The Vegas Golden Knights' first move on the second day of the NHL Draft was trading picks 58 and 122 to Nashville for the 55th overall pick.

And with the 55th overall pick on Saturday, the Knights then selected 6-foot-2, 185-pound Jakob Ihs Wozniak, who played for Sweden's Lulea HF. Ihs-Wozniak had 57 points in 40 games last season with Lulea HF.

We are proud to select forward Jakob Ihs-Wozniak with the 55th pick! 😃 #VegasBornpic.twitter.com/e94OsOLINs

— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) June 28, 2025

Ihs-Wozniak, 18, is a right-handed Australian left winger with a big shot who was expected to put up some eye-popping numbers last season after breaking the scoring record for 17-year-olds in the Swedish junior league the previous year.

Unfortunately, his production stagnated. He also had some underwhelming showings at the Hlinka Gretzky and Five Nations tournaments, resulting in him tumbling out of the The Hockey News' top 10 rankings.

Scouts want to see Ihs-Wozniak ramp up both his physical play and his urgency.

"When he decides to compete and work, he is very hard to stop," said one scout. "I find him wildly inconsistent, particularly with his compete. When he’s using his body, he’s really good. I just haven’t seen him do it that often."

Ihs-Wozniak projects as a second-liner if he figures things out. Multiple scouts said that when he goes to the dirty areas, he can accomplish a lot.

"We’re still trying to figure him out," said another scout. "He just blends in sometimes. He has some consistency issues that need to be addressed. He has size and does some good things, but you often can’t find him."

The team still have four other picks, at No. 91 (third round), No. 154 (fifth round), No. 186 (sixth round) and No. 187 (sixth round).

After the events of the first round of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, the Pittsburgh Penguins were left without the second-round pick given to them by the Washington Capitals for forward Anthony Beauvillier at the trade deadline.

They managed to get it back - and then some - on Day Two.

On Saturday, the Penguins acquired right defenseman Connor Clifton and the 39th overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for pending-RFA defenseman Conor Timmins and defensive prospect Isaac Belliveau.

Pittsburgh subsequently used the 39th overall pick to select defenseman Peyton Kettles from the Swift Current Broncos of the WHL. 

The 6-foot-5, 190-pound right defenseman is heralded as a true shutdown defenseman, as Elite Prospects raved about his ability to stymie the opposition's best players:

"When Swift Current needed to close out a game, Kettles didn't leave the ice," his profile reads. "With immense defensive range, a physical edge and a nuanced shutdown game, it's easy to see why. A defensive stalwart with room to grow, he routinely shuts down the opposition's best."

Kettles is probably not going to contribute much offensively - he put up five goals and 13 points in 53 games - but paired with an offensive defenseman, he can complete an effective tandem. He was actually teammates with Penguins' prospect Owen Pickering during their shared time with Swift Current from 2022-24.

Clifton, 30, is a journeyman defenseman who is owed $3.33 million through the end of the 2024-25 season. The 5-foot-11, 195-pound blueliner registered one goal and 16 points - primarily on Buffalo's third pairing - last season.

Timmins was acquired by the Penguins at the 2025 trade deadline - along with forward Connor Dewar - from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a 2025 fifth-round pick. Like Dewar, he is set to become a restricted free agent, and it was unclear whether or not the Penguins were planning to bring him back next season. 

He registered three goals and 15 points in 68 games between the Leafs and Penguins last season - with seven of those points coming in 17 games with Pittsburgh.

Belliveau, 22, was selected in the fifth round (154th overall) by the Penguins in the 2021 NHL Draft. He had split time between the ECHL and AHL over the last two seasons, registering 19 goals and 61 points in 119 combined games.

'We’re Thrilled With The Players That We Have': 3 Takeaways From Penguins' Day One DraftDay One of the 2025 NHL Draft is officially wrapped, and the

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Feature image credit: Timothy T. Ludwig - Imagn Images

The Buffalo Sabres were slated to select near the top of the second round on day two of the 2025 NHL Draft in Los Angeles, but they pulled off a trade sending the 39th overall pick and defenseman Connor Clifton to the Pittsburgh Penguins for defenseman Conor Timmins and minor leaguer Isaac Beliveau. 

The 30-year-old was a free agent signing of the Sabres in 2023 after spending his first five seasons with the Boston Bruins. The New Jersey native signed with Buffalo in part because of former head coach Don Granato, who coached him as part of the US National Development Program and potentially as a right-handed compliment to either Rasmus Dahlin or Owen Power. In 152 games, Clifton had 34 points (5 goals, 29 assists) and played mostly on the bottom pairing.   

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Timmins, 26, was originally a second-round pick of the Colorado Avalanche who was traded to Arizona in a 2021 deal for goalie Darcy Kuemper. He was dealt the following year to the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he played for nearly three seasons. At the 2025 trade deadline, the right-handed defenseman was sent to Pittsburgh. Beliveau, 22, was a 2021 fifth-round pick of the Penguins who has split time between the ECHL and AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton the last two seasons.

The reason for the deal appears to be mostly financial, as Clifton was slated to earn $3.33 million in the final year of his three-year contract. Timmins is a larger right-handed defenseman, an arbitration-eligible RFA, coming off a 15-point season and in arbitration will undoubtedly make less than what Clifton is making.   

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Blake Fiddler Brings Size and Skill to Seattle Kraken.

June 28, 2025 - Blake Fiddler, an 18-year-old defenseman from the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings, was selected 37th overall by the Seattle Kraken in the 2025 NHL Draft. He was the 10th WHL player chosen and the first of the second round.

Standing at 6'5" and weighing 220 pounds, Fiddler is known for his size, mobility, and two-way game. Originally a forward, he transitioned to defense at age 10 and developed into a standout blue-liner. In his draft year, he led all Oil Kings defensemen with 33 points in 64 games and was ranked 26th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting.

Internationally, Fiddler captained Team USA at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and played a key role at the 2025 U18 World Championship in his hometown of Frisco, Texas. The son of former NHLer Vernon Fiddler, Blake plays with physicality and poise but is still refining his consistency under pressure.

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Kraken Select Center Jake O'Brien with the Eighth Overall Selection in the 2025 NHL DraftLos Angeles - With the 8th overall selection in the 2025 NHL Draft, the Seattle Kraken have selected Jake O’Brien from the Brantford Bulldogs of the Ontario Hockey League. This marks the second year in a row that the Kraken have selected 8th overall, taking center Berkly Catton of the Spokane Chiefs in 2024.

Cover Photo by : CHL

EDMONTON – The cat’s out of the bag.

The Edmonton Oilers are in a pickle – and not the kind you slap on a burger.

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Stan Bowman has identified goaltending as one of the areas where improvement is needed. That’s easier said than done, especially when 31 other GMs know about.

But there is no question that the Oilers need an upgrade to either Stuart Skinner or Calvin Pickard.

For the sake of this article, we’ll focus on the NHL Edge data surrounding High Danger Save Percentage (HDSV%) and Mid-Range Save Percentage (MRSV%). We’ll look at what the league average is, what Skinner and Pickard have provided, and five different options that offer an upgrade for one of the two.

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Skinner, Pickard, And League Average Goaltending

According to the NHL Edge Data, the league average HDSV% was .803 while the average for MRSV% was .887. In the very least, one of their goaltenders should hit these benchmarks. If they had two goalies close to it (with at least one exceeding it) that should be the bare minimum.

Skinner had a HDSV% of .791 while Pickard’s was .794. Skinner had a MRSV% of .902 while Pickard’s was .866. Only Skinner’s MRSV% was higher than league average. For the Oilers to have more reliable goaltending in the regular season and playoffs, they need more consistent performers in these metrics.

Three Back-Up Goalie Upgrades

One strategy the Oilers could employ is to replace Pickard. The likliest way this happens is acquiring another low-cost goaltender who will either push Pickard to perform better, or out-perform him and force him down the depth chart.

Ideally, this is also a goaltender who could play up to 40 games, serving as a potential 1B to Skinner’s 1A, should history repeat itself.

Casey DeSmith

Casey DeSmith is currently serving backup to the Dallas Stars starting phenom netminder, Jake Oettinger. He’s made a career of this, with 33 starts being his career-high from the 2022-23 season. 

In 2024-25, he recorded an .834 HDSV% and a .933 MRSV%. Both of these numbers look fantastic on paper. He had similar numbers two years ago despite having a significantly worse Goals Against Average and overall save percentage.

Alex Lyon

At the time of this writing, the Detroit Red Wings have not re-signed goalie Alex Lyon. It’s entirely possible that they won’t, especially with Petr Mrazek and Cam Talbot already the more experienced veterans under contract.

If Lyon is a free agent, he could be a low-cost addition that can push to work in tandem with Skinner. Lyon started 26 games this past season and 43 games the year prior. He finished the most recent season with a HDSV% of .807 and a MRSV% of .910.

Jake Allen

Jake Allen had a great season serving as backup to Jacob Markstrom for the New Jersey Devils. He finished the year with a HDSV% of .801 and a MRSV% of .938. While his high-danger number was a touch below average, overall he exceeded league average.

The only problem with Allen as a potential suitor is that he is the belle of this year’s free agent goaltending ball – who will have no shortage of team’s calling his representation to swoon him to their organization.

Two Starter Upgrades

These two goaltenders are players who could replace Skinner. They could also replace Pickard and potentially force Skinner to serve as a backup (or 1B).

Joseph Woll

Joseph Woll has been a solid goaltender for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Last year, he recorded a .809 HDSV% to go along with a .912 MRSV%. The year previous, he posted a .829 HDSV% and a .919 SV%. Woll started 41 games this past season and 23 the season before.

The tricky thing here is that a trade would need to be executed between the two teams. That might be difficult to execute when the Maple Leafs don’t have a star goaltender waiting in the wings.

Ilya Sorokin

The ultimate goaltedning upgrade the Oilers could conceive is acquiring Ilya Sorokin from the New York Islanders.

Sorokin burst onto the scene in 2020-21. Outside of that rookie season, where he only started 21 games, he’s started in at least 52 games in the four seasons after.

He’s had two down years since his Vezina-Finalist season in 2022-23. Despite the last two seasons being down years by Sorokin’s standard’s, they would be better than the goaltending the Oilers have gotten.

In 2023-24, Sorokin had a HDSV% of .828 and a MRSV% of .879. Last year, he had an .828 HDSV% (again) to go along with a .890 MRSV%. The biggest positive with these results is the consistent HDSV%.

However, prying Sorokin from the cold-dead-hands of the Islanders is a monumental task. To get a trade like that completed most likely means that the Oilers would need to part with at least one of their best prospects, one or two first-round draft picks, and Skinner.

Luckily for the Oilers, they have the next couple of months to figure out how to get out of this untasty pickle they find themselves in.

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A day after selecting Seattle Thunderbirds captain Braeden Cootes 15th overall in the 2025 NHL Draft, the Vancouver Canucks have made their second pick. Selecting 47th overall and 15th in the second round, the Canucks picked goaltender Alexei Medvedev. 

Medvedev played in his first season with the London Knights of the OHL this past season, starting 34 of their games and winning 22 of them. He posted a 2.79 GAA and .912 SV% as well as three shutouts. He is 6’3 and catches left. 

Prior to joining the Knights, Medvedev spent a season with the St. Thomas Stars of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. He registered a .904 SV% and a 4.00 GAA in 28 games played, putting up a starting record of 11–15–0. In the playoffs, he played in five games and had a .918 SV%. 

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As of writing, the Canucks have four selections remaining in this draft. They will pick 65th overall (first in the third round), 143rd overall (15th in the fifth round), 175th overall (15th in the sixth round), and 207th overall (15th in the seventh round).

Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, be sure to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum.