In the span of a year, Saskatoon product Berkly Catton has quickly become one of the best prospects in all of junior hockey.
Coming off a 55-point rookie campaign with the Spokane Chiefs in the 2022-23 WHL season, Catton exploded for 54 goals and 116 points to finish the year fourth in league scoring at just 18 years old.
“Last year I had 20-something goals,” said Catton. “I came back here and lived in my backyard shooting pucks, and I more than doubled my goal total this year. I think that’s kind of due to me just wanting to get better and wanting to grow my game.”
Catton will lead Saskatchewan contingent of prospects at the 2024 NHL Draft this upcoming weekend at Sphere in Las Vegas.
Ranked eighth among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting in their final rankings, Catton is one of just four skaters since 2000 to score 50 goals and 115 points in his draft year joining Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane and Connor Bedard.
While he’s spent much of his off-season meeting with clubs and participating at the NHL Combine in Buffalo, New York, there’s still plenty left up in the air as Catton prepares to hear his name called.
“Honestly going into it you really have no clue,” said Catton. “That kind of makes it nerve-wracking, but also super exciting.”
Catton has been projected as high as a top-five pick while others have him anywhere in the first half of Friday’s first round, a snapshot of the wild uncertainty that’s expected following the San Jose Sharks’ pending selection of first overall talent Macklin Celebrini.
“Other than Celebrini there, no one knows what’s going to happen,” said Catton. “Usually there’s a consolidated top three or five, this year it’s not even close. It’s going to be fun and honestly it will be fun for teams as well.”
Several Saskatchewan-born players are expected to be selected over the course of the weekend alongside Catton, including Everett Silvertips defenceman Tarin Smith who grew up in Porcupine Plain.
Smith will be in-person for the event alongside his parents and sister, in what will be one of the biggest days of his hockey career.
“It’s just really cool to see how much they’ve supported me and it will just be a cool week.”
Smith finished his first full season in the WHL with the Silvertips this year, netting eight goals and 44 points in 67 games and is the 38th ranked North American skater in the draft.
While that rating has him slated to be an early-to-mid round selection, he’s not putting the cart before the horse.
“I think I’m doing my best to not set the bar too high,” said Smith. “Maybe not set too many expectations, I don’t want to get let down or anything like that. But obviously that’s the main thing that’s on my mind right now, I mean how can it not be?”
Ranked three spots later is Regina Pats captain Tanner Howe, who is coming off a 28-goal and 77-point season completing his third season in the WHL.
“I will probably be at a loss for words,” said Howe. “I’m super excited to see that the work that’s kind of been paying off that I’ve been putting in. I’ll just be super excited and it will be nice to spend it with the family.”
The Prince Albert native completed his first season of wearing the ‘C’ on his jersey, named captain following the graduation of last year’s first overall pick in Bedard to the Chicago Blackhawks.
Along with his near point-per-game pace, Howe said he’s taken more of an all-around role with the Pats this season and is hopeful that will pay off in Las Vegas.
“I’m a solid, 200-foot player who’s very competitive, works really hard, who plays the game the right way and is physical,” said Howe. “I think I bring a leadership quality to the team.”
Both the Prince Albert Raiders and Saskatoon Blades will be represented in Nevada by a pair of their young stars, meanwhile, with Raiders sniper Ryder Ritchie a candidate to be a late first-round selection.
This after finishing an injury-shortened 2023-24 season with 19 goals and 44 points in 47 games, while adding seven points in Prince Albert’s first round series against Saskatoon.
“I’m so close to accomplishing a dream I’ve worked through my whole life and something that I’ve been looking forward to,” said Ritchie. “I’m getting excited for sure for that draft day.”
The 2022-23 WHL Rookie of the Year and 19th ranked skater by NHL Central Scouting will have the chance to surpass his father Byron’s draft position of 165th overall which he achieved in 1995 before going on to play over 300 games in the NHL.
While he might have the bragging rights going forward, the younger Ritchie said he’s been able to lean on his dad throughout the draft experience.
“I was born into a hockey family,” said Ritchie. “I’ve gotten to watch him play and he’s been through all of it. He’s been through the draft, he’s been through pro hockey, he’s been through junior hockey. He’s someone that I have that I can just talk to about anything, so it’s awesome having a resource like that.”
As for the Blades, they will be watching to see where breakout goaltender Evan Gardner will land on day two of the draft.
Gardner’s tenure with the Blades started out rough with four goals allowed to the Regina Pats in a 5-1 loss on Sept. 23, but he quickly put that loss behind him.
“After that game I feel like I showed a lot of consistency which is what I want to show everyone,” said Gardner. “I feel like I’m a really consistent goaltender and I feel like I was really able to find my stride after that first game.”
Gardner eventually took over the starter’s minutes in the Blades crease and would go on to lead the WHL in both goals against average (1.91) and save percentage (.927) as a rookie, before making 15 appearances in Saskatoon’s three-round playoff run.
“I was really, really proud of what I was able to accomplish this season,” said Gardner. “I feel like I accomplished a lot for a rookie goaltender in the league. I’m really proud of what I was able to accomplish and really looking forward to what I can accomplish next season.”
Other Saskatchewan players in the mix of hearing their names called include Melfort product Nate Misskey, Southey’s Matthew Van Blaricom, Saskatoon’s Josh Zakreski, Cumberland House’s Pavel McKenzie and Debden netminder Chase Wutzke.
According to the Saskatchewan-based players, meetings with NHL teams have been ongoing over the course of the season with front offices not afraid to ask famously strange questions to the prospects.
“I had one that I had a really hard time answering,” said Gardner. “It was just comparing myself to a car, I don’t really know a whole lot about vehicles or whatnot.”
As for Catton, he was among those players at the combine grilled over their social media scores by the newly relocated Utah Hockey Club.
“Going into an NHL meeting you usually don’t expect to whip out your Snapchat score,” said Catton. “That was probably one that caught me a little off-guard, I can kind of see I guess why they want to see that.”
Catton will likely be following recent high picks from Saskatchewan like Brayden Yager, Kevin Korchinski and Riley Heidt, players with whom he often practices during the off-season.
On Friday, Catton said he’s ready for his own moment in the spotlight to continue a trend of young talent coming out of the province.
“It’s awesome for Saskatchewan hockey, it’s awesome for Saskatoon,” said Catton. “I think it’s due to how competitive we all are and how we all push each other.”
The first round of the 2024 NHL Draft begins at 5:00 pm on Friday with rounds two through seven being held the following day in Las Vegas.