NHL draft prospect spotlight: Caleb Desnoyers
In the lead-up to the 2025 NHL Draft, theScore is spotlighting eight of the most intriguing prospects in the class to help you get familiar with the top names before draft night.
Caleb Desnoyers could be the draft's best two-way forward, and he's risen into the top-five conversation with his mature, consistent play over the campaign.
Desnoyers was drafted first overall in the 2023 QMJHL draft, and he's lived up to the expectations of that pick. He's the best prospect to come out of the QMJHL since Alexis Lafreniere, and barring a draft-day shock, Desnoyers will be the first QMJHLer to go top 10 in the NHL draft since Lafreniere went first to the New York Rangers in 2020.
As the youngest player on the team, Desnoyers led the Moncton Wildcats to a QMJHL championship and the semifinal of the Memorial Cup. He paced the Wildcats with 35 goals, 84 points, and a plus-51 rating in 56 games, then elevated his game during the postseason with nine goals and 30 points in 19 contests.
Desnoyers won the Guy Lafleur Trophy as the league's playoff MVP with his outstanding performance. Since 2000, only three players have claimed the award in their draft year: Sidney Crosby (2005), Jonathan Huberdeau (2011), and Jonathan Drouin (2013). Each went on to be selected in the top three of the NHL draft.
To top off an incredible campaign, Desnoyers was named Moncton's captain for the 2025-26 season at the team's championship celebration.
Internationally, Desnoyers at 16 years old won gold with Team Canada at the Under-18s in 2024. He followed it months later with gold at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where he was an alternate captain.
Best fits
The draft is wide open come third overall. Chicago is in need of a running mate for Connor Bedard after taking defenseman Artyom Levshunov at second overall last year and could go in a number of directions. Desnoyers would bring the Blackhawks much-needed size down the middle in addition to his defensive acumen. A Bedard-Desnoyers duo would produce vibes comparable to Chicago's previous generation of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.
Utah is a wild card at fourth overall, having jumped 10 spots through the lottery. The Mammoth would likely covet a two-way center to complement Logan Cooley, forming a dynamic similar to what the New Jersey Devils have in Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier.
Flyers forward Sean Couturier would be an exceptional mentor for Desnoyers. Couturier was drafted in the top 10 and developed into one of the game's elite two-way centers in his prime, winning the Selke Trophy in 2020. Desnoyers would fill a hole down the middle for Philadelphia and could be a great fit long term with winger Matvei Michkov.
What they're saying
"Desnoyers is a good-sized center with room to add muscle, and scouts love him as a projectable top-six center who plays a smart, detailed, well-rounded, two-way game with good skill, smarts, and poise," The Athletic's Scott Wheeler wrote.
"He's a cerebral player with excellent playmaking ability," wrote ESPN's Rachel Doerrie. "It isn't that he's flashy and will get you out of your seat, it is that he's consistently effective and makes intelligent plays with the puck. In other words, he's reliable."
"(Desnoyers) checks every box for what you want in an NHL center," wrote The Athletic's Corey Pronman. "He's tall and fast and makes a lot happen with and without the puck."