Inside Wheeler’s Shocking Summer 2025 NHL Prospect Rankings: Who’s the True Future Star?
He is so dangerous as a shooter straight-up with goalies. He has this little feint he does pre-release before he lets it go. It looks like as he settles into that feint, he’s comfortable getting rid of it at any time, too. There are times when he will force it, and his decision-making isn’t always buttoned up, but he has also shown some creativity. He has great, quick-twitch hands and footwork into his shooting patterns. And while his play off the puck isn’t his calling card, I think it’s better than it gets credit for, and the pendulum of perception about him may have actually swung too far back. I’ve seen him finish all of his checks in a game (including delivering some hard ones), win back pucks, stay above pucks defensively, go to the front of the net on screens instead of just looking for his shot out wide, etc. He’s a very capable forechecker. He does need to tighten up with the pucks at times (he can be a little too careless), but he creates a ton of looks for himself and his skating, skill and especially shooting are projectable. He also takes good routes, finds ways to get loose without necessarily cheating for it and has clear power-play value.
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