Next on the annual Broad Street Hockey Community Draft Board is someone who has had a little bit of a rollercoaster junior career, Saginaw Spirit centerman Michael Misa.
Almost immediately, Misa became a player to watch out for. He showed enough strength and maturity during his minor hockey days with the Mississauga Senators to be granted exceptional status by the OHL, joining Connor McDavid, John Tavares, and Shane Wright as the only forwards to ever have exceptional status in the Ontario Hockey League. That is pretty good company and with those shoes to fill, Misa was thrown into one of the best junior leagues in the world at just 15 years old. He was able to quickly carve out a role that made everyone peak with interest and put his name at the top of this class almost immediately.
Misa had a relatively disappointing Draft-1 season, barely scratching over a point per game, but then followed it up with an absolutely explosive season that just ended (more on that later). Going on this up-and-down ride of expectation and hype, Misa has quickly returned himself to being the player that most saw him becoming when he was granted that exceptional status.
Whatever fan base has the pleasure of saying that their team drafted Michael Misa, should be jumping for joy at every chance they can possibly get.
Pre-draft rankings
No. 2 by The Athletic (Scott Wheeler)
No. 2 by Elite Prospects
No. 3 by TSN (Bob McKenzie)
No. 2 by Daily Faceoff
Statistics
While not every single stat sheet is notable and there is always context of teammates and competition to be added, we needed to speak on what Misa accomplished this season.
Obviously his 134 points led the entire OHL and his 62 goals was only beaten by Brantford Bulldogs winger Nick Lardis, who scored a historic 71 (who is also much older than Misa). To put what Misa was able to do through a historic lens, among all draft-eligible skaters in the OHL since 1990, just four players were able to score more points than Misa did: Marc Savard in 1994-95, Bob Wren in 1992-93, Patrick Kane in 2006-07, and our good friend Eric Lindros who scored 149 points in the 1990-91 season for the Oshawa Generals.
But, that is just total points. In terms of Misa’s total goals, it is just Lindros who was able to score more than he did during his draft year. Eric Lindros playing junior hockey. Adult-esque Eric Lindros among teenagers and only him was able to score more goals than Misa did this season in the OHL since 1990. An incredible feat.
What’s there to like?
But it’s not just all numbers when it comes to Misa’s game, there is on-ice evidence of him being a plain-and-simple dominant player in the OHL right now and should be considered one of the very few (and possibly the only) prospect that could step into the NHL as soon as next season. We’ve gone over all the point totals and statistics, but what makes Misa click? What is it about his game that he does exceptionally well?
“I just want to be the best player every time I’m at the rink,” Misa said earlier this season. “My determination on and off the ice. I’m a really coachable guy who is going to do everything it takes to win.”
Yeah, that about sums it up. Whatever the situation is, Misa can take advantage of it. If you need him to will himself through several defenders and score a highlight-reel goal, he can do that. If there is a penalty that needs to be killed, he can do that. If there is a power play that needs someone to run the entire thing and put his teammates in excellent scoring situations, he can more than just do that.
These fine details of his game and how he can apply them to almost every single game situation, is what makes him one of the elite prospects. And speaking of Elite Prospects, they put it super simply in a video not too long ago:
In quick summary: Misa is an incredibly smart player that is doing all the right things to show that he can be an impact NHL center that drives a top line.
It’s just everything about him. The way that Misa, at just 17 years old earlier this season, was able to see the ice better than anyone at his level, transition the puck through routes that would almost guarantee a scoring chance for his team, and then while set up in the offensive zone be able to create spacing and make thoughtful plays to create even more. It’s exactly what you want from a top centerman all wrapped up in one bundle.
For those that dip their toes into some basketball analysis — stick with us here — there is a thing about magnetism or gravity when it comes to offensive creators. A player that just sucks in the entire defense, or is able to see the flow of how his team is being covered in a split millisecond to make the top percentage play. The best players in the world have this attribute and Misa does this on the ice in every single game. Draws in defenders, or if they are focusing on another option, can make use of that space to punish the opposing team.
And it’s those smarts that keeps his defensive ability near the same level, too. If you see the ice that well and can read opposing plays to score goals, you can also do the same to prevent them and Misa does that. We can go on and on about what we like, but he just does everything so well that it’s hard to stop.
What’s not to like?
While Misa has so many attributes that will make him a very good NHL player one day, there is one area of the game where he gives little attention to that could cause some more traditional scouts to not love him: He doesn’t really play with a physical edge.
Misa has the size to protect possession and get his body into the high-danger areas in the offensive zone to create a whole lot of scoring chances, but he doesn’t hit dudes in a way that some teams might want their top centers to. The OHL doesn’t track stats or anything, but if you just watch a Saginaw game, it isn’t Misa that is trying to separate bodies from the puck with force — instead he is prying at the opposition and would rather win a board battle or retrieve some careless possession instead of trying to have a defender knocked down.
Other than that one little missing piece of the hockey player puzzle, there isn’t a whole lot to not like about one of the best players (if not the best) in this draft class.
How would he fit in the Flyers’ system?
Yeah, duh. Of course, any good center would be welcomed with as wide open as arms could possibly go, but there is no real down side if the Flyers went with Misa as their guy.
We know that there will be a choice eventually made to fill the Flyers’ top center role. There is always a catch when it comes to some players and you have to take the bad with the good (and the good typically outweighs the bad but it is still there). Marco Rossi could be seen as too small to commit long-term dollars to. Tage Thompson or Elias Pettersson would cost either a whole lot in a trade or you’re locked up to a very large contract with the risk of the player not living up to it.
But when it comes to Misa, there really is no bad side. He does everything you want a center to do and could create on his own. The Flyers wouldn’t have to pair him with Matvei Michkov. They could easily have two of the best, young offensive creators on separate lines in their top six and suddenly they are way more established down the middle and at the forward position than anything. Let Jett Luchanko go work his butt off to retrieve pucks for Michkov to put in the back of the net, and then Travis Konecny to cause havoc for Misa to score a billion goals. It instantly works.
Could the Flyers actually get him?
There is only one possible scenario where the Flyers would be able to draft Michael Misa. They have to win one of the draft lotteries. Okay, we guess that there are two possible scenarios but you know what we mean.
Misa will round out the first two selections at the 2025 NHL Draft. It is extremely hard to think of a situation where a team would see Matthew Schaefer come off the board, and would go with one of the other forwards available compared to Misa. There is almost a guarantee that these two players are the two that everyone is pining over for at the top of this draft.
There is a world where Misa is the first-overall selection by the Flyers, given just how desperate they are for a first-line center and how Misa is the only player projected to be almost a sure thing at that level. Going without Schaefer could be seen as a sizeable risk and might be considered a mistake, but Misa is just so exciting and an answer to a whole lot of the Flyers’ issues at the forward position.
Anyways, yes, there is a world where Michael Misa is a Philadelphia Flyer. We just need the lottery balls to go in their favor.
What scouts are saying
“Michael Misa has really grown as a player over the last calendar season in my eyes. It’s easy to see how his game might struggle on the wing, and plopping him up the middle is exactly where he should be. Misa feels the game unlike almost any other player I’ve seen in the last few years. Passes that appear difficult or poorly thought out are cleanly placed through tiny spaces. He has the capacity to wait an extra split second to create better chances and evaluate secondary options. He isn’t a pure sniper, but he’s a diverse and capable scorer. He isn’t a fancy spin-passing playmaker, but he cuts defenses to pieces. He doesn’t move his feet like some of the high motor players out there, but calling him slow would be incorrect. He’s explosive, jumps into space effectively, and picks his times to be quick extremely effectively. His last few games I’ve seen have been a bit quieter than previous performances when it comes to scoring chances for himself, but a large part of that stems from the presence of Igor Chernyshov as a partner in crime. Chernyshov is more of a pure offensive threat with finishing ability that Misa has been able to work off of to great success. Misa elevates whoever he plays with and covers all three zones with great anticipation and remarkable efficiency and likely slots into any NHL team well as a highly effective, but perhaps not a flashy centre that just plays darn good hockey.”
— Will Scouch, scouching.ca
“Misa continues to impress, even if he’s not running up the scoresheet. He doesn’t need to. Every shift, every route he skates and completes, every puck touch is planned to perfection. It started early with overwhelming off-puck pressure and defensive support to get pucks recovered and out safely. It continued with shorthanded give-and-go rushes to create scoring chances. And he still picked up two primary assists in this one. He entered the zone, dropped the puck off to Dima Zhilkin, then drove the middle and drew both defenders towards him, screening the goaltender on Zhilkin’s shot. Later in the game he circled high in the offensive zone and his point shot was tipped in through traffic. He picks up speed so quickly in just his first couple of strides, charging through the neutral zone, drawing pressure, playing through checks, delaying and cutting back, executing slot passes. And Barrie’s defenders made life difficult for him in this game, shadowing him for large stretches, trying to keep him at the perimeters. He was still a threat to create on every shift — his details are so impressive, and his game is so well-rounded. He could play in the NHL next season.”
–Lauren Kelly, Elite Prospects (Scouting report from Feb. 27 game vs. Barrie)
“Misa is a beautiful skater with some quiet explosiveness and a real knack for weaving, cutting, turning and spinning in control of the puck to either shake defenders under pressure in the offensive or defensive zone or slip past them in transition with his speed and agility. He’s also a very smart player who makes his linemates better with his playmaking, vision and ability to execute while tightly covered. Off the puck, he’s willing to track, stick with plays and compete (I’ve seen him sacrifice the body to block shots, etc.), hallmarks of his game in minor hockey that have also been more consistent this year — though I’d argue they were always present and he played a more well-rounded game last year than he was given credit for by some. He finishes his checks and has good defensive instincts on interceptions and support. He gets the puck a lot and then protects it beautifully. There are times when he’ll turn over pucks, or when I’d like to see him work to get open and glide less, but he has done a nice job cutting back on both of those this season and has been a top player in the OHL at five-on-five, on the penalty kill (where he leads the league in short-handed points), and on the power play.
Misa’s a slippery player in the offensive zone. He’s a weaving skater in transition and has developed more of a scorer’s mentality and started to look for his own looks more, using his natural curl-and-drag wrister more intentionally and getting to the guts of the home-plate area with more consistency. And there’s natural skill and playmaking layered in, which lights up when he gets the puck inside the offensive zone.”
–Scott Wheeler, The Athletic
One player comes off the board, so one needs to be added! Welcome Moncton Wildcats center Caleb Desnoyers to the poll.
Caleb Desnoyers — C — Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL)
“Desnoyers is a puck hound all over the ice. He was always the first player pressuring the attacking players and made sure to be the first forward back on the backcheck. He was also strong at the faceoff dot, which helped the team start with possession in the attacking zone more often than not, and he was a reliable player for all defensive zone faceoffs. Desnoyers will struggle to score as many points at the pro level if he doesn’t improve his offensive game, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be a center who can play up and down the lineup for any team that takes a chance on him in the first round of the 2025 draft. [He] is the type of player you win with.” – Nathaniel Duffet, FCHockey
