Tyler Duke

June 2023 – Duke had a strong season at Ohio State as a freshman, demonstrating that he should have been selected in 2022. He is also transferring to the University of Michigan where he will join his brother, Dylan, and will have access to the strongest development program in the NCAA, further improving his chances of defying the odds and growing into an intriguing NHL prospect. Duke’s skating needs a fair bit of work, which is one of the reasons his transfer could change the outlook of his projection as Michigan does great work with intelligent and intense players whose skating mechanics represent a weakness. Duke is a strong defender who aggressively closes his gaps in transition and protects the slot very effectively. His offensive game is raw and has yet to really shine, but there remains upside for Duke as a distributor from the point who creates chaos when activating, consistently attacks the slot, and has an above-average release for an NCAA defender. Adding fluidity, mobility, and offensive confidence would go a long way in developing his game and unlocking a ceiling of a #4 defenseman. More likely, however, is an outcome in which Duke caps out as a bottom-pairing defense-first piece, which should still earn him a draft pick this year. Sebastian High

July 2022 – Duke was not chosen in his first year of draft eligibility. Nick Richard

January 2022 – After spending three seasons with Compuware at the AAA level, Tyler Duke began suiting up for the USNTDP U17s where he showed off his offensive capabilities, tallying 25 points in 44 games with his points primarily coming from assists (22). This season, Duke has seen his numbers regress a tad as he has only accumulated eight points through 27 contests. His numbers are not what they were last year but he is still a reliable offensive threat for the NTDP on the blue line and has been continuing his solid play. 

Duke is another small offensive defenceman coming up from the USNTDP pipeline that keeps on giving and he brings some familiar characteristics as well. While he may find himself overshadowed by some of the other offensively gifted NTDP defencemen on his team, he is a very talented puck distributor and is capable of making strong plays with the puck. He is a good puck carrier and sees the ice well with his head constantly on a swivel. He brings the puck up the ice with confidence and his skating ability allows him to quickly jump up into the offensive zone, forcing the defense back on their heels. He is mobile and has good vision which enables him to quarterback a powerplay, and keep the opposition pinned down at even strength. His decision-making with the puck could stand to improve a little and that would increase his effectiveness on the offensive side of things, but he is still a solid playmaker from the point who can rack up assists. He is known to make a risky pinch from time to time and gets caught as a result, so defensive decision-making can improve as well, but he has the skating ability to quickly react and recover from it. In his own zone, he does well to scan the area around him for any threats and shows good awareness in his defensive positioning, and despite his height disadvantage, he does well to compete physically as he has some weight behind him to go along with his tenacity on the puck. With some defensive improvement and a little more patience on the puck, Duke’s game could take a big leap forward and teams will take notice. He currently projects to be a mid to late second-round pick in the upcoming 2022 NHL Draft. Alexander Annun