooter in the draft class”.

With the Mammoth lacking offensive production at the center position, a player like Frondell, who is projected to have an elite shot and a well-rounded defensive game, would fit in and elevate this team in the near future. Given the Mammoth’s recent history of drafting players from overseas, I see Frondell being high on the Mammoth’s draft board.

Anton Frondell – 2025 NHL Draft Prospect Profile

Caleb Desnoyers – Consensus Rank: 6.6

Caleb Desnoyers, a product of St-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada, just finished his second season in the Quebec Maritime Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) with the Moncton Wildcats, who are still alive in the QMJHL Playoffs, competing for the Gilles-Courteau Trophy and a spot in the Canadian Hockey League’s (CHL) Memorial Cup.

Desnoyers has dominated this season, averaging 1.5 points per game through the QMJHL’s regular season and now has 30 points in 17 games in the playoffs. He has the most points in the QMJHL Playoffs and has played four fewer games than Rimouski Océanic’s Jacob Mathieu, who trails Desnoyers by three points.

Desnoyers and the Wildcats are now up 3-1 over Océanic and two wins away from the Gilles-Courteau Trophy. Although Desnoyers is still adding numbers, let’s look at his junior career and see how his production has developed.

The Hockey Writers’ Justin Giampietro has described Desnoyers as “superb playmaker with some of the best hockey IQ in the class” and is a “super smart and skilled as a passer, both inside the offensive zone and off the rush”. Desnoyers is everything a team looks for in a two-way center. He has the size and speed to play a 200-foot game. He also understands defensive assignments and is rarely caught out of position. While plus/minus is not the best measure of a player’s defensive ability, his plus-51 rating in 56 games this season in the QMJHL playing the center position strongly indicates that he significantly impacts play in the defensive end.

Desnoyers has all the tangibles to make him successful at the next level, and his areas that need improvement will be easily improved as he continues to develop. Despite being 6-foot-2, he is only 172 pounds. Since he is only 18, his frame will fill out quickly once he gets with a professional trainer and as he develops his ‘man’ strength. Many believe he also needs to work on his shooting ability, another aspect of the game that is quite coachable. But despite these weaknesses, I would not be shocked if Utah has Desnoyers above Hagens on their draft board, as they need a two-way center with high offensive upside.

Caleb Desnoyers – 2025 NHL Draft Prospect Profile

Mammoth Blessed With Options

Not only were the Mammoth blessed to win the NHL Draft Lottery and move up in the draft, but they are also blessed that it happened in a year when there is plenty of elite talent at the top of this draft in areas the Mammoth need to improve.

With Utah’s star players all being on the smaller side, you would think the Mammoth’s management will look to add some size to that core. The best options for this would be Martone, Desnoyers or Frondell. However, following the draft lottery win, Armstrong reminded people that he will always draft the best player available, and that is why Hagens will be on the Mammoth’s radar, given he was once viewed as the most talented player in this draft class by some.

With what is known about each player, Utah cannot make a bad pick with this fourth overall slot. This draft class has plenty of high-end talents projected to be successful at the NHL level, even outside of the names we have discussed. Ultimately, the Mammoth will have to split hairs to decide who the best fit for them will be going forward, and no matter who they choose, they will be getting another high-value asset to add to the plethora of prospects they already have.