Michael Misa puts on a show, and other draft eligibles flying right now

Michael Misa has been in the minds of scouts and prospect aficionados as a No. 1 candidate for the 2025 NHL Draft for quite some time now.

He has scored at a near-historical pace this season, which included a 28-game point streak from the end of December to the start of March where he collected 63 points (28 goals, 35 assists).

Misa finished the campaign in style with eight points (three goals, five assists) in three games, too.

The no. 3 ranked prospect in FCHockey’s Spring ranking for the 2025 draft polished off his impressive regular season with 134 points (62 goals, 72 assists) in 65 games — the most from an NHL Draft eligible from the Ontario Hockey League since Patrick Kane in 2006-07, and the fourth-highest mark in the Canadian Hockey League in the last 20 years behind Sidney Crosby (168 points; 2004-05), Connor Bedard (143 points; 2022-23), and Kane (145 points; 2006-07).

“Misa has taken a huge leap forward despite Saginaw losing key contributors from last year’s Memorial Cup team, proving he has the awareness to stick at center while still consistently driving possession and creating offense,” FCHockey scout Joseph Aleong said. “His production and confidence took off following the midseason addition of Igor Chernyshyov, living up to his exceptional player status by scoring at a historic clip and outpacing John Tavares and other notable names in their draft year. Misa doesn’t impress with high-end physicality or explosive skating, but his elite IQ and puck skills allow him to create high-grade chances seemingly at will.

Here’s who else impressed over the past week:

Porter Martone (Brampton Steelheads, OHL)

Porter Martone has made himself into one of the top — if not the best — wingers available in the 2025 draft class. The 6-foot-3 power forward was the highest-ranked winger on FCHockey’s Spring ranking at no.4. Martone finished second to Misa in the OHL among draft-eligible players in scoring with 98 points (37 goals, 61 assists) in 57 games.

The Brampton captain polished off his season with a big-snipe weekend, potting five goals in three contests. He opened the week on Wednesday in Brantford with a pair of goals on seven shots. Martone, back home on Friday night, fired six shots against Peterborough and found the back of the net once. He closed out the season with a pair of goals against Kingston on Sunday.

Jackson Smith (Tri-City Americans, WHL)

Tri-City defenseman Jackson Smith has emerged as an intriguing option for an NHL team looking for a defender with some size that can score. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound Calgary, AB product was the highest-scoring draft-eligible defenseman in the Western Hockey League this season with 54 points (11 goals, 43 assists) in 68 games.

Smith found the back of the net four times on 13 shots on the weekend. He opened the scoring in his team’s first game with a long wrist shot that had eyes against Portland. He set up the game-winning goal on the power play four minutes into the third, too. Tri-City dropped their second game of the week to Spokane, but Smith found the back of the net twice in the losing effort — scoring both markers on the power play as his side tried unsuccessfully to mount the comeback.

Cole Reschny (Victoria Royals, WHL)

Victoria forward Cole Reschny closed out his regular season the same way most of the campaign has gone — with plenty of production. He finished the season with 92 points (26 goals, 66 assists) in 62 games to finish second behind forward Ben Kindel in draft-eligible scoring in the WHL.

Reschny didn’t find the scoresheet in Victoria’s 5-3 win over Kamloops on Tuesday, despite firing five shots on goal. He did, however spearhead a comeback against Kelowna with a pair of goals, and added an assist on the team’s insurance goal on an empty net to win 5-3. Reschny polished off his regular season on Saturday with a goal and two assists against Prince George. The 5-foot-10 playmaker picked up a primary assist on the game’s first goal, a secondary assist on the game-winning goal, and scored the insurance marker as his team took the contest 6-3.

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