Beau Akey – Barrie Colts – Player Profile

HT	WT	DOB	POS	SHOOTS	OHL DRAFT	NHLCS	COUNTRY
6’	174	Feb 11, 2005	RD	R	19th 2021	25th mid term	CANADA

SEASON	LEAGUE	TEAM	GP	G	A	PTS
2019-2020	Under-15	Waterloo Wolves	31	11	11	22
2020-2021	Under-16	DID NOT PLAY
2021-2022	OHL	Barrie Colts	61	5	11	16
2022-2023	OHL	Barrie Colts	38	6	26	32
		Projected	66	10	45	55

Barrie Colts blueliner was drafted with the 19^th overall pick at the 2021 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection. NHL Central Scouting ranks him 25^th among North American Skaters on their mid-term rankings. He is the second ranked defenceman on their list from the OHL behind London Knights’ Oliver Bonk.

Akey is still on the raw side and there is plenty of development time ahead of him. He’s a gifted skater with great agility, east-west ability, strong edge work, flawless crossovers and his backward skating may just be the best among OHL defenders available for the draft. His 4-way mobility is up there with all of them as well.

Akey may also have the most skill and offensive upside among the defenders available. His ability to break out of his zone by skating or making a very good first pass, his ability and willingness to take on opponents one-on-one with success and his ability to beat the forecheck make him a transition beast.

His reads are very good, knowing when to jump into the play and join the rush. Once in the o-zone, Akey continues his good reads and makes the right pass at the right time. His ability to walk the lane and create lanes are impressive. He also has an uncanny ability to elude the defence unnoticed to get to the open ice.

Akey has all the tools to be an offensive defenceman. But he needs to put in some work on the defensive side of the game to become a two-way defender who can impact the game at both ends. An excellent backward skater, he needs to keep tighter gaps when the opposition is coming his way. He will also need to get stronger defending his blueline. He’s inconsistent in those two areas but not something further coaching and developing can’t fix.

He’s not small at 6-feet but definitely needs to add some strength that will help him fight battles in the dirty areas, which is also in need of some work.

At this point for me, Akey is an early second round pick, which may be just a tad higher than where NHL Central Scouting has him ranked. I have the confidence in Akey’s ability to put in the work where necessary to go along with his ability to improve.