Prospect Info: 2021 126th Overall Pick | LW Dylan Duke

[LastWordArmy]

Dylan Duke was one of the top scorers on this year’s US National Team Development Program Under-18 Team. He scored 29 goals and 20 assists for 49 points in 50 games. The Strongsville, Ohio native also played for Team USA at the IIHF Under-18 World Championships. He scored three goals and an assist for four points in five tournament games. The American coaching staff named Duke one of the top three players on the team. Unfortunately, the American team lost in the quarterfinals.

2021 NHL Draft #43: Dylan Duke Scouting Report - LWOS

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[Appleyard]

Wow.

Scouting Report: Dylan Duke - Smaht Scouting

You guys hit a home run with this one. I think should have gone inside ~#50.

 

[Stormbreaker]

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Another great pick. He was a teammate of Schmidt. Duke didn’t fall for any apparent reason, as opposed to Schmidt that fell due to a very bad WJC18. If I was to pinpoint anything, it’d be his size and that he was average at the WJC18, which might’ve not been good enough for a guy his size, fair or not.

Duke is an energy type of smaller forward, but he scores a lot of goals and has pretty good skill. Most of his goals are scored in a very repeatable way around the net. He’s the smallest player on the ice, but has a habit of finding loose picks in traffic around the net. He skates decently for his size, albeit not great. His playmaking and defense are about average. His calling card is his energy and goal scoring around the net. He also has a brother that will be a first or second round pick next season. His brother is a teammate of Eamon Powell’s brother.

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

 

[These Are The Days]

Happy Al Murray day everybody!!

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

Craig Button on Dylan Duke:

"I'm not so sure he's a jack of all trades. I'm not saying he isn't. He's a really good goal scorer. He's really smart. He arrives at the right times, he gets in and around the net, he's got real terrific hands. You gotta be able to take the puck and handle it in tight end areas, and get it off your stick, and shoot it and challenge the goaltender with that puck skill ability and I think Dylan has that. He's got that ability to get underneath opponents and defenders, and free up his hands and free up his stick and get those opportunities and score. If you can't play in tight areas and you can't withstand the challenges that come your way physically and people trying to deny you, because once you get into that area of the rink where teams are defending hard, you have to be just as fierce in your approach to find ways to score and then you have to combine it with the skill. I think Dylan does that very very nicely."

"The player that I compare Dylan to is Reilly Smith of the Vegas Golden Knights. He skates, he jumps into the attack, he's really good on the rush, but he can handle that puck in tight areas and around the net. Because he's so smart, and Dylan's not a huge guy, but he doesn't need to take on the big strong guys. He uses his brains, his quickness, his agility to read the play. 'That's where I need to be. I'm gonna get there before you can defend me, but I'm not going to get involved in unnecessary tangles.' I think that's how Reilly Smith plays and I think Dylan has a lot of similarities to Reilly Smith."

"I know we use phrases like afraid or not afraid. I prefer the words: he's determined. He's not going to be denied. He's hungry. He's going to fight through the resistance. Because that's where the rewards come. I could tell you this, if the rewards were easy, everybody would do it. I'm not just talking about hockey, but right through life. When it's hard and it challenges you and demanding, that's what makes the rewards taste a little bit sweeter and becomes a little more special. It's the same thing with hockey players. The ones that do it, they're just committed to doing the things that will give themselves success and their teams success. That's the way I look at Dylan."

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

 

[YayHockeysBack]

Sounds a bit like . . . Yanni Gourde?

 

[JFleegs]

Sounds a bit like . . . Yanni Gourde?

That was the first guy I thought of when reading about this kid. Also after watching his highlights he reminds me a bit of Marchand in a good way haha.

 

[Stormbreaker]

 

[NatoGhost]

Curious why Montreal would trade their 4th rounder this year for ours next? Guess it's not a big deal but even though this was the 2nd to last pick in the 4th round, figured we'd have to add a 7th or something.

 

[DaBolts]

The kid's game reminds me of another midround pick of ours.

If you get my Point.

 

[Hoek]

Curious why Montreal would trade their 4th rounder this year for ours next? Guess it's not a big deal but even though this was the 2nd to last pick in the 4th round, figured we'd have to add a 7th or something.

Next draft is supposed to be deeper I think.

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

Al Murray on Duke:

"We didn’t have a 4th. We didn’t think there was any way he was going to last to the 5th. So Montreal had a lot of picks this year and they wanted to spread them out a little bit so they didn’t have so many in 1 year so it was an easy flip for us when Dylan was still on the board to go take him. He is not Mathieu Joseph but think Mathieu Joseph. Hard working guy that has good skill level that can get to the front of the net and can work the corners. He takes away time and space from opponents, and loves to play in the traffic areas. Bit of a pain to play against with real good hands around the net so he can finish plays and create offensive chances. Plays with that energy that we like our guys to have and really competitive."

Lightning amateur scout John Burkhardt:

"Those guys were sitting in the media room and we were like 'we really like this guy.' The US guys were kinda like 'he’s still here' and it kind of shocked us a little bit. It was good that they were able to make that move (to get him).”

"He’s a very good player. He has good hands. I think he had 29 goals this year so he showed he has a little offense to his game. He definitely goes to the net hard so he plays that gritty style that we really like. He gets after it on the forecheck and he has good speed. He’s only about 5'10" but he’s a solid 5'10". He works hard in the weight room already and now he’s going to a good program like Michigan. They’re going to have a lot of high end draft picks and he’s going to be one of them. They're going to have some good high end players to do some damage in the NCAA next year and have a chance to kinda go for it."

"You go to programs like Michigan, you’ve got Mel Pearson who's been around for a long time. He’s a very good coach. And they’ve got Billy Muckalt who’s done a great job of recruiting these guys. You know he was there and played, and then played in the minors, and made it to the NHL, so it’s the kind of experience he can teach these next set of guys. So that’s going to be huge for Dylan to learn from someone like Billy. The way that he played was the same kind of way Dylan plays. You play hard, you play aggressive, and you chip in some points. So I think it’s going to be good for him. Their schedule's good, they play in the Big Ten, you’re going to be able to get a lot of good weight training time while you’re there. It’s just a different path, but for each kid there’s always something good for them. … Brandon Naurato's going to come in. He’s a skills coach who did stuff for the Detroit Red Wings for a long time so he’s definitely going to get a lot of coaching there and he should do well and develop there."