Moore blossoms living on flower farm 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 center Oliver Moore with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program Under-18 team. full draft coverage can be found here.

Oliver Moore might just be the fastest skater of any prospect eligible for the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft.

It's a part of the game he's perfected over time and NHL scouts have taken notice.

"I think it's a lot about just getting low and using the right muscles," Moore said. "You've got to use the big muscles to be fast and I think it's a lot about that. It's a lot about repetition, too, getting in the gym to work on that explosiveness."

Moore was explosive, for sure, but he also proved to be a hard worker and clutch point-producer with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program Under-18 team. The 18-year-old center (5-foot-11, 195 pounds), No. 8 in NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters presented by BioSteel, ranked fourth on the NTDP with 75 points (31 goals, 44 assists) in 61 games this season.

"I was always kind of buzzing around at a young age, speed wise, but I think it is all about repetition," Moore said. "My skating trainer, Katie McDonough (of Cutting Edge Performance Power Skating in Minnesota) has been great. I wouldn't be the skater I am without her. I've been working with her since sixth, seventh grade."

RELATED: [Complete 2023 NHL Draft coverage]

But Moore proved to be a lot more than a fast, well-rounded skater. He also gained a valuable lesson this season in how hard work can play a key role in any profession, whether on the ice or a flower farm.

Moore's billet family, Lynsey and Rob Taulbee, are the proprietors of Muddy Acres Flower Farm, situated on a 17-acre plot in Plymouth, Michigan. Lynsey, Rob and their sons, Tyler and Drew, each do their part to maintain the farm, which has been in operation since 2017.

Lynsey didn't require Moore to perform any chores on the farm, knowing he had enough on his plate with training and eating healthy every day. She did, however, use him as an example to entrepreneurs looking to one day build their own farms.

"In addition to maintaining the farm, I enjoy teaching other growers across the country and the world on social media on how to build and create their own farms and I used Oliver as an example all the time," Lynsey said. "If this is what you want, you have to have the grit and the determination. I would always share how Oliver may not want to get up at 6 in the morning to weight train, but he does what it takes, and went above and beyond. He was definitely used as an example many times on the education side of our farm."

Moore will attend the University of Minnesota in the fall and said he might take up something in the business field, an area he gained a greater appreciation of while living with the Taulbees.

"I was always a city kid and my dad worked hard as a lawyer, but it was a different type of hard work," Moore said. "I mean, Lynsey worked hard on her flower farm and her business, and it was really cool to kind of ask her questions on how she can run the business and make key business decisions. We talked about that all the time and it was cool to see that community she was able to build."

Moore had a pretty neat setup too.

He had fresh eggs each morning, collected from a nearby chicken coop. The Taulbees also had a shooting area that included a net in one of the barns. Tyler, who is 13 years old, and Drew, 11, are travel hockey players so they would watch Moore whenever they had an opportunity.

"I think it was a really good experience for them to see what it takes to be where Oliver is," Lynsey said. "To have that level of play, that level of success, that level of media attention ... it's a lot. I think we all learned it's way more than what we ever could imagine.

"When we're all enjoying birthday cake, he wouldn't have a piece because he didn't like the way the cake made him feel on the ice. Seeing that dedication is an eye-opener because I don't know that I could pass up a piece of cake."

It's that dedication, and his game-breaking speed, that has Moore projected as an early first-round candidate in the draft.

"His speed jumps off the page," Pat Cullen of Central Scouting said. "I think he's the fastest skater of all the prospects for this year's draft and I don't know there'd be a lot of people who would disagree with that. The speed is one thing, but his work ethic is unbelievable. There's never a game you attend that you don't see Oliver Moore working extremely hard and it's more noticeable because of how fast he does everything."

Moore is capable of playing either center or wing. He was a multisport athlete at Totino-Grace High School in Minnesota, where he played hockey, soccer and basketball. He chose hockey during his freshman year.

"I'm still learning to improve but feel I also have a great shot and a finishing ability," he said. "I want to be a player who's quick to defend. I take pride in that area of the game."

Photos: Rena Laverty, NTDP; Taulbee family

Listen: Video: NHL Draft: Best of Oliver Moore