Culture
NHL 2024-25 bold predictions: Revisiting our preseason prognostications

Utah will be one of the NHL’s highest-scoring teams? The Stars Stanley Cup winners? Dylan Larkin — and many others — 40-goal scorers?
Heading into the 2024-25 NHL season, The Athletic asked its hockey staff for bold predictions, and two months later, some are holding up well while others look to have been a bit too bold.
Here’s a progress report on each prediction, from the writers ready to take a victory lap to the many who need a mulligan.
Preseason bold prediction: Trevor Zegras will not be traded this season
Outlook: Still in play
It feels like there have been two factions at work here: those who feel like a Zegras trade is inevitable and those (i.e., Zegras/Ducks fans) who are beyond tired of seeing his name in trade-related/hypothesized/predicted stories. Mind you, it’s hard to peg what his value is or could be. He had been healthy until he got injured this week and his return date is uncertain. Those who’ve watched him closely can see he is playing a more responsible 200-foot game under Greg Cronin. But he’s also on a 34-point pace. Zegras might be a distressed asset, but GM Pat Verbeek isn’t going to move a highly skilled 23-year-old forward for another team’s throwaways. — Eric Stephens
Jeremy Swayman struggled early for the Bruins, but is better as of late. (Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
Preseason bold prediction: Jeremy Swayman will struggle early
Outlook: Lock it in
This one was easy. It wasn’t just that Swayman missed all of training camp before signing his contract. He had to adjust to the physical and mental strain of being the go-to goalie following the trade of Linus Ullmark. On top of that, most of his teammates struggled out of the gate. It’s no wonder Swayman wasn’t himself. — Fluto Shinzawa
Preseason bold prediction: Owen Power will double his previous high-goal total
Outlook: Still in play
Power is already almost halfway to a career high in points 26 games into the season and has three goals. He needs nine more in the final 66 games to get to my preseason bold prediction. Given that he plays 22 minutes a night and has a role on the power play, 12 goals is still a number that’s in play, but it’s not quite a lock. — Matthew Fairburn
Preseason bold prediction: Jonathan Huberdeau will crack the 80-point plateau
Outlook: So far, not so good. But there’s time …
While Huberdeau’s goal totals look more promising compared to last year (he had one point in all of December 2023), we kind of figured his assists would be up. However, he isn’t trending toward an 80-point season, per Hockey Reference. But if he goes on some kind of scoring run between now and the end of the season, maybe that changes. — Julian McKenzie
Preseason bold prediction: Seth Jarvis will get a shot at center
Outlook: So far, not so good. But there’s time …
The Hurricanes still haven’t figured out who will be their second-line center, but so far it hasn’t been Jarvis. Coach Rod Brind’Amour has bounced between using Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Jack Drury in a more featured role, while Jarvis has remained on the wing. Jarvis has also not been used much on faceoffs — a key for any Brind’Amour center — since returning from an upper-body injury. — Cory Lavalette
Preseason bold prediction: The Blackhawks will finish 25 points better than last season
Outlook: It’s a long shot
This season hasn’t gone as expected for the Blackhawks, which was apparent with Luke Richardson’s firing on Thursday. They’re more competitive than a season ago — they’ve led, been tied or within a goal in the third period in 25 of 26 games — but their record is even worse. Does a new coach change that? We’ll see. But they have to win a lot to meet the bold prediction. — Scott Powers
Preseason bold prediction: Cale Makar will have 100 points
Outlook: Still in play
This prediction is looking solid through the first two months of the season. Makar leads all defensemen with 34 points, which ranks 13th amongst all players. He’s on an 82-game pace of 103 points, so he’s right on track. As expected, Makar is getting a lot of his production done on the power play, where he’s tied for fourth in the NHL with 14 points. — Jesse Granger

Yegor Chinakhov has had an impressive start to the season with the Blue Jackets. (Jason Mowry / Getty Images)
Preseason bold prediction: Yegor Chinakhov will bloom as a goal scorer
Outlook: Still in play
Chinakhov threatened to make this prediction look like pure genius with three goals and seven points in the Blue Jackets’ first five games. He’s since cooled off and is currently out of the lineup day to day with an upper-body injury. But once he returns, the 23-year-old Russian will get a top-six role on a club that’s been surprisingly productive. He has seven goals in 21 games, meaning our prediction of 25-plus is still in play. Our prediction of increased ice time? He’s gone from 15:10 last season to 17:01 under coach Dean Evason. — Aaron Portzline
Preseason bold prediction: The Stars will win the Stanley Cup
Outlook: Still in play
Top 10 in goals per game, top five in goals-against per game, top five in penalty kill and a top-10 goalie in Jake Oettinger. The Stars are right where we expected them to be, among the league’s best teams, and they’re doing it with an underperforming power play and relatively slow starts from Jason Robertson and Wyatt Johnston, all of which likely will positively regress to the mean. Even with Tyler Seguin’s potential season-ending surgery (something which likely will make the Stars more aggressive in the trade market), Dallas remains a leading contender for the Stanley Cup. — Mark Lazerus
Preseason bold prediction: Dylan Larkin will score 40 goals
Outlook: Still in play
This season hasn’t gone how the Red Wings would have hoped, but Larkin is indeed close to being on pace to threaten 40 goals. There’s a lot of season left, of course, but he’s been a force, particularly on the power play. Detroit could really use some more offense from down the lineup, but their top players (Larkin, Lucas Raymond and Alex DeBrincat) have been scoring to begin the year. — Max Bultman
Preseason bold prediction: Stuart Skinner will finish top five in Vezina voting
Outlook: Not happening
Skinner went from perhaps the presumptive starter for Team Canada at the 4 Nations tourney entering the offseason to not making the team because of his subpar start. Skinner sports an .889 save percentage in 17 appearances. He’s also surrendered 5.26 more goals than expected in all situations, per Natural Stat Trick. His last start before rosters were due was one of his best, but it was too little too late. — Daniel Nugent-Bowman

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Preseason bold prediction: Adam Boqvist will break out
Outlook: It’s a long shot
It’s not that Boqvist has been horrendous — an expected goal rate of around 50 percent for a cheap, third-pair defenseman could be worse — but he hasn’t come close to a breakout, either, and actually played his way out of the lineup for most of November. He’s back, though, and scored in consecutive games through Thursday. More than anything, that prediction was based on Boqvist getting a whole bunch of power-play time, and that’s once again Aaron Ekblad’s job to lose. Probably not happening. — Sean Gentille
Preseason bold prediction: Quinton Byfield will become the Kings’ best player
Outlook: Not happening
Can I say I was kidding? No? Hey, I bought into the idea of Byfield building on his breakout season. Seeing him with just three goals and 11 points nearly a third of the way into the season is a bit baffling. He’s back at his natural position but the transition from playing on wing with Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe to centering his own line hasn’t been seamless. It’s not that he’s hurting their lineup but the Kings becoming a real threat in the Western Conference will look more realistic if he starts to look more like a leading player on their roster like Kopitar and Kempe are. — Eric Stephens
Preseason bold prediction: Matt Boldy will score 40 goals and 40 assists
Outlook: Still in play
This felt like a lock in mid-November when he had 10 goals in his first 16 games, but Boldy has gone six games without a goal and has one in his past nine. Still, he was on pace for 36 goals and 43 assists for a 79-point total through Thursday, which would establish career highs. This is a guy who has a tendency to get white hot, especially because he is a high-volume shooter (93 in 25 games this season, 3.7 per game). — Michael Russo
Preseason bold prediction: Juraj Slafkovský will hit 70 points
Outlook: So far, not so good. But there’s time …
Slafkovský has 14 points in 23 games and has 56 games left to get 56 points. Doesn’t seem ideal. But last season at this point, Slafkovský had 7 points in 25 games and finished with 43 points in his final 57 games. Putting up a point per game from here on out is a high bar, but Slafkovský has not yet reached the level we saw from him last season. There is a lot of room for him to grow. I’m not willing to write off this prediction just yet, though it’s not looking great so far. — Arpon Basu
Preseason bold prediction: Juuse Saros will win the Vezina Trophy
Outlook: Not happening
Saros is the absolute least of the Preds’ concerns. He’s having a fine season — you might even call it an extraordinary season, given the utter lack of help he’s getting. But he isn’t standing on his head enough to deliver wins for the league’s worst offensive team. Or is this just the worst team, period? Team failure to this extent repels individual awards. — Joe Rexrode
Preseason bold prediction: The Devils will finish with the East’s best record
Outlook: Still in play
The Devils’ offseason overhaul has led to a successful start to 2024-25. Their position in the East standings is a bit inflated by games they have in hand, but they were still fourth in points percentage through Thursday. One hot streak and they could be right in the mix with the leaders. — Peter Baugh
Preseason bold prediction: Noah Dobson will score 70 points again — and get a big extension
Outlook: It’s a long shot
The 70-point thing is a pipe dream with Dobson sitting on 12 points through 27 games. And the eight-year $8-million-or-so extension might be a pipe dream too. Dobson is still just 24, but he’s hit a plateau this season for the middling Islanders. Whoops. — Arthur Staple
Preseason bold prediction: Igor Shesterkin will win the Vezina Trophy
Outlook: Still in play
The Rangers are in a bit of a rut, but Shesterkin has had a good year. His 8-9-1 record isn’t overly impressive, but he has taken most of the Rangers games against playoff teams and had a .908 save percentage through Thursday with better underlying numbers. He’s not among the Vezina front-runners at this point, but him winning the award isn’t impossible. He also now doesn’t have any contract talk hanging over him. He agreed to a record-setting eight-year extension Friday. — Peter Baugh
Preseason bold prediction: Travis Green will win the Jack Adams Award
Outlook: It’s a long shot
If the Senators reverse their fortunes after a less-than-ideal start, Green’s case for the Jack Adams could be made. When Ottawa plays at its best, it looks like a playoff team. The issue is consistency. That’s on Green to help instill in his own group. But right now, we don’t think Green will end up on many ballots for coach of the year honors. — Julian McKenzie

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Preseason bold prediction: The Flyers will have a top-15 power play
Outlook: It’s a long shot
It looked so promising early. The Flyers converted on eight of their first 31 power-play chances through eight games, good for eighth in the NHL. Since then it’s resumed its place at the bottom of the league. Since Oct. 27, only the Bruins have a worse power play than the Flyers’ 10.4 percent success rate. At some point, perhaps soon, the Flyers may be forced to make a decision on assistant coach Rocky Thompson, who just can’t seem to get this part of the Flyers’ game going. — Kevin Kurz

Marcus Pettersson could be a big target for teams at the trade deadline. (Patrick Smith / Getty Images)
Preseason bold prediction: Marcus Pettersson will become a trade-deadline commodity
Outlook: Lock it in
Pettersson was No. 2 on our big board and would-be UFAs that high on a trade list don’t usually end up staying with their teams. The Penguins won four consecutive games before Friday, their best run of the season. They’re within striking distance of a playoff spot — and it’s possible that means they hold on to Pettersson. But a case can be made for striking while the iron is hot. There are no indications a long-term extension is on the table here in Pittsburgh. The Penguins are in the mushy middle but closer to the bottom than the top. Keeping a player like Pettersson doesn’t make much sense. — Rob Rossi

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Penguins Today: A Pettersson dilemma and a convergence of Pittsburgh’s Stanley Cup GMs
Preseason bold prediction: William Eklund will lead the team in scoring
Outlook: So far, not so good. But there’s time …
With his 18 assists and 23 points, Eklund is second in those categories to Mikael Granlund so the possibility does exist of the 22-year-old overtaking the veteran. The chances of that will greatly increase if the Sharks were to move Granlund before the trade deadline. Eklund can build up his goal total as he has only five in 28 games, and he may have to hold off a hard-charging Macklin Celebrini who’s nearly at a point per game since returning from injury. But the left wing in his third full season has become the front-line core player the Sharks imagined when taking him at No. 7 in the 2021 draft. — Eric Stephens

Matty Beniers is struggling to produce in his third full season with the Kraken. (Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
Preseason bold prediction: Matty Beniers will score 30 goals
Outlook: Not happening
I’m ready to capitulate early on this prediction. After what appeared to be a snake bit, sophomore slump campaign for the 2023 Calder winner, the gifted Kraken center has somehow remained in shooing-percentage hell this season. Through 27 games before Friday, Beniers had scored just four times on 51 shots and is carrying a 7.8 percent shooting clip that’s less than half of the conversion rate he managed in his electric rookie season. Beniers would have to score at a 44-goals per 82-game pace over the balance to hit 30, which is a massive stretch for a player that has scored just 19 goals in his most recent 104 games played through Thursday. — Thomas Drance
Preseason bold prediction: Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway’s success will lead to more offer sheets
Outlook: Lock it in
I’m more confident about this now than I was at the start of the season. Broberg missed 12 games with an injury, but when in the lineup, he’s been arguably the Blues’ best defenseman. Likewise, Holloway has perhaps been their most versatile productive forward. There may not be an identical situation where two talented players are available on a team — in this case the Oilers — that can’t afford to match an offer sheet. But with the way Broberg and Holloway are playing, the vultures will be out. — Jeremy Rutherford

GO DEEPER
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Preseason bold prediction: Andrei Vasilevskiy will be a Vezina Trophy finalist
Outlook: It’s a long shot
Vasilevskiy may have more two-way support this season, but he isn’t in the Vezina Trophy race right now. That’s a conversation led by the likes of Connor Hellebuyck, Lukas Dostal and Filip Gustavsson. Vasilevskiy is having a fine season so far — he has saved 3.97 goals above expected through 20 games while earning a .909 save percentage — but those numbers aren’t sparkling like some of the league’s best or even his peak years. The season isn’t over yet and he tends to heat up as the pressure rises, but he has a lot of ground to make up. — Shayna Goldman
Preseason bold prediction: Mitch Marner will score 40 goals
Outlook: Still in play
Marner had one goal in October. Then, a heater shooting the puck in November. He had eight goals in 12 games. Marner is still off the 40-goal pace though. He appears headed more for his third 30-goal season than his first 40-goal campaign. If head coach Craig Berube gets his way though and Marner starts shooting the puck more aggressively, there’s still a chance Marner comes close to or even hits 40 goals. During the back half of the 2021-22 season, Marner shot the puck more aggressively than ever and punched in 29 goals during a 46-game stretch. That’s what he’ll need the rest of the way to hit 40. — Jonas Siegel
Utah Hockey Club
Preseason bold prediction: Utah will finish as one of the NHL’s highest-scoring teams
Outlook: Not happening
Did anyone here whiff as much as this prediction? Other than an early flurry to start the season, Utah has struggled mightily to score this season, sitting 23rd in goals per game and 24th on the power play through Thursday. A lot of the Hockey Clubbers’ young talent has failed to break through, with Logan Cooley on pace for fewer than 20 goals and a lot of their 20-goal producers from last season coming up well short of those projections in the early going. Connor Ingram’s struggles in goal and injuries on defense have hurt their record, but regressing offensively to this extent is the bigger surprise given the cast up front. — James Mirtle
Preseason bold prediction: Elias Pettersson will bounce back and lead the team in scoring
Outlook: Still in play
It certainly hasn’t been an out-of-the-gate, no-doubt-about-it, he’s-back-like-John-Wick level bounce back for Pettersson this season, but the star Canucks center has found his form of late. He’s back to controlling play and still has a chance to lead all Vancouver players in scoring. Through Thursday, he ranked first in points and points per game among Canucks forwards, but what I didn’t expect was Quinn Hughes to hit even another level of preposterous form this season. Through Thursday, Hughes was holding a six-point lead over Pettersson in the point production department this season, so Pettersson still has some catching up to do. — Thomas Drance
Preseason bold prediction: Pavel Dorofeyev will finish second on the team in goals
Outlook: Still in play
The hope with this prediction was that Dorofeyev would take advantage of a bigger opportunity than he’s had to this point in his career, and that’s exactly what has happened through two months. Through Thursday, Dorofeyev was second on the Golden Knights with 12 goals, only one behind team leader Ivan Barbashev. He has contributed both at even strength and on the top power-play unit, and has been an integral part of Vegas’ seventh-ranked offense. — Jesse Granger
Preseason bold prediction: The Pierre-Luc Dubois deal will pay off
Outlook: Still in play
There’s plenty of road left before I can do a victory lap, but I feel good about predicting good things for Dubois. Is he playing to a 70-point pace, as I said he would? Not quite. Has he been a major catalyst for the Caps’ early-season success? Absolutely. He’s crushing most of his minutes as the 2C, which allowed Washington to set up favorable matchups for Alex Ovechkin’s line, and has helped Connor McMichael get off to a scorching start. So far, so good. — Sean Gentille
Preseason bold prediction: Nikolaj Ehlers will play out the season and then walk as a UFA
Outlook: Still in play
Ehlers is a point-per-game player now, mostly because he’s been every bit as good on the top power play as advertised: helpful on entries, good in the high slot, creative with options in the zone. He’s also hurt, nursing a lower-body injury suffered against Vegas on Nov. 29. It’s difficult to say what any of this means for his future, though. I believe the “self-rental” option is still on the table for Winnipeg. If recent call-up Brad Lambert bursts offensively, Ehlers could become a trade chip. (For the right return, it might not take that Lambert burst.) An extension does not appear to be a front-burner, midseason option, but must also be considered a possibility. — Murat Ates
(Top photo of Red Wings center Dylan Larkin celebrating after scoring a goal: Brian Bradshaw Sevald / Imagn Images)

Culture
As likely No. 1 WNBA Draft pick, Paige Bueckers is among new generation of young talent

Two Sundays ago, Paige Bueckers and Sue Bird gathered inside Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla., as different points in their lives were celebrated.
Bueckers led a courtside coronation. The Huskies blew out South Carolina to win UConn’s first national championship in nine years. With the souvenir net draped around her neck after her final college game, Bueckers said she felt an overwhelming sense of joy and gratitude.
Bird also appeared grateful for her moment in the spotlight. She was present, in part, to co-host an alternate ESPN telecast with her best friend and former UConn teammate Diana Taurasi. But in the first half of the Huskies’ eventual 23-point victory, Bird received a warm ovation from fans as she was honored as a new inductee in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
That both Bird and Bueckers were in the same place at the same time was a fitting reminder of the current moment in women’s basketball. A new guard is entering the professional ranks while an older generation looks on — and receives acknowledgement — from the arena rafters.
Over the last three years, WNBA trailblazers like Bird, Taurasi, Sylvia Fowles and Candace Parker have retired from the league. Bueckers, who is expected to be selected with the No. 1 pick in Monday night’s WNBA Draft by the Dallas Wings, represents a potential pillar for its future.
Paige. Buckets. Enough said. 🏆
Paige Bueckers closed out her UConn career with a national title and the 2025 Wade Trophy. She was a 3x AP First Team All-American, a 2x Nancy Lieberman Award winner, and the 2021 National Player of the Year. Bueckers led UConn to four Final… pic.twitter.com/pARNMvO5DK
— WNBA (@WNBA) April 11, 2025
She joins last year’s top rookies, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, as cornerstones of the WNBA’s latest chapter. Who better to be a new baton carrier than someone who faced constant questions about pressure and legacy throughout her college career? As the WNBA attempts to build on its historic 2024 season, Bueckers’ arrival is as close as the league can come to adding another ambassador prepared to help compound its growth.
“It’s so popular right now, so it’s at a really good place,” Wings general manager Curt Miller said. “I’m excited about this draft class keeping the momentum going.”
Bueckers is used to high expectations. At UConn, she faced endless reminders of them. Chairs from each of the program’s Final Four appearances were in the Huskies’ practice gym. Banners for All-Americans and national titles hang on walls. Some Storrs, Conn., highway welcome signs denote how many championships the Huskies have won. After last week, that’s now an NCAA-record 12.
Bueckers is aware of each marker. She learned to refine her mindset and become more process-focused to manage. Over five years, she became the face of a college program that has an arguably higher profile than almost every WNBA franchise, navigating not only her own growing stardom but also a changing climate in college sports. She is part of a generation of college players who have conducted themselves like pros while still in school. Photo and commercial shoots become part of off days. She already has partnerships with Nike, Intuit, Google and Bose. And Friday, Bueckers — having never stepped foot on a WNBA court — was part of Ally’s promotional materials for becoming the official banking partner of the WNBA.
Eight days after finishing her collegiate career, Bueckers will officially turn the page in her story when she walks across the draft stage. She’ll almost certainly be headed to Dallas to join a franchise that lacks the same historic relevance as her alma mater. Though the Wings technically have three championships to their name, those titles belong to the Detroit Shock, which later relocated to Tulsa and eventually moved to Texas.
“I can’t begin to tell you how much this just injects energy, enthusiasm, as we head into the ’25 season,” Miller said in December after the Wings were awarded the No. 1 pick.
As a three-time All-American, three-time Big East Player of the Year and one-time Naismith Player of the Year, Bueckers can look to Clark as a road map through her rookie season.
The former Iowa star’s adjustment to the pros took only a few weeks. Clark exploded, adjusting to the WNBA’s physicality, finding her stroke and meshing with her teammates en route to an All-WNBA first-team season. The Indiana Fever returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
“Much like last year when we thought Caitlin Clark’s game was going to translate right away, and for the most part it did, I think Paige’s game is going to translate right away,” UConn alum and Hall of Fame forward Rebecca Lobo said. “Caitlin and Paige are very different players. … But their impact can be just as significant.”
Teammates will feel Bueckers’ impact in games — she is a willing passer and will create even better looks for Dallas’ existing star guard Arike Ogunbowale. And it will be felt league-wide — the WNBA knows she’s a TV draw, with two Wings games on ABC this season after none last year.
In Dallas, team executives have also long recognized the impact the No. 1 pick would have. When the Wings won the lottery in mid-November, nine days after Miller was announced as their new GM, they also had yet to hire a coach. But that Sunday, when the ping-pong balls bounced in their favor, Miller knew it was transformative.
The Wings, who hired Chris Koclanes as their coach in December, were already in a growth moment when they learned of their good fortune. They had been planning a 2026 move from Arlington to Dallas, boosting their arena seating from around 6,000 to 9,000. A new practice facility was already in the works, too, and they added more national partners than ever last season. Dallas rebudgeted its ticket revenue three times in 2024 and sold two half-percent ownership stakes at a league-record $208 million valuation.
I woke up feeling like a traitor cause I was really clapping when a certain team scored??? 😭☘️ anyway, go wings lol. can’t wait for the draft. @DallasWings yall know what to do ❗️
— Arike Ogunbowale (@Arike_O) April 7, 2025
But in the same way that Clark supercharged interest in the Fever and Reese did for the Chicago Sky, Bueckers will likely provide a boost. Though Dallas’ total ticket revenue grew 44 percent year over year from 2023 to 2024, the franchise is projecting a 50 percent increase in total ticket revenue this season. The Wings have sold out their season ticket inventory each of the past two seasons, but they announced they did so in late November, just days after securing the No. 1 pick.
Bueckers, 23, is a known star. Off the court, she garnered headlines from appearances at the U.S. Open and New York Fashion Week. This season, the Huskies sold out their season tickets for Gampel Pavilion for the first time since 2004-05.
UConn’s blowout win over South Carolina was the third-most watched women’s basketball championship game, peaking at 9.8 million viewers, according to ESPN. The Sweet 16 round averaged 1.7 million viewers across ESPN’s networks, the second-most watched Sweet 16 on record behind last year.
Monday’s draft might also fall short of 2024’s record event, but it’s poised to remain noteworthy and could be the second-most watched W draft ever. Bueckers will hear her name called, share a moment with commissioner Cathy Engelbert and begin a post-draft circuit consisting of interviews and photo shoots.
As Taurasi said last season as Clark prepared for the WNBA, reality is coming. For Bueckers, this is true, too. But as a part of a wave of name, image and likeness stars who have already been the faces of a program and the sport, Bueckers is poised to be another success story in this era of historic WNBA growth. It’s impossible to be fully prepared for what’s next, but she is well-positioned to thrive.
Here’s a look at the order of Monday’s draft:
(Illustration: Demetrius Robinson / The Athletic; photo of Paige Bueckers: David Butler II / Imagn Images)
Culture
Would Paige Bueckers still be No. 1 if all college players were WNBA Draft-eligible?

As Sarah Strong dominated the South Carolina frontcourt during UConn’s national championship victory, gobbling up rebounds, protecting the rim and scoring from everywhere on the court, it was easy to imagine her also doing so at the next level. WNBA executives had to be drooling over the idea of drafting the next Huskies star.
But they’ll have to wait another three years. Under the collective bargaining agreement, which expires at the end of the 2025 season, American-born players are eligible to be drafted after completing four years of college. The one exception is that players can declare after their junior seasons if they turn 22 during the calendar year of the WNBA Draft. Since Strong has a February birthday, that won’t be an option.
As women’s basketball booms, players have more choices in shaping their careers, whether that’s in college via the transfer portal or professionally with new leagues. However, this is one decision that remains out of their control.
“I definitely think we should have the option,” USC star JuJu Watkins said on the “Good Game with Sarah Spain” podcast. “There’s just been such a growth in college basketball, where it’s like, why would you want to leave? Because you’re able to have that experience and build your brand here in college as well. I would say we should definitely have the option, but I think college is a way to prepare us for the pros as well. … It’s a touchy subject, but I’m for it.”
Although a change to allow players to declare early is unlikely, enough underclassmen are tempting pro prospects right now, headlined by Strong. Watkins, who has two remaining years of eligibility, would be a no-brainer lottery pick, even with a torn ACL that would keep her sidelined for this upcoming WNBA season. Madison Booker of Texas has a WNBA body and pull-up game, and her fellow SEC players Ashlyn Watkins (South Carolina) and Talaysia Cooper (Tennessee) also could be pro-ready.
There’s a world where JuJu Watkins decides to sit out the upcoming season, using both of her final years of eligibility, and enters the 2028 WNBA Draft that features Sarah Strong.
If you were a GM with the No. 1 overall pick, who would you choose? pic.twitter.com/AUixhKz3oc
— I talk hoops 🏀 (@trendyhoopstars) April 11, 2025
The idea of the age limit has historically benefited most parties, even if it diminished individual player agency. The WNBA is already the hardest league in the world to make and earn a second contract in, and it doesn’t behoove the current player pool to add more competitors for the limited roster spots.
Until recently, player experience was better in college than in the WNBA. It often didn’t make sense for athletes to sacrifice the ability to earn a college degree to pre-emptively join a league that didn’t pay that well. Certain players nevertheless took advantage of the opportunity to go pro after three seasons, including No. 1 picks Jewell Loyd and Jackie Young. Satou Sabally, the No. 2 pick in 2020, cited finances as the reason she left Oregon early, as she was in college before athletes could make money.
Foreign-born athletes don’t have to deal with the same age-related constraints as their American counterparts. Players born outside the U.S. can declare for the draft the year they turn 20, provided they don’t attend college in the NCAA system, presumably as a way to incentivize talent around the world to play in the WNBA. Those concessions have never been made for American players, who already grow up dreaming of playing in the league.
Now the WNBA has better accommodations, more lucrative salaries and a higher profile, but college sports also offer money from collectives and the ability to profit from NIL deals. Athletes are no longer missing out on their earning potential by being denied early entry into the professional ranks.
The league benefits from the age limit as well. In addition to rookies being more physically suited for the pro game, the NCAA is a fantastic marketing tool for the WNBA. Players come into the league with four years of national exposure and oodles of name recognition. Though casual NBA fans struggle to identify one-and-dones, most WNBA fans are intimately familiar with the likes of Paige Bueckers, Aneesah Morrow and Hailey Van Lith before they even play their first professional game.
As a result, even though a new CBA is being negotiated, don’t expect the age limit to be a point of contention.
“It has been mentioned; I don’t think it’s a high priority,” Seattle Storm guard Lexie Brown said on “The Ringer WNBA Show” last month. “Going out into the world at 18, 19 years old as a young woman with no degree to go play a sport with nonguaranteed contracts, it’s kind of a recipe for disaster.”
There is a reasonable discussion to be had about whether Bueckers would be the No. 1 pick if every player in college this season were draft-eligible. Strong’s overall game, combined with her youth, in a league that still runs through the post, makes her a tantalizing selection. Watkins’ prodigious skill and star power put her in that hypothetical conversation as well.
For now, this exercise remains theoretical. College basketball is still a more popular product, and the WNBA can afford to remain exclusive and close its doors to younger players with all of the talent that already exists within its ranks. The subset of players who could realistically make the jump early is limited — too small to rewrite an entire set of rules for.
(Photos of Madison Booker and Sarah Strong: Alex Slitz / Getty Images, Joe Buglewicz / Getty Images)
Culture
2025 NFL Draft matchmaker: Best fits for Cam Ward, Jaxson Dart, other top QBs

Read Dane Brugler’s 2025 ‘The Beast’ NFL Draft guide.
At least beyond Cam Ward, there is no consensus on where each of this year’s crop of quarterbacks may get drafted. After Ward presumably becomes a Tennessee Titan, the rest of the group is a complete mystery. It’s just as likely Ward is the only quarterback we see on Thursday night as it is that four quarterbacks go in the first round.
Lucky for us, we’re going to cut through all that uncertainty and play quarterback matchmaker, placing all of this year’s top quarterback prospects on the teams that make the most sense. In some cases, that has more to do with what type of quarterback the team needs; in others, it’s about finding the right environment for getting the most out of a particular skill set.
Let’s get to the lovely new couples.
Cam Ward: Tennessee Titans
All signs point to Ward being the Titans’ starting quarterback next year. It’s not even worth entertaining different possibilities for either QB or team at this point. Ward is both a good fit for the core of Brian Callahan’s offense and would bring elements that Titans’ quarterbacks last season did not.
The Titans’ 2024 offense was all about maximizing play-action opportunities and attacking down the field. Ward has the arm talent and fearlessness as a thrower to excel in that environment. However, Ward also massively improved his quick-game operation in college, and he’s much more comfortable playing from spread and empty formations than Will Levis has ever been. Ward is leaps and bounds ahead of Levis (or Mason Rudolph) as a creator outside of the pocket, too.
There are going to be growing pains with Ward’s overzealous play style early on, but they will be worth it in the long run. Ward has both a floor and ceiling worthy of being the No. 1 pick in this class.
Shedeur Sanders: New Orleans Saints
Finding Sanders’ best fit was trickier than I anticipated. Kevin Stefanski’s downfield play-action offense in Cleveland is not ideal; Brian Daboll’s quicker passing attack in New York might make sense, but that offensive line is a sieve and Sanders is not athletic enough to tap into some of the best parts of Daboll’s playbook.
The idea of Sanders being Kellen Moore’s first crack at a quarterback is intriguing, though. Sanders is at his best operating spread passing concepts, especially in the underneath area. He’s a reliable short-area passer who uses the intermediate and deeper areas of the field to keep defenses honest, rather than making those his preferred areas of attack. That’s perfectly fine for a West Coast-inspired offense.
Of course, falling to ninth overall is no guarantee. The Browns or the Giants may feel the itch of desperation and draft Sanders in the top three. If Sanders does slide a little bit, however, it wouldn’t be a shock to see the Saints stop that fall.
Jaxson Dart: Seattle Seahawks
It would be stunning if the Seahawks left the first two days of the draft without a quarterback. The deal Sam Darnold signed in March is effectively a one-year contract with team options from then on out — if that doesn’t scream “a developmental quarterback is coming,” I don’t know what does.
Seattle could go in a few directions, but Dart makes sense for their new offense under Klint Kubiak, and vice versa.
Dart reminds me a lot of Jimmy Garoppolo as a passer. The two are quite similar in build, arm talent and ability on throws over the middle of the field. A majority of Dart’s best throws on film are slants, short posts and crossers. The same was true of Garoppolo at his best in San Francisco. Neither Dart nor Garoppolo is a quarterback you want reading out a full progression very often.
In theory, Kubiak’s offense plays into all of that. It’s built off the run game, which is then parlayed into a strong play-action attack. Not only does that simplify reads for the quarterback, it also demands the QB often makes tight throws over the middle of the field, which is where Dart shines.
With a year on the bench to learn the pace of the league, maybe Dart can make it work with the Seahawks.
Tyler Shough: Cleveland Browns
The Browns’ best path to a quarterback is to take the Day 2 player most ready to start immediately. For my money, that is Shough.
Outside of Ward, Shough is the most talented thrower in the class. He has a flexible yet explosive release that works well from all platforms, in and out of the pocket. Though he’s more of a straight-line thrower than someone with fantastic touch, he still gets the job done from an accuracy perspective.
Shough is a quality processor, as well. Similar to Ryan Tannehill, he can be a hair slow coming off of reads early in the down but generally doesn’t make bizarre mistakes, and he protects the ball well.
In terms of pro readiness and arm talent, Shough just makes the most sense for Kevin Stefanski’s offense right now.
Jalen Milroe: Los Angeles Rams
If Sean McVay wants to keep the offense roughly the same in an eventual post-Matthew Stafford world, Milroe is not the answer — he’s actually the furthest thing from Stafford in this draft class (aside from the two or three bizarre misfires each QB has every game).
McVay has long flirted with the idea of a mobile quarterback, though. He was eager to give John Wolford a chance at the end of the Jared Goff saga, then held onto him as the team’s backup through the 2022 season. McVay also gave Bryce Perkins a start in 2022, a game in which Perkins carried the ball 19 times for 90 yards.
Milroe will walk into the league as one of the best athletes at the position. As a passer, he’ll need at least a year to fix his footwork and adapt to the speed of coverage at the NFL level, but that’s okay. There would be no pressure on Milroe to compete with Stafford for the job.
This would be a long play. Regardless of it being a good or realistic idea, I just so badly want to see the world in which McVay gets to re-unlock the boot-action game and dabble in a quarterback-centric rushing attack.
Riley Leonard: New York Giants
Brian Daboll’s best work over the years — outside of his time with Josh Allen — was at Alabama in 2017, with Jalen Hurts, and in 2022, with Daniel Jones.
Though different quality players, Hurts and Jones can both generally be described as sturdy, athletic quarterbacks with the arm talent to push the ball down the field a little bit. Both players added something to the offense via their mobility, and Daboll took advantage.
Aside from maybe Milroe, Leonard is Daboll’s best swing at that kind of athlete. Leonard is 6-foot-4, 218 pounds with serious wheels. He’s fairly explosive in short areas and excels when he really gets to stride out, similar to Jones. He’s clearly a weapon in the designed-run game and the red zone.
Leonard still has a lot to prove as a passer, but his athletic ability and toughness gives him a floor to work with while he figures it out.
Kyle McCord: Dallas Cowboys
It’s hard to find and hold onto good backup quarterbacks — the Cowboys were lucky to draft and retain Cooper Rush for as long as that they did. Boring as he is to watch, Rush was a perfectly competent quarterback when it came to running the offense and not playing outside of his means.
With Rush now in Baltimore, the Cowboys are in search of the next guy to fill that role. McCord is their best bet.
McCord is not an overwhelming talent. His arm is just okay, and he’s not going to scare anyone on the move. Like any good NFL backup, however, McCord can run an offense efficiently and consistently. He really learned to play within himself at Syracuse, displaying good rhythm and decision-making as a thrower.
It’s unlikely he ever ascends to anything above a very good backup, but that’s quite alright for a Cowboys team shopping for that exact kind of player.
Will Howard: Pittsburgh Steelers
They have to draft somebody, right? Even under the assumption Aaron Rodgers finally drops the charade and signs, the Steelers need to make some sort of effort to secure a young quarterback.
Howard, if nothing else, fits Arthur Smith’s offense. He is not someone who should be a high-volume passer, which already leans into Smith’s run-first approach. Additionally, Howard’s best traits are his size and arm talent, which allows him to comfortably throw down the field, as well as ample athletic ability for a player his size. Smith’s entire play-action and boot menu would be open with Howard at quarterback.
It’s hard to imagine Howard developing the down-to-down accuracy and play speed to really thrive as an NFL starter, but Smith’s offense in Pittsburgh at least would give Howard a chance to hide his weaknesses and lean into his strengths.
Dillon Gabriel: Miami Dolphins
Putting the short lefty quarterback prospect as a backup to the short lefty NFL quarterback feels like a bit, but it’s not. It makes sense when you consider each player’s strengths and the dynamics of being a left-handed vs. right-handed thrower.
Firstly, pass-catchers often talk about the flight and spin of the ball being different from lefty quarterbacks — the ball rotates in the opposite direction of 99 percent of quarterbacks, so it looks different coming into a receiver’s vision.
Gabriel, like Tua Tagovailoa, also thrives with RPOs and throws over the middle. He has a flexible and explosive release, making him perfectly equipped to manage those RPOs at a high level. And he thrives on in-breaking throws, even offering more velocity than Tagovailoa does.
The Dolphins desperately need to invest in a backup quarterback somehow. Gabriel fits.
Quinn Ewers: Buffalo Bills
Not every player or team gets their ideal match in an exercise like this. Sometimes, teams have to settle for whoever is left on the dance floor.
From the Bills’ perspective, a young backup quarterback should be on the table, because Mitchell Trubisky has just one year left on his deal. It makes some sense for the Bills to get ahead of things early and get a developmental player in the pipeline.
Ewers would bring functional athleticism and arm talent for Joe Brady. He still struggles with pocket presence and touch accuracy, especially down the field, but there’s enough talent there to mold a functional backup.
(Top photo of Jaxson Dart: Justin Ford / Getty Images)
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