We’re edging ever closer to the newest Stanley Cup Champion, which means that we are slowly progressing toward the 2023 NHL Entry Draft in Nashville, Tennessee. This means that the Rangers front office and amateur scouts who are in charge of building the future of this franchise will get a chance to earn their money in Music City towards the end of this month.
While there have been prospects I’ve talked about already, one player that should be getting some individual attention is 6’2, 200 lbs left winger Quentin Musty. At 17 years of age, this is a player who is already beating the doubts about his size in order to make it to the big time, but this is another player who has a ton of talent. While he’s not likely to develop an elite shot, the rest of the tools available to him make Musty one of the better ceiling players available.
Musty is already everything this Rangers team needs. He’s willing to work hard along the boards and lay big hits with the large frame he has. That kind of physicality is something that will always be wanted in this sport. However, this does not come at the cost of his offense as he put up 26 goals and 52 assists for 78 points in 53 games with the Sudbury Wolves in the Ontario Hockey League. He’s got a lot to like.
Did you need something else to sell you on this player? He’s from Hamburg, New York. Having another local kid in the pipeline is never a bad thing because as we see every year with Adam Fox, this state produces some great talents. Surely, this would be a player fans can get behind. Size, skill, and a local boy for one of the most iconic franchises in the hockey world seem like a match made in heaven.
Well, the issue with that is the draft is a roll of the dice. If he’s there at 23 great, but there are independent websites, like EliteProspects, ranking Musty as high as 12th in their mock drafts, with others having him as late as even the 2nd round. This is the type of thing that will divide opinions one way or another, so please let me know what you’d do if you were Drury on the draft floor.