DRAFT: Akey's patience rewarded with prime opportunity

EDMONTON, AB- Both the Edmonton Oilers and Barrie Colts defenceman Beau Akey waited with bated breath through Day 1 of the 2023 NHL Draft and into the second round of the event on Thursday morning.

The 18-year-old blueliner sat in the lower-bowl seats at Bridgestone Arena, eagerly awaiting to hear his name called and find out which organization would become the club where he'd begin the next chapter of his hockey career.

"Definitely felt like I wanted to throw up there," Akey joked in his post-Draft media availability. "And it's definitely a big relief to hear your name called."

On the draft floor, Oilers Director of Amateur Scouting & Player Personnel Tyler Wright hoped that he wasn't about to watch all of his preferred picks get crossed off his scouting staff's list in the 55 selections made by the 31 other NHL teams prior to Edmonton's first opportunity to add an important piece its prospect pool at 56th overall.

"We had a cluster of three or four guys," Wright added. "Obviously at that stage of the game, as the picks go, so does the highlighter."

When the moment did arrive, Wright and the Oilers organization were ecstatic putting a circle around a strong 200-foot player, exceptional skater and capable right-shot puck distributor whom they had high on their lists and high hopes of drafting that also satisfies a position of need on the organization's prospect depth chart.

"You basically sit and wait for 55 picks to go ahead, but we thought we were going to get a pretty decent player. We really like him," Wright said. "A real smooth-skating, smart, puck-moving defenceman that put up some numbers in the OHL, so really happy that he fell to us.

We're a little bit lacking in the organization on the right side too, so we kind of hit two birds with one stone."

Akey experienced a major breakout during his sophomore OHL season with the Colts in 2022-23 and improved on his rookie numbers by a 30-point margin, playing a leading role on Barrie's blueline that was reduced in the second half of the campaign after the return of 2021 eighth-overall pick Brandt Clarke from the Los Angeles Kings and a trip to World Juniors with Team Canada.

The 6-foot-0, 174-pound rearguard continued his dominance despite a re-adapted role in the second half of his season by embracing the added defensive responsibility -- something that Akey was more than equipped to accept and excel at with his ability to box out attackers, keep them to the perimeter and break up rushes with strong mobility and gap control.

"Always evolving as a player," Akey said in Nashville following his selection by the Oilers. "I'm always looking to get better and I see myself taking even bigger steps next year in developing as a player and a person."

For the former Waterloo AAA Wolves blueliner, improving the defensive aspects of his skillset is at the top of his own list when it comes to preparing himself to defend the world's best in the NHL.

"I think it's one of the lacking [areas] in my game," he said. "Obviously as a hockey guy, you always want to be better and you always want to be the best version of yourself, so all I want to do is make myself better and work on everything."

When asked who he tries to model his game after among current NHL defenceman, it's only fitting with his versatile skillset that Akey has a laundry list of right-shot rearguards to mention with shades of the many different characteristics of some of the League's top defenders.

"I've had too many to count. I'd say Drew Doughty, Cale Makar, Roman Josi -- a ton of guys that I try and model after. Erik Karlsson, too," he said. "All those guys, right-handed defencemen, are unbelievable players and I really try and be like them."

"I think I'm looking to take that next step and try and evolve with them. Hopefully, one day I'm playing in the NHL alongside and against those guys, so it'll be an awesome experience."