LW Colby Barlow - Owen Sound Attack, OHL (2023, 18th, WPG)

[Artorius Horus T]

43 goals, 75 points in 53 games
not bad.

 

[57special]

It runs both ways.

A 6'3 bull in junior can still be a bull in the NHL. A 6'1 bull in junior might just be average physically in the NHL. I think Barlow has other calling cards that can sell for him, size isn't anything notable.

Kieffer Bellows aowuld be an example of a player who was a physical force at lower levels, but nothing special in the NHL.

 

[LePerilsofPerreault]

Where do you think he'll slot in next year?

Leave him in juniors for a year to get minutes and work on his puck-handling/elusiveness and then after that he should be in the AHL at least. Very smart prospect but not one i’d rush.

I understand he’s physically developed for an OHLer but he’s so impressive with his stick defensively and on the forecheck. Knows where to be, who to get it to, and you always have to respect his shot and presence down low.

 

[FLAMESFAN]

Leave him in juniors for a year to get minutes and work on his puck-handling/elusiveness and then after that he should be in the AHL at least. Very smart prospect but not one i’d rush.

I understand he’s physically developed for an OHLer but he’s so impressive with his stick defensively and on the forecheck. Knows where to be, who to get it to, and you always have to respect his shot and presence down low.

Sorry, don't want to take it off topic, but I meant where do you see McTavish lineup next year?

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

100% agree. I have seen a lot of people talking about his production being due to his physical maturity. Yes, he is physically mature, but this isn't the case of a 6'3 215lb guy with poor puck skills and skating bulldozing over kids.

We're talking about a 17yo who is 6'1 185ish with great skating, a wicked shot, good two way play and smarts and boatloads of tenacity. That stuff doesn't just disappear when you move up a level, and he still has plenty of room for growth too. He can still pack a lot of meat on that frame and might grow another inch yet, who knows. I really see a 30-30 Hyman, Landeskog, Kreider esque player. He's probably fair value in the 8-10 range and anybody getting him after that should be pretty happy.

Great skating? I must be watching a different Colby Barlow.

 

[LePerilsofPerreault]

Sorry, don't want to take it off topic, but I meant where do you see McTavish lineup next year?

Ohhhh! 2C, maybe push Z for 1C minutes. Hoping our powerplay is better next year cuz a McTavish clap bomb from the right side is like half our game plan and it’s pretty easy to scout.

 

[GermanSpitfire]

Great skating? I must be watching a different Colby Barlow.

I don’t think it’s great - I’d say it’s average.

He has good top end speed and acceleration but lacks the lateral mobility to make quick cuts to attack the middle of the ice with regularity. He lacks that dynamic element you want with most players you draft in the top-10.

That being said.

the style of game he is projected to play once he reaches the NHL, it doesn’t need to be great In my opinion. Think of how proficient Brady Tkachuk has been since reaching the NHL.

 

[JT3]

Great skating? I must be watching a different Colby Barlow.

I guess it comes down to how you define 'great skating' then. I will go back and correct myself and say he is a good skater. His agility and edgework could be a little better, but his first few steps are quite explosive and has solid north-south speed. It's what allows him to play the relentless forecheck/pressure game that he does. I don't have any concerns about his skating preventing him from being an NHL player.

There are a few clips on this report by Brock Otten showing him blowing by defenders.

2023 NHL DRAFT: OHL - Colby Barlow, Owen Sound Attack - Scouting Report/Video Review

McKeen's Director of Scouting, Brock Otten, provides an indepth scouting profile of Colby Barlow with video.

www.mckeenshockey.com

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

I don’t think it’s great - I’d say it’s average.

He has good top end speed and acceleration but lacks the lateral mobility to make quick cuts to attack the middle of the ice with regularity. He lacks that dynamic element you want with most players you draft in the top-10.

That being said.

the style of game he is projected to play once he reaches the NHL, it doesn’t need to be great In my opinion. Think of how proficient Brady Tkachuk has been since reaching the NHL.

Yeah it's not terrible, but certainly not something I'd lead with when describing his strengths. He's got powerful strides but has pretty heavy feet. His edge work is pretty poor as well. He skates like a James Neal / Gabe Vilardi hybrid.

Brady Tkachuk is actually a better skater than he gets credit for.

I guess it comes down to how you define 'great skating' then. I will go back and correct myself and say he is a good skater. His agility and edgework could be a little better, but his first few steps are quite explosive and has solid north-south speed. It's what allows him to play the relentless forecheck/pressure game that he does. I don't have any concerns about his skating preventing him from being an NHL player.

There are a few clips on this report by Brock Otten showing him blowing by defenders.

2023 NHL DRAFT: OHL - Colby Barlow, Owen Sound Attack - Scouting Report/Video Review

McKeen's Director of Scouting, Brock Otten, provides an indepth scouting profile of Colby Barlow with video.

www.mckeenshockey.com

He's a powerful skater in straight lines but it's becoming increasingly difficult to be a top offensive player without dynamic agility and edges to create time and space.

 

[Artorius Horus T]

45 goals, 77 points in 57 games
scored a beauty shorty breakaway goal.

Ontario Hockey League

Official Website of the OHL

ontariohockeyleague.com

 

[Lavar Ball]

 

[Gstank]

I think Barlow has a very good chance to be in the same tier as Benson and Smith 5-7. He production for the team that he is on is really good and I dont think he gets enough credit for it

 

[Nabrules]

2 goals today and almost helped will OS to a win London.

People aren’t talking about him enough. High chance he goes top 10. Believe McKenzie has him 8 on the midseason rankings.

 

[majormajor]

I think Barlow has a very good chance to be in the same tier as Benson and Smith 5-7. He production for the team that he is on is really good and I dont think he gets enough credit for it

Barlow is just as good right now.

I think the hesitation is on upside. I've heard some scouts call him a "finished product". Not necessarily my opinion.

 

[LePerilsofPerreault]

I’m happy to see Barlow get more top 7-8 recognition, such a great prospect. I’d be one of the only people not freaking out if the Ducks took him at 5.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Barlow is just as good right now.

I think the hesitation is on upside. I've heard some scouts call him a "finished product". Not necessarily my opinion.

He might not be finished but there's certainly a lack of high end upside here. You'd be settling for a high floor prospect if you took him top 10.

I'd be pretty pissed if the Habs did that. They need someone with high-end offense. Barlow is more that complementary winger who can pop the puck in the net but doesn't seem to have a finishing ability that's going to get him in the conversation with top end snipers.

 

[majormajor]

He might not be finished but there's certainly a lack of high end upside here. You'd be settling for a high floor prospect if you took him top 10.

I'd be pretty pissed if the Habs did that. They need someone with high-end offense. Barlow is more that complementary winger who can pop the puck in the net but doesn't seem to have a finishing ability that's going to get him in the conversation with top end snipers.

A couple times his shot looked elite to me, maybe he just doesn't have it consistently.

 

[WeThreeKings]

A couple times his shot looked elite to me, maybe he just doesn't have it consistently.

It's a good shot but like if we compare it to someone like Caufield, there's a clear difference there and Caufield is able to shoot in different ways, Barlow really is a wrist shot scorer.. his one-timer scores at the OHL but it isn't really devastating.

If you don't have a high end shot like that, then your goal scoring will come from putting yourself in good positions, which he does, but then there's creating your own shot which is where I think Barlow will have the biggest trouble scaling. His hands are okay, his skating in a straight line is good, but his edge work and agility is pretty pedestrian.

How does Barlow create a shot, in locations to score, at the next level? Which is why I say complementary goal scorer, he will need good line-mates to do that.

You won't go wrong with a 20-25 goal scorer who will provide surplus value on the PK and add straight line speed to a line, but it's not a top 10 pick to me.

 

[BKarchitect]

I think we need to separate the idea of “upside” and “complimentary player”. A high-end complimentary player can have more upside than an offensive line driver.

Gabriel Landeskog is complementary player in that he’s not got the individual offensive skill to “drive” a first line. He’s also one of the best wingers in hockey. High-end complementary players aren’t just there for the ride – they are “force magnifiers” for a line, even when the individual puck skills or vision of the other players on the line are higher.

The counterpoint is a guy like Nazem Kadri. You could stick him on an expansion team with two ECHL wingers and give him 22 minutes a night and he’ll probably give you 80 points. A lot of the issues Kadri has had throughout his career that have prevented him from being a true star though are that he’s a tough guy to build a line around. All the puck skill and creativity in the world but he’s not a force magnifier for his line – if anything at times he can be quite the opposite. Still a valuable player – and trust, I know – the Avs have no Cup without his ability to conjure offense from nowhere when the main guns on his team are struggling.

I think Barlow projects as a pretty elite complementary player and he seems to have all those mental, leadership/intangible traits that the top guys in that mold have – that lift their ceiling past the notion of where their agility/flair skills seem to indicate. I wager guys like Barlow, Danielson and Leonard are going to go very high even amongst all the offensive stars of this draft.

 

[Fantomas]

What does this mean: "complementary winger who can pop the puck in the net but doesn't seem to have a finishing ability that's going to get him in the conversation with top end snipers."

Just trying to understand. He can "put the puck in the net" but lacks "finishing ability?" What?

Barlow looks like a pretty good scorer to me. All he's done this year is score.

 

[majormajor]

What does this mean: "complementary winger who can pop the puck in the net but doesn't seem to have a finishing ability that's going to get him in the conversation with top end snipers."

Just trying to understand. He can "put the puck in the net" but lacks "finishing ability?" What?

Barlow looks like a pretty good scorer to me. All he's done this year is score.

That one is simple. The poster is saying "good but not great along that element". 25 goal scorer, not 40.

 

[majormajor]

I think we need to separate the idea of “upside” and “complimentary player”. A high-end complimentary player can have more upside than an offensive line driver.

Gabriel Landeskog is complementary player in that he’s not got the individual offensive skill to “drive” a first line. He’s also one of the best wingers in hockey. High-end complementary players aren’t just there for the ride – they are “force magnifiers” for a line, even when the individual puck skills or vision of the other players on the line are higher.

The counterpoint is a guy like Nazem Kadri. You could stick him on an expansion team with two ECHL wingers and give him 22 minutes a night and he’ll probably give you 80 points. A lot of the issues Kadri has had throughout his career that have prevented him from being a true star though are that he’s a tough guy to build a line around. All the puck skill and creativity in the world but he’s not a force magnifier for his line – if anything at times he can be quite the opposite. Still a valuable player – and trust, I know – the Avs have no Cup without his ability to conjure offense from nowhere when the main guns on his team are struggling.

I think Barlow projects as a pretty elite complementary player and he seems to have all those mental, leadership/intangible traits that the top guys in that mold have – that lift their ceiling past the notion of where their agility/flair skills seem to indicate. I wager guys like Barlow, Danielson and Leonard are going to go very high even amongst all the offensive stars of this draft.

People have tended to compare Barlow to James Neal more than Landeskog, and I think for good reason. He's a hard worker but doesn't have the small area quickness to battle like Landeskog can. Barlow needs space to get up to speed. In the corners the play can move too fast for him, he won't physically dominate like Landeskog can. Barlow is good for finishing his checks though.

Leonard is a much better comparable for Landeskog.

 

[Tufted Titmouse]

He avenged his teammate who got blown up like 3 seconds after the faceoff.

 

[Frk It]

That one is simple. The poster is saying "good but not great along that element". 25 goal scorer, not 40.

How many players do people think have a better shot/release in this draft? It can't be many.

 

[majormajor]

How many players do people think have a better shot/release in this draft? It can't be many.

It looks like a great shot to me.