Is This Calgary Flames Prospect The Biggest Steal Of The 2024 Draft?
There is no other way to say it: Calgary Flames prospect Henry Mews is on fire this season. As we approach the mid-way point of the OHL season a strong case can be made that Mews could be considered one of the biggest steals of the 2024 NHL Draft.
Mews scored 15 goals and added 46 assists for a total of 61 points playing in 67 games for the Ottawa 67's last year. By the end of the season, Bob Mackenzie had Mews ranked 48th while The Hockey News' Ryan Kennedy ranked Mews similarly in his Final 2024 Draft Rankings at 47th.
The consensus was that Mews should be expected to go in the middle of the second round. However, on draft day, Mews slipped down from the second round into the beginning of the third round, where the Calgary Flames selected him 74th overall.
Mews was the third OHL player selected by Calgary after Zayne Parekh and Jacob Battaglia. Due to the fact that Mews was the second defenseman taken by Calgary the comparison between him and Parekh is perhaps unavoidable.
While Parekh is known for his high-flying offense and rocket of a shot, Mews plays a steady two-way game with great offensive upside. His puck-moving skills are strong and his shot is nothing to be sneered at.
Both guys fulfill similar roles as top defensemen on their teams who eating up big minutes.
While the draft stock invested in these players suggests a gap between them, their numbers this year tell a different story.
So far in 30 games Mews has scored eight goals and added 33 assists averaging 1.37 points per game. His point totals tie him for second in scoring amongst OHL defenders with Luca Marrelli.
Meanwhile, in 26 games, Parekh has scored 10 goals and added 25 assists for an average of 1.34 points per game. He currently sits fourth in scoring amongst OHL defenders.
Mews leads all OHL defensemen with 133 shots on goal this season and averages 4.43 shots on goal per game. That is 18 more shots on goal than Parekh (115), though the Saginaw defender averages 4.42 shots on goal per game which is nearly identical to Mews.
One of the salient differences between the two is the number of points they have accrued on the powerplay. Mews' 24 powerplay points make up 58 percent of his total points while Parekh's 15 powerplay points only account for 42 percent of his total points.
This suggests that Parekh has found more offensive success in even-strength situations than Mews.
It should be mentioned that Ottawa is a team that has struggled to score this year with only 103 goals. This puts them solidly in the bottom half of the league in terms of scoring. Meanwhile, the Saginaw Spirit sit at the top of the league with 137 goals for.
Based on these numbers, Mews has points on 39.8 percent of Ottawa's goals while Parekh is involved in 25 percent of Saginaw's goals.
The comparison between these two players is in no way meant to suggest that Parekh is worse than Mews or that Calgary made a mistake taking Parekh in the first round.
On the contrary, these are two remarkable players who should both be considered elite defenders in the OHL.
If Mews continues to score at his current pace he will finish the season with 93 points. Not bad for a third-round pick.
Calgary fans should be thrilled by this turn of events. Not only does Parekh look like an elite talent, but Mews seems to have found a new gear. They may well have a pair of young defenders to bolster their D-corps within the next few years.
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