LW Colby Barlow - Oshawa Generals, OHL (2023, 18th, WPG)

[Hockeyville USA]

Where do we think Barlow is at as a prospect? Heated up a bit lately in the O, but still, 46 GP, 46 PTS is not great for a D+2.

 

[Bjornar Moxnes]

Where do we think Barlow is at as a prospect? Heated up a bit lately in the O, but still, 46 GP, 46 PTS is not great for a D+2.

Ritchie was literally the quintessential prospect that Jets scouts look for and somehow was passed for Barlow...

 

[VictoriaJetsFan]

Coming into tonights game he had 18 goals, 27 points in 19 games since returning from injury.
After tonights game, he's up to 20 goals, 29 points in his last 20 games.

Dreaming of the day he's on a line with Lambert and McGroarty. Lethal mix of skill, size and speed.

this didn't age well.....lol

I remember in training camp he had such a great shot. A real goal scorer. It's a rare skill I don't want to give up on. Not yet anyway.

 

[Whis]

Sounds like Oshawa is coaching him so he can play in the bottom 6. Will always have PP upside with his shot. We haven't had a bomb like his since Laine.

“I emphasized to him, ‘When you show up in Winnipeg, the top six is full. There’s a lot of skill there. If you want to be an everyday Jet, you need to buy into checking, playing within the structure, and still being able to score,’” said Malone.

“He was getting a ton of opportunities, but the puck just wasn’t going in. He didn’t allow that frustration to creep into the team game,” Malone told Jamie Thomas of the Winnipeg Jets. “He’s been a great example for our younger guys and even his peers on how to handle adversity. He’s been a great pro and has done everything we’ve asked of him—checking, playing a full 200-foot game.”

Friday Night Faceoff: Generals' Barlow heating up at the right time - Ontario Hockey League

Colby Barlow has found his scoring touch, riding a nine-game point streak into tonight's Friday Night Faceoff matchup.

chl.ca

 

[HuGort]

I was high in Barlow his draft year. I don't know what went wrong. I suspect between the ears.

 

[Bjornar Moxnes]

I was high in Barlow his draft year. I don't know what went wrong. I suspect between the ears.

Colby Fartlow.

 

[Hinterland]

I was high in Barlow his draft year. I don't know what went wrong. I suspect between the ears.

You're probably right but it's difficult to keep bringing it every day, every night in juniors if you're too good too early. Pretty easy to lose interest, develop bad habits...especially while not chasing titles. These are kids after all. Also, dominating juniors isn't everything that matters. You gotta prepare for AHL/NHL as well, put the effort in off ice, too.

We'll see if Barlow can get his career back on track. Too early to tell.

 

[Forsbergaura21]

He had 16 points in his last 10 games (8 are goals) . Why is that so bad?

 

[PensFan101]

I was high in Barlow his draft year. I don't know what went wrong. I suspect between the ears.

Probably a number of reasons, but he got hurt, presumably with multiple injuries at the end of his draft year and played through the U18s injured. Then got sick at Jets camp the next fall and missed a good chunk of last season with a back injury, which is a huge issue for any player. Combined with Owen Sound being a dumpster fire last season, and it was more or less a lost season at a critical time for the player.

His play the last few months suggests he's mostly back on track and actually evolving, which is something he'll need to do to stick at the NHL level. I think of a guy like Burakovsky who also had the shot (and big deficits in the rest of his game) in junior and though he had some very good seasons, he could've been more effective if he could have developed an all around game.

I'm no longer a Barlow fan after the way he left Owen Sound and the way he celebrated against the team when he scored in his return to the Bayshore, but he's definitely the type of prospect that we have to reserve serious judgment for until we see how his first pro season plays out.

 

[frontsfan67]

He had 16 points in his last 10 games (8 are goals) . Why is that so bad?

People are looking at his point totals for the overall year and don’t understand that he’s been working on his overall 200ft game this year. IMO he’s been noticeably better in that aspect but as of late he’s been on a bit of a heater with the scoring too

 

[yessir29292]

The trade won't help him much either. There would have been better landing spots for Barlow. The Generals are in trouble and it was a dumb trade to make. If they don't get back Ritchie ASAP then they might not even make the playoffs. After seven games they have five points...and they're lucky to have them. Until a few minutes ago, Sennecke had zero points as well.

Generals are a mess and I'm not sure if it can be solved without Ritchie. The Avs are really short staffed this season though...I'm not sure if they're gonna release him...and even if they do, Ritchie is most certainly world juniors bound as well.

Breaking down the breakup between the Owen Sound Attack and Colby Barlow

Dale DeGray needed to hear it from Colby Barlow. "I had heard from everyone else, the only person I hadn't heard from was Colby, and I needed to hear from him what he wanted," DeGray said.

www.owensoundsuntimes.com

This kid just has zero motivation left. As fans we may not like to see this but Barlow is only 19 and he's not the first (or the last) to lose motivation playing junior hockey. There are examples every season, especially among kids like Barlow who are too good too early in their junior career. Once you feel like you outplayed the league all you really care about is winning and getting ready for pro hockey.

When Owen Sound made the coaching change and when it became clear they weren't gonna go for it, Barlow lost interest rather quickly. He wants to win. Which is why he didn't report to Owen Sound. Now he's with the Generals, the 2nd last team in OHL standings, 2 points behind Owen Sound. Probably not what he was hoping for when "requesting" a trade. That's basically the the story.

Also, Barlow is a goal scorer, not a two way forward or playmaker. Even if he did have some kind of motivation, I doubt he'd be able to save the Generals on his own. They were outshot 17-50 by Windsor yesterday and that's basically the standard for Oshawa this season. I really feel like they need Ritchie back ASAP to save this season.

Reading this late by why do you keep commenting on the OHL if you do not know it? He had specifically requested Oshawa or Barrie at the time. Oshawa had just went to the OHL Finals and were only missing guys who aged out, last years Gens ran through 05 and 06s, everyone knew Ritchie was coming back.

It's like if someone had been moved from the Sharks to the Oilers at the start of the year and you felt bad for them because it was a lateral move at best. When in reality it was a huge upgrade to a team having a slow start.

 

[yessir29292]

Barlow starting to come to form. 9 goals, 8 assists for 17 points and 48 shots in 11 games played in January. Carrying the offensive load as of late on a team that has Ritchie and Sennecke

 

[Hinterland]

Reading this late by why do you keep commenting on the OHL if you do not know it? He had specifically requested Oshawa or Barrie at the time. Oshawa had just went to the OHL Finals and were only missing guys who aged out, last years Gens ran through 05 and 06s, everyone knew Ritchie was coming back.

It's like if someone had been moved from the Sharks to the Oilers at the start of the year and you felt bad for them because it was a lateral move at best. When in reality it was a huge upgrade to a team having a slow start.

I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings as a Generals fanboy but I actually never stated the opposite. How would I know what he did or did not request? I never pretended to be an insider or anything like that. I give my opionion based on viewings and information available.

Ritchie coming back was likely but not necessarily a given and Oshawa was a lost cause without him. Should something happen to him then the Generals will be in trouble again. Even with Ritchie, Oshawa isn't exactly the OHL's contender nr.1 this season. Not even close. But best of luck anyway! With friggen Jacob Oster in net I have a funny feeling you're gonna need a lot of it come playoff time.