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

LastWordArmy

LastWordArmy

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Sep 11, 2011
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Denver Barkey, born on April 27th, 2005, in Newmarket, Ontario, is a forward playing in the OHL. Playing for the London Knights, the young center stands at 5’9” and 154 pounds, making him one of the smallest players in the class. Despite the size limitations, Barkey still managed 22 goals and 37 assists for 59 points in 61 games. That came after an underwhelming rookie year, where he had just seven goals and 15 points in 53 games.

With a big step forward in production in his second season, he became a more well-known name in the class. He became a draft riser throughout the year, managing to be placed within the second and third rounds in the upcoming draft. Those rankings include being placed 38th by Smaht Scouting and Dobber Prospects, 52nd by Craig Button, 69th by Daily Faceoff, 74th by The Hockey News, 78th by Draft Prospects Hockey, 79th by Elite Prospects and Recruit Scouting, 80th by Bob McKenzie, McKeen’s Hockey, and FCHockey, and 81st by FloHockey.

lastwordonsports.com

2023 Draft Scouting Report #61: Denver Barkey

Denver Barkey is an intriguing prospect that has fallen through the cracks this season. However, why should a team take a swing on him?
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Evergreen

Evergreen

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May 22, 2008
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Appleyard said:
Think that is a really nice pick.

Was one of my best ~5 BPA left on board. Thought he had 2nd round talent.

Think he can end up a 2nd line guy if keeps developing.

Plays at a high tempo, good passer, great at creating space for himself, nice mobility.

Guess he plays wing at higher level. A bit of Zuccarello to his game.
Click to expand...
Perhaps he can be the Zucc to Michkov’s Kaprizov.
 
saophim

saophim

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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
 
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