Wesley Royston

Wesley Royston
Rankings
Wesley Royston – NHL Draft Projection
Quotables
Strengths
Under Construction – Needs Improvement
NHL Potential
Awards/Achievements
Interviews/Links
Wesley Royston Stats
Videos

2025-26 Team: Owen Sound Attack (OHL)
Date of Birth: Nov. 22, 2007
Place of Birth: Oro-Medonte, ON
Ht: 6-foot-4
Wt: 186 pounds
Shoots: R
Position: RW
NHL Draft Eligibility: 2026 first-year eligible

Rankings

NHL Central Scouting: 80th (among NA skaters)

Wesley Royston finished the 2025-26 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) season with 12 goals and seven assists for 19 points in 59 games split between the Erie Otters and Owen Sound Attack. Those numbers would keep most players off draft boards entirely, but he was invited to the NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo anyway. NHL Central Scouting ranked him 80th among North American skaters anyway. The Dallas Stars sat down with him for a formal interview anyway. That tells you everything about what kind of player Royston is and what kind of player NHL teams think he can become.

Royston is one of the fastest players in the OHL at any size. At 6-foot-4, the way he moves is genuinely rare. He chains crossovers and forward strides with barely any upper-body movement, generating explosive speed from a standstill and pulling away from opponents who have no business being slower than a player his size. His mechanics are clean, his edges are sharp, and his top gear is a legitimate NHL-caliber tool. Big forwards who can skate like this get drafted because the combination almost never appears naturally, and when it does, the player tends to find a role.

The Hockey Writers 2026 NHL Entry Draft Guide (The Hockey Writers)

When Royston is engaged, he is a hammer. He throws open-ice hits on the backcheck, crushes forwards along the boards, pins opponents to the wall, and starts and finishes post-whistle confrontations. He plays with a mean streak that is visible from the press box. He had 22 penalty minutes in 13 games with Erie before the trade and continued playing that brand in Owen Sound. The physical identity is not a projection. It is the player.

He started the season with the Otters, the team that drafted him 24th overall in the 2023 OHL Priority Selection, posting two goals, two assists, and 22 penalty minutes in 13 games. On Oct. 31, Erie traded him to the Owen Sound Attack for fellow 2007-born forward Michael Dec. The trade was a statement of what each team needed: Owen Sound sent out a skilled, undersized forward (Dec had 15 points in 16 games) and brought in a 6-foot-4 winger with four points and a physical edge.

With Owen Sound, Royston played 46 games and posted 10 goals and five assists for 15 points. The Attack made the 2026 OHL Playoffs, and his physical presence was part of that push.

Royston’s shot is better than his point totals suggest. He can fire in stride without breaking speed, and he creates shooting lanes through feints and skilled moves that open up the feet of opposing defensemen. He scored on toe-drag wristers, net-front redirections, and rebounds driven by his willingness to go to the hard areas around the crease. When he has momentum built up and is driving to the net, he is extremely difficult to contain. His hands in tight are quicker than expected for a player his size, and he wins loose-puck battles at the net front through a combination of reach, strength, and determination.

The limitation is consistency, and it is significant. Too many nights, Royston was not involved in the physical side of the game. His impact would shrink as the game progressed, moving off possession too quickly instead of giving himself a chance to make a play or draw in pressure. He defers to linemates, stickhandles wide until he gets pinched along the wall, and seldom slows down to peek inside for a passing option. His handling grades out below average, and his hockey sense, while functional defensively, does not drive offensive sequences. He takes a safeguarding, above-the-puck approach that limits danger coming back the other way but also limits his own involvement going forward.

The closest NHL comparison is the Calgary Flames’ John Beecher: a low-scoring, high-tool player who struggled to produce in junior hockey and now fills a checking role in the NHL. Beecher was a first-round pick (30th overall, 2019) whose skating and physical tools eventually found a home on Boston’s fourth line before being claimed off waivers by Calgary. Royston’s tools are in the same family, the explosive speed at 6-foot-4, the physical willingness, the defensive awareness, even if the overall package sits a tier below where Beecher was drafted. If Royston commits fully to the checking identity and leans into the physical game every night rather than in flashes, there is a pathway to a similar NHL role.

The Dallas Stars don’t pick until 59th overall in the second round after trading their first-round pick to Carolina in the Mikko Rantanen deal. They need players who can eventually contribute to a contending roster, and power forwards who bring toughness to playoff hockey have a clear path to usefulness on those kinds of teams. Royston told The Hockey News that his meeting with the Stars went well and that adding weight to his 186-pound frame is a priority he openly acknowledges.

Wesley Royston – NHL Draft Projection

Royston projects as a fourth- to sixth-round selection. His combine invitation and Central Scouting ranking confirm that NHL front offices see legitimate tools here, even if the production does not support a higher pick. Catch him on the right night and he looks like a top-64 pick. Catch him on the wrong night and the passivity makes you wonder where the offense comes from.

Teams drafting in the middle-to-late rounds are not looking for point producers. They are looking for players who can fill specific roles, and a 6-foot-4, right-shot power forward who skates like a top-six winger and hits like a fourth-liner is a profile that gets drafted every year. He will likely spend another full season in Owen Sound before beginning a professional transition

Quotables

We are very excited to bring a player like Wesley Royston into the mix. Wesley is a big strong power forward that can add to the offence and create space for his teammates. When we look at our group, I think we were lacking some size up front and certainly filled that hole with the ability to bring Wesley in.

Trade Alert: Attack Acquire Royston from Otters – Dale DeGray, Owen Sound Attack GM (October 2025).

Strengths

Explosive skating at 6-foot-4 that is genuinely rare for his size; chains crossovers and strides with clean mechanics and minimal upper-body movement
Physical presence with a mean streak: throws open-ice hits, finishes checks, engages in post-whistle scrums, and pins opponents along the boards
Shot is better than his totals suggest; can fire in stride and creates shooting lanes through feints and skilled moves
Quick hands in tight spaces around the net front; wins loose-puck battles through reach, strength, and determination
Defensively engaged with a safeguarding, above-the-puck approach that limits rush chances against
Right-shot winger with more than 120 career OHL games of experience across three seasons
NHL Scouting Combine invite and Stars combine interview confirm league-wide interest

Under Construction – Needs Improvement

Consistency is the primary concern: too many shifts where the physical game and offensive involvement disappear
Moves off possession too quickly instead of holding the puck, drawing pressure, and making a play
Puck handling grades below average; too predictable with the puck and easily locked to the outside when carrying
Hockey sense does not drive offensive sequences; playmaking and play-reading at speed remain limited
At 186 pounds on a 6-foot-4 frame, needs to add 15 to 20 pounds of muscle to maximize his physical game at the professional level
19 points in 59 OHL games is a bottom-tier offensive output for a draft-eligible forward, even one whose value lies elsewhere

NHL Potential

Royston’s ceiling is a fourth-line power forward in the mold of Beecher: a player who kills penalties, protects leads, throws hits, and occasionally chips in a goal from the net front. His floor is a career American Hockey League energy player. The gap between those outcomes comes down to one question, whether he commits to using his physical tools every shift or continues to play a passive, low-involvement game punctuated by flashes.

The skating will remain an advantage at the NHL level regardless. The physical tools will remain an advantage. The question is whether Royston decides to use them as his identity rather than as an option. If he does, the combination of 6-foot-4, right-shot, dynamic skating, and genuine toughness is a profile that contending teams pay for every trade deadline. If he doesn’t, the points aren’t there to carry him.

Risk-Reward Analysis

Risk: 4/5, Reward: 2/5

Fantasy Hockey Potential

Offense: 2/10, Defense: 3/10

Awards/Achievements

Invited to the 2026 NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo
Drafted 24th overall by Erie Otters in the 2023 OHL Priority Selection
Traded to the Owen Sound Attack in October 2025; Owen Sound made the 2026 OHL Playoffs
Career season in 2024-25 with 14 goals, 13 assists, and 27 points for Erie
Formal combine interview with the Stars (June 2026)
Over 120 career OHL regular-season games across three seasons