Henry Mews – 2024 NHL Draft Prospect Profile

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Henry Mews

2023-24 Team: Ottawa 67’s / Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Date of Birth: Mar 09, 2006
Place of Birth: Ottawa, ON, CAN
Ht: 6-feet-0 Wt: 185 pounds
Shoots: R
Position: D
NHL Draft Eligibility: 2024 first-year eligible

Rankings

While points are far from everything for a defenseman heading into the NHL draft, posting nearly a point-per-game heading into your draft year will turn some heads. This is exactly what Henry Mews completed before the 2024 NHL Draft, as he posted 61 points in 65 games for the Ottawa 67’s of the OHL.

While Mews may not be the biggest player on the ice, or even the most defensively sound, he has an offensive potential that can’t be missed. He is that kind of smooth-skating, confident defender who you can see running Power Play units all over the NHL right now.

Henry Mews Ottawa 67's
Henry Mews of the Ottawa 67’s. (Terry Wilson / OHL Images)

If you looked purely at his toolkit, Mews could be a top-10 pick for this draft class. First and foremost, he is one of the strongest skaters available, and this allows him to attack in the offensive zone or jump back into the defensive end when needed. Skating is one of those traits that can make a good player elite, so he’s already a step ahead of much of this class in that category. He also sees the ice incredibly well, which adds to his strong scoring potential.

The biggest knock against Mews is the consistency of his defensive game, which is good but nothing to write home about. This can make him difficult to project at the NHL level, as he has a flawed game that could round into a top-four player if developed. However, don’t be surprised if an NHL general manager is willing to take on that challenge with an early draft selection.

Other THW Draft Profiles

Henry Mews – NHL Draft Projection

There’s a world where Mews is a sure-fire first-round pick at the 2024 NHL Draft, and many saw him as a top-20 prospect at the halfway point of the OHL season. However, as the lackluster defensive aspects of his game became a little more obvious, his ratings shifted downward to the low-first to the high-second-round range. You also have to consider that he is average-sized for a defenseman, which may put him below a bigger player on draft night as size is often used as a tie-breaker.

This is still a great spot to be selected, but the offensive ceiling is high enough that I still think he could be an easy selection for a general manager in the 25-30 range, especially if they are ready to let him continue developing for three to five years before taking the next step to the NHL.

Related: THW’s 2024 NHL Draft Guide

With all this in mind, I still expect Mews to slip to Day 2 of the draft, and be an absolute steal for a team in the 35-40 range. We may look back if this is the case and wonder how such a gifted player fell that far, but these things tend to happen on draft day.

Quotables

“Henry Mews is a two-way defender who skates very well, allowing him to make calculated risks at both ends of the ice. He struggles with consistency, but when he’s on he makes smart plays with and without the puck that helps his team dictate play. Mews’ best defensive attribute is his compete level, which helps him in puck battles, especially considering he can get lost a bit in coverage.” – Logan Horn, THW.com

“While he plays a safe game, he’s a fluid puck-mover that any team would be happy to add to their prospect pool. While he’s not a stalwart in his own end at the moment, a little development on the aspect of his game could make him a game-changer.” – Andrew Forbes, THW.com.

“Mews has excellent handling that he can ulitize to navigate through tight pressure to get separation before completing an outlet feed. While he has had productive shifts where he pushed pace, there are shifts in which I see Mews will encounter pressure and pass into traffic instead of using his handling to open up an uncontested passing lane.” – Josh Tessler, smahtscouting.com

Strengths 

  • High offensive ceiling
  • Unmatched compete level
  • Strong skater

Under Construction- Improvements to Make

  • Defensive game lacks consistency, which will take time to fix.

NHL Potential

Every team wants a smart, puck-moving defenseman who can quarterback their top powerplay unit even if that player has some defensive warts that may hamper their game. To me, there are plenty of examples of players who fit this description to a T in the NHL right now, which makes me think that Mews will one day find his way into the league even if he doesn’t round out his game perfectly.

In the best-case scenario, he is a player you can pair alongside a defensive stalwart so he can roam the ice creating scoring chances while running your PP1 unit. However, he still could have value even as a third-pair option to take on time on PP2. Either way, there’s a clear path forward, which only becomes easier if he can make the most of his defensive abilities.

Risk-Reward Analysis

Risk- 4/5, Reward 5/5

Fantasy Hockey Potential

Offense- 8/10, Defense 5/10

Henry Mews Stats

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