Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN/WGR 550) - It has been 15 years since a Western New York native has been drafted in the first round of the NHL Draft.
The last time came in 2008 when Sanborn native Tom McCollum went 30th overall to the Detroit Red Wings. The year before, South Buffalo native Patrick Kane became the first overall selection of the 2007 NHL Draft to the Chicago Blackhawks.
Hamburg native Quentin Musty will look to be the next prospect from the region to go in Round 1 of the draft in 2023.
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A couple of years back, the 6-foot-2 and 190-pound winger ended up going first overall in the Ontario Hockey League Draft to the Sudbury Wolves. He has since played in 103 OHL games with the Wolves, accumulating 38 goals and 71 assists for 109 points.
This past season saw Musty finish second in team scoring with 78 points (26+52) in 53 games played. If he had played all 68 games possible for the Wolves this year, Musty was on pace to finish the season with 100 points, which would have been team-best totals.
Musty certainly has the traits of being a first-round talent in the 2023 NHL Draft.
The 17-year-old sees the ice very well from all areas, especially in the offensive zone. He tends to have eyes in the back of his head when playing along the wall, while liking to play the patient game and allowing for plays to open up for him and his teammates. His cross-ice passing ability is also an attribute that falls back on vision.
His size certainly is an advantage, and can only be improved on as time goes on. He shows a lot of strength on and away from the puck, and is not afraid to engage in some battles for the puck along the boards and around the net.
That size also allows Musty to play a more power game, which shows in his skating and shooting. He’s a pretty straight-forward player with decent speed and power behind his shot, while possessing a soft touch to be able play a finesse game with stickhandling and creativity.
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Director of NHL's Central Scouting department, Dan Marr believes Musty has what it takes to find himself being selected as a first-round pick in this year's class.
"With Quentin, he's one of those players where you're gonna say, 'The best is yet to come," said Marr during his recent trip to Buffalo for the NHL Scouting Combine. "This was a year where things started to come together for him. Now, hopefully he gets drafted high and he gets that motivation to where he's going to become better and better. I do think [former Sudbury head coach] Derek MacKenzie went in there and he taught those kids responsibility. It was a changed team, they played more like a team, but Quentin lead the way. He's got that talent and ability. I don't know that he realizes how good he can be quite yet, but I think he's starting to figure that out."
Here is what some other NHL pundits have to say about Musty heading into the 2023 NHL Draft:
"He brings a little bit of everything to the table and does so in a projectable, imposing 6-foot-2 frame. Better still, he’s not shy about leveraging every part of it to dispossess opponents of the puck, wreak havoc along the boards and at the net-front, and to barrel down the wing off the rush. His vision is top-notch, and he’s equipped with the cunning and passing skill necessary to connect with layered feeds around skates and sticks." - Elite Prospects
"He's strong, and that's what you kind of see when you see him off the ice. There's some development to him, and not every 18-year-old kid is physically developed. I like the skating, I like the edge he brings to the game. The shot can use a little bit of work, but I think there's a lot to like there with Quentin Musty. And he's one of those forwards that you could go from, say, Pick 15 straight down to 30, and you could go to five different scouts and see all those names in completely different orders. There's such fine lines separating some of these guys, and Quentin Musty is right in that wheelhouse for second half of the first round, for sure." - Adam Kimelman, NHL.com
"I think a little bit. He plays with power, playmaker, primarily. I think the big thing with Musty is he didn't use his shot that much this year. I know he battled mononucleosis early in the year and he had to get through that, and he really didn't turn it on until Christmas. But by the time the season's over, he was, by far, the best OHL draft eligible. He has a great playmaking streak. If he can get his shot back to where it was when he was coming into the OHL, being known as a big time shooter, I think he could be one of the sneakiest dual threats in this entire draft class." - Tony Ferrari, The Hockey News
While many draft pundits believe Musty will fall within a range of Picks 12-32 in this year's NHL Draft, Musty is not trying to think too much about where he fits into this class of prospects.
"You've got no idea where you're gonna go. You could fall, you could rise, you have no idea," said Musty during his NHL Scouting Combine earlier this month. "I think the main thing is just getting to a camp and trying to perform from there. It doesn't matter where you get drafted. Just trying to earn a contract and trying to earn spots is the most important thing."
Musty said his week at the NHL Combine was a bit of a whirlwind, and a bit surreal with the fact he grew up in the region.
"I had season tickets growing up. It's great to be back in this building where I kind of started my hockey career," Musty said. "Doing all this stuff with the NHL, it's been great. It's been my dream to play in the NHL, and this is a step towards that I think. So yeah, it's been great."
Following a 31-point performance as a rookie in OHL, Musty was able to put up a 47-point improvement in his second season at the top junior level of hockey in Ontario. He attributes that overall improvement in his game to being a more complete player, which was heavily influenced by MacKenzie behind the bench.
"Just cleaning up my game a bit, rounding it out, being more defensive and doing the little things right. I think once I did, those are created more chances for me and I had the puck a lot more. I think it just kind of grew my game that way," Musty explained.
"Derek, he brought in a lot of experience. He played in the NHL for a really long time and coached for a long time, as well. Just showing me the way of things I need to work on to make it to the next level, because he played there, he coached there. He knows what it takes, and I think once he started helping me with that stuff, my game got a lot better."
While Marr feels Musty has yet to discover just how good of a player he can be at the next level of hockey, the Hamburg native feels he is just as confident in his game as he's ever been heading into the draft.
"Probably the way I carry myself, I think I'm a pretty humble guy. But yeah, I definitely have some confidence inside my game, and I like to be a creative player and show things around that way," he said. "I think I know that I can compete at the highest levels, and I'm pretty confident in myself."
Former Buffalo Sabres winger Patrick Kaleta shares a lot of similarities to Musty and his journey to being drafted in the NHL Draft. The Angola native left home and decided to play in the OHL in the two seasons before his draft year, and was eventually drafted as a sixth-round pick (176th overall) in the 2004 NHL Draft.
Kaleta went on to eventually make the NHL roster and play in 348 career games between 2007 and 2015, all with the Sabres. While his role was a bit different from what Musty projects to be in the NHL, Kaleta went on to produce 27 goals and 27 assists for 54 points in his career.
Since the end of his playing days, Kaleta has remained local to help coach with the Buffalo Jr. Sabres program and be part of Harborcenter's Academy of Hockey program.
It was with the Jr. Sabres where Kaleta and Musty first crossed paths. Kaleta coached the Hamburg kid when Musty played with both the 13U and 14U AAA teams prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"A really nice kid, obviously a tremendous hockey player - skill set, size, speed, all the above," said Kaleta in an interview with WBEN. "A respectful kid, still calls me 'Coach Pat', but a kid that is driven, especially with his craft and what he wants to accomplish with hockey. Overall, a very nice kid to be around, and to be able to coach."
Kaleta feels Musty is an all-around player that when he wants to take control of a game, he can do whatever he wants on the ice.
"His skill set, the way he handles the puck, the way he can shoot a puck from different angles - he snaps it to wherever he needs to. On top of that, the way he sees the ice and his playmaking ability, that might be something that gets overlooked by the way he shoots the puck," Kaleta said. "And then size and the way he moves, he's always been working on his skating, which is something that guys that are taller and bigger in stature always have to work on. But he's always been working on his skating, and that's improved a fair amount as he's progressed in his hockey career."
Musty ended up being a reliable player for Kaleta in his playing time with the Jr. Sabres. Kaleta said one could see it even at a young age of Musty being head-and-shoulders above some of the competition at his age level.
"The way he saw the game, and the way he shot and his physical ability with his size. He's a No. 1 power play guy. If you need to score a goal, he's out there," he said. "If I'm looking at in reverse, if I'm playing against him, I'm making sure I have someone defensively responsible out there to try to control him."
When examining where Musty can improve his game going forward, it starts with his acceleration and burst, as he doesn’t quite have that quick 0-to-60 burst. In addition, there’s always room to clean up his game at both ends of the ice.
Kaleta knows at his age and level of play in the OHL, it's a bit common with young players to be so dominant and focused on the offensive side of the game. He says with taking that next step to make the NHL and be an everyday NHL player, Musty is going to need to do round his game out better, as well as learn how to play in whatever defensive scheme the team that drafts him plays.
"You can't be a defensive liability out there. You've gotta have a little bit more respect for the defensive zone, but that's a common thing with maturity and kids this age that have that offensive ability like 'Q' has," Kaleta said.
As for what advice Kaleta has for Musty heading into Wednesday's NHL Draft and beyond, he says it's important to enjoy the day and soak it in. But after a couple of days to comprehend what just happened, it's time to get back to work.
"Once you're drafted, all that means is you get the opportunity. Depending on the team and the amount of draft picks you have, they have the same opportunity," Kaleta said. "It's that attention where we just got to make sure we're dialed in with how we're doing things, what we're doing, you're on time. Things like that matter, and make a big difference as you climb the ranks in hockey."
More of Kaleta's conversation surrounding Musty is available in the player below: