NHL draft: Spokane Chiefs center Berkly Catton selected No. 8 by Seattle Kraken

June 28, 2024 Updated Fri., June 28, 2024 at 10:06 p.m.

By Dave Nichols daven@spokesman.com (509) 459-5441

Draft analysis

Berkly Catton, F, Spokane Chiefs (WHL)

Jan. 14, 2006 | 5’ 11” | 174 pounds

Tier: Bubble NHL All-Star and top of the lineup player

Skating: High-end

Puck skills: Above NHL average

Hockey sense: Above NHL average

Compete: Above NHL average

Shot: Above NHL average

Player comparable: Logan Cooley

Analysis: Catton was one of the best players in the WHL this season and was the best player at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup last summer. He is a well-rounded center and a high-end skater, with powerful edge work that will make him very difficult to check in the NHL and lets him elude pressure constantly. His foot speed is strong, but not at the same level as his edges. He’s a very skilled puckhandler and a great passer who can run an NHL power play. Catton makes a ton of difficult plays on the move and has a lot of pace in his game. He’s not overly physical, but he competes. He wins pucks, gets to the net and can kill penalties. He projects as an excellent top-six center with a chance to be a No. 1 center.

Pick grade: B+

Thoughts on the pick: I’m a huge fan of Catton’s game. I thought he was one of the most dynamic players in the draft. Given how much Seattle needed a premier defense prospect, it’s a bit surprising that they took a forward but if they were going to take one, Catton is more than reasonable at this slot. He has top-line forward potential and could be a star if he truly hits. Teams were worried by his size, but everything else about his game was a major positive.

– Corey Pronman, The Athletic

Las Vegas is a town where dreams can come true. For dozens of young hockey players, those dreams became reality on Friday.

Spokane Chiefs center Berkly Catton was one of those players. Catton, 18, was selected No. 8 overall by the Seattle Kraken in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft at the Sphere in Las Vegas on Friday.

The Chiefs haven’t had a player drafted in the top 10 since Jared Cowen in 2009. Catton is also the first to be selected in the first round since Ty Smith in 2018.

Catton was ranked eighth among North American skaters in the NHL’s Central Scouting Service’s final rankings.

Catton, a 5-foot-10 center out of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, finished his second full season with the Chiefs as the fourth-highest scorer in the Western Hockey League with 54 goals and 62 assists for 116 total points, leading all draft-eligible skaters in the Canadian Hockey League during the 2023-24 campaign.

He became the second-highest-scoring 17-year-old in Chiefs history, behind only Pat Falloon, and was named the U.S. Division’s player of the year at the end of the season. With 140 WHL games under his belt, the forward has amassed 175 total points (78G-97A) and has a 1.25 points per game average.

The Saskatoon native joins Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane and Connor Bedard as the only former CHL skaters to put up 50 or more goals and 115 or more points in their draft season this century.

Macklin Celebrini, a 6-foot center out of Boston University, was selected No. 1 overall by the San Jose Sharks.Other WHL players to go in the first round were center Cayden Lindstrom, Medicine Hat (No. 4, Columbus) and center Tij Iginla, Kelowna (No. 6, Utah).

This story will be updated.

NHL draft: Spokane Chiefs center Berkly Catton selected No. 8 by Seattle Kraken

NHL Draft: Berkly Catton leads contingent of Spokane Chiefs into draft day

Spokane Chiefs forward Berkly Catton named to 2023-24 CHL all-star second team

‘No one is spared’: Tracing former Spokane Chiefs coach Mike Babcock’s imperious NHL career