A pair of Ontario Hockey League players with local ties are turning some heads ahead of June's NHL Draft.
Barrie Colts defenceman Beau Akey and Owen Sound Attack forward Colby Barlow, who hails from Orillia, are both listed in the top-25 in NHL Central Scouting's mid-season rankings, which was released Friday.
Akey and Barlow are among 55 OHL players included on the list, which includes 30 forwards, 21 defencemen and four goaltenders from the 'O'.
Barlow, 17, is the highest-ranked OHL'er on the mid-season report card, coming in at No. 10 among skaters. The left-winger, who is in his second season with the Attack, leads his team in scoring with 27 goals and 23 assists for 50 points in 35 games. Barlow, listed at six-foot-one and 187 pounds, will celebrate his 18th birthday on Feb. 14. He came up through Orillia Minor Hockey and played his 'AAA' hockey with the Toronto Marlboros.
Akey, who is also 17 years old, comes in at No. 25 in the rankings. A native of the Kitchener-Waterloo area, he has six goals and 24 assists in 34 games this season with the Colts, which puts him among the league's top offensive defencemen. Akey, who turns 18 on Feb. 11, is in his second year with the team.
Rounding out OHL skaters in the top-25 are left-winger Quentin Musty from the Sudbury Wolves at No. 11, left-winger Calum Ritchie from the Oshawa Generals at No. 17, and defenceman Oliver Bonk from the London Knights at No. 18.
The NHL Draft takes place June 28-29 in Nashville, Tenn.
Of the 55 OHL players included in the draft rankings, 15 of them — including Akey and Barlow — will be playing in the 2023 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game on Wednesday, Jan. 25 in Langley, B.C. The game will be televised on TSN.
For the full NHL Central Scouting mid-season rankings, visit nhl.com.
