NHL Draft Prospect Profile: Brett Howden

Get to Know Brett Howden:

Date of Birth: 3/29/1998
Place of Birth: Calgary, AB, CAN
Ht: 6’2″ Wt: 190 lbs
Shoots: Left
Position: Center
Team (League): Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)

Statistics

What Scouts See

Last Word on Sports:

Brett Howden is skilled in all three zones.  He is blessed with good size, and takes advantage of it, using leverage and working hard in the dirty areas of the ice. Howden is skilled at creating offence by winning battles along the boards, as well as establishing position and getting tip-ins and rebounds in front of the net. He also has a strong wrist shot and good release.

The Draft Analyst:

Heady playmaker with good size and a “Follow Me” attitude who played on Moose Jaw’s top-six thanks to a combination of strong hockey sense and tenacity. One thing we noticed is how fine a passer he is — especially off his backhand — and how he threads the needle across long distances. Brett isn’t as fast as his brother (and 2010 first rounder) Quinton, but he makes up for it with the kind of no-quit attitude and sound positioning necessary for teenage centers to exploit the obvious advantage in puck skills.

What BSN Avalanche sees

Howden is the classic hockey player that’s impossible not to love. He carries his team on his back with an all-out assault of effort on the opposition. He’s quite talented, too, as his offense is good but not great. He’s a skilled player who can play all forward positions and is a great faceoff guy, which might keep him at the pivot moving forward. He’s responsible in his own end and his hockey IQ is very high.

The offensive upside doesn’t wow you. He’s a good offensive player but there’s not a ton of upside there. He doesn’t have any one particular skill that jumps out as special. He’s a classic jack-of-all-trades type of player who succeeds in a lot of ways but moving forward you wonder how much the lack of raw overwhelming talent holds him back from being anything more than a depth guy. There’s nothing wrong with being a guy who isn’t going to wow you but when you’re talking about investing such a high draft pick in a player, you might prefer a little more upside than Howden brings.

Highlights

NHL Potential

He can play all three forward positions but his exceptional faceoff ability means he’s likely sticking at center in the NHL. I don’t see a ton of offense here in the NHL but a very good all-around player that can impact games in a lot of ways. Not a top line guy but a very good complementary player.

Expected Draft Position

Rankings have Howden as a late first, early second round selection. Expect him to come off the board there.

How Prospect Fits in Avalanche Organization

Howden would come to the Avs via their second round selection at 40th overall. He’d be a prospect similar in a lot of ways to J.T. Compher. He’s a good all-around player and his diverse skill set would give the Avalanche a lot of options to plug-and-play Howden wherever they need him down the road. He would be a top five prospect in the Avs organization right away.