Prospect Info: Berkly Catton - Forward(Round 1, Pick #8, 2024 Draft)

[Fistfullofbeer]

By 2027-28 its going up tp 113 M plus...so 93 M next year 103 M in 2026-27...that's significant

Yes. But we can also expect the players' contracts to go up with the raise in the cap. Stephenson as a 3C should be ok for the later half of this contract.

 

[kihei]

Yes. But we can also expect the players' contracts to go up with the raise in the cap. Stephenson as a 3C should be ok for the later half of this contract.

At 50 million for 7 years for Matty, this could roughly apply to him, too, no? This might seem outrageous, but if Wright continues to improve and Catton realizes his potential, a future where Beniers ends up our 3rd line centre is not utterly inconceivable. In fact, it might be ideal.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

At 50 million for 7 years for Matty, this could roughly apply to him, too, no? This might seem outrageous, but if Wright continues to improve and Catton realizes his potential, a future where Beniers ends up our 3rd line centre is not utterly inconceivable. In fact, it might be ideal.

Yeah. That could certainly happen as well. And I don't think it is all that outrageous. Matty is on pace for less than 45 points this season. It's a slight improvement over the 37 points for last year but still not as good as the 2022-23 season, where he had 57 points.

None of those numbers are good enough for a "good" 2C. Yes, he is defensively responsible, but he needs to start producing more, or he could very easily be pushed down to our 3C.

 

[Dead Coyote]

I don't care who our 3C is, I just hope Wright or Catton hit their peaks and become our 1C. Or we get lucky and get Hagens or something.

 

[CLW]

I don't care who our 3C is, I just hope Wright or Catton hit their peaks and become our 1C. Or we get lucky and get Hagens or something.

I admit I haven't seen much of Hagens, but he gives me Turcotte in his draft year vibes. Good player in a good setting with good playmaking - but I want to see much more, I haven't seen that extra gear/dimension to his game that the true top talent have. As it is I'm not convinced he'll be a true game breaking 1C at the NHL level. Maybe Misa will be that.

Beniers has a great motor and hustle, but he gives me Roslovic+ vibes at times. Maybe he's trying too hard. Hopefully experience will "streamline" his game a bit and he learns to pick his spots. Stephenson is kind of the polar opposite funnily enough; he can scoot when needed but he isn't an energizer bunny on the ice, he relies more on positioning.

 

[Dead Coyote]

I admit I haven't seen much of Hagens, but he gives me Turcotte in his draft year vibes. Good player in a good setting with good playmaking - but I want to see much more, I haven't seen that extra gear/dimension to his game that the true top talent have. As it is I'm not convinced he'll be a true game breaking 1C at the NHL level. Maybe Misa will be that.

Beniers has a great motor and hustle, but he gives me Roslovic+ vibes at times. Maybe he's trying too hard. Hopefully experience will "streamline" his game a bit and he learns to pick his spots. Stephenson is kind of the polar opposite funnily enough; he can scoot when needed but he isn't an energizer bunny on the ice, he relies more on positioning.

I don't see that at all. Hagens has absolutely destroyed every WJC he's been in and routinely has plays where I'm like "jesus christ how did he see that" truly sublime playaker who reminds me a lot of MSL. His hands are outrageous too. Shot isn't the best but he occasionally wows me with a play where he dekes through 4 guys to score too. And a lot of the times I've seen him it's been obvious that he thinks the game very well and that a lot of guys, especially in his D-1 just couldn't keep up with his passes. A lot like Bedard in Chicago right now. I'd take him 10/10 times over Misa/Martone. I've watched a ton of both due to mostly being a CHL watcher and Misa is more of a jack of all trades who is good or above average at everything and Martone is more of a sniper/PWF who has people enamored with his size but has other aspects lower than the other two like IQ/skating. Hagens is the one IMO who has the most elite talent and is also just above average at everything.

 

[CLW]

I don't see that at all. Hagens has absolutely destroyed every WJC he's been in and routinely has plays where I'm like "jesus christ how did he see that" truly sublime playaker who reminds me a lot of MSL. His hands are outrageous too. Shot isn't the best but he occasionally wows me with a play where he dekes through 4 guys to score too. And a lot of the times I've seen him it's been obvious that he thinks the game very well and that a lot of guys, especially in his D-1 just couldn't keep up with his passes. A lot like Bedard in Chicago right now. I'd take him 10/10 times over Misa/Martone. I've watched a ton of both due to mostly being a CHL watcher and Misa is more of a jack of all trades who is good or above average at everything and Martone is more of a sniper/PWF who has people enamored with his size but has other aspects lower than the other two like IQ/skating. Hagens is the one IMO who has the most elite talent and is also just above average at everything.

I'm not sure I was totally blown away by his WJC this winter but this is kinda oddly reassuring to read. Unless we win the lottery we are unlikely to get to pick that high, but this is still a very interesting draft for where we are expected to pick.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

I don't see that at all. Hagens has absolutely destroyed every WJC he's been in and routinely has plays where I'm like "jesus christ how did he see that" truly sublime playaker who reminds me a lot of MSL. His hands are outrageous too. Shot isn't the best but he occasionally wows me with a play where he dekes through 4 guys to score too. And a lot of the times I've seen him it's been obvious that he thinks the game very well and that a lot of guys, especially in his D-1 just couldn't keep up with his passes. A lot like Bedard in Chicago right now. I'd take him 10/10 times over Misa/Martone. I've watched a ton of both due to mostly being a CHL watcher and Misa is more of a jack of all trades who is good or above average at everything and Martone is more of a sniper/PWF who has people enamored with his size but has other aspects lower than the other two like IQ/skating. Hagens is the one IMO who has the most elite talent and is also just above average at everything.

That is good to hear. I will admit I haven't watched much of Hagens but the main board discussions make it sound like he is a good playmaker but nothing more than that. Also, that he is definitely not worth the 1OA pick.

 

[Dead Coyote]

I'm not sure I was totally blown away by his WJC this winter but this is kinda oddly reassuring to read. Unless we win the lottery we are unlikely to get to pick that high, but this is still a very interesting draft for where we are expected to pick.

That is good to hear. I will admit I haven't watched much of Hagens but the main board discussions make it sound like he is a good playmaker but nothing more than that. Also, that he is definitely not worth the 1OA pick.

You have to remember that was the U20s and he had *just* turned 18. He was 7th in scoring and no other draft eligible was above him in points. Hutson is a year older and every other player is 2 years older than him.

The only other draft eligible who came close was Eklund who was only a PPG on Sweden. Most guys weren't even invited.

And honestly, yeah I was a bit disappointed in his WJC U20 performance- but he was playing second fiddle very obviously to Perreault/Leonard and while I don't think he played *amazing* he still played really well and his talent level was obvious to see, lots of opportunities for him to have collected a few more points and be up there with players like Tavares or Cooley in points production. The fact he has more goals than assists kind of says it all. He's definitely not a shoot first player but he still put up 5 goals in 7 games playing against players much older than him. Eiserman as well could have done a lot better and I think both of them could have put up at least a few more opportunities, the chances were there for the most part.

He still holds the record *all time* for most points at the U18s though and is only listed as 17 because of his birthday being what, 50ish days before the event? He was one of the youngest players there.

He has a somewhat disappointing stat line in the NCAA this year but again, he's very young and isn't surrounded by top talent either- he only really plays with Perreault and Leonard on the PP and otherwise doesn't have much to work with.

Looking at him based on stats will only get you so far...to me much like Eiserman he has skills that translate really well to the NHL and plays a mature game that he shouldn't need to do much to succeed outside of bulking up and getting older and finding confidence. Unlike Eiserman he's much better in other aspects of the game than just offense (not that Eiserman is as bad as people say, I'm just talking about him because he's another prospect I've talked about a lot and watched a lot and who I have basically the opposite opinion of from many scouts and people).

Much like Bedard, Misa plays the game in a totally different way than Hagens, he could be as much or more of a game changer than Hagens is but they're two different players and I have slightly more questions about Misa's game working in the NHL than I do Hagens. Misa wants to drive play, he wants the puck on his stick, he wants to attack off the rush and he wants to shoot the puck, he wants to dangle around kids and take their lunch money and plays a north south game. He's big enough and might eventually be strong enough that he can do all that in the NHL too. He reminds me stylistically a lot of McDavid in the OHL, he's just bigger and stronger than a lot of players and can insert his will into the game and pull off plays he shouldn't be able to. Reminds me of Mackinnon too. I had a lot of questions about Bedard being able to do that in the NHL because he's so small, often fragile, and he also loves to play bigger than he is and is liable to get crushed some day because he just isn't strong enough yet. It's why I had Michkov #1 over him and why I think Carlsson will be a better overall player some day (not that Bedard isn't a special talent, he just needs to take the Crosby route to succeed). Misa plays a similar game but isn't as much of a spark plug as Bedard is, has a worse shot, but is bigger and stronger by far.

Hagens is patient, eons better without the puck, likes to find players and deliver the puck to them perfectly, when he does shoot he has a lethal wrister and his puckhandling is also very good, he's quite capable of pulling off the same plays Misa does but he's more of an east-west type of player who likes to open up defenses and draw defenders with his stickhandling and skating and then find the open player, he's the perfect PP QB and his IQ really serves him well in seeing plays develop both with and without the puck. When I was watching Michkov in his draft year I said that he was the best user of space I had ever seen, he was able to manipulate and measure exactly what kind of space he needed to make passes or get around guys and his skating and edgework was so good that you never knew what he was going to do. Hagens is a little bit like that but uses his stickhandling more, his edgework is quite good as well.

Martone is like a bull in a china shop, he attacks the puck, attacks the net, and often goes straight to the middle. He's just a much weaker skater than anyone else in the top 10. He's gonna struggle getting back and he's gonna struggle off the rush and on one on ones against NHL defenders. His stackhandling is pretty good in tight and his shot is great but he doesn't have the kind of IQ Hagens does and he doesn't have the skating Misa does. If you're taking Martone over the other two it's because you're willing to wait on him and hope that he develops really well and becomes the next Ovechkin/Tkachuk style player (but both of those guys were eons above him at his age) and not the next *insert big player who was drafted high but hasn't met expectations yet* Pulju/Kakko/Slaf etcetcetc

IF we get a top 3 pick I'd rank Schafer > Hagens > Misa with the latter two being very close. If we're outside of the top 3 though I think I'd much rather have Eklund/Frondell or Mrtka than Martone. Mrtka especially I'm enamored with lol, he seems like a slam dunk and I'd be tempted to take him over Schafer depending on what day you catch me. And I know that people will say that they want the PWF and the guy who has the highest ceiling and I can appreciate that, but I'd much rather have a guy who is unlikely to bust, because the bust potential with Martone specifically is a lot higher than it should be.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

IF we get a top 3 pick I'd rank Schafer > Hagens > Misa with the latter two being very close. If we're outside of the top 3 though I think I'd much rather have Eklund/Frondell or Mrtka than Martone. Mrtka especially I'm enamored with lol, he seems like a slam dunk and I'd be tempted to take him over Schafer depending on what day you catch me. And I know that people will say that they want the PWF and the guy who has the highest ceiling and I can appreciate that, but I'd much rather have a guy who is unlikely to bust, because the bust potential with Martone specifically is a lot higher than it should be.

I definitely have Schafer as 1OA. After that, I have Misa > Hagens but really close. I am starting to get concerns about Martone because of his IQ as well. McQueen has some major health related concerns.

Frondell seems like a good choice after those 3. I don't know much about Mrtka.

 

[CLW]

You have to remember that was the U20s and he had *just* turned 18. He was 7th in scoring and no other draft eligible was above him in points. Hutson is a year older and every other player is 2 years older than him.

The only other draft eligible who came close was Eklund who was only a PPG on Sweden. Most guys weren't even invited.

And honestly, yeah I was a bit disappointed in his WJC U20 performance- but he was playing second fiddle very obviously to Perreault/Leonard and while I don't think he played *amazing* he still played really well and his talent level was obvious to see, lots of opportunities for him to have collected a few more points and be up there with players like Tavares or Cooley in points production. The fact he has more goals than assists kind of says it all. He's definitely not a shoot first player but he still put up 5 goals in 7 games playing against players much older than him. Eiserman as well could have done a lot better and I think both of them could have put up at least a few more opportunities, the chances were there for the most part.

He still holds the record *all time* for most points at the U18s though and is only listed as 17 because of his birthday being what, 50ish days before the event? He was one of the youngest players there.

He has a somewhat disappointing stat line in the NCAA this year but again, he's very young and isn't surrounded by top talent either- he only really plays with Perreault and Leonard on the PP and otherwise doesn't have much to work with.

Looking at him based on stats will only get you so far...to me much like Eiserman he has skills that translate really well to the NHL and plays a mature game that he shouldn't need to do much to succeed outside of bulking up and getting older and finding confidence. Unlike Eiserman he's much better in other aspects of the game than just offense (not that Eiserman is as bad as people say, I'm just talking about him because he's another prospect I've talked about a lot and watched a lot and who I have basically the opposite opinion of from many scouts and people).

Much like Bedard, Misa plays the game in a totally different way than Hagens, he could be as much or more of a game changer than Hagens is but they're two different players and I have slightly more questions about Misa's game working in the NHL than I do Hagens. Misa wants to drive play, he wants the puck on his stick, he wants to attack off the rush and he wants to shoot the puck, he wants to dangle around kids and take their lunch money and plays a north south game. He's big enough and might eventually be strong enough that he can do all that in the NHL too. He reminds me stylistically a lot of McDavid in the OHL, he's just bigger and stronger than a lot of players and can insert his will into the game and pull off plays he shouldn't be able to. Reminds me of Mackinnon too. I had a lot of questions about Bedard being able to do that in the NHL because he's so small, often fragile, and he also loves to play bigger than he is and is liable to get crushed some day because he just isn't strong enough yet. It's why I had Michkov #1 over him and why I think Carlsson will be a better overall player some day (not that Bedard isn't a special talent, he just needs to take the Crosby route to succeed). Misa plays a similar game but isn't as much of a spark plug as Bedard is, has a worse shot, but is bigger and stronger by far.

Hagens is patient, eons better without the puck, likes to find players and deliver the puck to them perfectly, when he does shoot he has a lethal wrister and his puckhandling is also very good, he's quite capable of pulling off the same plays Misa does but he's more of an east-west type of player who likes to open up defenses and draw defenders with his stickhandling and skating and then find the open player, he's the perfect PP QB and his IQ really serves him well in seeing plays develop both with and without the puck. When I was watching Michkov in his draft year I said that he was the best user of space I had ever seen, he was able to manipulate and measure exactly what kind of space he needed to make passes or get around guys and his skating and edgework was so good that you never knew what he was going to do. Hagens is a little bit like that but uses his stickhandling more, his edgework is quite good as well.

Martone is like a bull in a china shop, he attacks the puck, attacks the net, and often goes straight to the middle. He's just a much weaker skater than anyone else in the top 10. He's gonna struggle getting back and he's gonna struggle off the rush and on one on ones against NHL defenders. His stackhandling is pretty good in tight and his shot is great but he doesn't have the kind of IQ Hagens does and he doesn't have the skating Misa does. If you're taking Martone over the other two it's because you're willing to wait on him and hope that he develops really well and becomes the next Ovechkin/Tkachuk style player (but both of those guys were eons above him at his age) and not the next *insert big player who was drafted high but hasn't met expectations yet* Pulju/Kakko/Slaf etcetcetc

IF we get a top 3 pick I'd rank Schafer > Hagens > Misa with the latter two being very close. If we're outside of the top 3 though I think I'd much rather have Eklund/Frondell or Mrtka than Martone. Mrtka especially I'm enamored with lol, he seems like a slam dunk and I'd be tempted to take him over Schafer depending on what day you catch me. And I know that people will say that they want the PWF and the guy who has the highest ceiling and I can appreciate that, but I'd much rather have a guy who is unlikely to bust, because the bust potential with Martone specifically is a lot higher than it should be.

Just some quick impressions.

I agree with Michkov over Bedard for the reasons you laid out.
I'm not high on Martone either for the same reasons.

Where I am a bit leery is with Hagen's EW game in the o-zone (same for Perrault). The holes where they like to tuck the puck aren't there in the NHL. There are a lot of huge goalies and dmen in the NHL that make a living plugging those exact spots and lanes. Not that they don't sometimes fail but compared to lower-level hockey it's night and day. Kakko used to score his goals in Liiga by a deke to tuck it in low by the post, but that play wasn't there when he came to the NHL (much better goalies) and he still hasn't fully adapted to that. How will Hagens adapt when he is forced to the perimeter and his EW stuff doesn't work? That's why I'd like to see that "extra" gear on occasion to turn a defence that Bedard and Celebrini e.g. do have. (It seems to me that a lot of his offense will come through the neutral zone and starting counterattacks from the d-zone and obviously the PP, but this is hypothetical).

Funnily I don't have these concerns with Catton at all. Catton is physically slight, but I'm sure he'll overcome that.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

Funnily I don't have these concerns with Catton at all. Catton is physically slight, but I'm sure he'll overcome that.

I have watched quite a few Spokane Chiefs game this season and the thing that really amazes me about Catton is that he makes everything he does look so easy. He doesnt need must space to generate offense. Double team him and his insane vision helps him find an open teammate. Expect a pass and he has a pretty damn good shot.

His defensive game has looked solid too, I see him back checking all the time and generating turnovers. He is on both special teams units and does well on both. I think his hockey IQ and vision is on another level compared to any player or prospect on our team. His skating is damn good too.

He plays with a lot of confidence but never comes off as cocky either. I have high hopes from him though I do have some concerns about his size but hope a little more muscle and just his hockey IQ covers that.

 

[Dead Coyote]

I definitely have Schafer as 1OA. After that, I have Misa > Hagens but really close. I am starting to get concerns about Martone because of his IQ as well. McQueen has some major health related concerns.

Frondell seems like a good choice after those 3. I don't know much about Mrtka.

I have the same top 3 as you, but with Hagens and Misa swapped. But I agree that it's very close. McQueen I wouldn't touch in the top 10 and maybe top 15. Yes he is a big guy but he has the same issues as Martone and injury issues as well.

Just some quick impressions.

I agree with Michkov over Bedard for the reasons you laid out.
I'm not high on Martone either for the same reasons.

Where I am a bit leery is with Hagen's EW game in the o-zone (same for Perrault). The holes where they like to tuck the puck aren't there in the NHL. There are a lot of huge goalies and dmen in the NHL that make a living plugging those exact spots and lanes. Not that they don't sometimes fail but compared to lower-level hockey it's night and day. Kakko used to score his goals in Liiga by a deke to tuck it in low by the post, but that play wasn't there when he came to the NHL (much better goalies) and he still hasn't fully adapted to that. How will Hagens adapt when he is forced to the perimeter and his EW stuff doesn't work? That's why I'd like to see that "extra" gear on occasion to turn a defence that Bedard and Celebrini e.g. do have. (It seems to me that a lot of his offense will come through the neutral zone and starting counterattacks from the d-zone and obviously the PP, but this is hypothetical).

Funnily I don't have these concerns with Catton at all. Catton is physically slight, but I'm sure he'll overcome that.

I think that Hagens will be more of a pure playmaker in the NHL. Yes he won't be able to slip the puck in as easily down low but I have no problem whatsoever with him playing on the perimeter- he's successful there and will probably be able to have space along the point and half boards, his skating is such that he may be able to generate offense through lateral east west move along the point to generate space and be alone going into the slot, but even if that's not the case I don't think his playmaking will suffer much at all, he's a very good technical passer and we have guys like McCann and Wright who should be able to take advantage of that easily.

 

[CLW]

I have the same top 3 as you, but with Hagens and Misa swapped. But I agree that it's very close. McQueen I wouldn't touch in the top 10 and maybe top 15. Yes he is a big guy but he has the same issues as Martone and injury issues as well.

I think that Hagens will be more of a pure playmaker in the NHL. Yes he won't be able to slip the puck in as easily down low but I have no problem whatsoever with him playing on the perimeter- he's successful there and will probably be able to have space along the point and half boards, his skating is such that he may be able to generate offense through lateral east west move along the point to generate space and be alone going into the slot, but even if that's not the case I don't think his playmaking will suffer much at all, he's a very good technical passer and we have guys like McCann and Wright who should be able to take advantage of that easily.

Having watched Panarin, a first ballot HHOFer and master of the perimeter EW game, disappear year in year out in the playoffs because teams simply push him to the perimeter, I'm sceptical of that game. That game isn't there in the playoffs. Isn't the lack of forwards strong enough to attack the blue paint an issue with the current Kraken team? I'm far from a grit > talent guy but there has to be a balance, a balance the Kraken currently are lacking. For this reason, if the talent between Misa and Hagens is roughly equal, I'd roll the dice on Misa. Look at good teams like Tampa and Florida, they don't do perimeter players. And don't we already have Catton for the job of Master Playmaker you described above?

 

[Dead Coyote]

Having watched Panarin, a first ballot HHOFer and master of the perimeter EW game, disappear year in year out in the playoffs because teams simply push him to the perimeter, I'm sceptical of that game. That game isn't there in the playoffs. Isn't the lack of forwards strong enough to attack the blue paint an issue with the current Kraken team? I'm far from a grit > talent guy but there has to be a balance, a balance the Kraken currently are lacking. For this reason, if the talent between Misa and Hagens is roughly equal, I'd roll the dice on Misa. Look at good teams like Tampa and Florida, they don't do perimeter players. And don't we already have Catton for the job of Master Playmaker you described above?

Misa doesn't drive the net or be physical or better at the cycle game anymore than Hagens, they both play similarly in a lot of ways it's just that Misa is better on the rush and can score from closer with his shot, but neither of those guys are going to be the PWF type to rush the net or have a great cycle game nor should they be.

Hagens is much like MSL who was always solid in the playoffs when he played his game. Yes there's more tight checking but I don't think that's going to be an issue for someone like Hagens who doesn't rely on his stick handling to create space and is adept at putting passes through players and through the slot. Throwing pucks across the ice in front of the slot isn't impossible in the playoffs it's just harder. The Panarin comparison is a valid one but outside of 2 years ago he's been great in the playoffs and was really good last year.

Even a guy like Mitch Marner who is the definition of a soft perimeter-ish type playmaker has done fine in the playoffs, it's been the leafs as a whole who haven't shown up, Nylander and Matthews are both unimpressive as well but still perfectly fine.

And yeah I'm a huge proponent of the "get guys in front, shoot pucks at the net" strategy but that's never something you should draft for, and we certainly don't have a great 3rd and 4th line but Bjorkstrand and Kakko are both great cyclers and capable of being in front of the net and while neither are exceptional at tips like a Perry or a JVR they're both good enough. Size is just important for strength and reach.

Of course I'd draft guys who are bigger and stronger and more physical if they also had the best skills but you usually don't see that and I'd much rather have a skilled guy than a physically big guy. Ultimately you can definitely win hockey games without being physical or driving the net, the main important thing is puck possession which I don't think either guy is particularly better at, I'd just find some more guys like Kakko or Bjorkstrand or hope that guys like Winterton progress. But like...I don't think you should be spending your top 5 pick on hoping for guys to develop perfectly. Just draft BPA.