Prospect Info: Round 3, Pick 95: Denver Barkey, C, London (OHL) ELC signed 3/3/24

[Appleyard]

It's the outliers that are the bigger gambles, at both ends of the spectrum.
6'6 and taller players have a long history of being overdrafted.
5'7 to 5'9 have been underdrafted historically, but that has changed, especially the ones with top level speed.

Barkey is an outlier however, 155 lbs is really light, so how he fills out his frame will probably determine his future - there just aren't a lot of comparables, and those don't bode well. He lacks elite speed, so like Brink, he has to be able to operate in dirty areas to make plays.

I mean... Andrew Cristall got taken ~25 picks too late this last draft. He is DeBrincat 2.0. Such high odds to be a great player.
Gabe Perreault went 23rd when should have gone maybe 10 picks higher.
Reily Heidt almost fell out of the 2nd when probably should have gone ~20-25th.
Jayden Perron went 3rd round.

Dumais went 3rd round in 2022.
Gushchin went 3rd round in 2020.
Farrell went 4th round in 2020.
Berard went 5th round in 2020.
Maccelli went 4th round in 2019.
Brink fell to 34 in 2019 when should have gone top 20.

Maybe guys are not falling as far as they used to... but there is still a bias against smaller guys that the stats dont reflect.

Heck, Benson and Jarvis going ~5-7 picks behind where should have even.

This draft you have:

Nikita Artomonov, Terik Parascak and Luke Misa who will likely fall out of 1st, when if were ~6'1 would be talked about as top 15 picks.
Alex Zetterberg, Justin Poirier, Jett Luchanko, Teddy Stiga, Andrei Krutov, James Reeder, Mac Swanson, Alex Blais, Gavin Hodnett, Topias Hynninen... will all likely be under-drafted due to mainly size. (and only ~25% will end up top 6 level, but still)

And Barkey might not be a burner. But he is agile and has a relentless motor. He is a far better skater than Brink for example.

 

[Appleyard]

Now... I do think that Barkey is most likely to be a good 3rd liner if he hits...

but that is not anything to do with his height and weight, but instead his talent level.

He is closer to Nick Cousins, Matt Calvert, Connor Dewar and Gabriel Bourque etc

than Brayden Point, Alex DeBrincat, Bobby Brink, and Andrew Cristall etc.

I think ~90th centile of development he ends up in the Pageau, Cogliano kind of range... I.E. a perfect 3rd liner who can fill in on 2nd.

 

[deadhead]

Now... I do think that Barkey is most likely to be a good 3rd liner if he hits...

but that is not anything to do with his height and weight, but instead his talent level.

He is closer to Nick Cousins, Matt Calvert, Connor Dewar and Gabriel Bourque etc

than Brayden Point, Alex DeBrincat, Bobby Brink, and Andrew Cristall etc.

I think ~90th centile of development he ends up in the Pageau, Cogliano kind of range... I.E. a perfect 3rd liner who can fill in on 2nd.

But that's one reason he fell. If he's not an elite offensive player, he's going to have to be sheltered on a 3rd line (like a lot of aging veterans who get 3rd line minutes and PP time). He's going to be protected from bad matchups where his size might be a detriment.

Caufield 23-17 40 ES pace.
DeBrincat 22-23 45 at ES
Atkinson 20-19 39 (career scoring at ES)
Point 26-29 55 (and he's a plus defender!)

If Barkey can't score at a similar pace does he have a role on a NHL team?

Cates may not have the skill of a Barkey, but he can be a complementary player on a 3rd line with two more skilled players, he can be a 4C, PK, even PP2 as the guy who retrieves pucks. So his overall value as a 3rd liner is probably higher, and he went in the 5th rd b/c IQ is undervalued (Stone was a 6th rd pick b/c of his skating!).

Cousins is now listed at 5'11 185, bad move by Hextall, trading him for a 5th. He's a fiesty little f***r (rated as player they'd most like to punch by NHL players), listed at 5'11 166 by NA final rankings (can't find combine data). Barkey can't play his type of game.

Interesting tidbit on lack of respect for USHL back then:
NA ranking #198 Blake Coleman 59g 34-58 92 [overage at 19, didn't make the NHL until 26]

 

[Appleyard]

But that's one reason he fell. If he's not an elite offensive player, he's going to have to be sheltered on a 3rd line (like a lot of aging veterans who get 3rd line minutes and PP time). He's going to be protected from bad matchups where his size might be a detriment.

Caufield 23-17 40 ES pace.
DeBrincat 22-23 45 at ES
Atkinson 20-19 39 (career scoring at ES)
Point 26-29 55 (and he's a plus defender!)

If Barkey can't score at a similar pace does he have a role on a NHL team?

Cates may not have the skill of a Barkey, but he can be a complementary player on a 3rd line with two more skilled players, he can be a 4C, PK, even PP2 as the guy who retrieves pucks. So his overall value as a 3rd liner is probably higher, and he went in the 5th rd b/c IQ is undervalued (Stone was a 6th rd pick b/c of his skating!).

Cousins is now listed at 5'11 185, bad move by Hextall, trading him for a 5th. He's a fiesty little f***r (rated as player they'd most like to punch by NHL players), listed at 5'11 166 by NA final rankings (can't find combine data). Barkey can't play his type of game.

Interesting tidbit on lack of respect for USHL back then:
NA ranking #198 Blake Coleman 59g 34-58 92 [overage at 19, didn't make the NHL until 26]

I mean, considering Barkey does play a very uptempo game and is a great PKer... I do think he can be a bottom six guy. Barkey is a better skater than Cousins right now...

Barkey's EV scoring in the OHL, even in draft year, is also comparable to quite a lot of guys who have scored at 2nd line level since coming to NHL.

Cousins was listed at between 5'9 and 5'10 and 155lbs and 166lbs in lead-up to draft.

Nick Cousins | Nick Cousins Profile | Nick Cousins Scouting Report 2011

Nick Cousins scouting report for NHL Draft. Profile contains Nick Cousins stats, videos and written bios

www.mynhldraft.com

Nick Cousins - FCHockey

nhlentrydraft.com

 

[deadhead]

Barkey isn't nearly as strong or nasty as Cousins, he's not going to play that role.

Atkinson might be the best role model, Atkinson is probably straight line faster (though not as fast as he used to be, now 79th percentile top speed, probably 90-95% at his peak) but not an elite playmaker. Atkinson is thicker, now up to 176 lbs (TC roster, they had Barkey at 161). Atkinson can PK, but his size does limit him on defense. Atkinson is still scoring at a solid 2nd line level (#114 pp/60 at 5x5).

 

[BritainStix]

I mean, considering Barkey does play a very uptempo game and is a great PKer... I do think he can be a bottom six guy. Barkey is a better skater than Cousins right now...

Barkey's EV scoring in the OHL, even in draft year, is also comparable to quite a lot of guys who have scored at 2nd line level since coming to NHL.

Cousins was listed at between 5'9 and 5'10 and 155lbs and 166lbs in lead-up to draft.

Nick Cousins | Nick Cousins Profile | Nick Cousins Scouting Report 2011

Nick Cousins scouting report for NHL Draft. Profile contains Nick Cousins stats, videos and written bios

www.mynhldraft.com

Nick Cousins - FCHockey

nhlentrydraft.com

But how thick is Barkey?

What are his glutes like? This is all that is important.

 

[Danko]

 

[GKJ]

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

Here's to him being yelled at for a mistake and benched for a whole period while the rest of the team still gives up goals.

 

[Curufinwe]

Hoping he never plays under Torts

 

[DancingPanther]

Sorry Denver

 

[BobbyClarkeFan16]

Hoping he never plays under Torts

....and Puckhead in Lehigh Valley.

 

[MorgantiDrinksBlood]

I really gotta catch some of this kids games sounds like he has great potential as a third round pick.

 

[Shrike]

Briere, “ kids got talent, he just needs to play to figure out how his game works in the NHL”

Torts, “Hold my beer”

 

[Magua]

Imagine if he went 2 picks later and was a 4th rounder. Pick #95 was in the 4th round until 2021. Phew.

 

[macleish1974]

Imagine if he went 2 picks later and was a 4th rounder. Pick #95 was in the 4th round until 2021. Phew.

1971, would have been 7th rounder, two more picks would have been in 8th round. Phew......

 

[Appleyard]

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

He's ripe for being benched for no reason with this coach.

 

[FLYguy3911]

He's going to end up playing 30 minutes a night for London and flirting with 100 points within the next two years.

*pats self on back*

 

[Kermit the Prog]

"Barkey" sounds like what Mongo from Blazing Saddles would name his dog.

 

[pooch]

Will he be joining the Phantoms this season?

 

[Larry44]

Will he be joining the Phantoms this season?

Unlikely. London is awaiting their 2nd round opponent. They won't be done for a while.

Ontario Hockey League

 

[Cowumbus]

I missed that he signed his ELC. How exciting! I assume AHL next season and a bulking phase during this offseason; 154 pounds seems less than ideal.

 

[FLYguy3911]

Not eligible.