Meet Kraken’s Berkly Catton, one of Canada’s top players for the World Juniors

Credit: (Steven Ellis/The Nation Network)

If there’s one topic Berkly Catton likes to talk about, it’s hockey. Playing it, watching it, evaluating others. He’s a teenager who just simply loves the game.

He doesn’t let anything rattle him, either. That’s why he’s looking forward to the pressure of representing Canada at the World Junior Championship in Ottawa later this month, his first time with the big junior national team. He already has plenty of success internationally, with the highlight being his tournament-leading eight goals and 10 points en route to gold at the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.

But the World Juniors is a whole other ball game. Fortunately for the Seattle Kraken prospect, Catton looks poised to be one of Canada’s most important players – and potentially the guy who could end up leading the scoring race.

“This is every kid’s lifelong dream to be here, but the big goal is to win that gold medal,” Catton said during selection camp last week.

Drafted eighth overall in 2024, Catton turned heads with some excellent numbers in the WHL last year. The Spokane Chiefs forward had 54 goals and 116 points as a sophomore – a solid step up from his 23 goals and 55 points in 63 games the year prior. Catton said he spent the summer of 2023 focusing on firing as many pucks as possible back home, and it paid off with his eight goals at the Hlinka. Suddenly, he went from a prospect known for his playmaking and hockey IQ to someone who can challenge for a scoring title, too.

“It’s interesting going to (Seattle’s development camp) or even the (World Junior Summer Showcase) with Team Canada and seeing what you have to work on,” Catton said. “Maybe a little more speed, strength. I think I feel stronger this year and ready to go.”

Catton isn’t scoring as often this year in Spokane, but the 18-year-old captain is still well on his way to smashing the 100-point mark. This year, he has gotten better at slowing things down and controlling the pace of play, and it’s paying off. He entered Canada’s selection camp last week having registered 17 points in his last nine games – including a streak of five games with either two or three points a night.

The big knock against Catton is his small 5-foot-10 frame. That’s not ideal for an NHL center. But his mixture of speed and pure skill made him one of the most entertaining prospects to watch last year. There might not have been a better skater in the draft, and his numbers were among the best around.

“He’s elusive, he’s really difficult to contain,” a scout said prior to the NHL Draft. “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.”

As for what Catton thinks makes him the most dangerous?

“I’m a distributor to the middle of the ice,” Catton said. “I think I make the players around me better. When I have the puck on my stick, I have the ability to change the momentum of the game.”

Ahead of Canada’s first exhibition game against Switzerland on Thursday, Catton practiced down the middle between Porter Martone and Carson Rehkopf on Canada’s second line. His two wingers play together with the Brampton Steelheads, so that baked-in chemistry, mixed in with Catton’s skill and hockey sense, could make them one of the most dangerous lines in the tournament. Catton also served on the flank of Canada’s second power-play unit alongside Rehkopf and Gavin McKenna, pairing a 50-goal OHLer in Rehkopf with two of the WHL’s top star forwards.

There’s no shortage of quality scoring threats on Canada’s roster – a lot more than last year, at least. No matter what line he plays on, there’s a good chance he’ll skate alongside a potential 50-goal scorer in whatever domestic league they play in.

But Catton is the name many will be watching closely because of how he finds ways to compete against his peers whenever the spotlight is on him. Whether it be the U-17s, the U-18s or now the World Juniors, you can never ignore Catton when he’s on the ice – and this is his opportunity to put himself in the spotlight.

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Meet Kraken’s Berkly Catton, one of Canada’s top players for the World Juniors

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