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Gigantic high schooler Mason West is a fascinating prospect in the 2025 NHL Draft
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Photo credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports
Ryan Pike
Jun 25, 2025, 08:00 EDTUpdated: Jun 23, 2025, 23:38 EDT
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In every draft class, there seems to be an absolute unicorn of a player, someone so interesting and unique that they’re really challenging to evaluate. With that in mind, let’s talk about high school football quarterback slash hockey power forward Mason West.
He’s big. He’s smart. He plays two sports extremely well. And he has a really small sample size in high-end hockey that makes it tough to really predict where he’ll end up or what he’ll become.

Scouting report

West is an August 2007 birthday, making him one of the youngest first-time eligible players in the 2025 class. He’s from Edina, Minnesota, and he’s a right shot forward listed at 6’6″ and 218 pounds. (He played almost exclusively on the wing during his brief United States Hockey League stint, so we’ll operate under the understanding that he’s probably a winger.)
A big, talented kid, West worked his way up through local hockey and football in Edina. He’s spent the past three seasons playing high school hockey, improving his offensive output every season. He jumped up to the USHL this seaosn, playing 10 games with the Fargo Force. The plan is for him to play football this fall and then commit to hockey fully going forward. He’s committed to Michigan State University for the 2026-27 season. (He’ll return to the USHL for 2025-26.)
Over at Dobber Prospects, Luke Sweeney wrote this evaluation this month:
Virtually ignored for much of the season, West surged onto the scene with a doubt-assuaging arrival to the USHL. While Edina-HS-West was looked un-engaged (or even bored), Fargo-Force-West looked like a whole different beast. West is a gifted athlete and—even at 6-6—his posture, acceleration, and mobility all look strong, with minor mechanical issues that can easily be improved or mitigated. However, his intelligence, creativity and physicality are what round out West as one of the draft’s most interesting profiles. Some areas (especially his shot) are a work in progress, but now that he has officially chosen hockey over football, he can now invest his entire focus into shoring up these deficiencies.
Our pal Steven Ellis at Daily Faceoff had this scouting report in his final draft rankings:
West has received a lot of praise in the scouting community recently. He’s a 6-foot-6 center who loves to overpower defenders and beat opponents with skill. He spent most of the year playing high school hockey but then finished the season with some excellent performances with the USHL’s Fargo Force. Every time I watch him, he finds a way to get better. The upside is tremendous, and he doesn’t struggle with traits that some other big forwards can, including slower hands and feet. A team looking to swing big could take West much higher in the second round.
We don’t have a big high-end sample size of West. But everyone who sees him seems to come away excited about his sheer potential and what he’s shown so far. There’s risk, yes, but there could be tremendous upside.

The numbers

West played 31 games for Edina High School this season, posting 27 goals (leading his team) and 49 points (second on his team). He also played 10 games in the USHL for Fargo, posting a goal and nine points.
We can’t really compare West effectively across Minnesota high school hockey because of the sheer variability of quality of competition and team schedules; some players have put up crazy numbers and it’s hard to really determine if they’re comparable to West or not. (Or visa versa.)

Availability and fit

West is generally found between the late 40s and the early 50s on most public draft rankings. In other words: he’s probably a second-rounder. That said, as Ellis noted, a team could make a splash by going for him earlier. If you’re a team with a lot of early picks, West seems like the perfect player to take a swing on, since many picks allow teams to take on “risky” players without being too nervous about it.
If you’re the Flames, here’s the challenge: the Flames have taken a few high school players from Edina in recent years – Demetrios Koumontzis and Jake Boltmann – that didn’t pan out. Were either of them as highly-touted as West is? Nowhere close. But if you’re trying to make calculated gambles, that history could factor in.
But beyond the “gamble” aspect, there’s a ton to like about West, between his size, athleticism, skill-set and youth. Heck, just the fact that he’s a dynamic right shot player would fill a big hole in the Flames’ reserve list. Him going to college – in another year – also provides the Flames a bit of runway on his development, and potentially work on figuring out their current glut of young wingers before West would be entering their pro development system.
In other words: his lack of high-end sample size is a risk, but you can totally understand why the Flames – and other teams – would jump to select West in the second round.

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