The day after Kashawn Aitcheson was picked 17th overall by the New York Islanders, the remaining six rounds of the 2025 NHL Draft will take place today in Los Angeles.
It’s all in the details. 🤩 Take a tour of Kashawn’s suit jacket! #Isles | @UBS pic.twitter.com/BMB2uEhhE7
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) June 28, 2025
There are a handful of locally connected players to keep an eye on, with one potentially having an impact on how the Barrie Colts construct their roster in September.
That player is William Moore, whose Ontario Hockey League rights are owned by the Colts. He should be scooped up soon after proceedings begin on Saturday at noon, but even so, it will mark a significant drop for a player once considered to have top-10 potential.
More on Moore — see what we did there? — in a moment.
Colts defenceman Evan Passmore will be taken at some point in the middle of today’s proceedings. Like Aitcheson, Passmore is a late-born 2006. The towering, right-shot blueliner’s stock flat-lined late, but at one point he was projected as a second-round pick.
There is a similar vibe about Colts goaltender Ben Hrebik.
Hrebik, like Passmore, surprised many this year and is now the team’s clear No. 1, pending what may happen in the Import Draft. But his impressive regular-season numbers aside (21 wins, 2.87 GAA, .920 SV%), he had a so-so playoffs in limited action and is undersized by professional standards.
Even if Hrebik is not taken on Saturday, considering the Colts were close to cutting him in September, his story is a remarkable one.
Alliston native Lirim Amidovski will never fill the net, but the North Bay Battalion forward has potential based on his dogged work ethic, decent size and pro-friendly intangibles. The Barrie Colts AAA graduate will go somewhere around the third or fourth round, similar to how his teammate, Ethan Procyszyn, who is from Wasaga Beach and played minor hockey in Orillia, was picked last year by Anaheim.
Another North Bay teammate of Amidovski and Procyszyn is former Colts forward Shamar Moses, who is expected to be a mid-round pick.
Both Moses and late entry Jack Brauti, who could be picked today, were dealt as the Colts entered win-now mode last summer.
Jake Crawford (Owen Sound Attack) and Caden Taylor (Peterborough Petes) were both listed on NHL Central Scouting’s rankings during the season, as was Colts U.S. signee William Schneid. Crawford and Taylor are Barrie natives and all three forwards could be late picks.
Where Moore ends up could have a significant impact on the Colts this season.
Moore is a dual Canadian-American citizen who grew up in the Toronto area.
When the NCAA announced it would allow major junior players to play college hockey, Moore’s previous move to the U.S. U18 program at the very least deprived him of a chance to play for a Memorial Cup championship.
It’s also noticeable and notable that a few American kids who left and/or bypassed the U.S. program last year to play junior (or college) hockey were still taken in the first round.
Which prompts us to ask the question: What was the Moore family thinking, or not thinking?
General manager Mark Hunter, seeking to get a compensatory pick, dealt Moore’s rights to Barrie at the 2024 deadline. Moore’s intentions regarding this season are unclear, but he has reportedly committed to Boston College for 2026-27.
That leaves a season where Moore could play in Barrie. Had he gone to London earlier, or Barrie a year later, it makes sense to think he would have been taken much higher than where he will eventually be selected today.
Whatever happens, Moore may want to assess from whom he is taking advice.