A.J. Spellacy

June 2024 — Playing in the shadow of fellow big forward Liam Greentree this season was A.J. Spellacy, who barely cracked half a point per game in Windsor’s middle six but showcased a decent amount of runway. Blistering speed combines with his raw power to make him one of the most powerful net-drivers in the draft, and his puck protection mechanics are already quite refined. One of the main culprits that leads to this archetype of prospect fizzling out is an overreliance on pace and raw strength to keep the puck, but in Spellacy’s case, the shielding details are there. Arm out, knees bent, outside edge stable, it’s a good foundation. He lacks the high-end reads to be a better playmaker right now, but Spellacy is a relatively recent full-time hockey-committed prospect. The bet on Spellacy is that with enough time, he can improve his reads and turn the flashes of playmaking and offensive zone spacing into day-in-and-day-out tools to create offense in an NHL middle six. Hadi Kalakeche

Final ranking: 86th