NHL Draft Prospect Profile: Mathew Barzal

Get to Know Mathew Barzal
Date of Birth: 05/26/1997
Place of Birth: Vancouver, BC, CN
Ht: 6’0″  Wt: 181 lbs
Shoots: Right
Position: C
Team (League): Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)

If you read this piece written last October, you’ll see that Barzal’s entire career has been one of impressive production at every level. This season was certainly no different as the crafty forward put up an impressive 57 points in 44 games as the Seattle Thunderbirds’ first line center.

Barzal posted 12 points in 7 games as he helped Team Canada to a bronze medal at the World Championship Under 18 tournament this year. He was the team’s highest scorer and consistently showed why he is considered such a special prospect.

Should Barzal return to the WHL next season, he is likely to be in consideration for the captaincy of the Thunderbirds.

Statistics

What Scouts See

eliteprospects.com:

Matthew Barzal is an offensive forward with very good skating abilities. Has tremendous puck-handling and is poised with the puck, while looking for the perfect pass-option using his strong vision. Owns an excellent wrist shot with a remarkable release. Barzal reads the plays well, looking for interceptions and is not afraid to block shots, playing a reliable two-way game. A complete player with strong hockey sense.

hockeysfuture.com:

Barzal is definitely more of a playmaker than a goal scorer at this stage of his development, with his playmaking skills being high-end. Also at an elite level is his skating as Barzal has quickness and acceleration as good as any player in the 2015 draft pool. Barzal has a decent frame but needs to fill it out to handle the rigors of the pro game.

He is definitely a student of the game, and has a good on-ice hockey IQ. There is a lot to suggest that Barzal is a high-end prospect, but the results haven’t been quite as evident the past two seasons.

Cody Nickolet, Scout for Future Considerations Hockey:

Mathew Barzal is an extremely skilled offensive forward. Outside of Connor McDavid, he might have the best vision of any player in this draft class. He sees the ice extremely well and can execute the toughest of passes on both the forehand and backhand. His shot is a wildly underrated part of his game and the fact that he doesn’t use it nearly enough would be one big knock on his game.

Defensively he competes hard and has plenty of sense. Personally I think he projects as a borderline number one centre at the NHL level and should be among the first 10 players selected come draft day.

What BSN Avalanche sees

Barzal’s offensive creativity is what sets him apart from other players in this year’s draft, sans Connor McDavid, who is basically the perfect scoring forward. His vision and, hands, and shot are all high level to elite level tools and when combined with his exceptional skating, there’s basically nothing Barzal can’t do with the puck.

Barzal is not very big and does not play a very heavy game, which would really impact his effectiveness if he is drafted into the absurdly physical Western Conference. His defensive game isn’t a significant downside because he plays hard but it’s still a work in progress.

Highlights



NHL Potential

Barzal is a guy who is going to be given top 6 minutes wherever he lands but depending on the team that selects him he could see first line center duties. Regardless, he’s a player who is going to bring a significant amount of offense. His size and strength could use some work so don’t expect him to crack the NHL right away but it will be a surprise if he is not in the NHL full-time within 3 years.

Expected Draft Position

Barzal is one of our first profiled players with a significant variance in ranking as he is highest valued by ESPN’s Corey Pronman as the sixth best prospect but Craig Button’s most recent rankings had Barzal at 18th. Considering his exceptional playoff performance, Barzal is a player whose stock has significant helium and he should be a lock for the top 15, with a peak draft position of 6th overall to the New Jersey Devils.

How Does Barzal Fit in the Avalanche Organization?

Despite being extremely talented, Barzal would be an awkward fit in the Avalanche organization as they already have a glut of high quality centers and their best forward prospects are Joey Hishon and Conner Bleackley, both centers themselves. While any of them could slide to the wall and succeed as wingers, the Avalanche selecting Barzal would be a case of the organization believing him to be simply too good to pass up.

Overall, I doubt the Avalanche and Barzal are a solid fit and it would be considered a major surprise to see them select the Thunderbirds center come draft day.