Inside Wheeler’s Shocking Summer 2025 NHL Prospect Rankings: Who’s the True Future Star?
Barlow plays a direct, intentional game built around good hands, a physically mature pro frame and an NHL shot (he can cleanly beat goalies from midrange). He’s also an able penalty killer, which could give him all-situations upside at the next level. Whether he becomes a middle-six secondary scorer at the NHL level will be determined by his skating because, outside of his lack of pace, he has a high floor and tools. It’s also fair to ask if his advanced growth gives him less runway for improvement (he really does look like a man already). He does, at times, look powerful in straight lines once he builds speed (he moves just fine through his crossovers and can build momentum that way), but he’s slow out of the blocks from a standstill. I would like to see him tunnel-vision a little less and open up his plane of sight a little more as well. Even though he can score on them, he takes low-percentage shots a little too much for my liking off the rush (maybe because he feels he can’t take the D one-on-one, so he shoots through them instead?). The pro build, mentality, competitiveness and scoring are appealing, though, and he brings it shift to shift.
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