Craig’s List: Misa climbs to No. 2 after exceptional season

While injured Erie Otters defenceman Matthew Schaefer maintains his hold as the top-ranked player for the 2025 NHL Draft, an exceptional season from Saginaw Spirit forward Michael Misa has pushed him into the No. 2 spot for the first time.

TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button previously had Misa at No. 7 in September, No. 3 in November and No. 5 in January but the Oakville, Ont. native’s 2024-25 season was enough to position him as the top forward on this month's list.

After being granted exceptional status in 2022 to enter the Ontario Hockey League as a 15-year-old and then helping the Spirit to the franchise’s first-ever Memorial Cup championship in 2024, Misa managed to find a whole new level to his game this season.

Misa finished the regular season as the OHL’s top point-getter with 134 points, edging out Ilya Protas of the Windsor Spitfires (124). He also finished second in goals with 62.

“I question myself for questioning him,” said Button of Misa. “All the evidence was there. All you need to do is continue to watch the progression and the progression is there.

“He’s been brilliant. He’s a hell of a player.”

Rounding out the top three is Brampton Steelheads captain Porter Martone, who finishes the regular season with 37 goals and 98 points in 57 games.

Button compares Martone to current NHL stars Matthew and Brady Tkachuk as well as Corey Perry, saying all of them possess the ability to be difference-makers when it matters most.

“Porter Martone, he’s a winner,” said Button. “He’s in it to win it. There might be players with a little more skill and a little more flash and dash. I go into a game that I know is going to be hard, I want Porter Martone on my team.”

Despite missing four and a half months with a back injury that required rest to heal, Brandon Wheat Kings forward Roger McQueen comes in at No. 5.

McQueen returned to the Wheat Kings lineup in early March, finishing the season with 10 goals and 20 points in 17 games. He will also have the opportunity to play postseason games with Brandon already clinching a playoff spot.

He had a hot start to the season with eight goals and three assists in eight games, including four goals in Brandon’s season opener, before being shelved with the injury.

“He’s not a wild card because of his skill or his potential, he’s a wild card because of that type of injury,” said Button. “I feel really lucky because I’ve been able to watch him for three years and I’ve seen progression and how gifted he is.”

The 18-year-old is already 6-foot-5 and 195 pounds, and after managing just 14 points in 55 games as a rookie in 2022-23, McQueen made a massive leap last season with 21 goals and 51 points in 53 games. He also helped Canada win gold medals at the U18s and Hlinka Gretzky Cup.

For the first time this season, Brantford Bulldogs centre Jake O’Brien and Victoria Royals forward Cole Reschny rise into the top 10 on the list at No. 9 and No. 10 respectively.

O’Brien had a big season for Brantford as a second-year player, scoring 32 goals with 98 points in 66 games.

In 2023-24, he won OHL Rookie of the Year after finishing first in assists (51) and points (64) among rookies in 61 games.

Reschny also impressed as a sophomore with the Royals, scoring 26 goals with 92 points in 62 games this season.

“Outstanding hockey sense,” said Button of O’Brien and Reschny. “You’re not going to get end to end, pull you out of your seat type of play but you’re going to get really substantive, competitive, smart, in the moment, in the situation, productivity.

“[With] Jake, the hockey sense has always been excellent, but I really felt that he had to get more of the doing part of the game balanced with the thinking part of the game. And he’s done that.

“When I watched Cole as a 16-year-old perform so admirably, he’s not going to wow you but you watch the game and he’s in the middle of every important play.”

With the CHL playoffs around the corner, Button also identifies four defencemen worth keeping an eye on.

He cites Kitchener’s Cameron Reid (No. 12), Tri-City’s Jackson Smith (No. 14), Seattle’s Radim Mrtka (No. 16) and Barrie’s Kashawn Aitcheson (No. 18) as defencemen who could all go in the teens in June’s draft, emphasizing that they’re all good, but different, players.

“Cameron Reid is a 5-foot-11 and a half defenceman who can skate, think, compete and contribute offensively,” said Button. “You got Jackson Smith, elite skating defenceman, big, rangy. You got Radim Mrtka, who’s a right-shot defenceman, 6-foot-5, all kinds of potential.

“Then you have Kashawn Aitcheson. When I talk about Porter Martone, I feel the same way about Kashawn. He’s a guy you want on your team. He’s hard, heavy, physical, competitive, great skater.”