Denver Barkey – London Knights – Player Profile

HT	WT	DOB	POS	SHOOTS	OHL DRAFT	NHLCS	COUNTRY
5’9”	154	4-27-05	F	L	16th 2021	79 NA	CANADA

SEASON	LEAGUE	TEAM	GP	G	A	PTS
2019-2020	GTHL U15	Toronto Titans	32	10	36	46
2020-2021	GTHL U16	DID NOT PLAY
2021-2022	OHL	London Knights	53	7	8	15
2022-2023	OHL	London Knights	61	22	37	59

Obviously, the first thing that will come to mind is “5’9” – 154-pound NHL player?” The scouting community raises the same question. I will say this: You will be hard pressed to find a handful of players that work harder than London Knights’ forward Denver Barkey in the entire draft class, not just the OHL.

Barkey is quick, but not a speedster. He is like the Tasmanian Devil in pursuit of the puck. He is often the first man in on the forecheck causing havoc and usually forcing the opposition to react faster than they’d like and turning over the puck.

Barkey is versatile and can play all three forward positions. He can also play in any situation. On the powerplay where he has more space, Barkey is dangerous, able to make tape-to-tape passes through sticks and bodies look easy. On the penalty kill, he uses that same tenacity in puck pursuit to break up plays.

Barkey is an extremely intelligent player who anticipates well and reads and reacts well. There are issues, here, but I don’t believe size is one of them (how often do we have to be proven wrong before we admit it).

For starters, I wish Barkey was faster. Yes, he is quick, but doesn’t possess the speed you’d expect out of a smaller player. Secondly, he really needs to work on his shot. Maybe he can gain a little more power behind it when he adds some muscle, but for now, it’s a work in progress. He’s not going to beat many goaltenders at the next level with it.

The good thing is that his play on the ice is contagious. When teammates watch him go out and leave everything on the ice, they usually follow suit. All things considered; Barkey can fill a third line role if he maximizes his potential. We love how Dale Hunter gets the most out of his players here and how he brings them along in their development.

That’s a plus for Barkey.