JadedRandom
Registered User
- Aug 14, 2008
- 1,990
- 2,604
He is wildly inconsistent as an offensive play-driver at the Junior level. Some games Musty looks absolutely elite offensively, and grossly outmatches defenders with smarts, quick plays and pure skill. Other games, and they happened often this year, he looks freaking horrible as a player out on the ice, with poor effort levels, piss-poor defense, slow decisions, confusion in his ideas in the offensive zone, and quite a lot of other flaws.
The fact of the matter is that this season Musty has failed to be a difference-maker for Sudbury when games/checking get tough, and that a good bit of his scoring happens when his team is scoring in bunches, or down so many goals the game is already lost. Also doesn't help that Musty was considered a potential top 10/15 pick before the season began and that he has plain failed to assuage critics by elevating his skating up to a level scouts would project as being "pro-level", or by being the consistent offensive threat people thought he could be this year for the Wolves, so there is a bit of souring on him as a result.
If you look only at his pure hockey tools, Musty looks like an absolutely great prospect to have. Top 10 possibly.
But dig a little deeper and concerns appear, like how his work ethic isn't great, the fact that he plays a soft, perimeter game. Musty also cherry-picks a lot waiting for outlet passes at the blue line.
Then you add in the fact that he is far from a good defender (defensive positioning, stickwork and anticipation are all clearly quite poor), doesn't backcheck well, has below-average skating for the NHL-level right now to go alongside not really having much of a power game, nor being a good battler along the boards (or even too willing to get his nose dirty), and his whole blend of skills, dekes, reads and shooting ability still rates very highly, but yeah, there are massive defects there.
While Musty has a (much) higher standing as a prospect in his draft year (also higher ceiling in my opinion) and won't/shouldn't make it to the fifth round, I actually think he is actually quite similar in a way to what Joshua Roy was in 2021; a very talented player but with flaws that detract from his value, one that could either evolve as a player/person and really make something of himself, or not.
Obviously, that means that while Musty could potentially be a high-end offensive producer at the NHL level with his creativity, his skill and some of the elite-level IQ plays he makes, it also makes him quite a risk bust-wise, which is why some people have him much lower and don't really consider him that good of a prospect.
One one hand, Musty's potential is just so enticing, and he sometimes looks like a sheer virtuoso playing the game with his anticipation, his skill, the absurd accuracy/deftness/timing of his passes/snipes that you can't help but want him on your team.
But then you watch Musty when he isn't "on", and he makes you wonder if he should get drafted at all, if he even deserves to see his name called up by an NHL team with how little he seems to care on the ice. In those games, Musty's "IDGAF meter" is so high that it is similarly OVER 9000!!! and could also let him teach peak Drouin and many others masterclasses on the subject of not giving any f***s out there on the ice.
Personally, I oscillate between the two viewpoints a lot when it comes to Musty. And I haven't yet made up my mind completely though I will say that for me negatives outweigh the positives quite a bit and that he isn't the type of player I like.
In view of that, I would personally have Musty as "DND" until at least the early second-round. Fact of the matter is that there are players up until that point with similarly sky-high potential but with a lot less question marks. But after the first few picks of the second-round there shouldn't be many players with his potential and so Musty would be a good boom/bust pick by that point in my opinion.
Anyways, that's it from me. Cheers.
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