2024 Draft Profile: Berkly Catton

Berkly Catton is a special type of hockey player. As an offensive forward, he belongs in an elite group of CHL players. Since the year 2000, there have only been four players that have scored 50+ goals and 110+ points in their draft year: Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane, Connor Bedard, and Berkly Catton. With a talented player ranked between three and 14in most draft rankings, it is possible that Montreal will consider selecting him when their turn to walk up to the podium in the first round of this year’s draft in Las Vegas.

Bio

Centre
Shoots: Left
DOB: Jan 14, 2006
Height: 5′ 10.25″
Weight: 175 lbs

Rankings

Elite Prospects: 8
Future Considerations: 4
Daily Faceoff: 7
The Hockey News (Ferrari): 3
The Hockey News (Kennedy): 11
TSN (Bob McKenzie): 10
TSN (Craig Button): 14
NHL Central Scouting (N. American): 8
Sportsnet (Cosentino): 9
Sportsnet (Bukala): 8
Recruit Scouting: 8
Dobber Prospects: 3
Draft Prospects Hockey: 5
Smaht Scouting: 3
FloHockey: 7
Mckeen’s Hockey: 7
ISS Hockey: 7

Statistics

Scouting Report

During the 2022-23 season, Berkly enjoyed a productive rookie campaign with 55 points in 63 games. This season his production exploded, more than doubling his point total with 116 points in 68 games, a full WHL season.

Catton has several offensive skills in his tool chest. His skating is excellent, particularly his acceleration and edge work. Both help him evade defenders and get the jump on them. He is a very capable play driver with the puck, starting offensive rushes from his own zone with ease. Although his top speed is not the best of this draft class, he relies on varying his speeds to make him more elusive and better provide options to either pass to a teammate or shoot the puck. When it comes to scoring, he is very adept at firing the disc, adjusting his shooting angle to make it deadly for goalies. Catton can shoot the puck from the point through a screen with accuracy. Berkly takes a number of risks to try to score or set up a teammate. His creativity and confidence allow him to experiment on plays when options are limited. His hockey sense is very high, and both his passing and playmaking are top-notch.

Catton’s team was sub-.500, made it into the playoffs with the worst record, then bowed out in the first round. I believe his team’s lack of depth allowed him to take more chances to generate scoring help to give his team some hope of winning. He has good leadership traits and is expected to take on the captain’s role in Spokane next season. Berkly is inconsistent in his defensive game but is bright enough to adapt to that when given more experience. He is an undersized centre who some scouts think may shift to the wing as a pro. I disagree since his playmaking and puck-possession skills are trademark abilities for a good center. His faceoff-winning percentage is strong at 53%.

Timeline

Berkly would benefit from at least one more season in the WHL. His size will make it difficult to deal with the physical play at the NHL level, but not impossible since there are some under-six-foot centres in the pros who do well. Additional time spent to build muscle, and work on other aspects of his game like his defence and compete level would be helpful. Catton could be given more time on the penalty killing unit to help develop these skills as well.