LJ Mooney – Scouting Report | 2025 NHL Draft
Throughout the 2024-2025 season, TSLH Prospects will be sharing scouting reports, rankings, and profiles of prospects eligible to the 2025 NHL Draft. Continuing our work of the past five years, our analysts will provide insights on numerous prospects to give you a comprehensive overview of the draft class and their progress. Today, the spotlight is on LJ Mooney, a forward playing in the U.S. National U18 Team Development Program.
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2025 NHL Draft Scouting Report: LJ Mooney
This prospect is sure to be one of the draft favorites this year. Little John (yes, Little John) is literally everywhere on the ice, especially in the offensive zone. Don’t be fooled by his 23 points in 32 games last year with the U17s or by his 5-foot-6, 146-pound frame. The young player is bound to attract attention.
His motor is elite, as is the energy he uses to recover pucks. Despite his well-below-average size, the forward fears nothing and will do whatever it takes to stand out or disrupt the puck carrier. Time will tell if he can replicate this at the next level in a few years.
LJ Mooney is a constant threat
In possession of the puck, the range of possibilities is endless in LJ Mooney’s hands. With the pedal to the metal, he’s always in problem-solving mode. As a result, you can expect countless dekes, dump-and-chase plays, screened shots, slowed-down plays, outside drives, or passes out of nowhere to direct the play toward the net.
You could also add that the American shows the same level of involvement in his own zone, countering the opposition. It’s clear that LJ Mooney brings chaos both in his zone and the opponent’s, due to his style, which could become problematic in the long term. However, with maturity, this could be honed into a focused chaos directed solely at his enemies, while still remaining a dangerous and entertaining threat.
Learning to delegate
He has a slight tendency to want to do everything by himself, as well as leaving his positioning aside to apply pressure on the opponent. This results in spectacular plays like backhanders into the top corner on the far side, but also in turnovers, leaving him as the last man back for his team. As mentioned earlier, these are things that will refine with time as he moves up the ranks.
Even though I’m not usually a fan of exaggerated post-goal celebrations, LJ Mooney probably pulled off one of the funniest/most epic in recent years during the U17 tournament in November 2023. After scoring a spectacular breakaway goal, the American followed it up with a « dab » while sliding across half the rink. I’ve included the video below. Discussions about him will certainly be interesting, as his talent is elite, but his size is definitely a concern.
2025 NHL Draft Ranking
Similar to Logan Stankoven, who dropped in the draft due to his size, I don’t believe LJ Mooney will be selected in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft. We should see him go in the second round despite all his talent. You simply can’t overlook his limitations and the risks they pose to reaching the big leagues. Additionally, the trend in recent years has been more focused on size.
This year, the prospect will need to work on his game in all three zones, learn to play a bit more as part of a team, and refine his actions to fit more « within the system. » I don’t think this will make him any less exciting, but perhaps a bit less risky in the long run.
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