Liam Wicks

Hockey Prospecting and Pro Analysis

[Liam Wicks @LiamWScouting]

Wyatt Cullen, LW/C, Left Shot, 6’0”, 172 lbs, USNTDP, 17 Yrs Old
40 Games Played 16 G 29 A 45 Pts +7 - Regular Season U18 Team
15 Games Played 6 G 10 A 16 Pts +3 - Regular Season USHL
•Cullen has an extremely high offensive motor, he loves to have the puck on his stick to make plays and when he is off the puck he is looking for space to get the puck. Other than his offensive game however, there is currently not much to write about defensively that is very consistent in his game. He is one of if not the youngest available prospects and I hope his upcoming time he will be spending at Minnesota will help him to become a much more well rounded player at the next level because if he can do that along with his natural offense growth he will become a top 6 winger with even more upside. He doesn’t project to be a penalty killer but him on his passing side on the powerplay is a great spot.
•Quick and deceptive release 
•Fantastic puck possession skills 
•Great playmaker
•Finds open areas and knows how to create space
•Can take himself into trouble trying to hold onto pucks too long
•Production against college competition this past season including a 2 point night against #1 Michigan

[Liam Wicks @LiamWScouting]

Tommy Bleyl, D, Right Shot, 6’0”, 170 lbs, Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL), 18 Yrs Old
63 Games Played 13 G 68 A 81 Pts +58 - Regular Season
21 Games Played 6 G 22 A 28 Pts +15 - Postseason
•The most underrated defenseman in the class because of his meteoric rise. He led all QMJHL defensemen in points and led the league in assists. He is an effortless skater. He sees the ice well and will set up opponents to make them look silly. His offensive talent is through the roof. He can also run a powerplay very well as seen by his 42 points this year on the powerplay. If he puts size on and develops more in that area with the physical aspect of his game it might be over for everyone. But even if he doesn’t I still think he is going to be a steal at where he is projected. It was his first full year in juniors so he will have to repeat next year but he has some of the best upside in this draft on defense. My only concern currently is the strength, you’re not going to see him push many guys around or out of the net front area, however, I can see him easily becoming down the road a top 4 defenseman on a team in the NHL. There aren’t enough words to describe how smooth of a skater he is.
•Love the way he skates with the puck, smooth
•Uses skating really well to control his gaps
•Great puck control 
•Can knife through opposing teams
•Has a very quick release and good shot
•Great stick work on defense
•High IQ
•Needs to add weight and strength

[Liam Wicks @LiamWScouting]

Adam Novotny, W, Left Shot, 6’1”, 200 lbs, Peterborough Petes (OHL), 18 Yrs Old
58 Games Played 34 G 31 A 65 Pts -2 - Regular Season 
6 Games Played 0 G 1 A 1 Pts -7 - Postseason
•Novotny projects as a volume shooter at the next level and I see him falling into a middle six scoring winger role at the NHL level. Offensively he is all over loose pucks when presented with the perceived opportunity and he does a good job of winning those pucks back. He also has some sneaky hands in tight. The main thing is obviously his shooting which can come from anywhere, it has its cons however, as he does take bad shots that lead to breakouts the other way or just gets blocked in front of him, I would love to see him hold onto those lower percentage looks and make something happen. Because of his shot and how often he shoots he draws a ton of attention to himself. Defensively he will need to improve but he did a good job in the playoffs of blocking shots and being more committed to that area of the ice. 
•Really good shooter and loves to shoot
•Never gives up, hounds pucks
•Hands in tight
•Defensive zone worries

[Liam Wicks @LiamWScouting]

Yzerman’s going to disable his phone with the amount of calls he’s going to get

[Elliotte Friedman @FriedgeHNIC]

https://t.co/3M9dl1OQiO

[Liam Wicks @LiamWScouting]

Carson Carels, D, Left Shot, 6’2”, 194 lbs, Prince George Cougars (WHL), 17 Yrs Old
58 Games Played 20 G 53 A 73 Pts +23 - Regular Season 
5 Games Played 0 G 1 A 1 Pts +3 - Team Canada World Juniors
•He is the best overall defensemen in this draft class. Watch the tape, it is a ton of fun. The kid distributes pucks on the powerplay in the perfect spot to set up his teammates for one timers, he knows where he wants the puck to go and doesn’t hesitate. Defensively he is calm breaking pucks out and when under pressure from forecheckers. His IQ is fantastic, he uses his vision to read developing plays to jump into the rush creating opportunities. Vancouver just traded Hughes and if they want to get a young stud defenseman for their blueline, he should go third.
•Elite passer and vision 
•Explosive skater and has great edge work
•Good shooter 
•Physical and mean
•If you want a distributor on your PP its him
•Makings of a top pairing defenseman

[Liam Wicks @LiamWScouting]

Nikita Klepov, W, Left Shot, 6’0”, 181 lbs, Saginaw Spirit (OHL), 17 Yrs Old
67 Games Played 37 G 60 A 97 Pts +9 - Regular Season
4 Games Played 1 G 4 A 5 Pts +1 - Postseason
•Klepov is ranked outside the top 15 prospects in this draft class by some and I just don’t understand why. In his one and only year in the OHL he led the entire league as a 17 year old in total scoring and was 4th in ppg only behind Adam Benak, Jake O’Brien and Cole Beaudoin (all NHL draft picks). He doesn't play the coveted center position but you cannot deny his offensive ability and him going to college next season will definitely help to iron out defensive flaws he may have in his game as well as prepare him for a more physical game. I personally am excited to see what he can do for the Spartans. I think he will be a top 6 winger at the NHL level and should be good on the powerplay as well.
•Shooting accuracy
•Dangerous in space 
•Great playmaker
•Needs to add strength in order to be more effective in puck battles
•Great IQ

[Liam Wicks @LiamWScouting]

Keaton Verhoeff, D, Right Shot, 6’4”, 212 lbs, North Dakota (NCAA), 17 Yrs Old
36 Games Played 6 G 14 A 20 Pts +7 - NCAA Regular Season 2025-26
5 Games Played 0 G 4 A 4 Pts +4 - Team Canada World Juniors
•Keaton is 17 years old playing in the NCAA and was selected to Canada's world junior team. This kid's got a lot of potential to be a great defenseman especially with his size. Another year in college will be good for him and I can’t wait to see his development. His film is littered with shutting down players entering the zone on the rush and he overall is a very good, young defenseman with some sneaky offensive upside to his game. He will eat minutes at the NHL level in at least a top 4 role.
•Kills plays with his stick and gap control 
•One of the best shutdown defenseman in the class 
•Great skater for his size but would love him to be faster in a straight line
•Hard shot 
•Physical
•Stick handling improvement
#2026NHLDRAFT

[Liam Wicks @LiamWScouting]

Oliver Suvanto, C, Left Shot, 6’3”, 209 lbs, Tappara (Liiga), 17 Yrs Old
48 Games Played 2 G 9 A 11 Pts +3 - Regular Season
14 Games Played 0 G 5 A 5 Pts -4 - U20 Postseason
•Suvanto is as raw of a prospect as you can get in this year's draft and that has its pros and cons. For starters he was born just two weeks away from being in next year's draft all together, which makes it harder to gauge where he should go because Suvanto played the whole year in the top league in Finland and did alright after playing U18 the year prior, but he played playoffs in the U20 league and his production at the U20 level in the playoffs scares me. He has the overall size of a potentially good middle to bottom six player but his development this offseason and what he does in his second year in Liiga will tell that story. Hopefully his offensive game takes a big step.
•Good vision and passer 
•Reads plays well
•Gets to the front of the net
•Down low plays 
•Development in all aspects but solid foundation
#2026NHLDRAFT

[Liam Wicks @LiamWScouting]

Alberts Šmits, D, Left Shot, 6’3”, 205 lbs, Jukurit (Liiga), 18 Yrs Old
38 Games Played 6 G 7 A 13 Pts -3 - Regular Season Liiga
11 Games Played 2 G 4 A 6 Pts +2 - Postseason (DEL)
•The new latvian locomotive, the big defenseman played for a multitude of different teams this season at both the national and club level and was effective on all of them. Defensively he is very lanky, using his stick checks a lot to try and disrupt plays. When under pressure he tries to skate away from his problems which at times can get him into trouble but his skill allows him to get away usually and make plays breaking the puck out. With the puck on his stick he uses his big frame to protect the puck well and he pinches super aggressively in the offensive zone. He will be a good defenseman in the NHL but I don’t know that he has the same ceiling that other defenseman in this draft class have.
•Uses body extremely well to shield the puck and separate man from puck
•Fly’s into puck battles
•Aggressive pincher
•Really good at puck retrievals and starting breakouts 
•Very long reach
•Fast skater for size
•Competes for pucks
•Can sometimes try and do to much
#2026NHLDRAFT

[Liam Wicks @LiamWScouting]

Caleb Malholtra, C, Left Shot, 6’2”, 183 lbs, Brantford Bulldogs (OHL), 17 Yrs Old
67 Games Played 26 G 55 A 84 Pts +33 - Regular Season
15 Games Played 13 G 13 A 26 Pts +10 - Postseason
•This kid has the professional family background and certainly has the offensive side of his game at the top end of the class. The puck just finds a way to go in when he touches the puck in the offensive zone. And if he learns to shoot the puck more… look out. He will go in the top 10, and it may take a year or two to get his strength up but boy should he be a really great offensive player in the NHL once that happens. His years in college will help with that. 
•Hell of a shot
•Really Good edgework
•Elite passer and vision
•Calm with the puck
•Offensive IQ 
•Needs to improve strength
•Not an overly physical player, but I don't know if he will have to be
#2026NHLDRAFT

[Liam Wicks @LiamWScouting]

Tynan Lawrence, C, Left Shot, 6’0”, 185 lbs, Boston University (NCAA), 17 Yrs Old
18 Games Played 2 G 5 A 7 Pts -1 - NCAA Regular Season 
13 Games Played 10 G 7 A 17 Pts +5 - USHL Regular Season
•Tynan came into this year in the USHL before transitioning to the college game midway through the year and while the production slowed, his speed he plays with did not. His skating is a great foundation for him and watching him pick pocket guys all over the ice is fun to watch. He is highly skilled in tight too and does a good job off the puck to get open. He will need to add more strength to his game to reach the next level and that should greatly help the development of his 200 ft playstyle. With the right development he has the makings of a solid 2C with upside.
•Great speed and skating 
•Utilizes stick lifts phenomenally to win puck battles 
•Love his effort on backchecks and overall compete level - UConn backcheck clips
•Will need to gain more strength for his overall ability in more physical battles and his shot

[Liam Wicks @LiamWScouting]

Viggo Björck,  C/RW, Right Shot, 5’9”, 172 lbs, Djurgårdens (SHL), 18 Yrs Old
42 Games Played 6 G 9 A 15 Pts +5 - Regular Season 
3 Games Played 1 G 2 A 3 Pts +0 - Postseason
•My favorite prospect. This kid will be a stud, something about the top end smaller guys and falling down the draft that never sits right. Teams should not look past this kid, he is so skilled, plays a 200 foot game and battles hard. Everything is there for him to be a top line, all situations contributor and should at least be a top 6 forward on an NHL roster. The biggest thing will be how fast he adjusts to AHL / NHL level competition coming from Europe but I think it won’t be an issue. Wrote this prior to Worlds and he went and put up 6 pts in 8 games and was trusted to play with Raymond and Stenberg.
•Quick Release with an excellent shot
•Acceleration 
•Elite playmaker 
•Great puck protection and strength for his age
•Deceptive passer, loves a good no look
•Glued on the forecheck
•Hockey IQ all over the ice

[Liam Wicks @LiamWScouting]

Chase Reid, D, Right Shot, 6’2”, 187 lbs, Soo Greyhounds (OHL), 18 Yrs Old
45 Games Played 18 G 30 A 48 Pts +27 - Regular Season
10 Games Played 3 G 3 A 6 Pts +3 - Postseason
•If you want to play with a 4th forward on the ice this is your guy, when Reid sees an opening to jump into a play he doesn’t hesitate to go. This season he had the most PPG by any undrafted defenseman in the OHL this season. For the NHL level he will need to develop more of his defensive game but he has the prospects of a great powerplay weapon and will be a phenomenal offensive defenseman to be paired with a more defensive minded partner. His time at Sparty next year is going to be huge as the Big Ten is a more heavy style of play compared to the OHL which will help him learn how to adapt his game to remain one of the top defenseman in the class and become that top pairing offensive defenseman he can become. 
•Best offensive Dman in the class
•Loves to jump into the rush and even will be forechecking
•Always in attack mode at the blueline
•Great shooter
•Patient skater, uses edges well 
•Gets back quick after jumping up
•Great first pass and vision
•Can get carried away with how skilled he is. Takes risks