Following the Utah Mammoth’s fortunate lottery draft win, which gave them the fourth overall pick in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, I released an initial list of four players the Mammoth should target with this pick. The four players I wrote about were Anton Frondell, James Hagens, Caleb Desnoyers and Porter Martone.
Related: Utah Mammoth 2025 Draft Targets After Lottery Win
These players were chosen because they ranked third through seventh in a consensus ranking compiled from mock drafts from various websites. However, it is often the case that media rankings can differ significantly from team rankings, as Mammoth general manager Bill Armstrong has demonstrated over the last two years, drafting both Dmitri Simashev and Tij Iginla at sixth overall in back-to-back years, despite neither being ranked that high.
With the draft approaching, we are starting to get more information on who teams are interested in, and again, it seems that the Mammoth’s list is quite different from the media’s rankings. It has been reported that the Mammoth has had dinner with four prospects, only one of whom is from my initial list of targets based on my consensus ranking.
The one similarity was Hagens. Before the 2024-25 season, he was ranked as the top prospect in this draft class. I discuss him further in my original draft targets list, linked above. But now, let’s learn about the other three players the Mammoth have met with to have dinner.
Michael Misa
Sheng Peng, who covers the San Jose Sharks for NBC, reported on X that the Mammoth had dinner with Michael Misa, captain of the Saginaw Spirit in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Misa has consistently been ranked as the second prospect across various sources, including in The Hockey Writers’ own Andrew Forbes’ most recent prospect rankings.
Misa has been on NHL scouts’ radar since he was granted exceptional player status, which allowed him to play in the OHL at the age of 15. Misa was a point-per-game player in all three seasons he played in the OHL and finished this past season as the league leader in points, scoring 62 goals and recording 134 points in 65 games.
Despite sitting down with Misa and getting to know him, it still feels like a long shot that he will be available after the first three picks in this draft. With Misa having multiple points 46 times and multiple goals in 16 games this season, he feels like a talent that general managers will not be able to pass on once Matthew Schaefer is off the board. However, it does not hurt Utah to sit down with him and get to know him, in case the Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks make a mistake and leave him on the board.
Learn more about Misa in The Hockey Writers’ complete prospect profile.
Brady Martin
Anthony Martineau, who covers the Montreal Canadiens and the NHL Draft for TVA Sports, reported that Brady Martin has sat down for dinner with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers and the Mammoth.
Martin is one of the guys where Armstrong is seemingly reaching down the board, with Forbes having him ranked seventh, Rachael Doerrie of ESPN having him ranked 11th, NHL.com’s senior draft writer Mike Morreale ranking him 11th, and Scott Wheeler of The Athletic ranking Martin 10th (from ‘2025 NHL Draft ranking: Matthew Schaefer, Michael Misa lead Scott Wheeler’s final top 100 list,’ The Athletic, June 5, 2025).
Despite being further down the list in most rankings compared to the Mammoth’s fourth overall pick, it is understandable why the Mammoth would be interested in Martin. He is a kid from the small town of Elmira, Ontario, where he grew up on a 1,000-acre family-run farm. His early training did not include high-performance gyms or facilities; instead, it took place in the family barn and on their backyard rink.
These humble beginnings helped Martin turn into the absolute workhorse he is today. Martin is widely regarded as one of the most physical and best body checkers in this draft class. Martin couples his physicality with tons of offensive upside, having scored 33 goals and totalled 72 points this season with the Soo Greyhounds in the OHL.
The Mammoth lack players with a physical edge and a desire to get to the dirty areas of the ice. Although there may be more talented players available, it is not surprising that the Mammoth wanted to know more about a kid with a work ethic as high as Martin’s.
Learn more about Martin in The Hockey Writers’ complete prospect profile.
Jake O’Brien
O’Brien is a fan favourite last name among Arizona Coyotes and now Mammoth fans due to Liam O’Brien‘s long history of standing up for and protecting this organization’s developing prospects through the rebuilding process. Now, Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers reported on X that the Mammoth had dinner with Jake O’Brien, who finished eighth in the OHL in points and third among draft-eligible players.
There are several mixed opinions on where O’Brien should be ranked, as he has recently been ranked third by NHL.com deputy managing editor Adam Kimelman, but is as low as 11th in Forbes’ most recent rankings.
Former NHL scout Jason Bukala, in an article for Sportsnet, said, “O’Brien is a threat to create offence on a consistent basis at the OHL level. Defensively he appears to understand his responsibilities off the puck and where to position himself when his group doesn’t have control of the play”, and he added that “There’s no doubt he has the puck touch and vision that projects him as a potential top-six NHL forward in time”.
The knock on O’Brien is his size, and only being 170 pounds. At 6-foot-2, he will need to bulk up before competing with the strength and size of other top-six centers in the NHL. However, with all the training and nutritional experts these teams have access to, the need for a 17-year-old kid to bulk up is unlikely to deter teams.
Outside of size, O’Brien checks a lot of boxes for the Mammoth. He excels in all situations, finishing the OHL season with 32 goals and 98 points. He led the OHL in power-play assists and had one short-handed goal. With the Utah Hockey Club lacking offensive firepower in their inaugural season, it is not shocking that they were getting to know one of the most talented players in this draft class.
Learn more about O’Brien in The Hockey Writers’ complete prospect profile.
Regardless of whether the Mammoth draft one of these players or another one of the prospects, they have shown the type of player they are looking for, with all four of these players they have talked to so far being guys projected to be centers at the next level. Time will tell which one they elect to go with, but with the information we have now, the Mammoth have several strong candidates to consider with their fourth overall pick.
