Luke Osburn
2023-24 Team: Youngstown Phantoms (USHL)
Date of Birth: Sep. 9, 2006
Place of Birth: Plymouth, Michigan
Ht: 6-foot-1 Wt: 172 pounds
Shoots: L
Position: D
NHL Draft Eligibility: 2024 first-year eligible
Rankings
- NHL Central Scouting: 87th (among NA skaters)
- Future Considerations: 86th
- Dobber Prospects Final Rankings: 50th
- Recruit Scouting: 103rd
- SMAHT Scouting: 85th
It can be easy to overlook a prospect who doesn’t put up a lot of points in his draft year. Take Luke Osburn, a defenceman with the United States Hockey League’s (USHL) Youngstown Phantoms, for example. A rookie this season, he put up just eight goals and 23 points in 60 games. Not only was that just the 11th-highest total on the team, but two other U18 defenders outscored him. For a player who’s described as an offensive, puck-moving defenceman, that doesn’t give scouts a lot of confidence in his potential.
Related: 2024 NHL Draft Guide
However, there’s a lot more than meets the eye with Osburn. First of all, he’s one of the youngest players in the 2024 NHL Draft; had he been born six days later, he would have qualified for the 2025 Draft. That gives him a significant disadvantage in terms of strength and expression, so to see him keep pace with his team and even claim the USHL’s Defenceman of the Week honours in early March is a promising sign.
Then there’s Osburn’s skillset. What is initially obvious is his skating. He’s a strong, smooth skater, both forward and backward, and uses a long stride and great edgework to match forwards’ pace and quickly close gaps. Although he’s not an overly aggressive defender, he thrives on the attack, using his strong skating and smart stick placement to eliminate most options for those he’s facing. Few rookie defenders are as effective as Osburn when it comes to neutralizing incoming scoring threats and regaining possession, and much of that is thanks to his skating.
On top of his high agility, Osburn is also a highly intelligent defenceman. When defending against an opponent, he extends his stick and puts himself in a lower posture to cover as much area as possible. Then, when the attacker tries to make a move, he is poised to break up the play and dish the puck to an open teammate. He’s calm under pressure and is rarely fooled by a deke, which doesn’t give opponents a lot of options to get around him.
When moving the puck, Osburn remains mobile and demonstrates well-refined techniques rarely seen in a player his age, let alone a defenceman. He can catch pucks while picking up speed, enabling him to control the play. He is also a skilled puck handler, and combined with his agility, he can pull off moves that are rarely attempted by defenders. There’s a lot of deception and quickness in his puck movement, which has earned him some comparisons to Lane Hutson. He can be downright dangerous with the puck, and although he can over-handle it at times, few prospects in the USHL can do what he can.
Despite his lack of production, there are few negatives in Osburn’s game. One area that needs some improvement is his lack of strength, which limits his ability to effectively shut down opponents. He manages to hold his own most of the time, but he lacks the physical edge that could make him a dangerous two-way defenceman. He’s committed to the University of Wisconsin for 2026-27, so that shouldn’t be a major concern, but he’s definitely one of the bigger projects in the 2024 draft class.
Other Draft Profiles
Luke Osburn – NHL Draft Projection
Although Osburn hasn’t found his way onto too many draft boards, those who have scouted him rank him very highly. There’s a chance that he could end up in the second or third rounds as he’s a projectable defenceman that an NHL team can afford to be patient with. However, it’s more likely that he finds himself selected in the middle of the draft, as he doesn’t quite have the size that NHL teams are looking for in defencemen.
Quotables
“He’s a very mobile defenceman, he loves to join the rush, he has offensive abilities that are very very well rounded right now and he has a ton of untapped potential. I think, for Luke, the way he grew as a player and his attention to detail and coachability is something we’re really excited about and an NHL team should be excited about, too. Luke made huge strides and was probably our most improved defenceman and a lot of that comes from his attitude, his work ethic, and the way he is around his teammates in the locker room.” – Ryan Ward, Phantoms’ Head Coach
“Osburn is right around where we left him in Youngstown. The USHL playoffs were not kind to him as the Phantoms tried to split the ice time between all 3 pairings, yet still, Osburn stood out in the minutes he played. The confidence Osburn displayed was genuinely remarkable. The offensive mindset he committed to towards the end of the regular season was starting to show its head more frequently but it seldom came at the cost of his defensive workload. In contrast to fellow USHL rookie John Mustard, Osburn’s play comes from the details. His ability to constantly keep his feet moving, read lanes and slip passes in motion is among some of the more impressive bodies of work the draft has to offer. As Osburn likely returns to Youngstown next year, look for him to exercise more of his showmanship as he further immerses himself into the speed of USHL play.” – David Saad, Dobber Prospects
“His awareness of the ice is largely great, especially defensively on the rush, stopping breakout after breakout across both lines with calm, patient and intelligent gap management and quick thinking to pass pucks up the ice again. In fact he has some of the stronger completion metrics on his passing for defenders that I’ve tracked this year. There are some poor moments with the puck in terms of completions, but the ideas he spots are largely good ones. He absolutely needs to get stronger, especially in front of the net as he can get outworked and outmuscled, but there’s so much potential. The footwork along the blueline and wrist shot is understated, but he needs to become a better distributor in the offensive zone to unlock the offence that seems to bubble under the surface. Regardless, he brings so much to the table, and I feel as though he’ll only get better as the years go by, and a smart, patient team will be greatly rewarded for their foresight with Osburn.” – Will Scouch, Scouching
Strengths
- Well-developed intelligence
- Excellent skater
- Stickhandling
Under Construction – Improvements to Make
- Needs to add strength
- Can overhandle the puck
- Long time frame to reach the NHL
NHL Potential
Right now, Osburn looks like he could be a valuable depth defenceman, providing solid defensive pressure and some offensive upside. However, he just started to hit his stride at the end of the season, scoring six points in a three-game stretch in March and putting up seven points in the last 11 games. To me, that shows a blossoming offensive game that should fully emerge next season and could become a playmaking second-pairing defenceman in the NHL.
Risk – Reward Analysis
Risk- 3/5, Reward 4/5
Fantasy Hockey Potential
Offense- 6/10, Defense 6/10
Awards/Achievements
- 2024 USHL All-American Game invitee
- USHL Player of the Week – March 4, 2024
Luke Osburn Stats
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