One of the best-skating prospects in the world, Potter is a smallish but talented and extremely fast player who uses his electric speed to put defenders on their heels, back them off, create opportunistic chances, get out in transition and jump onto loose pucks. He’s a fun player to watch with his ability to go inside-out and outside-in on players, his ability to round corners on them and his desire to attack off the rush and challenge D by turning on the jets and burning them wide or blazing into a quick stop-up. He’s tough to catch in straight lines or track in and out of cuts. He has some cleverness one-on-one. He can be creative with the puck on his stick. He can really get going in a hurry and has shown an ability to finish plays as well, with a great release. It sounds like he’s not done growing, either, which could upgrade his projection. His decision to leave the program to join Arizona State was a testy one and some questioned whether he and his game were ready for the NCAA level, but while he was inconsistent at times in the first half, I felt he really popped late in the year with the Sun Devils before rejoining Team USA for U18 Worlds. At U18s, he made some skill plays, drew some penalties with his speed, had a goal disallowed, had some third assists and had several chances around the net that he was probably owed from. But he also came and went a little too much for some, and didn’t take over like they wanted him to. He has regularly flashed and occasionally even thrilled with his speed and legit puck skill. His skating truly is on another level, both through his edges and through a uniquely wide straightaway base. There’s still some real learning of the game and how to deploy his speed that needs to happen, but there’s also a real draw/appeal/upside to his game. Proponents see Frank Nazar. Opponents see Fabian Lysell. I think Potter is somewhere in between (he’s an even better skater, too, which is saying something next to those two, who are both high-end skaters). He’s an exciting player to watch when he winds up, and while there’s some boom or bust to his profile and mixed opinions on him out there (Nazar was also more consistent/responsible at the same age), the talent and speed are undeniable. He was tough to slot here, though. I thought about ranking him lower here, but decided to trust my instincts on him taking a big step next year for now.
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