Players do get better over a two year period lol
He's been absolutely tearing up the OHL this year as well. 38 goals and 56 points in just 35 fames this year and could be a Boulet type of signing for us. He's much better than you give him credit for.
Barre-Boulet had a much better track record over the years, and was CHL Player of the Year, whereas Felhaber was nothing before his OA year and likely will not even be in the running for that title this year. People knew Barre-Boulet was going to be a really good offensive player, and now getting a ton of opportunities to play with a heavy-top end Syracuse team, he's able to produce (mostly based on his strong PP skills).
Felhaber is different. On top of playing on a really good team, he has an abnormally high shooting percentage 5-on-5 (the highest in the OHL out of anyone who really shoots very often), which are contributing to his offensive numbers. He only has three 5-on-4 goals this year. Barre-Boulet did not have ridiculous 5-on-5 numbers, but it was solid and came with a sustainable shooting percentage attached with it. What he did have was ridiculous PP skills he could use to score though (something Felhaber has not shown he has).
What Felhaber is doing is not exactly special (besides his shooting percentage), and you see guys do it all of the time as OA's. Aaron Luchuk, for example, put up a lot of goals last year despite playing on a non-competitive team for half of the year and having a much lower shooting percentage. He was also much better defensively. Now he's a mediocre ECHLer after earning an ELC from Ottawa. Every year there will be guys who do very well in their OA year, especially when they play on good teams, but are not special talents. Felhaber seems like another one of those guys.
Also not to mention, the Marlies will not have a spot for him. He's an offensive LW, and the Marlies could realistically have all of their current guys (Klimchuk, Carcone, Timashov, Engvall, Grundstrom, etc.) coming back next year, plus potentially adding Dakota Joshua or Yegor Korshkov to that mix as well (although either could play other positions, and may not be on the Marlies). I do not think the Leafs spend an ELC on an offensive forward 98' who will be stuck in the ECHL for most of his first year.
I think they are much likely to go after Justin Brazeau, who is putting up better and more sustainable numbers despite playing on a much inferior team, and has the added bonus of being a large body with a much more noticeable defensive game. The Marlies have a lot more room for him than they do Felhaber, and I think he fits better with what the Leafs want anyways.
