Ben duffy draft possibility?

[Breakfast of Champs]

Kid had a lot of hype being only the 2nd player to be exempt in ns midget after crosby and was one of the top scorers in the league as an underager. Was often talked about as one of the best maritime players of his age group along with gormley and couturier. Had 41 pts as a 16 year old rookie in the q and seemed like a lock to get drafted, however only scored 27 pts in his draft year and went undrafted. This season he seemed to get back on track and scored 81 pts in 68 games and led his team in scoring by 11 points. Is there any chance he gets drafted in a late round this season? Does anyone who sees him on a regular basis want to break down his game for me? Any info would be much appreciated.

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[Nisku]

who did you compare him too

 

[Kevin Forbes]

He's got some talent, but I don't believe there's enough there to see him drafted.

For a player his size, his skating isn't there. If a game is played with a high tempo and back and forth, he just looks lost out there, trailing the play, trying to catch up.

This season, he took that next step that I think a lot of people were hoping he would have taken last year in his draft year. Definitely seemed to get a bit stronger so he wasn't giving up the puck everytime an opposing defenseman gave him a stern look or a strong breeze blew across the ice. But he still needs work in that regard.

Talented forward for sure, sees the ice well, good hands, can thread a pass, etc. But between his size, his skating and his strength, I'm still not sold that he's an NHL prospect.

The way one scout described it for me is to play a bit of a projection game: what sort of role would he fill at the next level? Well, even if he gets stronger, his skating probably isn't good enough for a third line/fourth line role, so then it comes down to top six or bust and considering everything else, that's a pretty big longshot to say he's going to be a second liner on an NHL team. I can see him becoming an AHL player.