Is Berkly Catton the most underrated top prospect for the 2024 NHL Draft?

Credit: Berkly Catton (Photo from the Spokane Chiefs)

Can a 54-goal, 116-point scorer be considered underrated? Because it certainly feels that way when talking about Spokane Chiefs star Berkly Catton.

All the talk regarding forwards heading into the draft, beyond the obvious in Macklin Celebrini, has centered around Cayden Lindstrom, Tij Iginla and Ivan Demidov. Some fanbases have made it clear they’d be upset if their team took Catton with their first pick in Vegas later this month. That’s all anecdotal, for sure. But it feels like people aren’t giving Catton the credit he’s due.

“He’s one of the best pure talents in this draft class,” a scout said. “The skill, the speed, you always need someone like that.”

Projected to go in the top 10 this year, Catton is an energetic, puck-handling center with a penchant for taking games over. That was especially clear at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup last summer when he scored eight goals and 10 points to lead the tournament in scoring.

“That sense of confidence going into the season (after the Hlinka Gretzky Cup) helped,” Catton said at the NHL Draft Combine earlier this month. “That was the first time I ever scored more goals than I assisted so that definitely gave me a lot of confidence.”

That was a good omen of things to come, with Catton finishing with the most points among draft eligibles and fourth in the WHL. It was a big step up from his 55-point rookie season in 2022-23, which was still remarkable as a Draft-1 prospect.

Catton attributes his massive offensive boost to getting back to the basics back home.

“I lived in my backyard shooting pucks,” Catton said. “I knew as a 16-year-old that I thought I had a decent season, but I wasn’t scoring as I liked. I attributed it to being where it should be, so I knew I had to work on it in the summer. Ultimately, I did.”

The scoring boost was a nice touch to help complement his footwork. This draft might not have a better skater than the Saskatoon, Saskatchewan native, who has excellent four-way mobility and speed. On the rush, Catton can slice through opponents with ease while handling the puck as well as anyone, so he likes to beat his competition with pace. While Lindstrom might beat players with power, or Iginla through his work ethic, Catton’s ability to weave through traffic makes him so difficult to contain.

“He’s elusive, he’s really difficult to contain,” a scout said. “When he’s at speed, he’s shifty and explosive, and then he’s got the hands and the shot to finish plays off while others might see things fall apart because they don’t have the hands to keep up with the feet.”

At 5-foot-10 and 175 pounds, he’s not big, but that’s still 11 pounds more than he was listed at the U-18 World Championship last year. Physicality is a weak point in his game, and that could prevent him from being a center in the NHL. But he’s good in the faceoff dot and often makes his linemates better, two hallmarks of a good middleman.

He’s also a leader, having worn the captain’s C at the U-17 World Challenge last year and the alternate’s A with Spokane at 17 this year. That matters to teams who want to boost the culture of the club, and Catton is someone teammates and opponents seem to really respect.

“I think Catts is really skilled, really smart, really crafty,” Iginla said. “He’s in my conference, so our teams have had some great battles.”

So, what exactly makes him underrated? It feels like there’s a disconnect between the average fan and NHL scouts. There are plenty of teams who think Catton could be a game-changing No. 1 center, like Utah’s Logan Cooley could end up becoming in short order. If Catton is done growing, his lack of size will play against him, but his talent won’t, and that’s something teams will be willing to bet on.

How high Catton goes really depends on how the top defensemen get split up. Teams chasing an impact centerman will likely have to choose between Lindstrom and Catton, but Chicago, Anaheim, and Columbus will be the teams that dictate the course of the top 10 with the potential to all go the defenseman route. With those two, in particular, you’ve got wildly different prospects, but both who are capable of putting up high numbers. The path they take to do so, though, is what makes them unique.

There’s a lot to like about Catton, someone many scouts believe in. He should go in the top 10, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he landed in the top five. There’s room for improvement, especially defensively where he falls a bit short of the likes of Lindstrom or even Konsta Helenius, but Catton has the puck skills and the speed to be a burner in the NHL.

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Is Berkly Catton the most underrated top prospect for the 2024 NHL Draft?

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