It’s too soon to try to determine the steals of the 2024 NHL Draft.
Henry Mews, however, has already served notice that he intends to be in that conversation.
The Calgary Flames selected Mews in the third round, at No. 74 overall, and the up-and-coming blue-liner was admittedly a bit miffed to still be available in that spot.
That’s been lingering in the back of his mind during this statement season. Mews is currently the top-scoring defenceman in the Ontario Hockey League. The 18-year-old is also tied for tops among all OHLers — yeah, that includes the forwards, too — with 43 assists.
“My draft year, I had people mocking me that they don’t know if my game will translate to the NHL level,” Mews told Postmedia. “I feel like this year, I’m proving people wrong with my development over the course of one season. I had a big summer, and I’m really motivated to prove people wrong. I think that’s kind of what is going on right now.”
On the move/On the rise
The Flames plan to be patient with Mews, but the kid proved last Friday that he could be effective in a rush.
About 20 minutes before the OHL’s trade deadline, Mews was swapped from the Ottawa 67’s to the Sudbury Wolves for a whopper of a return package — one roster player and up to eight future draft picks.
The Wolves were thrilled to win what had turned into a bit of a sweepstakes. They were wondering if their prized acquisition could hustle to Sudbury for a home game that evening.
Mews scrambled to pack up and hit the road at about 1 p.m. ET, his GPS showing a five-and-a-half-hour drive. He made just one stop along the way for fuel, unleaded for his vehicle, and a BLT sandwich and coffee from Tim Hortons for his growling stomach.
“I showed up about 30 minutes to puck drop,” Mews said. “When I got in the room in my street clothes, just jogging pants and a hoodie, the guys were just getting on the ice for warm-ups. So I didn’t even have time to tape my sticks or sharpen my skates, didn’t have time to get used to my new gear or anything. I just put all that stuff on and went on the ice for the game.”
He introduced himself with a goal and two assists. Impressive.
“It was a long day, but it was nice to get comfortable early. And to have a good game like that, it was even better,” said Mews, who will miss his pals and family in Ottawa — he spent three seasons with his hometown 67’s — but was excited about joining a Wolves squad that is in a dogfight for top perch in the OHL’s Central Division. “There are a lot of guys who can put the puck in the net on this team and I feel like my game will help them, as well as they will help me. We have a really good team. We’re looking to go all the way.”
Proving his point
The Flames have accumulated quite a collection of could-be blue-line blue-chippers.
That list is headlined by Zayne Parekh, selected ninth overall after winning the CHL’s Defenceman of the Year honours in 2024, and Hunter Brzustewicz, who arrived in a blockbuster trade last winter as he was on his way to leading the OHL in assists.
Mews, who is listed at 6-foot-1 and 183 pounds, is another on-the-rise righty with the potential to someday quarterback a power-play unit at Scotia Place.
“Every day, you look to see what the scores are and how he’s doing. And every day, it seems like he had two or three points,” said Flames general manager Craig Conroy. “I was lucky enough to be there for one of the games where he had four points. He’s had a few more like that. Just the way he’s moving the puck, seeing the ice, jumping in the play offensively, it’s impressive. But also, he’s really working at this game away from the puck and defensively. Overall, his game is really, really coming.”
It’s not uncommon to hear that a just-drafted defenceman needs to focus on some of those finer details — better positioning in their own zone, maintaining tight gaps and closing quickly to pressure opponents, an emphasis on being quicker to retrieve pucks to initiate the breakout, etc.
In fact, it is rare to hear otherwise.
Mews believes he has already made significant strides toward what he describes as “more of a steady, reliable game” and knows continued improvement will be key to achieving some of his shorter-term goals, which include a title run with the Wolves, an entry-level contract offer from the Flames and an opportunity to represent Canada at the world juniors next winter.
In Mews’ case, his development curve is a bit different because he skated as a forward for several years of his minor hockey career, switching back to the blue-line at age 15.
That helps to explain why this young point-patroller is so impactful on the attack.
Although Mews had a rough night Thursday in a lopsided loss to the Windsor Spitfires, there’s a whole lot to like about his season stat sheet, which shows a dozen goals and 43 assists in his 41 outings so far.
He has put more pucks on net than any other OHL defender and ranks second in points-per-game at 1.34, trailing only San Jose Sharks prospect Sam Dickinson and slightly better than his future Flames teammate Parekh.
Mews will soon zoom past the 61 points that he put up in 65 spins as a draft-eligible.
“Henry has a lot of the same attributes that Zayne has in terms of the offensive mind,” said Ray Edwards, the Flames’ director of player development. “He has deception. He has poise. He can see plays through forecheckers. He has that ability to slow the game down in his head, and that part we’ve always known was going to be good for him.
“It’s really about the stuff without the puck. In Henry’s case, there is some major work to do off the ice in terms of strength and power and adding weight and those types of things. And similar to Zayne, it’s just being able to check and defend at a high level and understanding how to play the game without the puck. But with the puck, he’s dynamic. He sees the next play at an elite level. He has an excellent one-timer and can score from just about anywhere on the ice. He reads the play very well. So lots to be excited about.”
‘I know what I’m capable of’
Lots to be excited about, no doubt.
Flames fans should keep in mind that third-rounders always require some extended seasoning at the lower levels. (For Mews, who turns 19 in March, it should be beneficial that the coaching staff in Sudbury includes Drake Berehowsky, who logged 500-and-some career appearances as a big-league rearguard.)
If you look back to the 2020 NHL Draft, a dozen of the dudes selected in Round 3 have so far skated in ‘The Show.’ For 2021, that total is three. One guy from 2022 has played one game, but that’s it.
Then again, Mews isn’t certain he fits this profile, even if he was left squirming in his seat as 73 other draft hopefuls — including 26 defencemen — had their names called in June.
“I wasn’t happy going in the third round,” he said. “I know I’m better than a third-round pick. I know I have more potential in me. I know what I’m capable of.
“After getting picked by Calgary, Craig and all the development team, in my meetings they emphasized that they were so happy to take me where they did and how they know I’m way better than that and should have went higher,” he continued. “So that gave me a lot of motivation, as well, to have a good year, and I think I’m doing exactly that. I think it’s probably one of the best things that could have happened to me personally because it really motivated me just to have a good year and turn heads.”
So far, so good.
“For us, we were just excited with where we were able to get him, that he was still there,” Conroy said. “But like we told him, it doesn’t really matter where you get picked — whether you’re a first-rounder, fifth-rounder, seventh-rounder or even a guy that we get as a free agent. It’s about what you do as you move forward and turn pro and what you do to get to the NHL.
“But for Henry, it did light a fire in him. He wasn’t overly happy and he’s kind of carried that right through the start of the year. And I think it’s great. You always want something, when you’re tired or maybe you don’t want to train, as a motivator. I think he does definitely use that as a motivator, which is a good thing for us.”