Inside Wheeler’s Shocking Summer 2025 NHL Prospect Rankings: Who’s the True Future Star?
He’s an excellent skater who can beat you in a straight-out race, cut past you laterally with quick weight shifts or build speed through tight crossover patterns around the offensive zone. On the puck, he’s a threatening individual creator who can create in knifing bursts and works quickly to put defenders on their heels, attacking on angles and jumps. Off it, he has great instincts for jumping into gaps in coverage to get open for his linemates. His snap shot, which has a traditional look to it and is more wrists and leverage than the curl-and-drag you commonly see now, consistently beats goalies cleanly with both its pop and how quickly it comes off. He has high-end handling (he has impressive hands in tight and always seems to handle his first touch at speed, even when pucks are put into his feet) and adjustability, which blends with real creativity to create an often-dynamic one-on-one player. He’s an impressive athlete who performed well in the combine testing. He’s also a fan favorite type who gets after it on the forecheck and involves himself in the play often, with some sneaky strength (though I think his defensive awareness and consistency still need to come, and his off-puck play might have been a little overrated in his draft year). Add in NHL puck skill and a dangerous and heavy wrister from midrange, and you’ve got a fun player and prospect. Add in the emergence of a power game that has seen him really begin to take pucks to the inside and drive the net, and suddenly you’ve got a perimeter and interior offensive threat who has strength, speed, skill and scoring in his profile. He has a top-six, scoring-skill-jump profile. He has a ton of tools, and they’ve come along at an exciting rate. He’s going to score goals and make plays in the NHL.
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