Inside Wheeler’s Shocking Summer 2025 NHL Prospect Rankings: Who’s the True Future Star?
A quad contusion cost him five weeks as his stock was on the rise in his draft year, but it shouldn’t have taken anyone watching the Rockets long to realize just how much offense he creates for himself and his teammates while being a marked man every game. Outside of Connor Bedard, he had one of the most productive draft-eligible seasons in recent WHL history. Over the last two seasons, he has also played with more pace and a stride that looked like it had cleaned up a bit.
Despite his diminutive size, he’s also a smarter player off the puck/defensively than he has gotten credit for and is often in the right position above the puck to hold play inside the offensive zone. He’ll make effort plays defensively to stretch out and knock a puck out of the zone or work to gain inside body positioning on the forecheck and surprise people with the number of pucks he wins. He’s a ton of fun to watch with the puck on his stick. When you think you’ve got him trapped, you usually don’t, and not because he’s faster than you but because of how clever he is (he’ll often make plays past you with the puck even if he doesn’t skate it through you). He’s just a natural creator for himself and others who manufactures offense in a variety of ways inside the offensive zone and has developed his rush game to create at his own pace and find ways to enter the zone in control as well. And while his speed in straight lines still isn’t a strength and has some kinks, I’d say it’s NHL average now, and his footwork is adjustable in tight spaces. He can also stickhandle himself into trouble at times, but he does such a good job holding onto pucks until his options open up that you’re OK with the odd offensive-zone turnover, especially because he can always fall back on his finesse and touch on the puck to put it into space for someone else if he gets cornered. Despite his size, he’ll also track pucks to the net so that he can be opportunistic. His skill, touch, problem-solving and spatial awareness are legitimately high-end, and I believe in his ability to become a top-six winger in the NHL.
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