{"id":469643,"date":"2025-06-09T13:59:40","date_gmt":"2025-06-09T17:59:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=469643"},"modified":"2025-11-27T18:15:28","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T23:15:28","slug":"blake-fiddler-scouting-report-2025-nhl-draft-23","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2025\/06\/09\/blake-fiddler-scouting-report-2025-nhl-draft-23\/","title":{"rendered":"Blake Fiddler Scouting Report: 2025 NHL Draft #23"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to your\u00a02025 NHL Entry Draft Headquarters<\/a> right here at Last Word On Sports and Top Shelf Prospects. We have you covered with everything you will need to be ready for the big event. This year\u2019s draft is set to take place on June 27th and 28th, live from the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Today, we bring you our Blake Fiddler Scouting Report.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Each day, LWOH will bring you a new player profile or topical article in the lead-up to the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. Be sure to bookmark the site, follow our prospect writers\u00a0Ben Kerr<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Chase Windsor<\/a>,\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0spread the word for the site that will bring you analytical and critical draft profiles and scouting reports!\u00a0Last Word On Hockey<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Top Shelf Prospects<\/em>\u00a0bring it to you. Make us your new headquarters for everything\u00a02025 NHL Draft<\/em>!<\/p>\n

The son of former NHL player Vernon Fiddler<\/a>, Blake Fiddler<\/a> is a physically imposing blueliner who\u2019s steadily climbed draft boards over the past year thanks to his combination of size, mobility, and defensive maturity. Born in Nashville,<\/a> Tennessee, while his father was playing for the Predators, Fiddler is of Canadian heritage and holds dual citizenship, providing him with a distinctive path in his hockey career. He played high school hockey in both countries, starting with the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Whitby, Ontario, and finishing in Dallas<\/a>, Texas. Following the conclusion of his high school hockey career, he elected to return to Canada to play junior hockey. He was drafted first overall by the Edmonton Oil Kings in the 2022 WHL U.S Priority Draft.<\/p>\n

Blake Fiddler Scouting Report: 2025 NHL Draft #23<\/h2>\n

Right Defence – Shoots Right<\/p>\n

Born Jul 09, 2007 – Nashville, TN, USA<\/p>\n

Height 6’4″ – Weight 209lbs [193cm|95kg]<\/p>\n

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It’s not every day you can play in the comfort of your own backyard. @EdmOilKings<\/a> blueliner Blake Fiddler shares what it’s like playing in his hometown of Frisco, Texas., ahead of @usahockey<\/a>‘s semi-final appearance at the 2025 #U18MensWorlds<\/a>. #NHLDraft<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/9ZGRrTIUBb<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) May 1, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Offence<\/h4>\n

Fiddler\u2019s offensive game is built more on projection than production at this point, but there are signs of legitimate upside. In 65 games this season, Fiddler scored 10 goals and 33 points. More impressively, Blake also scored four points in nine games for the USNTP U18 team and three points in seven games for the States at the U18s. Throughout the season, there were noticeable improvements to Blake’s ability to move the puck up ice. Whether that be through breakout passes or rushing the puck up the ice, Fiddler’s efficiency and quickness have improved.<\/p>\n

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Blake Fiddler puts it up high where mom hides the cookies \ud83c\udf6a@EdmOilKings<\/a> | #NHLDraft<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/O9AkB8nEnS<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) March 23, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When Fiddler has the puck in the offensive zone, he succeeds at creating open lanes for his teammates and getting the puck to the house. Blake is incredibly active and does it in a way that doesn\u2019t risk an odd-man rush the other way. His puck skills are above average, which helps him make plays at the blueline. There\u2019s some deception in his release, and he\u2019s shown the ability to score on curl-and-drag shots, but overall, more refinement is needed before he can become a true offensive threat from the back end.<\/p>\n

Defence and Skating<\/h4>\n

Fiddler’s size is of significant advantage to his defensive game. In the defensive zone, he often shuts down attackers by angling them toward the boards and finishing with a physical edge. He has a noticeable wingspan, which aids in his ability to get his stick in lanes and control his gap. He\u2019s a fantastic rush defender. Fiddler uses an active stick and superb awareness that come together to give him the ability to kill the rush. On the penalty kill, he is frequently relied upon to close space. Blake takes advantage of his strength and positioning to protect the slot and win net-front battles.<\/p>\n

Over the past year, there have been noticeable improvements in Fiddler’s mobility\u2014specifically with refinements in his footwork and transitional play. Scouts have observed advantages at both ends of the ice due to his enhanced agility and balance, especially during transitions. Fiddler\u2019s long strides allow him to cover a lot of ground, while his improved edgework, combined with his long reach, makes him difficult to beat one-on-one. Now that his size and mobility are in sync\u2014usually difficult for a player of his stature\u2014a crucial dimension has been added to his game.<\/p>\n

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Blake Fiddler gets us started! \ud83d\udea8@usahockey<\/a> is up one in the first #U18MensWorlds<\/a> #USASVK<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/0SMESps8uW<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 3, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Comparisons and Projections<\/h4>\n

The player that comes to mind when watching Blake Fiddler is Brandon Carlo<\/a> (Toronto Maple Leafs)<\/a>. Both players are big, mobile, right-shot defenders known for their defensive zone coverage, penalty killing, and quiet effectiveness. Much like Carlo, Fiddler isn’t expected to produce a staggering amount of offence. What he will do is be a physically reliable, minute-crunching defender who will anchor a second or third pairing.<\/p>\n

Overall, Fiddler projects as a second- or third-pair defender with top-pairing potential. You can expect to see him leading a shutdown pair rather than producing points on the first powerplay. His combination of reach, skating, physicality, and improving puck movement gives him a strong foundation. If he can sharpen his offensive instincts and refine his reads under pressure, he could become a well-rounded two-way blueliner capable of playing 20+ minutes a night. Expect to hear Blake Fiddler’s name called in the 20-30 range at the 2025 NHL Draft.<\/p>\n

Main photo by: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome to your\u00a02025 NHL Entry Draft Headquarters right here at Last Word On Sports and Top Shelf Prospects. We have you covered with everything you will need to be ready for the big event. This year\u2019s draft is set to take place on June 27th and 28th, live from the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5452,"featured_media":469995,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3172,4547,1279,3462,309],"tags":[8114,8167,2148,1890],"class_list":["post-469643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chl","category-hockey","category-nhl-draft","category-nhl-prospects","category-nhl-top-prospects","tag-2025-nhl-draft","tag-blake-fiddler","tag-scouting-reports","tag-vernon-fiddler"],"modified_by":"Michael Kovacs, ADMIN","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/469643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5452"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=469643"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/469643\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":469996,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/469643\/revisions\/469996"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/469995"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=469643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=469643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=469643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}