Top prospects from OHL discussed ahead of 2023 NHL Draft

The 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft will be held June 28-29 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. The first round will be June 28 (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS) and rounds 2-7 are June 29 (11 a.m. ET; NHLN, SN, TVAS). NHL.com is counting down to the draft with in-depth profiles on top prospects, podcasts and other features. Today, a look at some of the top skaters of the Ontario Hockey League in a Q&A with NHL Central Scouting director David Gregory. NHL.com's full draft coverage can be found here.

Colby Barlow with Owen Sound of the Ontario Hockey League has proven himself worthy not only as the best forward, but best player in the OHL this season.

The left wing (6-foot, 195 pounds), who is No. 12 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters presented by BioSteel, led Owen Sound with 46 goals, 79 points and 13 power-play goals in 59 games.

He set a team record with a 10-game goal streak (13 goals) from Nov. 12 to Dec. 4.

"I think Barlow has that knack with the way this kid can score goals and get himself in a position to score," Central Scouting director David Gregory said. "Obviously you need to score to win, and goals get harder and harder as the season progresses. He consistently has done it in every environment that he's been in, and he's gotten better at it year after year."

Barlow had 30 goals and 47 points as an OHL rookie in 2021-22, establishing another Owen Sound record for most goals by a 16-year-old.

The 18-year-old is one of four OHL players among the top 20 North American skaters on Central Scouting's final ranking. Center Calum Ritchie (6-2, 184) of Oshawa is No. 13, left wing Quentin Musty (6-1, 200) of Sudbury is No. 14 and defenseman Oliver Bonk (6-1, 180) of London is No. 20.

Two players from the OHL were selected in the first round of the 2022 NHL Draft: Kingston center Shane Wright (No. 4, Seattle Kraken) and Saginaw defenseman Pavel Mintyukov (No. 10, Anaheim Ducks).

The OHL had 56 players recognized on Central Scouting's final rankings of North American skaters. To break it down, here are five questions with Gregory:

Center Calum Ritchie missed time with a shoulder injury and Oshawa struggled without him late in the season. What made Ritchie pop in his second OHL season?

"Oshawa struggled to win a game when Ritchie was out of the lineup, but when he returned they started winning again. He's a player that's a leader, someone who competes hard and someone who makes players around him better. We use that old cliche a lot, but if you've got someone like him you can feed him the puck, or if you're getting to a spot that's open he's going to find you with the puck. That makes him special and someone that's obviously going to be a very high pick."

Quentin Musty is in the trio of OHL forwards with Barlow and Ritchie who could be chosen in the middle or late in the first round of the 2023 NHL Draft. Why would he be a great option for an NHL franchise?

"Musty is a player who has all the tools. He thinks the game so well, is very creative with the puck, and when he's on his game, is a game-breaker. He could easily be the best player in the game every time he suits up. Barlow, Ritchie and Musty are three very good players. NHL clubs are going to look for what their needs are at some point. Some teams draft the best player available, especially in the first round. There may be a different order that these players go, but they're very close in our rankings because they all bring a skill set that makes them worthy of a first-round pick."

RELATED: [More 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft coverage]

Oliver Bonk is the highest-rated defenseman from the OHL on Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters. Why is that?

"He was the complete package for us and the progression of his development over the course of the season was very good. He plays both ends of the rink and really processes the game at a high level. It gave us confidence that this is a player that's going to be able to do that as the game gets quicker and the competition gets better as you move up into the pro game. Obviously he comes from a great pedigree and knows the game probably inside and out from when he was a young man to now. His offensive instincts, in the way he can produce points, keeps getting better."

Defensemen Andrew Gibson (6-3, 202; No. 31) of Sault Ste. Marie and Tristan Bertucci (6-2, 175; No. 32) of Flint are two other potential first-round picks from the OHL in Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters. What is it about each of their games that makes you believe they could be taken by the second round?

"Gibson's really a unique player. It was his first year in the OHL, coming out of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League. He was able to contribute and be a force, and that was impressive for a first-year player. He suffered some injury problems this year and didn't get as many games as we would have liked to see. I think his game would have even developed more, but we're projecting what we've seen, and he's jumped into the OHL and continued to get better. Over the years, when you see someone who progresses and gets better throughout the season, it's an indicator to say, 'OK, this projection is going to continue.'

"Bertucci made a huge jump from last year to this year. He knows he can be the one that's dictating pace, the one that's dictating how the game is going to go. That's something I think is very attractive for teams to say, 'This is a player I want for our team because I think he's going to be a really good pro.'"

Are there other OHL players we didn't discuss who you feel could make a fine mid-to-late round pick and become a solid professional in 3-5 years?

"I think Erie center Carey Terrance (6-0, 178; No. 38) is a player who's really improved his stock ever since our list came out. Obviously it's a rare occurrence where someone joins USA Hockey's National Team Development Program Under-18 team from outside the program to be involved in what is their most important tournament at the 2023 IIHF World Under-18 Championship, but he was added to that team and contributed. He's an amazing skater and plays at a pace that is already NHL ready. I think what has happened is the rest of his game has caught up to the way he can skate and dominate playing at pace and that's made him a real force.

"The other player for me would be left wing Nick Lardis (5-11, 168; No. 27) of Hamilton. Another tremendous skater who's noticeable in the game because he can play at pace. He started the year in Peterborough and wasn't having the kind of year we thought he was going to have. At the OHL trade deadline, he moved to Hamilton and had 46 points (25 goals) in 33 games; he scored 19 points (12 goals) in 36 games with Peterborough. He was No. 96 on our midterm ranking in January and moved up to a first-round projection on the final list in April."

Photos: Sam Buschbeck and Allison Kennedy Davies, Owen Sound (OHL)

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