McKeens have him as third hardest worker in this draft.
If you watch the London Knights play and don’t come away impressed by Barkey’s work rate and tenacity, we’d question whether you actually watched the game. This is a player who is as consistent as they come and his strong play this year was one of the main reasons why the London Knights made it all the way to the OHL finals. The most impressive thing about Barkey is his versatility. He can excel in any role asked of him. He can be the F1 on the forecheck thanks to his tenaciousness and positional awareness. He can kill penalties for the same reason. He can play the wing or center. He has great vision and passing ability, allowing him to create coming out of the turnovers he forces. He can play with pace and his skill and creativity are underrated components of his game. His line with Ryan Winterton and Easton Cowan drove play in the playoffs for London, with he and the fellow draft eligible Cowan taking on the nickname of “the London twins.”
However, there are definitely some concerns over his NHL projection and that helps to explain why his consensus ranking has been lower all year despite such a successful season. For a 5-foot-9, high energy forward, his skating could be better. He’s not a poor skater by any means, but he’s certainly not as dynamic as you would hope for. His linemate, Easton Cowan, is the better athlete. Secondly, his offensive ceiling and upside may be limited without high end shooting ability or skating. All that said, there is just something about his game that screams NHL player. Even if he becomes more of a Paul Byron type at the NHL level, there is a ton of value in that selection in this range of the draft. Additionally, there has to be trust in the Hunter brother’s development model in London and the hope that they can unlock more from Barkey offensively in the future. - BO