Inside Wheeler’s Shocking Summer 2025 NHL Prospect Rankings: Who’s the True Future Star?
Catton’s dangerous whenever he’s on the puck and shines with his knifing, slippery game. Inside the offensive zone, the way he baits and shades, drawing players to him and then playmaking past them with a pass or a cut, is pretty impressive to watch. Catton is a heady playmaker who uses spacing to his advantage and sees the ice at an advanced level, regularly executing quick plays through coverage or delaying into a pre-planned play. He has multi-dimensional skill, with an ability to play both with speed on the rush (he’s a smooth, fast and nimble high-end skater) and more slowly inside the offensive zone when the pace ramps down and he has to spin away from pressure (which he does so well). He has great instincts offensively. He tracks back consistently and will get up and under sticks to win his fair share of battles, with more room to round out his game defensively (mostly inside his own zone) and steady progress made on that front. He supports play well off the puck defensively, which was a focus of his this year. He gets to the guts of the ice and also makes plays out wide. He thrives in tight spaces and on cutbacks; he can play on the perimeter or take it to the net, and he has a dangerous and quick release while moving. He does such a good job losing defenders with his back to them to avoid getting pinned down because of how adjustable his skating is through stops and starts and tight turns. He draws a lot of penalties with his skating and has also been a top penalty killer in the WHL the last two years because of his ability to pounce and create offense short-handed. He has some very translatable top-six elements with his skating and skill set. I believe he has the chops to stick as a center despite being on the smaller side as well, because you want him getting touches lower in the zone so that his skating can lead in transition. He has a bit of an injury history, which has impacted a couple of offseasons and led to him sitting out of U18 worlds, but he’s an exciting talent with high-end offensive chops.
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